benf

I'm looking forward to reading the responses in this thread as I'm considering/looking for the same exact thing for my current setup. ...and completely agree on the expensive part!

I'm a relative "newbie" in CCTV but have done a lot of research and narrowed down my 16ch DVR choice to two models/brands: Intellicam G4-16XLA http://www.intellicamusa.com/product_info.php?products_id=105 Argus JSD-1600 http://www.arguscctv.com/en/03_products/jsd_1600.asp The Argus uses JPEG2000, not sure about the Intellicam (MPEG4?), both use H.264 compression. I'll be using this at home for light surveilance, mainly just to check in on the horses and house while we're at work or out of town, so network/remote abilities and performance is probably most important. If it catches any funny business (ie: thieves) at the same time that's a bonus. I'm trying to keep the purchase under $1200 (I'm looking at OEM versions of the Argus). I don't need a lot of bling or options, just want a decent DVR that will support good images with good quality attached cameras. Remote "live" viewing quality is more important than recorded images. I'm leaning towards the Argus for 2 reasons: 1) Dual codec w/JPEG2000, and 2) seems to be a very widely used and supported model so I won't have a problem finding info and/or support if needed. I like the Intellicam model as well but info on it seems very sparse, though comments in here have been favorable. Anyone here have experience with one or both and can share your thoughts? I read that the older Argus models weren't good at all in terms of network/remote speed and performance, but the newer models with the dual codec are much better.

I'm a little late in seeing/replying to this but if you're going to use CAT5 with baluns be careful about *where* you're going to run it. In my case I ran CAT5 for a 300ft run, and it's a long story and I didn't have much choice, but the cable is laid in an underground conduit right alongside an electrical line. In my case I'm getting a lot of interference likely because of the proximity to the electrical cable. I'm planning on running RG6 later on this fall. Long story short, if you're not running near any potential interference sources and/or it's a short run, CAT5 should be fine. Otherwise consider a shielded cable.

What kind of connectivity do you have between the cam and DVR? Coax, cat5 w/baluns, AV cable, etc? I have some artifacts with my images but it's because of a very long cat5 run that's exposed to electrical wiring and I also have a ground loop issue. Going to replace w/coax at some point but for now the picture is pretty sharp. I found also the cams are quite sensitive to motion when it comes to focus. My initial mounting, which would take awhile to explain, would have them "jiggling" in strong winds which eventually threw the cam out of focus. I've secured the mounting and refocused, since then it's been fine. I'm guessing you do but make sure you've got a good solid mount.

I've noticed something kind of on that order with my 540X's though to a much lesser degree. I have problems related to ground loop and inductance interference, which I'm working on, but in general I've noticed the images are much sharper when the sun isn't in front of the cameras. If the sun is above or behind the cams it's a beautiful image, when it's in front though it seems to be just slightly out of focus but is not to the point where I couldn't do facial recognition. I think most cams would have a problem getting almost direct Arizona sun. Night images are very nice too, a huge improvement over the cheapie SVAT cams I had before. I have a spotlight sort of thing going on but that has more to do with how the cams are mounted (about 10-12' up and pointed down at a 45 degree angle), and being in almost complete darkness. Overall am pleased with the cams and for the money it's a relative bargain. Mike has been amazing at answering all my questions and helping me out.

Very nice review, thanks for posting. I too bought a couple of the 540X cams from Mike and am finally going to be installing them this weekend. Based on what I've seen/heard so far looks like I'll be buying more!

I have a camera with a wall mount similar to the one pictured below. I'm installing this in my barn and the best location would be "hanging" from the ceiling (metal trusses actually). Since the mount on the camera doesn't work like that was curious if there's an elegant way of mounting something like that in "drop down" fashion. I can create a simple L-bracket but if there's a mount bracket already out there for something like this I'd rather go that route.

Thanks. Unfortunately it doesn't have a top mount, only bottom. This is the exact cam here: http://www.intellicamusa.com/product_info.php?products_id=202?osCsid=feeaae05eb54ab645a70358a5ccd1eef

My understanding is that it's best to use drives like the Seagate SV series as it's designed to be written to constantly and/or from multiple cams at the same time. I'm curious though what the drawback is if you use a regular PC hard drive, or one that's not necessarily recommended for a DVR. My guess is that the drive would work, but if you were recording from several cams at once there might be a problem. Anyone have any feedback on this and/or how important it is to use DVR-recommended drives?

I read some posts from 2005 that the Avtech DVR's are pretty good for the price but that the software for remote viewing isn't all that great. Just curious if that's still true today or there's been any improvement. I'm considering purchase of one of the 16ch models for use around home and will be using the remote viewing feature frequently.

I'm a "noob" myself so can't speak from the technical side but I was in the same position as you about 4 months ago. Unfortunately I didn't find this site until after I bought a Sam's Club "kit" (SVAT 4 camera model) and was disappointed in the overall quality. It's not horrible, but it's missing enough features that I wanted more and started doing some research. I've gotten some great info on this site and am very close to a purchase (Intellicam or Argus). In general it seems the professional opinions on Swann and other "mass marketed" systems are that they're a joke, but I don't have any experience to make such a comment. I think it all depends on your needs and expectations, for what you want to do maybe the Swann system is perfect. Keep doing what you're doing... lots of info out there to help make an informed decision.

I'm considering an Intellicam DVR purchase as well (16ch model) so would be interested in those specs too.

Could you please PM me with that info as well? I don't have enough posts yet to send one to you. Am in the market for a decent, but not top of the line, 16ch unit. Thanks

lol Well thanks for the confirm!

I'm pricing 16ch DVR's for use around my home, nothing super fancy and trying to keep it under 1200 for the unit. One of the models I'm considering is the Intellicam G4-16XLA. The manufacturers site shows the price from them at 799, which seems reasonable, but I've found the same unit from a seller on the northeast shore at 639. With that site being so significantly less than direct from the manufacturers site, it has me thinking the old "if it's too good to be true it is" thing. I don't think I'm allowed to mention the $639 site or post a link, so my question in general is: Should I be concerned about potential scams and/or shady dealers out there, even if the site looks legit? I've clicked into a lot of the sites from the sponsored dealers here and feel comfortable with those, but since this unit appears to only be sold from a handful of places I don't have too many options.

I don't know a lot about how it affects CCTV performance (I'm a noob myself) but 3mbps in general is pretty good. Your problem may be with your upload speed. At least over here most ISP's throttle back the upload speed significantly over the download speed. For example I'm getting 7mbps down but "only" 800 or so up. Since all your images have to go in the "up" direction that could be what's going on. Maybe talk to your ISP about bumping your up speed, they probably can't/won't but it's worth asking.

By the way, did you buy it direct from their website? Doesn't appear to be a ton of dealers selling it though did find a place selling it for quite a bit less than their website but am a bit leary since it's so much lower.

Please post in this thread when it arrives and you've had a chance to tinker with it. That's the same model I'm considering in the 16ch version. Thanks and good luck!

Hey CG, Have you selected/installed a system yet? Different situation but I'm kinda in the same boat myself... I don't need anything fancy and am looking for best bang for the buck. I too have looked at the Intellicam DVR's (I'm in the market for an 8 channel) and looks to be a good system. I'd been looking at the AVTech line but have heard the internet/remote piece isn't all that great, thought not sure how the I-cam is at that.