todd2

I'm still seeing that problem with my AVC761. Can you share your fix with the forum? Does it involve a new firmware download? Please advise.

I know there are a few 'knobs' that you can set for the motion detection. Is there any way to make it more sensitive to movement and less sensitive to brightness? By this I mean if the whole image gets brighter or dimmer, the motion detection trips, even if nothing is moving. When I inspect the tripping events, all of the ones that I don't expect (i.e., not me coming or going) are bright/dim pulsations from sunlight or clouds. (The blinds are already closed as much as possible.)

Of course, if you only blew $200 on an Avtech DVR you don't feel as bad. It definitely doesn't record video as good on its "best, frame" setting as a 6 year old Panasonic Consumer DVR records at the SP (2-hour on one DVD) setting. However, it does record motion events and send FTP images. I consider it a trainer security DVR. Now I know how to pick my next DVR. Ideally, I'll want to see the video output of the next DVR I buy before I buy it, but that may be difficult over the internet.

Does it flicker if the monitor is connected directly to the DVR? If not, you may be having significant signal attenuation. You could add an amplifier in-line, or switch to RG6 cable which has lower loss per unit length. (You can identify RG6 cable because it's stiffer than RG59.)

Unless you've hacked into Avtech's corporate network, I suspect you mean object code, not source code. I too was considering trying to look at the object code for the PC-based server to try to figure out why I can't see the 'auto switch to alarm' option. That option is actually present in the executable; it's just not being shown.

A quick check online didn't reveal anyone actually offering it for immediate sale.

I was trying to use the 'Sequence' mode of the AVC761 in combination with motion detection trigger to send images to an ftp server and noticed that it sends OK, except the focus of the sequence doesn't update when the alarm happens--it just plods along unawares and waits the normal time (2 seconds, default) to switch to the channel having the alarm. I compared my configuration screen against a manual for AVC760-762 and noticed that the manual describes an option which is MISSING in my Video E Server: Auto switch to alarm video: Check this option to immediately switch to the channel that an alarm event trigerred and see the live view. This sounds like exactly the problem but it's not there. I tried Video E Server versions 1.0.6.6 and 1.0.6.3. I actually opened the EXE in a binary editor and see the string 'Alarm auto switch video' so something must be disabling it internally. Which leads to the question: What is the latest firmware and where can I get it?

An update on this. I just rigged a jumper from the DVR to my PC's serial port to test out the reaction speed when I send '1','2', etc. commands to switch cameras. It's lightning fast. Project I described above should be doable. I'll post another update when I get the PIC prototype wired up using the 'Alarm Out' from the DVR as an input. (The PIC will sense the alarm from the DVR and start jumping through the cameras, manually shortening the dwell time, so that all camera images can be sent to the ftp server.) I can't get it to jump to the camera in alarm because there's only one alarm output, but this seems like the next best thing. The PIC power drain is minimal so I should be able to tap into the 12V fan supply with a Y-adapter.

Hmm. My guess is that your PIR was activating for 10-15 seconds during your original tests, and your DVR was detecting the transition when it shut off (to a 'no alarm' condition). Thus, your DVR was starting to record when the motion stopped.

Can you give us the brand and model number of your new DVR? There's not much anyone can do without the specifics. If your DVR has a 'prealarm' feature, you might be able to use that to help the situation. The 'prealarm' feature will store several seconds before the alarm trips for alarm triggered recording. The actual amount depends upon the memory dedicated to the feature and the FPS. As for myself, I have my DVR on continuous (timer) record, as well as event (motion) triggering. Hard drives these days are large enough that I can go for like a week with continuous record with no problem, and the DVR logs the motion detection events so I can go back and look at the recordings. (In effect, they're acting as 'hints' to focus me.) I haven't tried the external triggering of the AVC761 but I haven't heard anything bad about it. Again, you'll need to give the specifications of yours.

You may want to consider a laptop drive in lieu of a standard desktop drive for your DVR unless you like buying new hard drives after head crashes. Power consumption may be an issue if you leave the system running more than 24 hours without driving the car. (Typical 40W power dissipation for the system?) You may want to leave camera installation to a professional alarm or stereo installer unless you want your ride to look like a junkmobile. You want it to look factory, so it's not just a question of electronics experience and patience. You'll want to bolt the DVR down in the trunk--not sure whether ventilation will be a big issue. Honestly, for a vehicle, a better solution might be some sort of deer camera-- a motion detector triggered still camera that captures to a memory card. This has MUCH less power dissipation, and no moving parts. Hence shock to a hard drive, battery dissipation, and ventilation are all non-issues.

Try this: 1) Press “POWERâ€

Assuming I can't hack the configuration software to fire this hidden option, it looks like the only way to get this to work right is to use some external logic. A relatively straightforward with a PIC chip could be connected to the rear RS232 (simulated keyboard) input and the alarm output. When the NO alarm output closes (indicating one of the cameras is in motion detection), we rapidly send the sequence 1-2-3-4 to the AVC761 causing it to change screens much faster than 2 seconds. (I've checked it can be done at least twice per second from the front console.) If we can switch through all the cameras (1-2-3-4) at least once per second, that would solve the problem because the capture rate is < 8FPS per camera (30FPS total) no matter which camera is selected, meaning that during the cycle, no more than 8 images are generated. If we select 10 images to ftp (the max) per detection event, we're guaranteed to capture at least one of the important camera. With the 2 second dwell time it ships with, the math tells us we have to dumb down the total FPS to 3 FPS total (the minimum) to achieve the same effect, yielding a per camera FPS of 3/4 FPS. At 3/4 FPS, the 2 second dwell time means that a cycle (1-2-3-4) takes 8 seconds, generating 8*(3/4) = 6 frames, and again grabbing 10 images will get at least one of the important camera. The cost of a PIC chip is minimal, but the effort of writing the code for it, soldering the RS232 connector, etc. is a pane. Oh, and we'd also have to log into the DVR as guest to allow the RS232 commands to go through. One idea to avoid having to manually do this is that every few minutes, the PIC could send a key sequence logging us in as guest (blindly) 1, 1111, something like that. What a pain! Why won't that configuration option show up the Video E Server 1.0.6.3/1.0.6.6???

What is 'very hot' specifically? 100F, 140F?

When you ask about a particular DVR, you'll want to tell us what brand it is in addition to the model so there's no confusion.

I played with the ftp option last night which is probably similar to the email, and think I may know what's going on, provided the AVC760 and AVC761 are roughly similar. My ftp images are of all four cameras just like it appears on the screen. Actually, I think that's actually telling us the answer. I believe you just get sent what the monitor view is currently showing. So, if you have it set to view camera one, any motion trip will send camera one, not because camera one has anything to do with the motion detection, but because you've selected it for viewing. My thought last night was that I do remember some 'sequence' option that cycles through the cameras one by one. If you configured it to send a lot of images and set the motion detection window just right, you might be able to get it to send a few snaps of each camera (full view) each time the motion detection tripped. I'm not sure there's any way that you can have the focus (monitor view) automatically changed to the motion detection source, but that's what you'd want. I'll look over the manual again tonight. It might be that the sequence option actual does what you want. If you were insane, you could rig up some logic to detect an alarm using the output on the back and then send IR commands to the unit to change screens. (You could use a PDA or ocelot or similar.) The problem there is that you'd first have to unlock the DVR, switch screens, and then relock it, and that's real cludgy.

This unit has a single channel microphone input so I tried using a cheap microphone I had sitting around (probably bought for a casette player). It really sucks. I have to speak loudly a few inches from it or tap on it to get any kind of output. Is there any passive microphone out there that will pick up ambient room sounds reasonably well (don't need high fidelity). Or, if not, a powered version. I'd like to avoid a powered microphone but perhaps that's unavoidable. What I'm looking for is something that will pick up noise like passing vehicles, vibrations, stuff that perhaps some mikes are designed against.

Is it possible that your email provider is filtering out the attachment? Sometimes they do that since attachments can contain viruses. I would try a different email account or borrow a friend's to see whether that could be the issue.

I noticed that when I set the DVR to continuous (i.e. manual) record mode, I get an 'S' event every hour on the hour in the Event Log. In the User Manual, it states: Under the manual recording mode, the DVR system will save one recorded file every one hour. So I stopped using manual record and instead used Timer Recording mode. However, I still get the hourly events cluttering up my log. Is there any way to suppress these events (while still doing continuous recording)?

Actually, you can increase the amount of time it records when the motion detection trips, up to 40 seconds. If you can't figure it out, I can write a quick description for you.

There's a button on the front of the unit that launches a big window with various types of events, and search options. (The PC GUI also has the "search" feature.) However, I can't seem to find that function on the IR remote. Is there any way to trigger this from the remote control?

My remote has a lot fewer buttons. Under the down button, I've only got 4 rows of buttons whereas the one in your attachment has 6. There's nothing obvious marked 'search' on mine.

Learn about it rather than jump to conclusions! The other posters seem to have confirmed the 761's shortcomings. What am I jumping to conclusions about? I was right.

I'm trying to test the timer mode on my Avtech 761. I set it to record fixed hours each day. I turned the unit off and came back the next day to check it and nothing was recorded. "Timer Recording" is turned on in the menus. Can I assume it has to be on to do timer recording? Consumer DVD recorders for broadcast TV (like Panasonic's) will wake up when turned off to do timer recording of your favorite show. Kind of sad that the AVC761 won't. I guess I could use a light timer to shut it off and on, since it should wake up and power on if it was on when it lost power.

On home DVD recorders designed for taping commercial broadcasts, the "timer" function typically does both. It powers up the machine and then starts recording. So I guess I'm disappointed that the 761 lacks this. However, what you're saying does confirm my experiment.