fdan4817

Can you send me a link to an example of this or recommend a particular one?

I wonder... Since space is an issue and all this is doing (I think) is monitor one or two cameras, would a small stand-alone DVR be a possible solution? Can these be configured remotely (via the network) or do you have to have a monitor attached to the DVR to configure it? Also, am I correct that once it was set up it could be monitored remotely via the network even without a monitor attached? That is, hook a monitor to it long enough to set it up and then monitor from the network after that.

That is a good point. However, I should have explained more about the situation. What I was told is that the area they want to watch is one that is only accessed about every 3-4 weeks. Otherwise, there is no activity. That is why the motion sensing is so important. If they go with an IP based camera, do the cameras come with appropriate software? Usually the software is packaged with a DVR card.

It sounds like you are typing "ipconfig" in the "Run" box before you have a command window open. You need to make sure you are in an open "Dos Prompt" window before you type "ipconfig." Otherwise, it will open the window, run ipconfig, and then close the window and you will never see the results. What version of Windows are you running?

I can see it now in the original picture you posted after watching the video. On my screen it is so dark you have to know right where to look and what to look for, which the movie allowed me to do.

Beautiful picture!

Is there a striped shirt in the bottom left hand corner of the picture? The ony other possibility is what (maybe) looks like a bird sitting on the rail?

I read last night that Star Wars doubled the previous record for a midnight showing of a premier: $16.5 million. Previous record was Lord of the Rings: $8 million

I was tempted to go this morning, but a bunch of us from church have tickets to go Friday @ 7:30. I can't wait! ~Dan

We have moved past the stage of choosing a DVR card and are now evaluating cameras. We are most likely going to use some combination of domes and bullets (may or may not go with IR). I would like some general impressions of the following camera manufacturers. I realize that specific cameras may have good/bad issues and know that I must examine the specs for any specific camera. But, just as most dealers/installers in this group avoid certain brand of boards, I am sure you have similar attitudes about camera makers. So, here goes: Nuvico KT&C VITEK I am looking at these specifically because they are the primary ones carried by the local dealer I am dealing with. It isn't that I don't trust him, I just always like to get a second opinion. If there are any manufacturers I should specifically avoid, that would be nice to know also. Also, I am little unclear as to the advantage of an ExView CDD over a Super HAD CCD. Is it just the low light capabilities of the ExView or is there something else? I am gathering from what I read that I definitely do not want anything less than a Super HAD chip. I should add that we would like to try to stay around $150/camera if possible, although if we had to we might go as high as $200. We are purchasing about 70 cameras and do have a budget, you know. As always, Thanks, ~Dan

Sounds interesting, but still requires a hefty PC to run, despite the processing being (supposedly) mostly done by the card: Intel 845 a 2.0 processor 128 meg video card Also, max cameras per card is 8, unlike GV which can go 16 on a single board. Is definitely more expensive for a 10-12 camera setup since it would require two boards.

I have dealt with a company that is local for me and been very impressed. www.2mcctv.com Of course, local for me is Arlington, TX, USA. I forgot when I first posted this you are in UK. Oh well, might give you a good US vs. UK cost comparison. ~Dan

My question would be: Why are you so intent on buying from eBay? What we finally did is contacted the manafacturers and they gave us the names of legit dealers. Turned out the GeoVision dealer that was given to us by GeoVision was one of the best deals around. In fact, several internet dealers that I believe are actually legit said they couldn't touch the price quoted to us by the dealer whose name was given to us by GeoVision. My point in this lengthy rambling is ditch ebay and just go find legit dealer...you will be better off in the long run.

Good point. We also discovered similar issues. One of the best things we found to do was ask if the product came in the original manufacturer's box and where would we get support/updates for the software. If they said we had to go through them and could not contact the original manafacturer of the board/software, it was a red flag. Having said that, I know there are some manufacturers who sell OEM boards and the individual companies have to write the software and support the hardware. I also know rory has written some custom software for I-view cameras. It is just another question to ask and be aware of when making a decision.

We recently researched a number companies selling DVR cards on eBay. Our findings were that most of them were selling either knock-off cards or cards that did not come with the genuine, original manufacturer's software. In such cases, if you have any problems you are likely on your own and may end up having to spend the money to buy something else.

We have a situation where we are going to connect 10-12 cameras to a single DVR. However, we only need 2-4 fps per camera. If I do the math right, that means a card running 60fps should be able to deliver. If that is the case, what is the advantage of going to a 120fps card? We are specifically comparing the GV-650 and GV-800 cards. Thanks.

You raise an interesting question. If I have a 120fps card, I suppose it would give me the ability to view a higher fps even if I only wanted to record at 2-4 fps. Would this be correct?

A dealer loaned us a brand new, still-in-the box GeoVision 800-16 card to test in our PC which is configured as follows: Dell, OptiPlex GX150 P3, 1Mhz, 256RAM, 250HDD Video card: Unclear. Here is exactly what the Dell site says: Graphics architecture Intel 3D with direct accelerated graphics port (AGP) Graphics accelerator Embedded Intel Dynamic Video Memory Technology (DVMT) with optional 4-MB Graphics Performance Accelerator (GPA), or a 4X AGP card can be supported (low profile cards for small form-factor and small desktop systems; full-height cards [up to 22.9 cm or 9 inches] for the small mini-tower system) Display cache optional 4-MB, 133-MHz SDRAM Graphics memory Dynamically allocated from system memory These specs (except possibly video card) meet GV-800 requirements. What happens is this. It works GREAT....until you record something. Then, all you get is vertical lines, no picture. I plan to contact GeoVision directly and our local dealer is going to the "Big Show" in Las Vegas this week and is planning to question the GV reps there. However, I thought maybe someone had encountered this problem before and had a solution. By the way: The Optiplex does not have room to add the GV DVR card AND an upgraded video card. But then, you probably already knew that.

A follow-up to our original situation.... The local dealer took our box and worked with it for a couple of days with no success (still just vertical bars within GV software). However, he was kind enough to let me bring the box back with a card to work with to see if we could get it working...and I DID! In the video attributes setting for the camera I switched from the Geo Mpeg to the standard Mpeg-4 format. It now works great. I don't know how it will perform once we load it down with multiple cameras, but at the worst case scenario we will be able to build our camera network and hook it up. If the computer dies because it can't handle the load, we can always replace the box with a heftier system.

I must say I have been impressed with GeoVision's Pre-sales support. We have been working on issue with a GV card and tech support has responded via email a couple of times to help us try to sort out the problem. The little bit of contact I have had with I-view makes me think they would be similarly helpful.

I have considered that as a possible solution. I haven't had a chance to set the box up again and play with things such as that. The biggest problem I have right now is that I don't have the card in the box at the moment and so the software won't run right now. That is how I stumbled onto the fact that the files would play in Windows Media Player. The dealer we have been working with is supposed to be in town and available again today. He was out at ISC last week. Thanks again.

I actually was attempting to support the position that dealers should be able to keep their prices private...sorry if didn't come across that way.

Not a big deal. Of course, if you need a PHP coder, that is my specialty! CCTV is not my primary job!

There is a link at the bottom of the main index to mark all forums read. It would should be covenient if there was a similar link at the top. As end user, I am only following one or two of the forums (which just happen to be at the top of the page. To reset all forums I have to scroll down to click the link at the bottom of the page...Not a big deal, just mildy inconvenient.

My take... While I am an end user, I still think dealers should have a few secrets regarding pricing. Many of us end users on this very website have gained valuable insights from people who do this for a living. They aren't getting paid by us, yet are still willing to share their knowledge. It is only right that they make a decent profit on the systems they install.