chr1z

If I install a surveillance system at my house... legally... does a sign have to be posted say at the end of the driveway or is that totally up to me or what? How does that work? Also... say you wanted to use the video as evidence for a theft etc... does whether or not a sign is posted determine if the video is allowed as evidence or not? (This sound stupid to me even asking, but I'm almost thinking maybe you do knowing our goody legal system) Thanks in advance!! p.s. I'm just outside of Atlanta, GA if that matters.

Ok... All my cameras do decent at night except my driveway camera. It just has to far to go before the ir light is reflecting so it is very dark. Is there any sort of IR illuminator for $200 or less I could use that'd give me better images that aren't so dark? It won't let me attach a pic so here: http://www.limitlessenterprises.com/driveway_day.jpg http://www.limitlessenterprises.com/driveway_night.jpg http://www.limitlessenterprises.com/driveway_night2.jpg I posted the daytime one so you can see the distance I need to cover. The dog in the daytime pic is about 25 feet out The road in the daytime pic is 90 feet from the camera The guy in the back on the first night pic is about 45 feet from the camera. The camera is an analog 6 to 15mm varifocal lens camera with 36 ir leds Thanks in advance!!

I just got the Nuvico DV3 and so far so good.. it seems to be pretty good. I have it set to 720x480 motion recording I have a few cameras that I believe may be my problem... Their specs are here: [edit by mod - store link removed - note. OEM 6-15mm color IR bullet camera] Attached is an image I captured from that camera. You can't identify the person in my driveway with it. That's at about 25ft from the camera. Is that a bad camera or what would cause such distortion? What camera that would at least allow me to identify people that won't cost me $1000+ per camera? -Chris

Like rory said... have a loud siren or multiple sirens on your alarm... Once your alarm is going off, hunting down a dvr is the last of their worries...

I set AGC to off... I'll see what happens tonight when it gets dark. I turned BLC off and it made my driveway so whitewashed you couldn't see the lines so I turned it back on.

I was able to get 7 of my 8 cameras to the point I'm happy with it. My driveway cam will end up being fine, it just needs more fine tuning. It's better now than it was...but still needs some more adjusting. I'm going to stick where I am for now and upgrade cameras later one at the time. I have one more question.. I currently have a Nuvico DV3 8-channel dvr... if I want to add 8 more cameras later, am I better off buying a 16-channel dvr and putting mine on eBay or something or is it simple to just get a 2nd 8-channel? It just seems like it'd be more of a pain to review images etc from 2 vs 1 dvr. Let me know what you guys think...

Straight to a CRT monitor.

Working on that today.. I'll post back this evening or in the morning with results.

Here's what I have right now on the OSD menu of the camera that showed me in the driveway. http://www.limitlessenterprises.com/images/driveway-menu.jpg http://www.limitlessenterprises.com/images/driveway-function.jpg http://www.limitlessenterprises.com/images/driveway-adjust.jpg None of the other 7 cameras have OSD menus. They all (including the driveway camera), have a focus 'screw' on the back that I have not touched at all. This driveway camera and my front door camera have an additional screw on the back for 'zoom' Also... just to give you as much to go on as possible... here's a shot from ALL 8 cameras: http://www.limitlessenterprises.com/images/cameras/ #1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 are all the same camera with these specs: Bullet IR Day/night cam Image Sensor: 1/4 SONY CCD Image Sensor Resolution: 420 TV Lines CCD Pixel: 510 (H) x 492 (V) Sensitivity: 0.0 Lux with IR S/N Ratio: 48dB (AGC Off) Electronic Shutter Time: 1/60~1/100,000 Sec Scanning System: 525 Lines, 60 Field/sec Video Output: 1.0 Vp-p composite video at 75 ohm Gamma Correction: 0.45 Gain Control: AGC ----------------------------------------------------------- #4 is a dome camera at my front door... It's these specs: Image Sensor: 1/3 SONY CCD Sensor Resolution: 480 TV Lines CCD Pixel: 752 (H) x 582 (V) Sensitivity: 0.00 Lux with IR on S/N Ratio: 50dB (AGC Off) Electronic Shutter Time: 1/50~1/12,000 Sec Scanning System: 525 Lines 60 Field/sec Video Output: 1.0 Vp-p composite video at 75 ohm Gamma Correction: 0.45 Gain Control: AGC ------------------------------------------------- And the driveway cam... #6 is these specs: Supports PAL and NTSC TV Systems 1/3 inch CCD image sensor 700g weight 146mm x 82mm dimensions DC 12V, 550mA power rating Load Impedance - 75 Ohms 120 foot IR range BNC video connection 540 lines resolution 36 IR L.E.D infrared 6 to 15 mm vari focal lens SONY CCD with ADVANCED DSP color camera Auto Gain Control Thanks!! I just want to be able to identify someone if they break in my house (again). I don't feel like I could do that as it stands now so I'm trying to see if I need new cameras then that's what I'll do. The place I got the cameras from that I have now, will allow me to return them for another 30-45 days or so... I just need to know what to replace them with (if there's anything that'd do a better job short of ip/megapixel cameras)

Here's what 3 of the worst cameras see... what cameras would do better for each location? All 3 cameras are the same specs... Image Sensor: 1/4 SONY CCD Image Sensor Resolution: 420 TV Lines CCD Pixel: 510 (H) x 492 (V) Sensitivity: 0.0 Lux with IR S/N Ratio: 48dB (AGC Off) Electronic Shutter Time: 1/60~1/100,000 Sec Scanning System: 525 Lines, 60 Field/sec Video Output: 1.0 Vp-p composite video at 75 ohm Gamma Correction: 0.45 Gain Control: AGC Operation Temperature: -10 C ~ 50 C Storage Temperature: -20 C ~ 60 C View Angle/ Len Size: 70 Degree/ 3.6mm Power Supply: DC 12V Construction: Housing: Aluminum Front Housing: Glass Dimensions: 2.5" (W) x 5" (L) Water Resistance: IP 55 IR Distance: 60 ft.

I'll look tomorrow.. I'm pretty sure that camera does have buttons on the back so I'll play with it... The thing that bothers me is that's the best camera I got.. the rest are worse. Is that a "good" image for an analog camera or can it get way better? I can't afford ip camera (well... can't afford the nvr is the problem) But... in your opinion can a noticable better image be had with a better analog camera?

I looks the same on the dvr monitor. My pc screen IS set to 1024x768

Where would this be done on a Nuvico DV3 series dvr? I don't see anything about it in the menus.

It looks the same going straight to a CRT TV. I have not touched the focus at all.. just left it as is. I don't see any DSS or any of that on this DVR (Nuvico DV3-8000 series) The cameras all have focus/zoom settings on them but like I said I haven't changed any of it. I have 8 cameras... 6 of the same and 2 different.. they all look like crap to me. I can return them so that's not a problem but I don't know.. is that just the best you can do without megapixel or IP cameras? I don't really have to funds to go that route so I'm hoping there's another way with the dvr I already have.

Yes... it's me in the pic...purty aint I? lol j/k At the point I went outside it was just to get a pic to post here and I wasn't too happy because I had already seen one that looked just as bad... The picture straight to a tv isn't any better that I can tell. No, I'm not looking for megapixel quality really I just want it to be good enough that you can make out a face if you need to... not so blurry it looks like where a tv show blurred out a face they didn't want you to see.

The image straight from the camera is the same. The problem is... there's no way to have a face cover 25% of the screen and still cover the driveway at all. But as it stands now, there's no point covering most of the driveway if the image is so distorted. So... my question is this... are there any cameras that won't cost $1000+ that would do better?

I recently bought a cheap oem dvr that only does 720x240 max and it looks really crappy. If I plug my cameras into a bnc to rca out to my tv the pic is very good but anything the dvr records looks like crap...it's not good enough to identify someone if needed. So... is there an 8 channel dvr for $1000.00 or less that will look good and has where I can connect to it from a pc (I don't plan on having a dedicated monitor) Thanks...

I put mine in a closet and haven't had any problems. The same closet also has my alarm power supply & battery backup I think it'd be fine... just don't put stuff in the closet right up against it so it can get air. My alarm power supply is mounted to the wall in the closet and my dvr is just sitting on the shelf in the closet. I don't have any extra fans or anything in mine but if you feel the dvr, it feels cool... doesn't even feel warm...

I was using a regular pc lcd monitor but have since removed it and not even using a monitor... The picture was good when it was connected though.. no problems that I recall. I'm viewing and playing everything from my pc (dvr is connected to my lan) That seems to work fine as well plus I don't have to have a standalone monitor....

Thanks... Are you happy with the image quality or does the problem you were having prevent you from knowing yet? Some differences I know between the DV3 8 cam unit and the EV-8000 are: DV3 has all 8 cams audio in and the EV has first 4 cams audio in. DV3 is a quadplex and the EV is a tri-plex meaning you can also backup using the built in DVD either manually or auto schedule on the DV3 but on the EV the recording must stop before manual backup to DVD and has no auto backup function to DVD. DV3 can expand up to 1.3 terabytes the EV maxes out at 700gig DV3 also has svideo output the EV has composite and VGA only. The recording and playback is the same on both.

It'd have to be an improvement over the crappy dvr I have now. It only does 720x240 at like 15 images per second and the quality of the images it records are not good enough to identify someone. Cameras straight to a tv.. good picture... through the dvr it's terrible. I was hoping a Nuvico DV3 would help me out with the quality... How is the image quality other than the issue you were having?

Please do post the results.... I'm hoping it was just a bad dvr... And actually... now that I'm looking at specs of the EV8000 and the DV3.. what's the difference between the 2?

Such as? Point me in the right direction... I was thinking about doing a Nuvico DV3 8-channel.. is that ok or no? Thanks!!

supratreo -- I actually made the mistake of buying that dvr from closeoutcctv. It works but the images are horrible. If you need to actually be able to identify someone, keep looking... As far as their cameras... I have 6 of their CL-34S and for a low-end camera it really does a pretty good job. Not bad at night either. I also have a CL-515SH - which is a step up from the 34S but really a waste with the crappy dvr they provide (I'm still shopping for a replacement dvr) And lastly I have a CL-69SH as my driveway cam and it's a nice camera.. I was impressed with it. If I plug it straight to a tv the image is beautiful, but again... going through their dvr it's very grainy and you have a hard time identifying someone if you need to. Other than those cameras, I can't say because I haven't seen/owned them but the ones I do have from there are not bad cameras, especially for the price. Hope this helps...

Thanks Rick...