supratreo

hi, so i've had a cctv system installed at my restaurant for a few years now, it was installed professionally but that company has since gone out of business. now a couple of cameras have died out so i'm looking to replace them. i replaced the DVR a couple years ago because i wanted networking and that has been working great. DVR is from nelly an ESDV-FULLD1-16 with 2TB and the only camera i have installed at this location is a CNB VCM-24VF. now i'm not an expert in the field but so far i am happy with the 2 items i have installed. however, the cameras i need to replace are interior domes and i dont have any experience with those. the cameras i'm replacing have no name on them but have a model number of TCD-23A4, i googled it but couldn't come up with anything. they have a white base with black dome, dome is about 3.75" in diameter an the entire unit is about 2.5" tall. the quality with these weren't bad seeing as how all i use them for is supervising my employees so i would like to get something that is similar in size and quality (or a little better). looks like many people here like Hikvision or Dahua but i would like to get your opinions. i can't find too much information on Hikvision and when i search for them i keep getting taken to Amazon. this is only the second CCTV system that i have worked with. the other is installed at my house. i used an Intellicam 8LTA (that i need to upgrade) and 7 outdoor cameras, dont remember the brand but they say Gen IV on them, a little older model of this camera: http://intellicamusa.com/product_info.php?cPath=3&products_id=33 now the problem i have (and have had in the past) is that it seems like most of these items are made in china and just rebranded under different names. most of the times the specs are exactly the same but the names are different or sometimes they don't even have names. this is making it very had for me to figure out what might be junk vs what might be ok. typically when i buy anything i can google the company and find any information i need and tons of reviews but i've noticed with CCTV equipment that thats not always the case which is why i'm here. i apologize for the long read but i just wanted to make sure i cover everything. so for now i just need 6 domes to keep an eye on my business. then i will replace/add a couple more cameras in important areas for actual security (office, storage, perimeter...) TIA for your help.

anyone?

i have IR cameras out side along with motion activated light. with the lights off, the IR is almost useless. with the lights on, its great. i would install lights if possible, that way you get the most out of your cameras and it wouldn't hurt to light an entry way for safety either.

hi, thanks to everyone here i was able to get a good DVR . now i'm in need of a couple more cameras. i have a fast food restaurant and i need a out door camera to monitor the line in my drive thru. all together i would like to add 3 more out door cameras, the other 2 specifically for security. what do you guys recommend? do you guys recommend anywhere else? specific cameras? also, where can i get a 16ch power supply for a good price? thank you guys once again.

ok so here's an update. I took the camera off and got ready to replace but first connected the new one to make sure it wasn't a wiring issue. everything was good but before installing it i decided to put the old camera back knowing i made the connections and they were good. well what do ya know, it started working. let it run for a while and no problems. so i decided to let it be since it was nicely mounted already. picture is not like my new camera but its fine for what i'm using it for. only problem is, the lens is very weathered and makes the picture look pretty bad. can replacement lens' be had for these? are they're universal one? second question, wayyy earlier i mentioned that i had 2 cameras that didn't work, one is fixed but the other is def. broken, not sure whats wrong with it but i bench tested it and it doesn't work. model number on it is CDC3019HR. can't find much on it but it looks like it might be made by Hsintek Electronics Co., Ltd. i don't think i can do anything about this camera but i would really like to get a lens for the other one. thank you.

sorry i didn't mean remotely. i did try the screws but they were very tight so i thought i'd ask and make sure before i went any further.

nice job. i own a restaurant and usually dont have crazy go karters driving around my lot lol. mainly wanted to keep an eye on things but you guys are right. a few well positioned cameras will do the trick. also, the camera i got has a 2.8-10.5 lens, is there a way i can play with this? i didn't see anything in the menu. its a CNB VCM-24VF btw.

haha. i'll do that as soon as i can. thanks you guys, you've been a big help.

great, thanks for all the info. the bandwidth you mentioned is about what i'm seeing. also, i'm using IE, PSS and iphone on wifi to view.

thanks. i did that and it's much better but still not seamless stream. maybe i'll lower the quality and see if that helps. also, even accessing and making changes remotely is a little slow, is this because of the dsl issue you mentioned?

your right, i don't think the price would justify it. also, i have a problem with my video lagging when i view remotely. its set to 30FPS and a high bitrate, what else could cause this? i'm using dsl on the dvr side and cable on my PC. this lagging would also make a PTZ unbearable.

ok thank you. i might add 1 PTZ camera but the way the picture lags on my laptop (viewing remotely) i don't know if i can deal with it doing that while moving a camera too.

i'm 99% sure it is. if you google model number pwr-0400dc you will find mixed results though. but on the board itself it says "output 12DC each terminal". also, i have another camera which i think is the same thing and its working just fine.

hi, sorry to be asking so many questions but i'm a little new at this. i installed my Dahua and a new power supply and i'm having some problems. i'm working with cameras that were already installed but the reason i changed the PS was because the person who installed the system wired 9 cameras to a 4 ch PS, now i have a 16ch PS. anyway. i connected everything and powered up and noticed one camera was not showing up. i already suspected this one was having problems anyway. so i turn the power off, reroute my power wires to the surge protector and powered the system back up. this time i had another camera go off along with the one that was already not working. the DVR shows that it is recording but i don't have a picture. i changed inputs on the dvr but still no picture. looks like the camera is a Arm Electronics c480mdvaivp-dn and think its 24 VAC. the thing is, the PS i replaced was 12VDC only. am i looking at something wrong? any advice on this? thanks again

hi, i'm new here and am in need of your help. i'm having a house built and i'm setting up a security cam. system. these are the cameras i'm thinking about going with: hmm can't post link so you can see the cameras at 123cctv dot com and look under exterior cameras. 4 hi-res color bullet w/IR and 4 hi-res b/w bullet w/IR. so i need a dvr that can support 8 cameras, have motion sensing, and also play back in real time (not frame by frame) if you know what i'm talking about. what type of fps should i be looking for to acheive this? do any dvr's come to mind? also, what do you think about the cameras i've chosen? this is my first time setting up something like this so any help would be great. thank you all.

thanks guess i'll let that go. so what can RS232 be used for? is that just to add a PTZ controller to my dvr? i believe the camera has it also.

thank you. just bench tested it and this camera is awesome. now i'm going to try to figure out how i can hook this thing up so i can control it remotely. thanks again, you've been a huge help.

polarity doesn't matter even if i give it 12VDC? i assume the connector or camera corrects it as needed? also, you can use your Dahua with Iphone. do they have an app or something? it wasn't discussed in my installers handbook.

i know its been a while but i've finally installed my Dahua and its awsome. i have another question tho. i got a VCM-24vf but i'm not sure if its 12 VDC or 24 VAC. the board on the camera says DC12V but theres no + or - on the green connector.

i def. dont want to experiment and i never buy from a company that cant get the specs of their products right.

i'm so glad i have you guys to ask for advice. i think i'm just going to get the vcm-24vf but shipping is insane for this, i think i paid less to ship the DVR haha.

well for now i think i'll do the outdoor camera. i'm trying to choose between one of these or the VCM-VF24: http://www.123securityproducts.com/vcm24vd.html http://www.123securityproducts.com/vn502v.html http://www.123securityproducts.com/vdc-240v03-2.html

hi, so i finally got my Dahua dvr the other day and was messing around with it today and so far i love it. now i just have another question. i need a monitor to display i specific camera. what do you guys recommend? it doesn't have to be HD quality or anything like that because i'm just trying to monitor car traffic so something simple will do the trick. also, my DVR came with a 2TB HDD but i only have about 1.81TB of usable space even after reformatting. is it normal to loose this much? thanks again for helping me figure all of this out.

thanks. i see that second one has a antenna connector. would i be able to use that instead of using some type of adapter to make something else? didn't know compusa was still around haha.

also, are most of the items on that site "no name"? it doesn't really bother me but i do want it to last, even if its only $100.