alpine0000

Thank you for the reply. Yea, I'm pretty sure I'll end up with the Panasonic 484 domes, as I've had my eye on them for months now... I just wanted some other opinions before I go and spend ~$2500 or so on some domes I've never handled, or seen, either of the cameras in question. I only know what I've read here and on the manufacturers website.

So I've decided that I want to buy a handful of the panasonic 484 domes to mount under the eaves outside. I've never mounted a camera under an eave (I'm just a hobbiest), and was looking under my eaves today and peeking through the perforations with a flashlight, and I can't see any studs to screw into behind the eave panels. When I look through the little perforated holes with a flashlight, it's about a 6" gap up to what looks like a wood "roof" panel. I could be wrong though... I followed the panel down about 5 or 6 feet with a flashlight. So, to those of you with experience, how would I mount the cameras to the eave when the plastic panels are just hollow above? I don't want to cut big holes in the panels to flush mount the domes, I just want them surface mounted. Does anybody have any links with install pictures, or advice for me? Here is what my eave looks like:

thank you for the suggestion. i will get on my ladder and take a look at that this weekend

hey scorpion, you are correct, there is an L shaped metal flashing, but i do not see any nails on it that i can remove. perhaps the fasteners are behind the gutter? i dont wanna remove my gutter

i do have room in the attic to do anything i need to do. now i just need to figure out how to get these darn plastic panels off without bending the aluminum parts up too much around them... any tricks or suggestions? thanks scorp!

hello, i did a search and found a thread on this from october, but things got off topic and turned sour real quick, so i decided to post a new thread on it. i am interested in purchasing a few cameras for my home. they will be mounted outside. one will cover the driveway, another will cover the front door, and another the back door. the lighting around my house isnt super bright at night, but i do have some. i have landscape lights installed and motion sensing lights on the front porch and back door. i currently have some entry-level IR cameras, and im VERY impressed with the IR and quality of video at night considering what i paid for the cameras. however, im looking to add a few more cameras and step up to some nicer ones. i figured id go with the panasonics and see how they look at night with the light i have outside, and if needed, id add more lighting out there, and/or an IR illuminator. i was considering the two panasonic cameras in the thread title, but had a few questions first. 1- am i correct in assuming the cameras are exactly the same except that the dome version comes with a lens and is (obviously) in a dome? are there any other differences? 2- if it were your choice with the same application, which would you choose and why? the box cam and then buy the lens/housing/mount seperately? or would you just buy the dome version? (im mounting the cameras outside under the eve/gutter) 3- if i decided to add an IR illuminator later, would it work well with these cams, and would i need a special IR lens? (and if so, and i bought the dome version, does it have room for other (longer or larger) lenses inside the dome? or is space very tight in there?). these are both "true day/night cameras", right? 4- would i need a heater on these? (i live in the DC area, and sometimes, rarely, it can get in the single digits during jan/feb) if so, i guess the dome version wouldnt work? or is there a heater option for it? 5- any additional thoughts or suggestions? links to cameras on panasonics site: http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=88337&catGroupId=14458&surfModel=WV-CP484&displayTab=O http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=100037&catGroupId=14459&surfModel=WV-CW484S&displayTab=O thank you! any forum dealers who have these for a good price, feel free to PM me [/url]

thank you sawbones

I bought an intellicam DVR from Shoreview this past September, and it is pretty sweet. While I know it isnt 'top-of-the-line', it is certainly very nice, and more than adequate for most home and small business applications. It does everything that you listed that you require, and much much more. I'd say go ahead and get it. Plus, you cant beat Mike's (shoreview security) customer service! I am a happy customer.

sawbones, would you happen to have other images from the panasonic 484 dome in various lighting conditions? maybe bright sunlight, some shadow shots, and various other shots? thanks! does anybody else have any opinions on these two cameras, or preference on which one they would choose for outdoor application under the eaves?

thank you. so i know this camera is day/night, but is the lens that comes with it also a day/night lens, or will i have to upgrade it? i cant seem to find it in the specs on panasonics site... http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=100037&surfModel=WV-CW484S thank you again. on a sidenote sawbones, i appreciate the image you posted. would you happen to have other images from the panasonic 484 dome in various lighting conditions, including daylight?

Thank you for the information! Will I need a special lens for the "day/night" functionality (that will be IR sensitive)? Or will any lens work that? I only ask because I notice that some lenses on Panasonic's site say "day/night", and some do not. For example... this one specifically claims that it's a day/night lens: http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=72040&catGroupId=14687&surfModel=PLZ5/10 and this lens does not: http://catalog2.panasonic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ModelDetail?displayTab=O&storeId=11201&catalogId=13051&itemId=89323&catGroupId=14687&surfModel=WV-LZA61/2S and, if so, would I be correct in assuming that the Dome version comes with a lens that is IR sensitive, and also an Auto Iris lens? Also, would the clear dome optional cover help me noticeably more for low-light situations? I'm thinking about adding the clear dome and heater. I think I'm about to pull the trigger here on one of these cameras, and just wanted to get a few more questions out of the way first Thank you. [/url]

Hello, I do see where you are coming from, and I am open to both sides. while you do make valid points (things i already have considered before your post), I respectfully have a slightly different point of view on DaveM's specific scenario. DaveM, in his original post, noted that he was told "the unit is out of warranty", to which he replied to ICRealTime that he knew it was out of warranty, and was WILLING TO PAY for the repair. They still shipped the unit back without giving him a quote, and before they even called him to talk to him about it. And let's not forget the headache it took just for him to get ICRealtime to even get to the point of LOOKING at the DVR. He couldnt even get somebody to call him back to give him a name of a dealer to take it to! The thing I've noticed here is that (generally) all of the dealers seem to think ICRealtime did the right thing and all of the consumers seem to think differently. I know the dealers love this because they dont want to be cut out as the middle man. Its business, i know... The bottom line is, an unhappy customer is an unhappy customer. They could've made him a happy customer by calling him back in a timely fashion and directing him to the nearest dealer, and then gladly servicing the item, and giving him a fair quote BEFORE shipping it back, and finding out if he'd like the work done. They did none of the above. They had a frustrated customer for getting the runaround. Period. I don't care what other arguments you have. That said, i do know that ICRealtime makes some great stuff. Regards

I bought an 8 channel G4-8RTA-D1 intellicam unit back in september 2008, and im very happy with it. the internet viewing is somewhat speedy (you can select two streaming speeds when you login via internet explorer by right clicking on the image. one for a slow internet connections, and one for a faster internet connection). the record quality is also nice, in my opinion. my only gripes are that you MUST use internet explorer (i cant view it from my apple machine with safari, and i prefer firefox on my PC's. i know, i know, this is how most dvr's are because of active X... blah ), and the software interface on the DVR itself could be a little more intuitive (but i still had no problem setting it up). however, i believe that 1-2 months after i bought my unit, the software was updated. im not sure if its just the remote viewing software that got a makeover, or the setup software on the dvr, too. also, i think its supposed to come back online after a power outage. im going on 4 months of being out of town (deployed in iraq), and i had a power outage 2 months ago, in late december, and it never came back online (my neighbor confirmed that our neighborhood had an outage for about 8 hours). i do have it hooked up to a brand new UPS, which is about a 90 min power reserve, which, obviously the power outage exceeded. i havent been able to connect to it since, so havent been able to check my cameras in 2 months, and nobody is home. i know my IP hasnt changed, and i know my internet isnt down, because i have other devices at home (slingbox, etc) that i can still access. im hoping that my UPS might just have a reset button or something i need to push. but overall, this unit is great, and i dont think youll be disappointed. oh, and fwiw, i bought mine from mike at shoreviewsecurity and his support is GREAT. pre sale he gave me a login to his intellicam DVR so i could mess around with it and check it out. post sale he gave me his cell number to call if i needed anything. i ended up having to call him 3-4x, and each time he took the time to walk me through whatever i needed, and 2 of my calls were smack in the middle of the weekend! and the one time he didnt answer, he called me back almost immediately, ready to help. there are other dealers on the forum that are also great, too. try to get a demo login from one of them and check the machine out! you cant go wrong either way. i cant wait to come home next week and add some PTZ cameras to this DVR and get it back online!

It doesn't surprise me, seeing as how this could tarnish their reputation to a very large audience of potential customers. It's just a shame that THIS is what it took to get them to make things right. Because I am sure that if you never posted this thread, and just kept on trying to call them and have them fix your unit, you would've gotten nowhere. Especially since they shipped your unit back to you before they even called to tell you "sorry, we dont replace motherboards". But now that you posted this thread, magically they have some resolution. Why didn't they have some resolution before they shipped it back? I am glad that you've been taken care of, and I do not doubt that they make a good product. It's just a shame that said product is backed by people who don't want to take care of their own, 100% of the time, no matter what. Kind regards,

WOW, really? I am speechless. You couldn't have said it any worse. Has the President of IC Realtime seen the image you are painting of them on the internet? So, you are doing IC Realtime consumers a "favor" by helping them after their dealer goes out of business? It should be something that you are obligated to do (and happy to do!), not just a "favor" on a case-by-case basis. Not only that, but it seems like the "favor" was a big hassle for IC Realtime, and you dragged your feet the entire time because you didn't think you should have to do it. How about this -- the IC Realtime consumers do YOU a favor, and pay your salary by buying your products, and you should treat them accordingly if you want them to return. All of this happened just in time, though. I was just about to shell out the money for two IC Realtime PTZ cameras on Valentines Day weekend! WHEW, that was a close call! I also narrowly escaped the purchase of a flex series DVR back in September, and decided to go with a different brand. It's too bad, too, because IC Realtime could've used that money for some 'communications' classes for it's employees, because some of your posts in this thread have been less than stellar (showing personal emotion). That's fine for most members, but coming from a representative of a company who is trying to advertise their product on a FORUM FULL OF POTENTIAL BUYERS -- not so good. Especially when your product is considered a "luxury", not a "necessity", in most homes during these tough economic times. Because, let's be honest... Your market includes Home Owners as well as Business Owners.

Just as a side note, this camera is only 420 lines of res and can be had for between $71 and $150 easily online (which is not expensive at all for a high quality camera). Don't confuse this model speco with a high-quality camera. Just so you don't pass on extremely high expectations to customers...

Excuse me very much, but I totally disagree. +1 I agree that you should *try* to take it back to the dealer, but I dont agree that you *must* go through the dealer, or the manufacturer wont talk to you or service your item. thats bs.

good synopsis, and nice to know. sorry about your experience. ive never owned any icrealtime stuff before, but was looking at their PTZ cameras. i might have to think twice now...

my 8 channel dvr has many viewing options. 1 4 6 (one big and 5 smaller ones around the big one) 9 (3x3, but the 9th one is blank) and i think a few others, although, im not at home and cant check for sure. but your 7 cameras would work just fine

Actually, thats not exactly accurate either... What I was referring to was a DVI output on a computer, not the cable itself. A video card with a DVI output is always digital. However, a DVI cable has the ABILITY to carry an analog signal in order to be compatible with the older VGA outputs. so really the only time it would be carrying analog is when the cable is being used to transmit the video from a VGA output where a dvi/vga converter was used (which is what the original poster wants to do). otherwise the video signal would be digital. Thats why i said i didnt think he would notice any difference in quality. for what its worth (just to avoid any confusion), the DVI-I isn't an analog plug, its dual link that includes both analog and digital capabilities.

Hey all! I'm shopping for a PTZ camera for my home. It'll be used indoors, in my living room. (i'll be able to move it around to see my front door, back door, living room, dining room, and part of the kitchen, all from one PTZ!) My cameras now arent complete garbage, but they arent really that great either. I'd consider them lower-end, and I'm slowly trying to replace them with more mid-level stuff that is respectable. However, I dont want a large intrusive one. I want one on the smaller side, and I'll be flush mounting it in the ceiling, if possible. Please make some suggestions based on my criteria: *budget ~$1000 (but am willing to go a bit higher if needed to get what i want, but couldnt see myself paying more than 1400-1500 at the very most for one cam and thats at the absolute top end) *i would like one that has good night capability, as i often login and monitor my home from the other side of the world, and all the lights are usually out in my house, and its usually night time. *good resolution (500 lines of res or more) *reliable *size more on the compact side than large side *be able to return to a certain position after a certain amount of time of inactivity (aiming at the back door), and also maybe a few tour modes. My current equipment is in my sig line. I was looking into the ICRealtime ICR100X Day & Night Mini PTZ. Obviously, ICRealtime DVRs are very loved on this forum, but not sure if the cameras were in the same boat. Has anybody used this camera? Thoughts on it? Should i steer clear because its 1/4" instead of 1/3" ccd? It looks like it goes for ~$1000 online. Any other suggestions i should consider? Would a full size PTZ give me any better of a picture than a mini PTZ (assuming all other variables are the same)? I know Bosch, Panasonic, and Pelco make some nice stuff, too. I am also looking into the panasonic WV-CS574 and pelco spectra III SD53TC, but i have no experience with any of these cameras I'd love to hear your thoughts! Happy new year!

DVI technology is hardly new, as it was developed in 1999, and I've been using it for the past 5-6 years on my computer monitors. DVI is digital, and VGA is analog. If you are using a VGA output on your DVR and just using a cable adapter to DVI, then I'm not sure if your picture quality will improve much, if any, since the output on your DVR is still VGA, although I haven't tried it.

Great to know, and thank you for posting! So, would you still recommend this product? Is there anything else youd recommend me taking a look at? I've heard of Telpix, but haven't studied up on them. Are they a respectable company overall for cameras? --------------- Also, should I be looking more at 1/3" ccd, as opposed to 1/4" ccd? I am willing to go with a slightly larger PTZ dome with a 1/3" ccd if it means a much improved picture quality. but if its something that i'll barely notice, then a smaller dome with 1/4" ccd would be ok. Additionally, now that I am slowly replacing cameras and adding PTZ's, i know that over the next year I'll spend a few thousand dollars doing this, and I keep wondering if id be better off spending the few thousand dollars on IP cams, or if i should just stick with analogue cams and my current dvr... tough decision!

good luck with the setup! may i suggest a couple of yellow-top optima batteries and a battery isolator? also, maybe youll want to upgrade your alternator to at least a 100 amp alternator, if not more (to make for easy, pain-free recharges). id also make sure that the cameras are 12v, and not a 24v variation. and the fewer cams you can get away with, the better (as far as longetivity of battery power is concerned).

That doesnt matter. Recording or not, the cameras are still powered up and sending video to the dvr/computer, and the dvr/computer will still have to be powered on.