securitymonster

Jog shuttle is great but you have to be careful. When somebody is recording continously and they playback a big block of video with jog shuttle, depending on how fast they go, they can skip over some video. It has happened a few times to some customers and we had to review the video for them, so just note that! But, YES, most end users like the Jog Shuttle and also the Remote Controls! I think it would be neat to get a UHF remote instead of the traditional IR style.

I would go with a good day/night setup, we recently ran some Ganz day/night cameras and they worked well at the gas station. We have them recording the money transactions at the pump. If your looking to identify license plates, you'll want an Extreme REG series LPR (License Plate Recognition) camera, they are second to none! Spend some money, don't go cheap! If you buy inexpensive cameras, you'll get an inexpensive picture!

Congrats on a successful wireless install, sounds like it is working great. That camera looks like a Taiwan OEM, I've sold quite a few of them and have been pretty impressed. Much better than the OEM stuff you can buy in the states. You'll get good video for awhile, but there are a few downsides. The camera tends to get pretty warm, and when it gets warm, the video starts to get worse, but still acceptable. The other issue is the consumer non-encrypted frequency. Anybody in the neighborhood within a 500ft range can pick up the signal and view the video, now with it being on your front door there is no worry, just don't start using the camera inside the home due to privacy issues. Glad to see your happy, most people want wireless applications for ease of install or lack of experience in the install department. Your application was really ideal for a budget DIY wireless setup. Post some pics already!

The ICRealtime is a good unit, tried and true so far. I'll fill you in a bit too, Panasonic just adopted it with their new RT series DVR's, althought ICRealtime won't tell you nor will Panasonic. I've ran both side by side and they are the same, while using the same remote access software. So I guess that says some good things right off the bat for ICRealtime. I give them two thumbs up. As for PC versus Standalone, I would go standalone. I'm tired of servicing PC based systems, while standalones just keep on kicking! Aski Isacc, he spends 80% of his service calls on PC based units....

Sorry, my bad. If you want wireless and your going to be penetrating walls, your probably going to want 900mhz for decent penetration but you might also lose a bit of video quality. The downside to 900mhz frequencies is that there is only a few available consumer level channels, so your a bit limited. When you go wireless for video, its typically used for line of sight applications. Lets say you have a house with the recorder and you have a shop that you'd love to get a camera on but the shop is 300ft away. If you don't wanna dig/trench/lay conduit, then you would go wireless, but it needs to be line of sight. Most Transmitter/Receiver wireless sets run about $1800 per camera. That might rule out wireless real quick for you.

Your best bet is to get ahold of Q-See. But I would try and re-format the drive in your computer and pop it into the DVR. Let us know how it turns out.

If your going to have somebody install it or you feel technically inclined, go with the GE Concord 4. If your looking for a DIY with a bit easier programming, go with the Visonic Powermax+

I'm looking into a GV800 series card, can anybody tell me the highest resolution and frame rate that they were successfully recording with? Also, does geovision allow continous recording with higher frame rate based on motion activity?

You won't get much hard drive with a 4 channel unit but the Argus JPEG2000 unit is nice, check out j2ksupport.com for more info and if you need prices, let me know. Its a good unit, dvd backup, usb backup, audio/video recording, remote access, JPEG2000 compression, 5 year warranty!

Vista is not all fun and games. On a personal level, its great and I love the new office 2007 suite, but for business, its not too practical. I will be waiting at least a year before I upgrade our office machines to Vista.

Exactly what Isaac said, you don't understand how powerful the Pano PTZ's are until you get the controller! Its amazing....

The JPEG2000 unit is manufactured by Argus. I really don't think you'll get access to the .AJP file to extract anything either. There is no access to anything but the hard drive via Remote Access as you are using the client software. Which version do you have? Does your unit have USB backup?

Shouldn't be a problem, I haven't used the DVRME but most DVR's nowadays have different available protocols for different PTZ's In my shop right now, I have an ICRealtime controlling a Panasonic WV-CW964 PTZ. I can use the remote control for the dvr to pan/tilt/zoom or the network interface. Now if you want to use the Panasonic WV-CU650 controller, you will need a panasonic specific dvr, but if your looking to control through the network, you shouldn't have a problem.

I think they are 12V 8.5amp but don't quote me on that....

You won't find better end user tech support than Video Insight! They are great!

It will also depend on the gauge wire used, some Siamese RG59 is 22 and some is 18. I would say VST has a good number, 250 is accurate!

I would shoot for a high resolution black and white camera at that price. That is going to be your best bang for your buck. Your recorder is going to play a big part in this too! I see people with small budgets that attempt to deploy a successfull cctv solution and without the dollars it isn't too effective. If your goal is to effectively identify somebody stealing something and your budget is $200 per camera, I would say "Goodluck".

Does Geovision use hardware or software compresion?

If your looking for a DVR that you can access remotely with a MAC, check out Video Insight.

Most IR Illuminators are 12V DC, so you'll either have to step it down from 24V AC to 12V DC unless the draw is more than an amp, then you'll need a new power supply designated to 12V DC.

Look into the Wizkid line of cameras from Extreme CCTV. They have both Infrared day/night cameras along with non infrared day/night, color, and b/w. You also have the option of a bullet style camera or a vandal dome. One thing thats nice on the vandal dome is that they have a 5 year unbreakable warranty. I have been dropping them on the ground from 5 feet and they hook right back up and work great! The name of the game for you is going to be camera placement. The front door camera should be easy to setup but the driveway and backyard will be a bit more difficult. Also remember the more wide angle lens you go, the less detail you will see. A good analogy for this is to pick up a disposable camera and look thru the viewfinder. If your taking a picture from somebody 5 ft away, you have a pretty decent picture, but now if your taking a picture from somebody 15ft away, you get less detail. Even though they are only 15ft away, thru the camera they look 25ft.... A good recorder is going to be key too. Figure spending $600 on each camera and around $1500 for a 4 channel recorder.

Your easiest solution would be a portable mini personal type recorder. Maybe leave the cameras hard wired into your car and you can take your personal recorder in/out as you please. Its going to cost you something like $1000 for recorder and $200 for the cameras.

What pc based dvr are you going with? This is going to be just as important. If you went with a cheap-o version, there is no sense in spending the money on a hi-res camera.... A good bang for your buck in cameras is the "Ganz" brand cameras. Visit www.cbcamerica.com and click on the "cctv" button.

First off, please make sure you post in the correct category. You should be able to take any ATA hard drive and make that unit work. I would suggest buying one new and when you install it, goto the menu and clear the hard drive from the dvr menu. At that point you should be good to go.

To get facial identification, your first objective is camera placement. You'll want something like 1/3 (30-40%) of the screen filled with a face. This can be tough at a residence as there is no "ONE" particular place that everybody walks, especially when your talking about a burglar. I would say to place a camera at the front door, each side of the house covering only the access to the side of the house in hopes to capture a face, and if your going to cover your driveway, we typically install 1 camera for every car your trying to cover. Anything else will most likely be a general view. It would also be nice to get the cameras at the same level a person would be, this way hats and hoodies are less effective for the burglar. To be honest, I would say you have a 20% chance at identifying a stranger vandal your home. Now if you have current vandal issues, its normally somebody in the neighborhood and you'll have a much better shot at identifying the person on camera if thats the case. As for your budget, the $2000 will get you alot further. I tell my do-it-yourselfer customers that the budget breaks down like so: DVR - $1000 on the low end, $2500 on the high end Cameras - $500/each So a typical 4 camera system would run you about $3000-$4000. Now your $2000 will get you started but I would spend it wisely. Invest in a good dvr and you'll be happy in the long run. Maybe start with a dvr and 1 or 2 cameras. If budget is the issue, you could always lease a system....