securitymonster

It was a samsung standalone dvr. The installer left in a hurry, trying to finish the job and didn't have time to finish. The customer wanted some type of video up to show a guy that was coming in the following morning so the installer did what he could in the minute before he left....

So I landed a gig with a local shop in town that I've been working with for the past few months. They wanted to purchase a costco system and I easily sold against it, without a demonstration of our video quality. But after the install, the guy went to costco and compared his video, called me, and stated that costco had better image quality. Installation was 95% done so I thought I would go see what the scoop was. I show up and the video was horrible. Probably the worst image quality I have ever seen. I started to inspect the system and troubleshoot but the monitor & DVR was mounted up high and I didn't have a ladder. I asked if I could stand on his office chair. So I'm first thinking I need to run a video feed straight to the monitor to start troubleshooting, but I find that my installer had installed all 7 camera feeds into the DVR on the video loop output of each channel. Every single picture was horrible but what I couldn't believe is that the DVR would accept a video signal from a videou output source. Anybody else experience this? Have you accidentally installed the video onto the video loop out on the DVR and still got some kind of picture? I thought it was hilarious and my customers did too thankfully!

Check out the "DI" series of rugged domes from GE. http://www.gesecurity.com/portal/site/GESecurity/menuitem.f76d98ccce4cabed5efa421766030730?selectedID=10070&seriesyn=true&t=prod

The N600 does have a mechanical IR cut filter. That camera is not bad for the money either!

yes, a popup with explanation makes more sense. It will also show some trust in you as a business. Alot of internet sites put huge banners at the top stating "guaranteed lowest price" or "call for best price", while this is cheasy, it works quite a bit.

Alot of manufacturers have whats called MAP pricing (minimum advertised pricing). If you don't obey these rules, even when going thru a distributor, you can get "cut out" of the buying loop. The e-commerce security world is pretty tough these days. If your not wholesale, chances are you won't last too long. Even the retail sites are getting thier prices down way low that makes it tought to compete.

Talk to a lawyer if your going to use this video for anything important. Its happened too often when somebody comes into the courtroom not knowing they were recorded with audio. Even when a sign is posted, its possible to legally get the evidence dismissed. You might be better off having your clients sign a disclaimer/waiver of some sort...

I haven't personally used speco but I have heard more negative than positive. Its cheaper equipment from what I hear.

Are you using an inexpensive bullet infrared camera? What make/model is your camera?

Garry, Good to hear! As for equipment, you might initially hook up with a distributor so you have access to various manufacturers of equipment. This will also allow you to "demo" some equipment as well to trial yourself. Try to stick with the name brands, Panasonic, Bosch, CBC, Pelco, Extreme, etc... What market are you targeting in security?

What is your background and why are you wanting to get into security? Its not just fun, its providing solutions for clients and spending thier money wisely. I see it too often when a potential client does business with somebody they shouldn't, they are not only compromising thier investment but also thier safety. Not saying you won't provide for your clients, but just wondering where you are coming from.

The problem is the recorder is with the camera. If somebody see's the flash or knows the camera is there, they will recognize it as a "scouting" camera and will steal it! This is already a problem in the wilderness....people are stealing them off tree's!

It was 80 degrees here in Oregon the other day! I even wore kahki shorts to work!

save your money and do it right the first time. The COP cameras aren't all that great. They may work for the first 6 months but after that, well, its like playing the lottery..........you never know if your going to win, and chances are you didn't win!

I have not used that pelco camera but it looks as if its a color only camera, meaning unless there is plenty of light (.4 lux) the camera won't see very well in the evening, especially when you start zooming out with a lens.

Please check out the following link: Steve Davidson Myspace He has been missing since July 23rd, 2006. Forward this to as many people as possible. My friends dad has been missing for almost 2 weeks...

What type of camera and/or mount would you use for a truss type ceiling. use the picture as representation as its a much smaller scale than this. The "truss" like beams are maybe 1.5 inches wide and drop about 12 inches from the ceiling with about 18 inches between each beam. The ceiling is maybe only 10 feet from the ground so they would be easy to reach and mess with too. This is outdoors. I've already talked them into wall mounted vandal domes on the side walls instead of from the ceiling but not sure they are going to go for it.... Watch you got?

Each card will have different recommended computer specs but in general you'll want: Intel Processor (2ghz or higher) 512mb Ram (1gb is nice) Windows XP Pro for alot of cards 64mb video card or better As for hard drive, I would run two. One for the application & OS, while using the other for video storage. Obviously the larger the hard drive, the more storage you will get. A good PC based card will set you back more than $675. Do some research and find something your happy with. The PC card will outperform that DM unit by a long shot! As for AMD chipsets, sometimes they will work but manufacturers test and build on the Intel platform, so AMD is always up in the air. Is AMD better? Its really based on opinion and application. If the Intel chipset works great for the PC based surveillance capture cards and there seems to be no problem, what will you really ultimately gain by using an AMD chip if the AMD does indeed work? Its kind of like trying to re-invent the wheel......

you could always PM me...

what player should i be using?

post a link, give us more info, don't leave us hanging.....

Also, when I say higher record rates, I mean that you can record at better frame rates and also get decent video storage on your hard drive. There are alot of standalones on the market right now that offer JPEG2000 compression but with 4 cameras and 250gb hard drive with motion activated recording, your lucky to get 4-5 days worth of video. With a pc based system, that same size hard drive with motion activated recording will give you closer to 3-4 weeks. I guess you just need to find out your budget and do some comparisons. Get in touch with your local dealer and have him run some demo's for you showing you the difference. This way you'll get hands on with the machines and you can decide for yourself what works best for you.

Its more of a "cool" feature than anything. Like CSG said, if the dvr fails or the monitor fails, your system is somewhat inoperable.

PC based usually gives you the following: Better Remote Access Higher Record Rates Higher Record Resolution Easier Upgrading Easier Search Functions A standalone will do the work for you though. Especially with just 4 cameras. You should probably look at your budget number. If you have no budget, I would say go for the PC based as it will give you the creature comforts you will learn to enjoy down the road. If your looking to save some money, go with a good standalone and it will still give you the good video evidence your looking for. Camera placement and camera quality will be just as equally as important to a good DVR!

I think he was stating that he can control his clients accounts, not trying to offer a service to all of us. If he was, at a price of "free", he would be working quite a bit for nothing short of some funny video at times! Hamachi looks interesting......