DaveM

I agree that leaving it on is best. That said, most DVR's have alarm inputs on them. Connect a keypad with a relay output to that contact and program the DVR to record when activated. If you can set it for normally closed then the DVR would also record if someone ripped the keypad out as the circuit would open.

If you are going to be connecting the controller outputs together, then check out this posting: http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=15613&highlight= Dave

Mine was the 761 that worked with "E" (actually the CPCam 562). It had the IDE drives. The SLVR used the 3G software if I remember right.

I had the 761 and I had it working with 2 of my phones. There is a program called EagleEyes. There is a Java based version that worked on my Motorola SLVR phone (not really a smart phone at all), and the CAB version worked on my ATT phone with WinCE on it. It works pretty well, and will control PTZ cameras. You can get it at: http://211.22.74.18/ Dave

What model DVR and router are you using?

There should be a setting in your router to disable remote administration. Turn that off and your port forwarding should work. (Port 80)

If you take the incoming cable and just combine it with the modulator signal the signal will go back up the cable line as well as down to the TV's. Close neighbors might be able to see your pictures. If you do this with a TV antenna it is possible to be "broadcasting" your channel at a very low power. If you put a notch filter in line it will block the TV channels coming in as well as your CCTV channels going back out. If you don't do a notch filter then putting an amplifier in line effectively blocks anything from going back out the other way. The filter you are looking at will not work well for channel 80. They spec it out as blocking 75-80, but it is not a very sharp cutoff. You will be able to put a signal on channels 76 and 78, or 77 and 79 with that filter as you will still get interference from the cable on 75 and 80. Reprogram the modulator to another channel and you should be good to go.

Sorry for the late reply, I forgot to watch this thread! Most current operating systems support 2 cards. I chose to "extend desktop" to the second card. What I do is open up the window I want to view and then drag it off the side of the desktop and it shows up on the second card. You will need to either move your monitor cable over, hook up a second monitor, or watch the TV set to get the window centered up. Dual monitors are just way to cool. I used them until I got my really big monitor last year.

I can think of two reasons this would be happening. The first is that even if the cable company doesn't broadcast on that channel, they have amplifiers all the way down the line that are doing their best to amplify whatever noise is on the line up to the "proper" value. You would get a great signal of the snow. The other is that even if you don't see a picture on the TV, they might have digital channels on it. You would need to scan the cable with a digital TV that has a menu to show what channels the broadcasts come in on. The only sure way to do it is to put a trap in line to notch out a section of the cable. You will loose any regular and digital channels within that range. That is what I did, and it works pretty well. I actually split the cable when it comes into the house, put the trap in line with one leg and combined the CCTV with it. That line runs to all the TV's in the house through an amplified splitter. The other line without the CCTV I've run with a separate cable run to a couple of the TV's with an A/B switch on it so if there is program on the notched out channels that I must see I can get them (hasn't happened in 2 years). In any case, be sure you either put an amplifier or notch filter on your cable line so you don't backfeed your camera out to all the neighbors TV's as well. One last thing, make sure that the signal from the Cable isn't so strong it interferes with the Modulator signal. A CCTV signal meter is great for this, or you can get a couple of variable attenuators from Radio Shack and turn the signal down on each feed until you start to get snow, then bump it up just a bit.

I pulled the 507 manual off the web, and it doesn't look like you can just search the log for "system" events like the 562 does. The system events would show system errors, as well as what I was told was a housekeeping event every day or two. That let me get an idea where the log ended, and where the last recorded video was within a day or so. Sorry that won't work for your DVR.

I've done just that with a 5545 modulator. It starts at channel 65 and you have to go every other channel so I started with a 64-70 notch filter. With that notch you could do channel 65, 67, 69. 70 would get interference. I added a second notch for 70-74 and I use 66, 68, 70, 72 as I still got a little interference on 65 and 73 from the CATV. With the new digital cable channels it is getting messier. The cable company can put 10 or more digital channels onto one standard channel. If they decide to use that range you can loose a lot of channels. Also, many of their cable boxes will not recognize your channels so you will need to run them through a splitter into the antenna input, with the cable box going to a composite or HDMI input. As said in a previous reply, if you want to mix it with HD over the air broadcasts you are really going to have some issues as they usually transmit between 476-700 mhz which is pretty much what the modulator can use. I did have a big problem getting my levels right. I ended up buying a CATV meter so I could tune the CATV output to be the same as the CCTV signals at the TV sets. (about 8db). I spent hours trying different attenuators and never could get it right on all the TV's unit I bought the meter. I think the solution will be a digital modulator that can put 10 CCTV channels onto one channel space. I have not seen one for consumers yet, but I think it is just a matter of time.

Scorpion- You should add a 6' flexible drill bit to your kit. You could have gone in one hole, through the studs, and grabbed the bit at the far end. Available on-line or at Lowes Hardware stores. You can get a right angle device that will let you "aim" the bit from inside the wall as well.

The factory password should be 123456.

I don't have that exact model, but see if you can just list out system events from the log. The last system event should give you a ballpark idea of when the log ends and you can then search date/time for that range.

Anti-Virus programs can cause issues with realtime applications. I would make sure that you have excluded the storage directories from the AV, and set the full system scan to run at off hours or disable it, at least until you can rule it out as a source of your problems.

The 760 records in mjpeg format when doing D1. Jpeg files are compressed, and different images will compress better than others.

I promised a follow-up on my DVR issues: ICRealtime offered me an out of warranty exchange for a new unit at a considerable discount off the new price. It took about 2 weeks to ship the old unit back, swap out the hard drive and receive the new PRO 8 channel unit. The new unit is experiencing some wierd issues with the pre-record buffer. I've got to say my experiences with tech support are completely different this time around. I have been working with John to identify the problem and he is going out of his way to respond quickly. We ran some tests for about a week, and John has been able to duplicate the problem on other units. He is working with Engineering to see if a firmware fix can be put in. They tried one fix so far and it didn't resolve the problem. They're still working on it I'll post another follow-up when I've got an update.

After using an AVTech 761 for a bit over a year, I wanted something with better internet viewing and clearer recorded video. I also had added cameras, and needed more channels. I am a hobbyist, not a dealer so my experience is somewhat limited with DVRs and camera equipment although I do work in a technical field. After scouring the forum for a few months I decided that an ICRealtime DVR should fit the bill. I was making some inquires about purchasing one when one of the forum members put his up for sale. I bought a Pro 8 Channel model for a good price, and I was really impressed in the beginning. Unfortunately there were issues with this model, and I hope my experience will help others making decisions. This model has been out for a few years now, but my biggest gripe is with the company. The Good: Great recorded video and live internet viewing. Compared to the highest quality D1 on the 761, this recorder was better on just taking it to its second level of five (basic). The best CIF recording on the 761 was not as good as the lowest quality on the Pro. Good hard drive usage when set to VBR recording. Built like a tank. I like the PTZ controls, they are easy to use. The latest firmware (8-2007) adds USB mouse as well as a timed daily reboot feature. The Bad: This unit does not record D1. The product documentation states live display and playback are D1. I guess that if you take a CIF recording and up-convert it, then technically it is D1. If you check the ICRealtime web site, every sample image is at CIF. When playing back a video file using VLC the properties show it as CIF, and finally this recorder is made by Dali as a model DV-109C. Their spec page includes the recording quality info that is missing from the ICRealtime page, it is clearly CIF recording. http://www.dali-tech.com/en-ProductInfo.asp?TypeID=8&ID=13 A little hard to set up, but OK once you get the hang of it. It’s big, 19â€

It seems that a lot of LCD displays are very picky about what resolutions they will work with. I have one that will do 640x480 and 1024x768 but will not do 800x600. The 800x600 is what my DVR put out. See if you can find an old Tube type CRT and plug that one in. If that works, I'm betting that another LCD with more display modes would work for you.

I was reading through the manual for the Intellecam JS-RTA series DVR's and that is exactly how they handle it. They send the .mp4 file to an FTP server and can send you email alerts. It appears that which video is sent can be turned on or off on a channel by channel basis and be activated by motion,alarm input, or all recorded and by time of day. Of course you will still need to play it with their player.

You can measure voltage in-line by pushing 2 pins through the power wires. Everyone has a volt meter now days don't they?

Yes, disconnecting the built in IR and putting up stand alone illuminators made all the difference in the world. Put the IR as far away from the camera and as close to the target as you can to reduce the "back scatter". Just putting it 3 feet off to the side of the camera worked for me with rain and light fog, no snow here in Los Angeles. It looked like a swarm of bees before.

As an IT person, I can tell you that it is possible to recover broken/damaged hard drives. It is also possible to recover deleted files and drives that have been formated. With special equipment you can sometimes recover data that has been written over once. Writing over data several times with random data (video) is basically wiping the drives. Using NSA type equipment you *might* be able to get it back but I think you would be looking at more like tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. If you think of the hard drive as a chalk board, and every time you write something new on the board you erase what is under it really well, and you are writing really small and with no spaces. The more times you do that the harder it will be to find the traces of the past letters. Hard drives think in black and white. The bit is either a 0 or a 1 (ok, if your a purist there are in between states that are used to pack more data into it, but the result is a 1 or 0 output). So take a picture of this chalk board and then fax the picture to someone. The very faint remains of the old letters cannot be seen as the fax only sees black and white. Special recovery equipment will scan the disk surface looking for weak remnants of the old data.

Ground or voltage level issues sure could be a problem here. Check your voltage at the camera while it is powered on to make sure you don't have to much voltage drop in the cables. Use two pair for power if not already doing so. Try using the little power supply to supply power from the DVR end. If that clears it up then it probably is a ground loop. If you are using one of the rj-45 to video converters you will need to make sure that the adapter is not grounding the power jack through the BNC connector. If the power is being connected right to the wires then that shouldn't be a problem with this test. It never hurts to make sure that you have a good ground at the DVR, you can never tell how good the one at the power cord is. Run a #14 or larger wire from a screw on the DVR case and from the power supply case to a good ground. A good ground is building steel, cold water pipe, or a ground rod. If you are in a computer or equipment room there may already be a ground bus you can connect to. If it does look like a ground loop, you may be stuck isolating it like Scorpion says-that is not a good idea though if it is outside. You could also try running a good ground to the camera as well to try and bring the two ends ground potentials closer together. I am not in the CCTV business and this advise comes from my own experiences.

My AVTech 761 creates .DVR files. I use the AVTech VideoPlayer to view and convert them.