RonW 0 Posted May 7, 2008 Hello, I'm new to the forum, but I have read many thread/posts for several years now and have come away with plenty of useful information. Right now I'm in the market to purchase a new dvr. Be patient, this gets a little "involved." Currently I'm using a single channel Sanyo DSR-300 for front yard security and several other uses. As warmer seasons progress the dvr sees action in wildlife recording (front yard again) of migrating hummingbirds using motion detection at feeders. I have quite a few mintron and watec b/w 1/2" and 1/3" low light cameras, and several KT&C HiRes Color 1/3" ExView cameras. Various lenses of fixed and varifocal lengths, but I find that I mostly use 6-8mm for security and 12-50mm lenses for wildlife recording. The majority of the recording is done using motion detection, which I'm extremely happy with the Sanyo's 10 levels of motion detection. When viewing hummingbirds that are only 2-3.5" in size, the highest level of sensitivity is needed to trigger a motion detection recording event. I guess I'd rather have too much be recorded than not enough. Every once in a while I'll throw the unit into manual recoding mode to record meteor showers. I guess you could say we like nature at my house, astronomy, and of course seeing what the crazy world is doing outside our front windows. Okay, hopefully that should provide a little background. I've spent the last several months researching new dvr's that meet the following specs and have had a dfficult time finding such as beast, so I thought I'd ask the forum for suggestions. What I need in a stand-alone new dvr that cost less than $2000: 4 channel input Max 30 fps recording at 2CIF or greater per channel Varaible recording fps on each channel at various specs CIF, DCIF, 2CIF Image quality that varies from basic detail to knock your socks off image quality (I know this is subjective - but image quality is what I'm going for) Motion detection sensitivity that has more than 5 levels of detection, the more sensitive the motion detection is the better. Must be able to playback recording in reverse (backwards cueing) at various speeds Remote Access - Serving Video Remotely -- Not required Pre-Post Recording on each channel independant of other channels settings I would like a 250Gb hard disk to be useable at highest recording frame rate and highest image quality to last 24 Hours or more if possible. Unit must be expandable to at least 1TB disk space Must have DVD backup for video Audible menu/remote feedback must have a "silent mode" (so I don't wake up or annoy the family when I'm using the remote DVR IR control). So, if that isn't a long winded explanation and list of specifications I don't know what is. You made it through to this point - thanks for your patience. So, am I asking too much from a dvr that is not a pc based dvr? Does one exist that won't break my budget? Thanks again for reading this long winded post, and for any help in finding a DVR that fits my specs. -Ron- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ak357 0 Posted May 7, 2008 Hello, I have quite a few mintron and watec b/w 1/2" and 1/3" low light cameras, and several KT&C HiRes Color 1/3" ExView cameras. Various lenses of fixed and varifocal lengths, but I find that I mostly use 6-8mm for security and 12-50mm lenses for wildlife recording. -Ron- Can I ask you to provide few pix by your 1/2" B/W cameras please Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RonW 0 Posted May 7, 2008 (edited) I'll upload some files later today. Mostly the images are in wmf or avi format using the watec 902h2 ultimate 1/2" ccd for meteor dvr video recording. I don't have any using the mintron and I do have some video using the kt&c kpc 650ch for color recordings. For home security I have some images taken with the kt&c kpc650bhex. Whoops - can't add anything yet. Edited May 8, 2008 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CCTV_Suppliers 0 Posted May 7, 2008 Ron, since you used Sanyo DVR before, I can suggest looking at their latest MPEG-4 embedded 4 channel DVR... Here are some of specs... Sanyo DSR-2004H80 4-Channel MPEG4 DVR, 4-Audio input, Network, viewing software, IR Remote * MPEG 4 Recording for Low Bit Rate, High Picture Quality, and Optimal Storage Capability * 160 or 300 GB Storage Capacity * Recording Speed up to 120 ips * Camera Recording Rates are Individually Adjustable from 1 to 30 ips * Triplex Capability - Simultaneous Recording, Playback, and Network Monitoring * Built-in Motion Detection for Alarm Recording * LIVE Capture Allows Still Image Output of Live Images * Easy Search Functions - Event Search, Time/Date Search, Time Line Search * PTZ Telemetry Control Capability * IR Remote Control (Included) of up to Nine DVRs * Supports Composite and VGA Monitor Outputs * Two Way Audio Over the Network * Easy Backup of BMP or JPEG Still Images and AVI Files with USB Memory Stick * Supports DHCP for Automatic IP Address Assignment * Also Supports TCP/IP, SMTP & PPPoE * Supports up to Four Concurrent Network Users * Auto Recording with Optimum File Size The box can provide 120IPS total, which will give you 30IPS per camera, if needed. There are additional information here: http://www.sanyosecurity.com/ and search for the model #DSR-2004H It comes with few internal storage flavors - 80, 160 or 300GB... However, you can add more storage without any problems (we do them all the time). Picture quality is exceptional, as the compression they are using is MPEG-4 and gives you quite of few options... The only drawback is that it does not come with CD or DVD burner.. 300GB model should be under $900.00 Here is yet another similar product from CBC... CBC DR4NC series... You can get them without hard drives and add what you need or you can purchase them with hard drives with total internal capacity up to 1TB... Here are some of its specs: * CBC 4 channel DVR With NO internal storage * Uses MPEG-4 Compression * 4 channel video and audio recording * 120 IPS recording speed * Up to 704 x 480 (4CIF/D1) resolution * Optimized MPEG-4 compression * 10/100 Base Network Connection allows remote viewing, playback and PTZ control * USB-2 Port for quick downloading to a thumb drive * Internal CD-R drive for data backup * PTZ control (drivers for most popular models are included) The basic system without hard drives should be around $600.00 and you can add drives to get up to 1.5TB if you want (using 750GB PATA drives). or you can buy them with 1.5TB internal capacity... This model comes with built in CD burner. Both options will give you excellent picture quality and ease of use and yet is way below your target pricing... Both models also come with full three years warranty. Will these models do the trick for you? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RonW 0 Posted May 8, 2008 CCTV_Supliers, thanks for you reply. I had actually looked at both the Sanyo DSR-2004H80 and the CBC DR4NC. Both units look great, but I've been rather hesitant about both of them due to the recording being sub 30fps at above CIF. This is one thing that I do want is the ability to record each channel at the 30fps at 2cif. 30fps at dcif - now that would be awesome! The cdrw backup is nice, but I'd like the dvd backup thinking it would be the better way to go since video size will become larger with the higher resolution/quality of the recorded channels. I have looked at the intellicam and icrealtime units, and they look great. However, the ability to play the video in reverse is another must have feature, something that both of those units aren't capable of to my knowledge. I'd wonder if a hybrid system might have what I need. Time to do some more searching. If you stumble across something, let me know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CCTV_Suppliers 0 Posted May 8, 2008 CCTV_Supliers, thanks for you reply. I had actually looked at both the Sanyo DSR-2004H80 and the CBC DR4NC. Both units look great, but I've been rather hesitant about both of them due to the recording being sub 30fps at above CIF. This is one thing that I do want is the ability to record each channel at the 30fps at 2cif. 30fps at dcif - now that would be awesome! The cdrw backup is nice, but I'd like the dvd backup thinking it would be the better way to go since video size will become larger with the higher resolution/quality of the recorded channels. I have looked at the intellicam and icrealtime units, and they look great. However, the ability to play the video in reverse is another must have feature, something that both of those units aren't capable of to my knowledge. I'd wonder if a hybrid system might have what I need. Time to do some more searching. If you stumble across something, let me know. How about a software that will work with your existing hardware by using encoder (to convert your analog camera signal to digital) and all you have to do is to provide your own XP based PC?? I am thinking of CBC ZNS-BASIC software that gives you tremendous advantage vs. most out there... Pricing should be under $250.00 and will give you four camera view and control. Once you convert your existing video signal to digital, then you will be able to view them through this software. It is very flexible and yet easy to use... This way you can use your existing computer and add as much internal storage as you need. Besides, you can also install your own DVD burner... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RonW 0 Posted May 9, 2008 CCTV_Suplier, as cool as it would be to grab the analog input via grabbers and utilize capture software that I could customize to my liking. I really do prefer package/design of the embeded units. Let's say that my day job as a software engineer keeps me from going the pc/software/grabber route. The CBC specs do look pretty straight forward design features, but I can't quite bring myself to head down that road. It's not an issue of I can't do it, but I choose not to do that. As an experienced software engineer sometimes it's nice to leave work at home. I did stumble across the GE SymSafe Pro 4+2 and that sure looks like it will do nearly everything that I'd like it to do. The real time recording at 2cif, forward/reverse cueing/playback, plus the dvd option, and quite a few nice features, and the ability to handle ip cameras for "the future". I've see a few posts about GE-Kalatel, and about the only thing that I haven't dug up in the users manual is if a person can turn the recording on for say as long as I want (as long as I have hard disk space) so that I could record an extneded event - like a meteor shower for 4 hours. Have you had any experience with this unit? I know it costs more than my $2,000 budget for a little more -- but if it will do everything that I want. I know I'd have no problem picking one of these units up. Do you or anyone have any experience with this GE SymSafe Pro 4+2? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CCTV_Suppliers 0 Posted May 9, 2008 GE SymSafe4+2 is an excellent box with all the trimmings, including MPEG4 compression, capable of taking up to 1.5TB internal storage or more externally, build in CD or DVD burner, three years warranty, etc... However, you gave a budget figure not to exceed $2,000.00, therefore the only model that could fall withing this range is SymSafe4+2-160 - which is the 160GB internal storage... This model comes with Real-time MPEG-4 recording and you can push the video quality darn near to DVD quality... however.. storage will be an issue, as it will require tremendous amount of storage space to accommodate what you want to do. It is an excellent box, but by the time you put all the components together and maintain storage requirements, the price will be substantially higher than you think.. You can always start with 160GB and go from there... I know that many times we will buy this model with minimum storage and then add up to 1.5TB internal storage (system has space for two PATA drives), thus minimize the cost directly and instead of paying high price for similar configured box directly from GE... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RonW 0 Posted May 10, 2008 CCTV_Suppliers, thank you for taking the time to come up with some suggestions on different dvrs. It seems that there are some that will just do what I want, but not to the extent I'd like. Then there are some that will, but go outside of my price range. The decisions...the decisions.... I've been reading as much online material and I guess I'm looking at the ic realtime flex dvr again. It will do exactly what I'd like, or at least it might. Does anyone know how sensitive it is, it has 6 motion sensitivity settings - would the highest sensitivity setting capture a small bird from 20-30 feet away, with say a b/w cam using a 4-8mm lens (1/3" cam)? During the day under various daytime lighting conditions (cloudy, sunny, rainy, etc...) I'd rather have too many false motion recordings rather than too few. Is there a way to turn off the prompting for entering in passwords in order to change functionality? Can I turn all audible feedback off, when changing settings when using the remote controller? I've read the specs, but those details don't quite seem to come across to well, or maybe it's the way the manual was written. Anyone know? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
