Will this LCD monitor work?

[Erock509 0]

Acer X223Wbd 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor. I'm looking for a decent price monitor for my 4 channel dvr system and found this one. Not to sure if it would work and if not what do I need to look for?

[Erock509 0]

Anyone?

[scorpion 0]

We do not know what DVR you are using, and what output for video you are using.

 

Assuming that you are just using a regular video output from the DVR then you will need a BNC to RCA adapter and then you can use a regular video cable from your hometheater collection and plug this in to your LCD TV. You will be plugging it in to the yellow connector (composite).

 

If you are using a VGA output from the DVR then you hook it up to the VGA input of you LCD. Note that some DVRs may require you to buy an adapter to use the VGA output. Check your DVRs owner manual.

 

 

Other than that I cannot say as I am not familiar with you LCD that you listed.

[Erock509 0]

The dvr is a Digital Watchdog Max stand alone 250g. The monitors can be hooked up through video or vga. The reason I was asking was because the LCD monitor I listed is used for computers. I wasnt sure if cctv needed a specific type of monitor or you can just use anything with the corresponding video hookup.

[scorpion 0]

If the TV has the connector you need then you should be good to go.

[bobby1471 0]

If the DVR supports VGA then you have no problems should be as simple as plugging in the back just like a computer.

[Okinawamike 0]

As Bobby1471 said, VGA connection should give you a DVR output. But the monitor you want to use does not have any other connections besides the VGA/DVI. I have found that computer monitors using the VGA only are not the best for a detailed picture.

 

The TVL is what you want to go for. More the better. If you look at a LCD monitor and then look at a made for CCTV monitor with a BNC inout, it's a world of differance. The LCD will work and is cheaper.

 

Example I just picked this up on EBay for $300: Designed for the CCTV security marketplace, the Bosch MON201CL monitor includes two looping composite video inputs, two looping audio inputs, and one looping Y/C input. Additionally, this model includes an analog VGA input to accommodate the increasing use of ‘PCs’ and digital video devices in security applications. The MON201CL has been tested for compatibility of operation with analog output

[Erock509 0]

As Bobby1471 said, VGA connection should give you a DVR output. But the monitor you want to use does not have any other connections besides the VGA/DVI. I have found that computer monitors using the VGA only are not the best for a detailed picture.

 

The TVL is what you want to go for. More the better. If you look at a LCD monitor and then look at a made for CCTV monitor with a BNC inout, it's a world of differance. The LCD will work and is cheaper.

 

Example I just picked this up on EBay for $300: Designed for the CCTV security marketplace, the Bosch MON201CL monitor includes two looping composite video inputs, two looping audio inputs, and one looping Y/C input. Additionally, this model includes an analog VGA input to accommodate the increasing use of ‘PCs’ and digital video devices in security applications. The MON201CL has been tested for compatibility of operation with analog output

 

Thanks for the info. i looked all over for that monitor and found none for under approx $1200, thats about 1k out of my price range . I guess I'll keep looking.

[vin2install 0]

The VGA monitor you have should be fine. The only problem is that the pictures might look stretched due to the monitor being widescreen

[Lolo Wolf 0]

I picked up a few of those Acers - (Newegg has them on sale jus now excellent price with free ship) I found that if you use the Acer e-color Management (bult in with the monitor control) and use the Movie Mode it helps with any ghosting. Been lucky with the ones I got no dead pixels and overall a fine Monitor. A lot of real estate for split screens and quad setups. Im using the DVI-outs - of puter-DVRs - no issues, havent tried with a stand alone DVR but I am satisfied with the PIC quality compared to others Ive used.... regards

[Erock509 0]

I picked up a few of those Acers - (Newegg has them on sale jus now excellent price with free ship) I found that if you use the Acer e-color Management (bult in with the monitor control) and use the Movie Mode it helps with any ghosting. Been lucky with the ones I got no dead pixels and overall a fine Monitor. A lot of real estate for split screens and quad setups. Im using the DVI-outs - of puter-DVRs - no issues, havent tried with a stand alone DVR but I am satisfied with the PIC quality compared to others Ive used.... regards

 

Hey thnx, yeah newegg has them for 149.00 now with free shipping. Cant beat that!

[Soundy 1]

The VGA monitor you have should be fine. The only problem is that the pictures might look stretched due to the monitor being widescreen

 

That would be my main concern.... unless the DVR can support widescreen resolutions (1440x900, 1680x1050, etc), I'd stick with standard 4:3 aspect LCDs.

[3RDIGLBL 0]

I just got a 4:3 ACER monitor for a DVR I picked up. Plugged in the cameras and picture was horrible....thought I had bad cameras or a crappy DVR....I then took the same DVR and plugged in my desktop CRT monitor and picture was great no fuzzyness or pixelation at all.

 

My whole thing with LCD's is if the output to the LCD is not the native LCD resolution then the picture will be horrible. Works that way on laptops. CRTs can adjust for this so is the reason why the CRT picture was good.

 

The output on my DVR is 640x480 and the native resolution on the Acer I believe is 1280x1024. Would be great if I could change the DVR output to match but since it is a standalone I am stuck with the resolution provided. Since the prices for these LCD's are cheaper than a Color CRT and they consume much less power I just tell my customers that this picture is normal and if they plan to sit there and watch the video regularly that they may want to go with a CRT. No one has taken a CRT yet...

 

Anyone have any successful experience here. From what I been reading this is what I understand the differences to be.

[Soundy 1]

I just got a 4:3 ACER monitor for a DVR I picked up. Plugged in the cameras and picture was horrible....thought I had bad cameras or a crappy DVR....I then took the same DVR and plugged in my desktop CRT monitor and picture was great no fuzzyness or pixelation at all.

 

My whole thing with LCD's is if the output to the LCD is not the native LCD resolution then the picture will be horrible. Works that way on laptops. CRTs can adjust for this so is the reason why the CRT picture was good.

 

CRTs don't really "adjust" for different resolutions... they just display pixels differently than LCDs (and plasmas and DLPs and LCD-based projectors, for that matter). With LCDs, there are very sharply-defined edges between pixels, and each "hard" pixel can display the full range of color in itself. With CRTs, each "display pixel" is made of three discrete "hard pixels", one each for red, green, and blue. If an image covers more than one pixel, the color components tend to blend together, rather than being separated by hard edges.

 

The output on my DVR is 640x480 and the native resolution on the Acer I believe is 1280x1024. Would be great if I could change the DVR output to match but since it is a standalone I am stuck with the resolution provided.

 

Are you sure? I've set up some VERY CHEAP, VERY CRAPPY off-shore standalones, that had selectable VGA resolutions (granted, limited to 640x480, 800x600, and 1024x768).

 

Another thing I've found with some cheap standalones is their "VGA output" isn't really VGA... their internals are outputting a composite signal at MAYBE 420TVL, but they have an internal card that converts THAT to VGA... and does a very poor job of upscaling it. Their internal software isn't actually creating a VGA/XGA/etc.-resolution image direct to the VGA port.

[3RDIGLBL 0]

Are you sure? I've set up some VERY CHEAP, VERY CRAPPY off-shore standalones, that had selectable VGA resolutions (granted, limited to 640x480, 800x600, and 1024x768).

 

Ya. I called the supplier where i get them and they stated there is no adjustment. If I could get it up to 1024x768 it would be a great improvement. Heck I've installed about 4 different kinds of standalones and none have had selectable VGA resolutions. Interesting to know that there are some out there. It would make the LCD monitors more tolerable.

 

Was at a customer today and brought along my Acer to hook up to their DVR (they didn't want a monitor) and I had to explain that the quality was crappy due to the monitor. I MEAN IT REALLY LOOKS AWEFUL.

[3RDIGLBL 0]

Gotta rekindle this. sorry!

 

I need a budget lcd monitor that will display a clean picture representative of the DVR live view. I'm just not getting this part. I find it crazy purchasing a dedicated security LCD monitor which costs twice as much as the DVR it is connected to. A lot of DVR's have a VGA connection for a PC based monitor. My CRT provides a very acceptible picture for the low end DVR I got but connecting it to the ACER LCD does it no justice at all. The picture is all pixelated and well...........is a total mess and does not represent the actual picture the DVR provides. Think I'll just send this thing back.....I was working on a project to try and piece together a good quality budget system for those DIY customers but I will just end up getting phone call after phone saying how crappy the picture looks when in fact it doesn't look as bad as what they are viewing on the LCD.

[3RDIGLBL 0]

Are you sure? I've set up some VERY CHEAP, VERY CRAPPY off-shore standalones, that had selectable VGA resolutions (granted, limited to 640x480, 800x600, and 1024x768).

 

Another thing I've found with some cheap standalones is their "VGA output" isn't really VGA... their internals are outputting a composite signal at MAYBE 420TVL, but they have an internal card that converts THAT to VGA... and does a very poor job of upscaling it. Their internal software isn't actually creating a VGA/XGA/etc.-resolution image direct to the VGA port.

 

Soundy, can you please PM me a DVR that you speak of above that has this selectable VGA resolution? I'm at wits end with this DVR and LCD issue. Makes no sense to me why I can't get a nice picture on a standard PC LCD Monitor.

 

Thanks

[Soundy 1]

Even if I still had one in front of me, I couldn't tell you what brand it was, because I don't think any of them had brand names - the boxes just had "DIGITAL RECORDER" or something like that in big bold letters... I don't recall them even having a model name or number on the units, maybe just a serial number.

 

We put in several of them a couple years ago in a local restaurant chain, subcontracted from another company across Canada who has a contract with the chain's parent company, so they're not even anything we spec'd or ordered - we just got shipments from the contractor with all the gear for the sites.

 

These things were uber-cheap units, as were the cameras they sent us ($30 1/4" board cameras in cheap plastic domes)... at best I can guess they're some east-Asian manufacturer, based on the bad Engrish in the manuals. The VGA output was provided by a separate card that was linked internally to the composite output.

[3RDIGLBL 0]

Thanks for the reply Soundy. I'm nearly drawn a final conclusion that these cheap low end DVR's really live up to the cheap price. The only thing I have yet to do was to do a side by side bench comparison between a few hundred $$ embedded 4 channel DVR and a $1000 plus 4 channel DVR to really see if there is a quality difference. I'm not totally convinced yet I have to spend a crap load of money on a good name brand DVR when there is probably a really good no name brand one out there that can visually easily compare in record and display quality.

 

Someone PM me if they've done a comparison like this and settled on such a low end beast. I'd be curious to try one. I can't possibly try the hundreds upon hundreds of the low end crap out there.

[Soundy 1]

Most times, I think, for any given level of... well, a lot of stuff... the price differences are related more to features, function, bells-and-whistles... moreso than base quality. A lot of PC-based DVR manufacturers, for example, use the same basic card, or a variation using the same basic chipset(s)... what you're paying for between the cheap and the expensive is the quality and functionality of the software (and in some cases, the quality and reliability of the PC itself).

 

In the case of embedded/standalone units, a lot of it may be the quality of the surrounding hardware (those nameless ones I mentioned, we had a run of them that were horribly unstable - turned out to be an issue with the whole batch of composite-to-VGA cards), the quality/usability of the interface, little features like selectable VGA resolutions...

 

We've installed several cheap units (National Electronics brand, I think) that didn't even have a method for outputting video short of connecting a VCR or other capture device to the monitor output and then recording on that while playing back the desired footage - no CD-R, no USB port for a flash drive, nothing, not even available as an option/add-on. Most came without hard drives but allowed you to install your own in a removable sled... but the drive used a proprietary format so you couldn't even plug it into another machine to extract the video.

 

If anyone has any comparisons like 3RDIGLBL is asking for, I think it would be good for them to be posted here, I'm sure a lot of people would be interested... might even be worth its own thread.

[jeromephone 6]

Check PI MFg they have a fairly inexpensive monitor with bnc and vga inputs. With everyone price consious these days we have had to go with the less than ideal monitors but as been said over and over you get what you pay for.

[Erock509 0]

I just noticed my Acer default resolution is 1280x1024 H:80KHz V:75Hz. I do have that option with my DVR either in 75HZ or 60HZ. I figure thats good if I can match the resolutions, right? And what is the best option for the other?