Intellicam

[kaysadeya 0]

Today I contacted Intellicam about the DVMR/16 unit posted here:

 

http://www.intellicamusa.com/dvr-series.htm

 

I learned some interesting things, that I'd like to confirm with anyone familiar with this company:

 

* They are manufacturer (OEM) of the unit.

 

* It supports realtime display (480fps).

 

Can anyone confirm these points? Does anyone here have one of these units?

[qman 0]

They are not the manufacturer,

 

They got horrible support

 

Yes, it does support realtime support

 

 

But, from experience, they are garbage units, I used 2 of them, and I had to get rid of them, because they ketp freezing.

 

Just my two cents.

[kaysadeya 0]

I know there a lot of dealers here, so sorry if this offends anyone...

 

I sense the low-cost DVR market is full of deceptive marketing ploys designed to confuse customers. I've *never* had a such a frustrating and confusing time researching a product; particularly one I'm willing to spend (what's to me) good money on.

 

For example, Intellicam claims to be the OEM for their units, but I've been able to locate other "DVMR"s that look like the same product:

 

http://www.vantagetel.com/DVMR.htm

 

http://spyshop2000.com/1079-support.htm

 

http://www.allthings.com.au/Catalogue/Digital%20Video

%20Recording%20Remote%20Viewing%20Web%20Cams

/SA-DVMR-LAN4C%20digital%20video%20record.html

 

Where are these units made and why would Intellicam be so "untruthful" about their source? This might explain it:

 

http://www.cctvdealers.com/dvrinfodealer.htm

 

If I can't trust any of the dealers or suppliers of these things, then what sort of support should I expect after they take my money?

Edited January 25, 2005 by Guest

[Thomas 0]

A couple of things.

 

1. A rise in DIY's who like to search google.

2. The growing intersections of the IT and security fields.

 

From this you get a rise in demand and a flood of people to fill the demand. Under circumstances like this you're going to get some dishonest people. One thing we do to try to control that on our end is being careful who we pass work to. If a customer requests install, we try to hand it off to "good" installers. One's who's work we've seen and feel comfortable with.

[Powertelecomm 0]

kaysadeya,

 

I don't think you should be too concerned about whether you are buying from the manufacturer or not. If you are worried about post-sales technical support, contacting the manufacturer directly could be the worst thing to do since they won't concern themselves with a customer that bought only one unit.

 

Best thing to do search for a unit that has the features that you're looking for and buy it from a dealer with a good reputation (reasonal prices and good support). Also, remember that when you're dealing with low-end items, there will mostly likely be a horror story or two from these professionals for any product you evaluate. Remeber, they go through many units a month using various equipment and they've seen it all.

 

Good luck.

[kaysadeya 0]

But why shouldn't manufacturers and dealers be honest about their products? Selling a service is one thing, but to deliberately mislead people to think that "Product A" is different from "Product B" and "Product C," when in fact they're identical, is just downright dishonest.

 

Good businesses are built on the trust of customers. How can a business that uses such deception to confuse their own customers expect such trust and expect to grow? Yes, there's a sucker born every minute, but I doubt many shop for CCTV gear.

[Powertelecomm 0]

kaysadeya,

 

I understand what you are saying, but I don't think you should take as them trying to deceive you. As any supplier goes, they want to label their own products to differentiate themselves from the competition.

 

We buy Safeway brand colas and other grocery items, but we know that Safeway doesn't make their own products. We buy GE microwaves, but GE no longer manufactures small appliances. Even though Safeway and GE don't manufacture their own products, we still buy those products because we have faith in the corporate brand.

[kaysadeya 0]

I knew someone was going to come up with such an analogy to rationalize deceptive business practices. For one thing, those are consumables from a well-known "dealer." If you don't like the Safeway cola (that's all I drink) or GE phone (mine's a piece of cr*p), then you don't buy more. Not much harm done. It's not the same as *investing* in a serious piece of *expensive* equipment that you rely on for security.

 

Needless to say, I'd be very disappointed if I had to throw away a $1000+ DVR because of misleading information from my supplier.

[Powertelecomm 0]

I'll give it my last shot...

 

If you were paying $1000 for a piece of junk by a vendor that sold you a high-end product (supposedly) with cheap internal components, I would agree with you.

 

However, if you are paying for a quality product under a different name than the actual manufacturer's, I'm not sure what the harm would be (assuming that you don't get ripped off on price). Does this make sense?

[kaysadeya 0]

To answer your question: somewhat.

 

I hate to point this out because it's embarrassingly obvious, but let's talk about apples and oranges and not mix the two.

[rory 0]

Ok, as for dealing with the maufacturers: I got this reply from one of them about purchasing direct:

 

 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

so. Let us discuss direct business with you ,when you are fully ready.

 

As We target larger OEM makers while supply monthly 2,500-3,000 kits of main board ,it means our MOQ level is much high and We do not target distributor martket in the overseas.

 

Let us concentrate on current domestic,China and Taiwan market where let us maintain our regular sales q'ty for the time being.

 

Meanwhile,I have various contact points in Caribean countries already and I and all our staffs can speak spanish to proceed the direct communication with them.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

So in other words I dont think I would WANT support from them! I dont quite understand the jist of their translating software for one thing Heck they are almost turning me off buying their product, which is labled under many different companies names! Also, who speaks spanish in the Caribbean (Well except Cuba & Puerto Rico)!

 

Okay, I for one, have to know the product, where it came from, who makes it, before I buy it. Thats where this forum has come in very useful. Another place I peruse is www.ASmag.com.

 

Basically, simply put, ALL low end DVRs are made somewhere in ASIA. The US distributors or manufactures will by them in bulk, and have to keep a monthly quota. They will by them as OEM so they can relabel them, and even customise the network software. They make other enhancements to them as well, especially if talking about PC Cards, that is even more customisable than an emebedded RTOS DVR board.

 

For some DVRs there is only 1 Rep in say Canada, or the US, and they resell to other distributors in those countries, who buy bulk from them or direct from ASIA through them. Those distirbutors then in turn resell to the dealers, who resell to the end user.

 

Some dealers can get direct accounts with the manufacturers, though rare without meeting a monthly quota. I have one now with a Canadian Camera Manufacturer -yes they are the manufacturer - cant mention names (or at least was invited to open one with them - is it worth it though? They are in canada and shippng can be expensive anyway, do I save anything? I Will have to find out!)

 

Another thing, some people dont mention, most if not all low end DVRs, in the average price range I wont mention also, 16 channels, have a 480PPS real time display. Something you wont find in most higher priced well known DVRs yet, due to the OS most likely, as Linux RTOS is easy enough to do this, while say Kalatel's Nucleos RTOS is more difficult to obtain this.

 

All of them have issues with Real Time Recording on 16 cameras though, low or high end, cheap or expensive. Windows Embedded XP is now handling that part well, but they can cost more than the higher priced DVRs like Kalatel even, and they are embedded XP, but they are still XP and windowz, however they may be the next level of DVRs as Windows fixes its past issues it had with Security and Stability.

 

I recently demoed an Embedded XP DVR and I was impressed - draw back is alot of home users or small retail stores wont be able to use them, no front end buttons, all done by mouse - BUT, then who ever uses the front end buttons besides me, I asked myself, not many. If they can throw in an IR remote and drop the price, embedded XP has it made .... it seemed pretty stable to me an as it has barely any regular windows XP services running/installed, its also fast ... and should be easy enough to mix in IP inputs with analogue inputs for future DVRs ..my 2 cents there.

 

As for distributors/resellers saying they make it, its all marketing strategy, I guess as they by say 3000 of them a month, and label them and customize their name on it and the software, they can say something. Though to me manufacturer means, the people that made physically. If they are buying just the board, and have their own plant to build the cases, design etc, then that would be called a manufacturer also.

 

Even Pelco uses an Asian PC Card, and builds their own PC based DVRs on this. You can buy the same card yourself and stick it in your PC load windows 2000 and it will work the same. I havent found any trails to Asia for the Kalatel DVRs, and DM for sure is built in the UK. Phillips make their own chips that are used in other DVRs, so they most likely build their own also. Ofcourse, they all may just design them and then outsource the physical work to a plant somewhere else in the world to save money, but because of the price of them, I doubt it! Kalatel (GE) cameras actually have on them, made in china! (or taiwan, I have to check) This doesnt mean they dont design them in the US and build the protoypes there, they just use cheaper labour to manufactur them in bulk, and get the price down. there are plenty of OEM companies in Asia with manufacturing plants (lines) that will build OEM on your design.

 

Oh well ...hope this helps, just a little

 

Rory

Edited January 25, 2005 by Guest

[heloder 0]

Argus

http://www.sys-tek.co.kr/main.htm

[rory 0]

Argus

http://www.sys-tek.co.kr/main.htm

 

exactly ..

[heloder 0]

It comes down to this.... you get what you pay for. We sell the Argus units. They are a low end solution. The units just feel cheap. The remote stinks, BUT....... they are cheap. I would rather sell our 516 for embedded. But some EU's just won't pay!

[kaysadeya 0]

I'll bite. Please PM a price for the 516.

[qman 0]

Good Choice

[kriton 0]

I agree that Kalatel is good. But am I the only one who thinks the GUI of kalatel is outdated?

[rory 0]

I agree that Kalatel is good. But am I the only one who thinks the GUI of kalatel is outdated?

 

perhaps, but it is a standard windows format.

[rory 0]

its still alot better looking than GEO's GUI that looks like a kid wrote it ..sitting in a room full of rainbows

[qman 0]

its still alot better looking than GEO's GUI that looks like a kid wrote it ..sitting in a room full of rainbows

 

 

 

I have some screenshots on the witness dvr, I'll post them later tonight

[rory 0]

tonight, or last night, or this morning? im hitting the sack now, need to get up in a couple hours to do CCTV all over again ..

[qman 0]

Damm, 5AM, me too

 

I just got the new versio of the dvr software and I've been exploring all the new features all night.

[Thomas 0]

We handle some rebranding of our product now. And it always leads to a number of internal debates. But there is demand on the dealer end for it so we'll do it. But there are good sound reasons for doing rebranding.

 

1. It keeps the dealer from being shopped around. Customers will try to contact manufactures directly trying to get a better price.

2. It allows the dealer to build a brand around themselves.

[intellicam 0]

I know there a lot of dealers here, so sorry if this offends anyone...

 

I sense the low-cost DVR market is full of deceptive marketing ploys designed to confuse customers. I've *never* had a such a frustrating and confusing time researching a product; particularly one I'm willing to spend (what's to me) good money on.

 

For example, Intellicam claims to be the OEM for their units, but I've been able to locate other "DVMR"s that look like the same product:

 

http://www.vantagetel.com/DVMR.htm

 

http://spyshop2000.com/1079-support.htm

 

http://www.allthings.com.au/Catalogue/Digital%20Video

%20Recording%20Remote%20Viewing%20Web%20Cams

/SA-DVMR-LAN4C%20digital%20video%20record.html

 

Where are these units made and why would Intellicam be so "untruthful" about their source? This might explain it:

 

http://www.cctvdealers.com/dvrinfodealer.htm

 

If I can't trust any of the dealers or suppliers of these things, then what sort of support should I expect after they take my money?

 

Untruthful?

 

It is Intellicam that should feel slimed. We are completely and officially the oem manufacturer. Essentially your post refers to Intellicam as being dishonest. Very unprofessional and in fact, we could sue for slander. However, here is a tip. When you need to know who officially owns a brand, visit the uspto.gov website. This is the trademark and patent office for our government. Clearly, we own Intellicam, Accudome, Bluenetvideo, and GEN IV Technology. The reason our company has experienced growth exceeding 100% year over year lately is because we try very hard to protect our dealers and our distributors. Gen IV Technology trademarked cctv equipment enables you to market reliable, value priced entry-mid equipment to small businesses otherwise unable to benefit from cctv due to high price points. By providing a brand name that your customer base cannot buy direct from us, you can successfully penetrate franchise opportunities and benefit substantially in your region. Try that with a DM DVR, try it with a few distributors in the south that sell your items on Ebay for less than they sell to you, but try even harder to research your posts before making such unprofessional and frankly classless statements.

[DataAve 0]

All due respect, Gen IV is Garbage. This is from a non-biased Security Installer.