DVR Question

[mikano 0]

Hi all,

Im using a ccd camera for my backyard. The camera works great. I get a clear picture in daylight. And At night it's snowy. Im using a B/W camera.

is that Normal ?

 

Now about the dvr's is it better to have a h.264 type or regular mpeg4?

I have a swann mpeg4 4 channel.

 

 

Later

Michael

[Soundy 1]

Hi all,

Im using a ccd camera for my backyard. The camera works great. I get a clear picture in daylight. And At night it's snowy. Im using a B/W camera.

is that Normal ?

 

It is with cheap, low-quality cameras.

[katie1985 0]

Hi all,

Im using a ccd camera for my backyard. The camera works great. I get a clear picture in daylight. And At night it's snowy. Im using a B/W camera.

is that Normal ?

 

Now about the dvr's is it better to have a h.264 type or regular mpeg4?

I have a swann mpeg4 4 channel.

 

 

Later

Michael

 

Hello, it seems that you don't have a very good camera...

 

Eventhough H.264 is much advanced than Mpeg4, you can not get wonderful image quality with not so good cameras...

[rory 0]

If its too dark it can be snowy. Especially if its Exview BW. Though Exview BW will see much more then regular BW, under near pitch dark there will be noise. Ofcourse a bad camera can do that also. Depends on the light level and the camera you have, the location light level, as well as the DVR used. Have you checked the picture without it going through the DVR? How old is the camera? A Swann DVR is a dead give away for a system that wont be good quality video.

[mikano 0]

If its too dark it can be snowy. Especially if its Exview BW. Though Exview BW will see much more then regular BW, under near pitch dark there will be noise. Ofcourse a bad camera can do that also. Depends on the light level and the camera you have, the location light level, as well as the DVR used. Have you checked the picture without it going through the DVR? How old is the camera? A Swann DVR is a dead give away for a system that wont be good quality video.

 

Hi, thanks for the repond.

 

The camera is new and it's a ccd Sony-exview low light 000.1 lux. Pc164cex-2 this camera works good I'm using a Tamron 2.8-12mm me a I also have a 6-60mm telephoto which works great. About the dvr I'm going to upgrade sooner or later to H.264 type.

 

Thanks

Michael

[shinaian 0]

Hi all,

Im using a ccd camera for my backyard. The camera works great. I get a clear picture in daylight. And At night it's snowy. Im using a B/W camera.

is that Normal ?

 

Now about the dvr's is it better to have a h.264 type or regular mpeg4?

I have a swann mpeg4 4 channel.

 

 

Later

Michael

 

Hello Michael,i think that i can konw your words.

About your picture is snowy at night,it depend on its ir distance,maybe its ir led is strong.Would you please give me a picture?

 

Besides,if you won't get the picture like that,i suggest you use the Array IR Camera.

 

The standalone DVR,absolutely the H.264 is better than MPEG-4.

[marketzion 0]

the video quality is snowy..........i think you need to spend maybe 50 bucks to get a better IR enabled D&N Camera.

[suky 0]

If only for home use and record, a MPEG-4 is more appropriate for local storage;

 

If for remote access, H.264 video format comepression is better for remote transmission.

 

The reason of snowy screen:

1. caused by signal interference brought by other digital equipments!

2. the cable's quality is not good.

[kloudykat 0]

I installed a lcd monitor for viewing in someone's master bedroom and they constantly had intermittent snow happening.

 

It turns out the fan in their bathroom was causing the interferance. Check around for stuff like that that might be on 24/7.

[stevecameraman 0]

Hi If you are getting snow flake pictures, this is because there is not enough light, pop down to wicks they do some good 500 watt pir lamps install one of these lamps above your camera,it will sort out your problem.

 

Regards

Steve MaitlandCCTV Engineer

Closed Circuit Security Ltd

[huwbler 0]

Hi Michael,

 

Im using a ccd camera for my backyard. The camera works great. I get a clear picture in daylight. And At night it's snowy. Im using a B/W camera.

is that Normal ?

 

Typically the clarity of the picture will be reduced at night-time and you can generally see this effect in low-light conditions. The sensor on the camera must compensate for the low light conditions and increases the gain or 'sensitivity' accordingly, this unfortunately means that you will often get slightly snowy (noisy) pictures at night time with this level of camera. You can indeed get cameras that use a higher sensitivity CCD sensor, although these are likely to be more expensive.

 

You might like to try using a motion activated (PIR) flood-lights as suggested by stevecameraman, or if your intention was more covert, you could try using IR flood-lights. You'll need to use ones which are around the 850-920nm range.

If that's no good, then switch to a higher sensitivity CCD sensor. Look out for more surface area on the sensor (e.g. 1/3" over 1/4"), and a better low lux rating on the camera.

 

Now about the dvr's is it better to have a h.264 type or regular mpeg4?

I have a swann mpeg4 4 channel.

 

When it comes to the difference between MPEG4 and h.264, MPEG4 is your best choice if video quality is your concern. Although h.264 can be viewed as a more advanced method for compressing video, and is often more space efficient given the same level of image quality, the compression profile that is used on the Swann h.264 DVRs is often quite low due to the extreme processor demand when compared with that of MPEG4.

 

If you wanted to compress video on your PC, h.264 without a doubt.

DVR with high compression profile h.264 codec, or high compression profile MPEG4? h.264 no doubt.

A DVR with limited processing power that was using either low-profile h.265 or mid/high-profile MPEG4? go for MPEG4.

 

Hope this helps

 

/edit: typo + add signature

[scorpion 0]

mikano

 

I agree with everyone here. Either add motion lights, or add more IR illumination.

 

Measure from where your camera is located, and out to the area to be viewed. Double this distance. This will be the IR distance that you will be looking for.

 

For example most entry level bullets may have a 30 foot rated IR. This means that the video is going to be most effective at the 15 foot range.

Even though one might have a "cheap" camera it should work good in this case as a person standing in a yard is going to be within the 15 foot zone.

 

What really makes the video better is to have a lot of tree canopy. In other words the IR can bounce off of the foilage, and create a better picture.

 

The type of LED will dictate wether it is designed for wide throw, or long throw. I have seen cameras that have mismatched IR LED compared to the lens. I have seen long throw lense camera (lets say 12mm) with an IR System designed for a wide throw lense camera (lets say 2.8mm), or vise versa.

 

It may, or maynot help in your case.

 

http://scorpiontheater.com/irlab.aspx

 

To everyone out there reading this post. Before you start mounting camera, and your main issue is nighttime video, then I want you to stop, and think about the photographer who takes family photos. They are in a well lit room, and yet they still have those "umbrellas" on the left, and the right, and they have lamps, or flash in various locations. The flash from above is to give your hair the "sun flair, or highlight" effect. The flash in the back is to highlight the background picture.

 

What are the umbrellas for? They actually difuse the light making in less harsh, and spread the light around more evenly.

 

In regards to IR illumination at night time then you will want to do the same thing. The camera may have a distance spec. If you are looking farther then the spec then add an IR illuminator in this area, (or add a long throw IR illuminator). You will also want to illuminate the background (this will help give you perspective such as where he is located in a yard, and what is size may be based on a 6 foot fence in a background etc).

 

If you have large trees then point a IR illuminator in to the canopy to spread the light more evenly.

 

I have seen people buy a camera with a 200 foot (or just an illuminator) IR throw. All it does is creates a "hot spot" in the video. The IR source is so narrow that you miss a lot of the peripheral vision.

 

When you go to do your install look at your budget, and look at what you can afford. Buy the best camera that you can afford, and add illuminators later when you have more money. In other words build your "system" up over time.

 

You can buy several IR illuminators, and a "cheapo" camera, and later upgrade the camera.

 

__________________________________________________________

Thread Highjack!

 

Hello Huwbler!

 

I love the Swann products.

I love the DVRs that you sell that look like my avatar.

 

In regards to Swann cameras:

I would have to say you have some great cameras for the price range.

I can take a Swann bullet, or a Swann Wireless bullet, and I can throw them to the floor, and plug them in to a system, and they still work! Tough!

 

I sell a ton of the 2.4Ghz wireless bullets. People are always trying to use them outside of the parameters for which they were designed.

Once I get them to move the receiver so they are not trying to penetrate 4 walls, and extreme distances then all works out good.

 

http://scorpiontheater.com/wireless.aspx

 

I would love to hear what you have in DVRs that you are soon to introduce that have the same remote software that my avatar has.