TVEngineer77 0 Posted October 5, 2009 Ok so I'm just about to fire the security company that installed our system because it is not what I expected in terms of image quality. Remember this guy installed analog cameras with 540 lines of resolution (still 380k pixels) and the image quality is terrible. I've asked him to see about providing IP Megapixel cameras, which he can't get. He also won't get me any other DVR except the OpenEye that I have. He went on a tirade saying that I won't be happy with any IP camera that I install, that they're more susceptible to lightning damage (?), that other clients he's had with IP systems pulled them out and went to analog cameras. I say all that to ask this - am I wrong in thinking that I will get a much better quality system (yes at additional cost) if I go with IP Megapixel cameras and an NVR system? I need details in the pictures I see and it just makes logic sense to me that a 380k pixel analog camera is far inferior in terms of image quality to a 2MP IP camera. I feel that my guy is just saying all of that because he cannot get me what I want. Do you agree? What other challenges might I face with switching to IP MP cameras from analog? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted October 5, 2009 Who knows, but its more than acceptable that he wont sell you something he has not used yet or tested, especially since the consensus from those that have used both properly setup CCTV and IP cameras say that IP cameras are still not ready for real day night apps, least within a decent price range. If all you care about is a full color app with plenty light then go for it, he should be happy that you are willing to spend so much money so that he can test the cameras out, ofcourse he needs to tell you he cannot make any guarantees on the product or the final image, though you mentioned your image already sucks. To say that one cannot get high quality video from a CCTV system (non IP cameras) is just ridiculous and would show ignorance of the industry on a whole. There are many cameras out there and many of them do suck, additionally installation location can cause many issues, and the DVR itself used could be another issue, not to mention bad wiring and power. And if you put a composite DVR onto an LCD it will look like crap in most cases, but thats not the recording, thats just the viewing - put that same image on a high quality CCTV monitor and it can be just like a movie picture. There are many factors to it and thats why there are professionals, and ofcourse some that claim to be. Additionally, a 540TVL camera should be 811x508 total pixels. BTW these threads are a dime a dozen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thewireguys 3 Posted October 5, 2009 Well from my experience you can install Megapixel cameras and have a very good quality system with amazing image quality day and night. The key is using quality products, know the limitations, and spending time designing the system correctly. I have yet to have a customer call me to take out a megapixel camera but they have called me to replace their analog cameras with megapixel ones. D1 resolution = 720 × 486 pixels = .3 MP Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soundy 1 Posted October 5, 2009 "Am I wrong in thinking that I will get a much better quality system if I go with IP Megapixel cameras?" Well... kind of. But you're on the right track. As the others have noted, overall system design is critical. You'll definitely get higher RESOLUTION with IP cameras, but whether it's better QUALITY video depends on a lot of other factors: compression, conditions, environment, lighting, lenses, general camera quality... Case in point, you could get a bargain-basement 1.3MP IP camera for less than you'd pay for an all-analog Panasonic WV-CP484, and while you'd get higher resolution, you probably wouldn't have a better picture, especially under extreme lighting conditions. The main problem with cheap Costco package systems and their ilk, is that they just pack up a bunch of one-size-almost-fits-all cameras that will do a "fair" job in almost all circumstances, but nothing that will excel when it comes to specific needs. Sounds like this guy has done something similar, setting you up with a bunch of generic gear that doesn't quite do a "good" job at anything. Of course, it's possible that what you DO have simply isn't set up properly - poor focus, poor positioning and aiming, incorrect resolution and compression settings, etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ronster 0 Posted October 5, 2009 Rory, not to change the subject, but what is the difference in a LCD monitor and a cctv lcd monitor. One giving abetter image than the other? Thanks Ronster Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
