SammieT 0 Posted March 24, 2005 Can someone explain to me the benefits I will get by spending several thousand dollars more to get a different basic 16 channel DVR? I'm not trying to be a smarta$$. I really need to know the net benefit to justify spending so much more if I'm just looking for a basic, no-frills unit. I have not seen anything that comes close to this in price for the features this supposedly has. I hope the link works. If not, it's the only 16 channel DVR on the www.samsclub.com website. http://www.samsclub.com/eclub/main_shopping.jsp?mt=a&n=0&coe=0&oidPath=0%3A-23542%3A-23589%3A-24294%3A-34203%3A909102. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 24, 2005 Its a no frills DVR, it works. First thing, that version has no LAN, meaning cant view remotely. A Lan version will cost you a couple hundred more, retail. As for the Unit itself, not bad, doesnt crash, has motion detection recording, alarms, etc. Doesnt work well with Mixed BW and Color cameras, so stick to Color only if you are going to use it. 30pps on 16 cameras, means, divide that 30pps between the amount of cameras you have. I have 14 cameras on one now though, and its fine. Motion Dectection records all cameras, even if only one camera picks up motion. Other than that, it works and does the job. You can change the Hard Drive yourself also. It doesnt have the features of a DVR such as the GE, Nuvico, Hunt, Bosch, Kodicom, etc, which are all mid to hign end, but it is just as good or better in my testing, as the Everfocus, HiSharp, Provideo, Intellicam, etc. Low end DVRs, but for half the price. I like this, If im going to buy a cheap DVR, then I want the price to be cheap Bang for buck, this DVR is worth every penny. That said, I wouldnt buy the non LAN version myself, but thats up to you. If you need a source for the LAN version of this, let me know, I can get you one. Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qman 0 Posted March 24, 2005 OH GOD!!!! I have replaced SO many of those DVR'S already, they keep crashing and high rate of Hard Drive Failure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SammieT 0 Posted March 24, 2005 Looks like we've got the full range of opinion in just two replies! Herminshs - Re:Hard drive failure - even if you had to replace it with a better one it's still cheap, no? Can you please define "crash" and how you remedy it as I have never used a stand-alone DVR (can you reboot just like a computer?). Rory - sounds like you've had good experience with little or no crash problems. Have you used this same model 5170? How does the recorded image compare with other low or mid-range units? The description says max record rate is 25pps. You also say, "30pps on 16 cameras, means, divide that 30pps between the amount of cameras you have" - is that different than on other DVR's? If so, please expound. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 24, 2005 Yeah it is 25fps im the programming,. but I think that is PAL, they probably just didnt write in the changes for NTSC for 30fps. I have used the same exact model, but it is the LAN version. It is an Avtech Model. I can get you pricing in the US if you want LAN, if not, the price there is the NON land price anyway. I get it from a US distributor though, not from Sams Club. Well, it IS the cheapest 16 channel on the market. If you want the rock bottom in the RTOS Embedded range, this is it. The $1200-1400 Everfocus, HiSharp, Provideo, just dont even cut it. They each have their PRos, but too many Cons for their prices. I posted a review on them here before. They would crash all the time. I had this one for 2 weeks in my appt, on the internet as a demo, and people would connect every day to view it. Features - Pros and Cons mixed together -Motion detection records all cameras when it only picks up 1 camera -Network Software is a basic server 1 channel - so multiview is pixelised, but single is fine (LAN version only) -No Local Back up - no USB, FireWire, or CD/DVD on board - though this is the same with other low end that cost more, except the Provideo has a CD and the Everfocus has a USB - LAN based version allows saving images/video. Though you can always buy a simple PC capture card and back up full 748x480 video to AVI and WMV. -LAN version allows multiple users and multiple user levels for LAN/WAN access -LAN version allows DDNS and uses Port 80 for browser access -On Motion Detection in multi view, you see a Motion Symbol on the particular camera which is picking up motion, so you know which one it is - if in Fuill Screen on 1 camera, if any other camera picks up motion it shows the Motion Symbol anyway. -Hard drive is changable, you can use any -Selectable Image Quality Levels - global -Selectable Recording Speeds - global -Selectable Internal/External alarm on Motion - global -Search by All/Event/TimeDate -No Disk Analysis - well who does have it in the low end .. noone -To access the menu you have to hit stop if it is recording -Password to access menu -Must enter password to enter search mode -Can lock front buttons -No mouse, no nothing, just plug it in and forget it, hopefully! -Very low price -Lastly, my hand held radio, when pointed at it, would cause it to freak out, that is the only time it would do that Thats all i can thing of off hand as I just replaced an Eclipse CCTV PC DVR with this, less features than the PC one, but thats what they wanted, a simple machine that required no intervention. Remember it doesnt have all the bells and whistels of the more expensive ones I listed before, and no features like a decent PC Card, but depends what you need. It was all I needed for my appartment ..if thats all I could afford and didnt want to leave a PC running. Best of both worlds would to have an Embedded RTOS plus a PC Based unit, loop from the RTOS to the PC, then you have a back up machine, plus all the features of the PC system. Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sentry360 0 Posted March 24, 2005 I'll tell you one thing about HDD crashes - try to avoid them. Using HDDs under 120G is another thing to consider. Just call up couple places where they recover information from crashed HDDs - a good 80% of them are 200-250G drives. And it is insainly expensive to recover information too... We had a guy with crashed HDD still on warranty and he needed that footage for court. Ouch... Other then that - you are not safe from crashes anyway, because of the amount of data constantly being recorded on drives... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 24, 2005 yeah, a hard drive is a hard drive. When i was saying crash though, on those units, I meant, it locks up, system/software issues. Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thomas 0 Posted March 24, 2005 It depends on how dead the drive is. If you have to run the platters under an electron microscope in a clean room....you're looking at some money. If the drive is doing a clicky death, then the freezer is your friend. I used to make very good money bringing dead drives back for a few hours. You'd be amazed at what people will pay to get their quickbooks info back. To quote Linus: Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VJD 0 Posted March 25, 2005 -Lastly, my hand held radio, when pointed at it, would cause it to freak out... Undocumented feature Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sentry360 0 Posted March 25, 2005 It depends on how dead the drive is. If you have to run the platters under an electron microscope in a clean room....you're looking at some money. If the drive is doing a clicky death, then the freezer is your friend. I used to make very good money bringing dead drives back for a few hours. You'd be amazed at what people will pay to get their quickbooks info back. To quote Linus: Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it. Hey Thomas -- congrats on your 666 post! Funny you talk about bringing dead back to life Drives.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
qman 0 Posted March 25, 2005 It depends on how dead the drive is. If you have to run the platters under an electron microscope in a clean room....you're looking at some money. If the drive is doing a clicky death, then the freezer is your friend. I used to make very good money bringing dead drives back for a few hours. You'd be amazed at what people will pay to get their quickbooks info back. To quote Linus: Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it. Hey Thomas -- congrats on your 666 post! Funny you talk about bringing dead back to life Drives.... LOL! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SammieT 0 Posted March 26, 2005 Must have been a run on these as the price just went up $80! Rory - two questions: How is the recorded image on this unit compared to other low or mid-range units? What kind of problem is there with using both color and black and white cameras? Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cctvexpert 0 Posted March 27, 2005 The big thing on the cheapo systems is what they don't tell you is that if you have it recording full time you run out of hard drive space in a day or two. If you set it for motion detection it maxes out after a not very great number of events. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cctv_down_under 0 Posted March 27, 2005 Yeh Thomas did the same thing with the freezor option many timesw, also shrinks the platters or something, it always looks cool when you manage to get data that EVERYONE said was gone, then it becomes a good bargaining tool! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wahloon 0 Posted March 28, 2005 Can someone explain to me the benefits I will get by spending several thousand dollars more to get a different basic 16 channel DVR? I'm not trying to be a smarta$$. I really need to know the net benefit to justify spending so much more if I'm just looking for a basic, no-frills unit. I have not seen anything that comes close to this in price for the features this supposedly has. I hope the link works. If not, it's the only 16 channel DVR on the www.samsclub.com website. http://www.samsclub.com/eclub/main_shopping.jsp?mt=a&n=0&coe=0&oidPath=0%3A-23542%3A-23589%3A-24294%3A-34203%3A909102. the system is ok for the money, but I would spend a couple more hundred and get something better. I had a lot of system lockup with this model had to change out a ton of these. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thomas 0 Posted March 28, 2005 The freezing does shrink the platters, and it thickens the lube the drives use. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cctv_down_under 0 Posted March 28, 2005 trust you to know about Lube Thomas Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thomas 0 Posted March 28, 2005 Ah, the envy of a old man past his prime. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SammieT 0 Posted March 29, 2005 Looks like Rory doesn't want to respond to my additional questions Does anyone else think this is a decent unit? If so, can you comment on recorded picture quality and any problems with mixing color and black and white cameras? What unit would be recommended for a few hundred more $ (can be 8 or 9 channel instead of 16). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 29, 2005 sorry i missed that one ..! Image quality is as good, and better than Everfocus. It is Multiplexed Wavelet and 4CIF. It is more than $600 less than the other 16ch low ends. For the average home or small retail, its all you need. In Multiplexed View I found some issues with color particles in my BW Images. Turning the color totoally off on the BW cameras helped, and also, this only happens when it first begins to record. Ofcourse this would mean in Motion Detection, not time lapse mode though. That said it is only on the display, not record. If you want to move up, goto the Hunt, it is a more mid range DVR, and better than most others in its price range. 8 channel would be in the range you are talking about. Stay away from the Provideo, HiSharp, and Everfocus. I cant speak for others in that range, at this time. Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
