newbe question one: sleep mode

[drzman49 0]

Hi, I am new to this forum, and new to security systems.

 

I am looking into creating a pc based system.

 

I am making the following assumptions:

1. I can set up the software to only record when the motion sensitive camera is activated

2. unless the motion camera is activated, the computer can be made to go into sleep mode

3. When the motion camera is activated, and sends the signal to the dvr card in the computer, the computer comes out of sleep mode and records.

 

Please let me know if my assumptions are accurate.

 

Thanks

 

 

Man stares into the abyss, and there's nothing staring back at him. That's when man finds his character. And that's what keeps him out of the abyss

[tomcctv 190]

Hi, I am new to this forum, and new to security systems.

 

I am looking into creating a pc based system.

 

I am making the following assumptions:

1. I can set up the software to only record when the motion sensitive camera is activated

2. unless the motion camera is activated, the computer can be made to go into sleep mode

3. When the motion camera is activated, and sends the signal to the dvr card in the computer, the computer comes out of sleep mode and records.

 

Please let me know if my assumptions are accurate.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

Hi drzman.

your pc will always need to be on and not go into sleep mode. all your motion setting are on the cctv card software your pc goes to sleep so does your cctv software. which cards are you going to use and what will you be protecting.

[drzman49 0]

protecting my residence, in and out.

 

I read that the costs of keeping a typical computer on full time 24x7 is about 250 bucks a year, so perhaps I'll take the money and buy a dedicated dvr.

 

200 watts (average use of computer to stay on) x 24 hours x 365 = 1,752,000, 1752 kwhours x $.14 kwhrs = $245 dollars a year.

 

For that I could buy a good dvr over couple years.

 

 

I don't think a dvr costs nearly this much, but perhaps someone knows these figures?

 

Maybe I'm being to picky about the running costs though.

[Soundy 1]

Have you checked the power consumption of a dedicated unit as well, for comparison? I doubt you'll find they use that much less than the PC.

 

Stick with energy-efficient components when you build the PC and you should be good. Make sure to set it to turn off the monitor after a set time, and you can probably set it to spin down the hard drive after a while as well.

[tomcctv 190]

protecting my residence, in and out.

 

I read that the costs of keeping a typical computer on full time 24x7 is about 250 bucks a year, so perhaps I'll take the money and buy a dedicated dvr.

 

200 watts (average use of computer to stay on) x 24 hours x 365 = 1,752,000, 1752 kwhours x $.14 kwhrs = $245 dollars a year.

 

For that I could buy a good dvr over couple years.

 

 

I don't think a dvr costs nearly this much, but perhaps someone knows these figures?

 

Maybe I'm being to picky about the running costs though.

 

if you are looking for a system with about 4 cameras then i would just buy something like the avermedia 1304 sata. this will cost no were near the price of a pc to run. http://www.avermedia.com/AVerDiGi/Product/Detail.aspx?id=151

[drzman49 0]

well, looking at the specs of a DVR, Security DVR -

 

L104161

 

I noticed it is DC 12 volts at 4 amps, meaning 48 watts to run. So this would be 48 watts x 24 x 365 = 424,280, 424.28 kw hours x .14 = $59 dollars a year to run. that's $150 savings a year compared to a computer running an average of 200 watts.

 

The person who stated "Have you checked the power consumption of a dedicated unit as well, for comparison? I doubt you'll find they use that much less than the PC."

 

My figures to run a PC were very rough. Do you have some data to show that a computer (with monitor off of course) could run on about 48 watts? That would be helpful.

 

Thanks

[drzman49 0]

I now have exact figures for the computer, thanks to a watt meter.

 

It costs 160 a year to run my pentium 4 computer 24x7, not including monitor, of course without going into sleep mode.

 

A DVR costs 60 a year to run. I save 100 a year by using a DVR.

If I need to upgrade in 5 years, let say, the DVR, it would seem the better deal. Especially when you consider the additional costs of upgrading computer when things wear out faster. less flexibility with the DVR, the only downside that I can see.

[rory 0]

A Pentium 4 burns alot more power then the current CPUs. Even a Core 2 Duo will save you alot, use internal Video only, minimize ram, no DVD drive, etc, you can get it down easily. For example, an All in one PC like the I-Mac uses all Intel Core 2 duo, etc .. burns around 65 watts. Same with the Asus all in one. So yes you can get it down, but the DVR card will cause it to go up a bit.

 

That said, you cant compare some of those little cheap 4 channel stand alones to a good PC based DVR .. feature wise the PC blows it away, especially for evidence sharing and networking. Also note alot of the cheap 4 channel DVRs wont allow you to set motion masking, as in the case of the Avermedia 1304, and then on motion every little thing causes it to record. Also they dont always have seperate streaming for the network, meaning if you have high quality setting for recording, it can be very slow over the network, turn down the quality for recording, then its so bad you cant make out anything worthwhile on playback.

 

The cheap 4 channels do have their place though, depends on your needs.