thewatcher 0 Posted April 26, 2005 Hi, first time posting, been lurking for a coupla weeks now, great resource, woulda been a bit lost without your help so far , Thanx! I am a newbie to the CCTV world and am setting up a CCTV system at a property. I have just built a new PC to use for CCTV / DVR monitoring station, I need to view & control up to 8 camera’s (2 internal & 6 external) but will be starting with 4 external cameras & adding more in future. My questions are: should I go analogue or digital on this system? Does my budget decide this already? I am savvy with IT / technology and want this to be a PC based monitoring / recording setup that I will build myself; I want real time recording & display so would need minimum 200fps display & recording but would be happy to pay for more to allow upgrade options / additional cameras. Audio may be required in future but only on up to 4 cameras. I am happy with the cameras / lenses options out there but need some help with the PC card or DVR end of things. I have looked at (& researched in forum) for Geovision & Iview for analogue, as well as Axis for IP options; does anyone know the prices for other IP software options? i.e. milestone, vcs; indigo?? I understand from this forum that there are pro’s and cons to both options BUT I have a limited budget, my heart says IP but my head (& pocket) says analogue. I am ONLY interested in LEGIT badged & boxed products, no cheap’n’nasty copies or Rogue hardware/ software . Reliability & Functionality a premier need, but obviously as I have been looking at Geo, Iview & Axis you’ll get the gist of what I like thus far! If you had UK £4000 to spend on equipment and had built the PC already, which route would you go?? I’m not interested in getting a Co in to do this as: my time installing = more budget for better kit. All advice gratefully received so thanx in advance for your help; PC spec is; Mainboard: Asus P4C800E-Deluxe Proc: 3 Ghz Prescott @40’C (runs stable at 3.6) RAM: 1GB Corsair Twin X Pro (2 X 512) HDD: 2 X WD Raptors SATA 10,00rpm on RAID 0 + 1 X SATA 250Gb store drive + External 1 terabyte store drive Power; Globalwin Sapphire 520W true blue silent Audio; Audigy 2 Platinum EX Video: Matrox Parhelia (set up on triple screen mode-wow!) I have three 22†Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VST_Man 1 Posted April 26, 2005 what operating system? i recommend xp pro, sp2... and I don't understand your question? My questions are: should I go analogue or digital on this system? all systems are a combination of both. video camera's put out a analogue video signal and all DVR's (server and standalone) process the video/audio to digital. there are several DVR cards out there. your likes, needs, and cash flow will determine your card. i am a video insight user so i can address it if you'd like. your server has the horse power so any 120 fps card will work in it. only go beyond 120fps if your are looking for better quality video, but your processor will stress more if you do. if you use your server a s a pc, you may run into processing problems and other web type issues (virus, pop-ups, compatability, and junk mail) i recommend you use it ONLY as a web server. cable..i recommend RG-59 siamese or RG-6. use UTP only if you have to. my experience is RG is better quality and requires little or no maintenance, and issues like ground loops are scarce. apc..............get a good one, atleast a 1000kva pc....airflow, airflow, airflow.....make sure it is cooled later.............. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thewatcher 0 Posted April 26, 2005 Hey VST_man thanx for your help, some more info 1. by analogue V digital; I meant choosing either analogue cameras and DVR card, or going completely digital by using IP cameras, software and cat5 / PoE. As it's a new install I have both options and have to consider the costs of cabling & power too, + the associated install convenience / mess etc. plus future proofing too. 2. apc..............get a good one, atleast a 1000kva Duly Noted 3. pc....airflow, airflow, airflow.....make sure it is cooled I have installed XP Pro SP2 already and also have a Vapochill Extreme Unit to put this kit into, so the processer can be run at -25 degrees / allow overclocking if required. Is this "cool" enough 4. any further advice appreciated from all laterz Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted April 26, 2005 DVR will be cheaper than IP based, and you will generally get better software. IP software is still limited to a certain point, the best I have used is LuXRiot but its not cheap. Basically if you are looking to save money, IP is out of the question. Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
