AV760 poor quality on Video Server E

[maboza 0]

Hi all,

 

I have a bit of an issue with poor quality video on my software app - Video Server E.

 

I've looked through here for a couple of issues and help previously but just registering for the first time as I'm a bit stuck this time! ....hopefully someone can help.

 

I have an AV760 setup with 4x camera's feeding into the DVR.

The system had been down for a while and isn't local to me so I have just managed to get it reconfigured but it was just basic cabling issues at the site/shop.

 

I now have it up and running again, cabled correctly and displaying through an LCD TV fine after changing some of the brightness settings, etc. so that all 4 cameras are looking good when displayed on the LCD TV.

 

I also have the DVR connected to the local Wireless LAN to allow viewing access on the laptop in store - with the intention of using Remote Desktop Connection to login and view remotely as and when required. All of those connections are working fine and I can connect and get video feeds whether it be locally or remotely over RDP. I have not used the DVR setup for logging in remotely as I believed the approach I've mentioned to be simpler and avoids setup of Static IP, etc.

 

Problem is the quality on the Video Server E is very, very grainy and poor. I am certain the quality has deteriorated from the standard it was at previously. I'm no expert with the system or settings that may be having an impact when using this setup so would appreciate if anyone knows things that may be impacting or causing poor quality.

 

Just to recap:

 

Display on LCD TV is fine for all 4 cameras.

Display on PC/laptop through Video Server E shows poor quality.

I have tried 2 different laptops. Both running Windows Vista.

 

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[scorpion 0]

Hello.

 

Is your hard drive an IDE, or a SATA hard drive?

 

The different models share the same model number, but are completely different beasts.

 

Yes the DVR is going to have some grainyness to it mostly through remote view.

 

That being said if it is real grainy then the blame is going to be on the cameras.

 

I would borrow an expensive camera and see how this compares to the other cameras.

 

Lens selection may be a problem as well if your are using wide angle cameras, and you may do better with larger number millimeter lens sizes.

 

Has this DVR been connected to a UPS/battery backup? This will help filter out transients in the electrical system. This DVR may have taken a spike. It is still working, but something may have been damamged. I have seen this on older DVRs, and usually one channel will appear more "whitish" then the other channels.

 

Note for others coming to this post from search engines.

 

The IDE version is a dual JPEG / MPEG DVR and the SATA version does not have JPEG.

Those needing to integrate video stream, or email snapshots will want the JPEG version although the SATA version is a better machine. SATA drives are cheaper then IDE drives therefore some thought must be made in to which version one selects.

 

The IDE version will be JPEG recording and JPEG network transmission. Expect some grainyness on the video monitor. Tube TVs will provide a superior view compared to flat panel LCD, TFT, and other flat panel technologies. The flat panels are catching up rapidly to tube quality view, but we are not quite there yet. This model uses Video Server E

 

The SATA version is MPEG recording and MPEG network transmission. Expect some grainyness, but not as much as the JPEG version. This model uses Video Viewer.

 

Note: Video Viewer can be used on machines that use Video Server E and has been made backward compatable. It will not work on Video Server S machines.

[maboza 0]

Thanks for the quick response!

 

I'll need to check the HDD and will see if it's the IDE or SATA version we have.

 

I had ruled out the possibility of the cameras being a problem as they have a wired connection into the DVR and when displayed on the LCD TV the quality is absolutely fine. With that in mind I had thought it would either be the DVR that was the problem or the DVR/Video Server E settings.

 

The DVR doesn't have a battery backup and goes straight into the power adapter and wall socket so I guess that damage of the DVR may have potentially occurred at some point due to a power surge but hope not! It's only 1 year old.

 

Anything particularly worth checking?

 

I thought I should maybe cable the LAN direct from DVR-Laptop and try and pick up the video feed to rule out the wireless signal & router as being an issue. Also want to check on the web browser to see if there's any difference from the Video Server E software but I can't access this through the current setup.

 

Only other idea was a factory reset of the DVR. Anything to be wary of with that?

[scorpion 0]

There are not problems doing a factory reset other then being careful around the mainboard with tools, and creating shorts and the normal tech stuff.

 

DIY may prefer to have an experienced tech perform the reset.