Q-See is the worst company...

[Digitalbil 0]

I just had the pleasure of dealing with a store that is the front for a company called Q-see. This company not only sold me something that does not do what they said it would, the retailer closed its doors while I was trying to return the product. I have been trying to deal with the manufacturer patiently, but now that the store is fully closed, I am being told that they can not help me in anyway. I paid them 1600 bucks for a system that does not work or do anything that is useful to me. I came into that store with very specific details as to how this dvr card needed to work. The salesman that I was dealing with seemed to be up to date on what their products could do. I informed the store within 12 hours of picking up my merchandise that there was a problem. Just today I went to visit the store again and now all of their stuff is gone and there is no forwarding info. I called the manufacturer, who told me that they did get paid from the store, yet will not help me out at all. What can I do to get back at this company?

[rory 0]

Qsee is sold all over the web by many different stores as well as local stores all over the US. Cant say I ever had the pleasure of using them though ... doubt I ever would either. $1600 seems a little high for them though, seen them online for much less, most are consumer based items. Did you get their best package for that price?

 

Anyway, what is it not doing that you want it to do?

 

Seems they are a USA based company, so could always make a complaint to the better business bureau.

http://www.q-see.com/q-see-company/contact-q-see.php

[clearsignal 0]

Same, I've never used them...likely never will. And I hope you got more than just a card for that money. But I don't believe Q-See is responsible for what you've described above. Go after the business that sold it, if that's at all possible...they are the culprits.

[Digitalbil 0]

The manufacturer has a lot more of this to deal with. The salesman who was working with me was talking with the manufacturer and myself while I explained what I needed it to do before the purchase was made. I was also promised custom software to help me burn dvds and to edit the avi files.... It was also stated at the time of purchase that if I have any problems I do have a full 30 days to return it for a complete refund.

 

What I needed the system to do is to cut each motion sensored event into an avi clip(meaning accesible by windows not within the dvr program where it cant be edited). Believe it or not this not a setting anywhere that can be adjusted. Yes I was able to adjust the dvr card so that the camera keeps recording for 10 seconds after a motion sensor has stopped detecting motion but I explained that if the card couldn't work the way that I needed it to that I will have to purchase a different dvr card from a different store so that I may accomplish this. Now I know the other cards that were/are still available but the quality of the video has to go down a little bit. On top of it I have locked up all my money on this system(yes being underfunded really sucks). If I could have returned the dvr card back on the 8th when I knew there was a problem, I could have still made some money, now they are just leaving me screwed owing inverstors money who helped me purchase this. I used inverstors because I couldn't put all that money together. This system was supposed to be used at a haunted house where people could purchase their trip on dvd. Neat concept right? Well I am literally all out of money and having the manufacturer make things worse by not even trying to help me in anyway... yeah that sucks.

 

BTW I also got 8 cameras and about 1000 feet of cable and 8 generic microphones. It wasnt just a dvr card.

[Digitalbil 0]

Thanks for the suggestion and I did file a complaint with the BBB and Rip Off Report. I want to make sure that no one else gets treated this way. Its really not right and especially when money is tight. I have kids who want to buy dvds yet I cant get the little extra money to buy another card that would actually do this correctly. I have seen some of the cards for about 100 to 150 ... I just completely strapped. I broke down the reciept and I paid about 559.00 for just the dvr card alone. So originally I just thought I will return that card and get one somewhere else...

[rory 0]

I would try to sell the card off at cost, it will still work for someone else's application.

Maybe look at Geovision, they save files in AVI format - however, any one you get it will always be encoded using their codecs, so the user will still need the codecs on their PC, or as in the Geovision's case it can create an EXE which installs the codecs first then opens the video file.

[Soundy 1]

Thanks for the suggestion and I did file a complaint with the BBB and Rip Off Report. I want to make sure that no one else gets treated this way. Its really not right and especially when money is tight. I have kids who want to buy dvds yet I cant get the little extra money to buy another card that would actually do this correctly. I have seen some of the cards for about 100 to 150 ... I just completely strapped. I broke down the reciept and I paid about 559.00 for just the dvr card alone. So originally I just thought I will return that card and get one somewhere else...

Unfortunately, you're partly to blame for your own predicament - you're trying to accomplish a certain end without fully understanding how to get to that end, and your purchase is based partly on not asking the right questions.

 

What you're looking for is not specifically a function of the card; it's a function of the software. The only way the card comes into play is in the software it supports (or the software that supports it). In short, with the proper software, it's POSSIBLE (though not likely), that the CARD will do what you want. Of course, the trick there is that many cards won't work with software other than what they're shipped with, and most software will only work with the specific cards that it ships with. This is usually by design, intended to lock the two together.

 

Beyond that though, a CCTV system is really not the best way to achieve this end. Since surveillance video must remain unedited to be of any use as evidence, the ability to edit is not generally high on the design priority list for CCTV manufacturers. Also, for it to look "normal", and to work properly in most video editing applications, you really need to record at a full 30fps, and at a full D1 resolution to match DVD quality... and it must do it on all used inputs simultaneously; that sharply limits the hardware that will fulfill your requirements.

[rory 0]

Probably better off with some IP cams with some software to record to AVI using built in Windows codecs .. though the compression might not be so great, not 100% sure about that.

[clearsignal 0]

Not knowing exactly what you need. I found this...more on the pro side of things. It may do what you are looking for with the right equipment.

 

http://vidblaster.com/products/studio.html

 

Just a thought, and I know it's too-little-too-late as you are already out of pocket for the dvr card. Good Luck.

[Digitalbil 0]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions...

 

Matt... I understand what you are getting at but when your customers breaks it down into the most very simple concept and the sales person takes that info and says yes no problem, then that is what I expect. No problems... maybe some little adjustments but nothing this far off. On top of it I just felt the manufacturer should step up and back their product. End of story. I am not asking for anything super special. I agree completely that its a software thing, but then I should have been told that this card wont work that way because it only works with their software, and even still I should have been able to easily return that card, so I may purchase another. You have to understand, its not like this store had a whole bunch of different brands.. they carry q-see... so then he should know his software enough to know that I would run into this problem. I think this was more of a setup, the sales guy knew that this wouldnt work all along... He only carries q-see product. I never asked to edit the avis.... as long as the motion sensor is working and the software is cutting it, then there should be no reasont to edit the software. right?

[tomcctv 190]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions...

 

Matt... I understand what you are getting at but when your customers breaks it down into the most very simple concept and the sales person takes that info and says yes no problem, then that is what I expect. No problems... maybe some little adjustments but nothing this far off. On top of it I just felt the manufacturer should step up and back their product. End of story. I am not asking for anything super special. I agree completely that its a software thing, but then I should have been told that this card wont work that way because it only works with their software, and even still I should have been able to easily return that card, so I may purchase another. You have to understand, its not like this store had a whole bunch of different brands.. they carry q-see... so then he should know his software enough to know that I would run into this problem. I think this was more of a setup, the sales guy knew that this wouldnt work all along... He only carries q-see product. I never asked to edit the avis.... as long as the motion sensor is working and the software is cutting it, then there should be no reasont to edit the software. right?

 

 

what happend to the company you bought the card from ??? and name. what you have to remember is you was sold your card by a salesman .... who has never used the card or know anything about cctv. q-see is world wide selling bottom end dvrs and cards under many names.

what is it you are trying to do with the card .......... why not just use it as cctv why do you need it to do other things.

[Digitalbil 0]

This equipment was for a special project and that was made very clear before the system was ordered. I was re-assured that it would work exactly as I needed it to which was to cut avi files every time the motion sensor detected activity on each camera. This system does make avi files but only once it has 6 minutes and 55 seconds of material put together. This is what is wrong with it. If it just made avi files like I was told then I would be doing ok. Since it doesn't do it this way I feel mislead. The only reason I was told this is because the salesman knew that if he told me that card wouldn't work the way I wanted it to, I probably wouldn't be buying the cameras either. I have spoken with Q-see and they state that their software has never been able to work the way that I was promised it would work. The company who cashed in was called Tek Solutions from West Palm Beach. They are gone with out a trace. No where to be found. I looked up the articles of organization to find a Marcia Miller that signed the paperwork with an address. I am doing what I can to track her down but I am pretty sure that will also be a waste of time. My sales person claimed to know the system very well. Why would I doubt him, when all I see around me is Q-See products?

 

 

To Soundy- I am a little offended at your comment about me being at fault here. I know a good amount about the technology that I do know. When making a purchase I asked all the right questions as it pertained to my process, even the return process and I did ask about software even the ability to use generic software, and was assured once again by the salesman that yes it did work this way. The card from a hardware perspective can do what I need it to, but their software is limited and I should have been told this upfront. Don't you think? Even still after I made my purchase and quickly discovered that it didn't meet my needs, shouldn't I have been able to return this card? Or in your world are you telling me that I didnt do something correctly? I usually like to test my stuff either before buying it or at the time of sale. This wasn't exactly something that I could test while standing in the store. I still feel that the manufacturer should step up to the plate and do something. They shouldn't be taking the position that they are. I didn't do anything wrong yet I am still out the 1600. That isn't right no matter what business you are in. If the manufacturer is going to stand their ground and do nothing, then people need to know that this is that type of company. I have worked with CD duplication companies from around the world(Verity and Titan just to name a few). I have seen some of the extra steps that these companies take in helping make sure a client is handled. The specs on the dvr card is what also helped sell me. I like the quality that the card can handle but again if its not going to cut the motion sensor events into little video clips, then it might as well be garbage...

[Securame 0]

This is not Q-See's fault. I won't say it is your fault either, but you can not blame in on the manufacturer.

 

If you had x days to return the product to the store you purchased it from, if you were told by a salesman that this card will do this and that, but it doesn't, if you were promised some software that dopes not come with the card, and now you don't have it; this is not Q-See's problem, and they are not the ones to be held acountable because some other retailer closed doors.

[Soundy 1]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions...

 

Matt... I understand what you are getting at but when your customers breaks it down into the most very simple concept and the sales person takes that info and says yes no problem, then that is what I expect.

And you're expecting the average storefront electronics salesdroid actually knows what he's talking about? That's a crap shoot at the best of times.

 

On top of it I just felt the manufacturer should step up and back their product.

Sure, but from their perspective, there's nothing WRONG with their product. If you bought the wrong tool for the job... that's not their problem. To invoke an analogy: you want to turn one piece of wood into two, so you go to the hardware store, tell them that this is what you want to do, and they sell you a hammer instead of a saw. Both will do what you ask, but only one in the way you want to do it. As long as the hammer isn't broken, the manufacturer of the hammer has no business in the transaction.

 

I agree completely that its a software thing, but then I should have been told that this card wont work that way because it only works with their software,

Why? Did you ask? I bet the software won't make toast, either, but they didn't tell you that. There are some things you have to think of to ask for yourself.

 

and even still I should have been able to easily return that card, so I may purchase another.

Agreed, but that's the store's job, not Q-See's.

 

You have to understand, its not like this store had a whole bunch of different brands.. they carry q-see... so then he should know his software enough to know that I would run into this problem.

Yeah, the thing is, if it was a high-end brand, there'd be a higher expectation that the salesdroid would know the product and the technology. As it is, he's selling a cheap consumer brand that's available from a bazillion eBay vendors, or from the local Costco. I'd have no more expectation that he'd know his stuff, than a TV salesman at a big-box furniture store would understand the intricacies of NTSC video spec. In his position, he's not "required" to know, just to sell a mass-market product.

 

I think this was more of a setup, the sales guy knew that this wouldnt work all along... He only carries q-see product.

Given that the store has suddenly up and disappeared... I'd say this is a good guess. He told you whatever you wanted to hear to make the sale.

 

I never asked to edit the avis.... as long as the motion sensor is working and the software is cutting it, then there should be no reasont to edit the software. right?

Wrong. I'm not aware of any CCTV software that works this way. In some circumstances, this would result in massive numbers of very small files (some file systems have limitations on the number of files), or in a few excessively large files if there's lots of continuous motion. Once again, since editing and splicing IS NOT a requirement of typical CCTV markets, and in fact is generally not desirable for CCTV uses, this is not something that would generally be a design consideration.

 

I'm familiar with three different methods Windows-based DVRs use for storing video: one that creates proprietary "bank" files and then writes the video data into those; one that continually creates files up to a user-designated size (200MB by default, meaning it will keep writing one camera's video to the same file until it reaches 200MB, then start a new file), and one that creates individual files for each minute of the record time.