hey rory, what would you recommend for this application ?

[blowrabbit 0]

am looking to install a dvr in a cctv enviroment [retail video store] i need one camera at the front counter to record in high resolution with audio and text insertion and somewhere between 5 to 10 fps. the other 3 channels can be recorded at normal resolution at 3- fps with no text or audio. All the cameras to be set on motion dection recording [approx 50% of stores hours open or recording motion 6 hours a day]. i hope to be able to record 60 days on the dvr.

 

4 cameras is all i need for now but it would be nice to have the ability to expand to more in the future, [8 channel dvr].

the text insertion would be off of a paralel port splitting with a y cable from the printer [ aski text, okidata 320printer] [AVE has a $500.00 unit that is compatable with paralel port]

i need to be able to remote view the recording and live cctv.

i have dsl w/384 kb upload speed at the actual site [entry level dsl speed]

i have broadband at the remote site we wish to view the store from.

my research sofar indicates i may need a terabite for 60 days?

My cameras will be panasonic super dyn III's.

 

Any ideas??

Edited June 15, 2005 by Guest

[Thomas 0]

One thing to note. The frame rate has no bearing on how clear the image is. Clarity is a factor of compression with S/N loss.

[FredB 0]

The bottle neck for "straming speed" is more the upload speed at the DVR location together with compression type, quality setting and resulotion settings at the DVR and not so much the download speep at the viewing location. Go for a DVRwith H.263 or Mpeg-4 compression if you want great download speed and good quality. Wavelet is kind of slow, even if it records better.

[rory 0]

For entry level DSL, you would really need MPEG4 at least. Wavelet will be very slow. Like Fred Said. Actually Fred has installed the ActiveTek 4 channel Stand Alone units, they have MPEG4, 4 channels of audio. Not sure on their POS support, or whether it has individual fps settings? Fred?

 

If not, cant really think of another stand alone with MPEG4, that specs look any good, for the price. If you didnt need to work with DSL Id recommend the GE Kalatel DVR for their POS search features, and individual settings, the 60fps StoreSafe Pro .. not cheap but works. I get 2 months with 3 cameras on a 40GB with 9-5pm motion in a lobby/business environment.

 

May need to invest in a really good PC and use a decent PC Card, gives you more options, especially for remote video. The PC DVR I currently use (Iview), lets you record in Wavelet while connect remotely in Mpeg4 ... they have a POS interface card but I havent used it. For really high local quality you would need one of their Multiplex Real Time cards.

 

Power will be an issue for any DVR, I always install a voltage regulator to start with, and ofcourse a UPS will hold it on for a certain time at least. But yeah a stand alone is more of a work horse and can just plug play and forget it. You just loose some of the features.

 

Where do you live ... ?

[DataAve 0]

rory, replacing a perfectly working 6 year old Kalatel today. The reason...it's 6 years old. The thing is solid as a rock. Replacing it with a Sanyo. Silly, huh?

[scottj 0]

very.. the older model kalatels are near bulletproof. One thing Dataave and i finally agree on

[rory 0]

can I get a good price on it

 

6 years, id just replace the HDD if anything, and see if there is a flash upgrade, though I dont think they have flashes for an EPROM that old .. then stick a sticker on it an call it, REFURBISHED BY DATAAVE, NY, USA Sell it to TigerDirect ...

 

Anyway, yeah I like their cameras, cause they are cheap and work ... but its like changing a Mercedez for a Lexus ..

[blowrabbit 0]

thanks for your imput. i live in the seattle, wa. area. i wonder if the Video Insight pc dvr would be a good choice for my application? the fact that they offer a 30 day return policy makes me want to try it out. regarding my entry lever dsl line this is only on the actual site or upload side. i quess i should think in terms of $5000.00 to $6500.00 as cost for the dvr? once i ran across a dvr on the web that had swapable hard drives that you could remove from the dvr and connect it to any remote pc to view its contents. have you heard of something like this? it would allow a retail store owner to take home the recordings from his store and compare them to the actual paper invoices generated from each transaction at his store without losing any resolution . not to mention you could archive easily assuming the hard drives did not cost too much? and as far as the pos goes, the AVE company sells a generic text inserter with search capabilites for about $500 a station that works with aski text off of the parr. printer port so maybe that would help in the selection of my dvr ?

[Thomas 0]

I'd like to think we're a good choice. The important factor is the upload at the site. The download on a DSL line will almost allways be greater. You could do that with a USB hard drive.