lombana 0 Posted January 12, 2011 I'm in the process of replacing a hastily purchased Defender-USA system that I got at Sams and have opted to go the route of pick and choose. I found some info on a Toshiba IK-7100 that look incredible on paper, has anyone actually used these and let me know how they performed. I'm also looking for some recommendations on a 4ch DVR, my goal is to return the Defender system and get something that's as easy to operate but can give me high quality which is where my system suffers. Bottom line this is an HD world and the system I have now is comparable to 1950's black and white if you want a good analogy. I've also just found (thanks to this forum) the CNB cams which from some of the video that I've seen also look amazing however the video was on YouTube at 720p which leads me to believe that it was recorded direct to something like Adobe Premier and not a security DVR. Any help is appreciated. Miguel Lombana Phoenix, AZ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SEANHAWG 1 Posted January 13, 2011 If you want HD quality, then you will need to get Mega Pixel IP cameras, which are a different animal than your Defender system. You wont get anything HD (720p or 1080p) With Analog equipment. Sams does not have any IP equipment that I know of and I am sure they definetely do not have Mega Pixel security camera. If you want 4 megapixel cameras than be prepared to spend 5 to 10 times what you spent on the defender system. If you are on a budget, then consider just upgrading your cameras that you Defender system came with. Check your DVR manual to see if it records in D1 resolution, if not, then ditch it as well and get another DVR. The main problem lies within the cameras that came with the defender system, more than likely that is the weak point in your whole system. The Toshiba that you mentioned looks decent but it has a fixed lens, which only works under certain circumstances. I would recommend getting cameras with vari-focal lenses which provides you more flexibility. Also I will point out that the Toshiba is not "HD", it has 480 TV lines. Thats not bad but its not what you would consider HD. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
spy-guy 0 Posted January 13, 2011 well said Sean " title="Applause" /> if you are looking for quality (useable video) you are looking at digital cameras. Analog cameras will not give you what you want even if you wash them through a digital video recorder. Toshiba has great DVR's but they are expensive, I have been touting Mega Pixel cameras that either hook up to PC or store the video to an onboard SD card. With the large capacity hard drives that are available today and the software that comes with most digital cameras dedicated DVR's are only needed for large systems. Just a personal opinion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SEANHAWG 1 Posted January 13, 2011 Well I wouldnt necessarily say Analog cameras are "unusable video", but megapixel cams will get Lombana what he was looking for in HD. He'll just need to reach into his pocket a little deeper this time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SEANHAWG 1 Posted January 14, 2011 just to furthur clarify, what I meant by Analog cameras, I meant "Non-IP" cameras. The word digital gets used loosely, Analog cameras can be digital cameras. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lombana 0 Posted January 20, 2011 Gentlemen thank you all, I'm now steering in a new direction, the Defender system has been returned and I took advantage of the pullbacks of the Defender cables and ran CAT6 to each location. I've been looking very hard at Vivoteks and it appears that I will move in that direction. The budget was a concern (and still is) but I will just do it 2 cameras at a time and I'll be back at 4 cams as money becomes available, but based on what I've been researching and the video I've seen online from these cams, 2 of my front of house cams could easily be replaced by 1 digital and high quality cam. Again thank you all very much. Miguel Share this post Link to post Share on other sites