joshoowa 0 Posted June 25, 2005 (edited) hi all, after about spending two hours on reading past threads my head is filled with a handfull of different types of cameras. my family is worried about the security of our home...legal actions have been pursued but this has done nothing to stop the criminals. i guess this is where i ask you gurus what u recommend... basically i need a day night camera emphasis on night or a good BW cam -the lighting on my street is pretty low i need the cameras to be weather proof these cameras will be mounted along the underside of my secondstory roof, where the rain gutters are.... i would say thats pretty high. besides the cameras i need a pci dvr card- what dvr card and software is user friendly? what do you all recommend? im looking at spending no more than 1k on the total setup -4 cameras -1 pci dvr card if not a pci card maybe a reasonable standalone dvr system price would by higher if this is the case i really appreciate anyone's input... also i already have spool of cable wire basically all the wiring stuff i have on hand already. Edited June 25, 2005 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joshoowa 0 Posted June 25, 2005 a member on another forum i go on recommended me this camera... here is the spec sheet: (in excel format) http://home.earthlink.net/~joshnguyen/IR915.xls he said that he could get me them at 150usd a camera dvr stand alone i am considering: AVR 400SN http://www.active-tek.com/jun/HtmlPro/product1-1.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted June 25, 2005 Hey there .. Well thats a decent DVR for a stand alone 4 channel. Going to cost more than a PCI card, but probably as cheap as a PCI card with a PC. User friendly and less worries as its not a PC system, at least instead of a cheap PC for example. Retail though it will be more than $1000. If you want something cheap that basically runs on any PC, check out the EclipseCCTV 4 channel 30fps card. Then you can use anything from 1.5Ghz and up with 256MBDDR, which is what we used for it to test it out. You can see it online at http://ecl.gotdns.com - Enable Popups for that site also as it does use a pop up, or I can send you a custom software demo that loads it, the cameras used are Eclipse Day Night Domes also, cheap as heck but hey, they work for the job. I dont sell them but I install them for some people down here that do sell them, for lower end jobs. You could probably just buy them direct actually, then get someone to install them, or takle it yourself. Basically to keep it under $1000, you would need to get cheap OEM cameras, such as the Eclipse. Dont forget to get a 4 or 8 channel Power Supply also. They also sell this same ActiveTek DVR under the name of "Nubix". Personally, I sell the Extreme CCTV and WizKid line of Cameras, rugged Dome cameras and great Infrared products also. The WizKid is a mid range camera line, the Extreme is high end and high $$ also. Iview is a simple card to install, with great remote video software, Eclipse isnt bad, simple to use, Geo has more features but id suggest having someone that sells and installs geo, to install or build the PC for you. There are ofcourse a ton more cards out there as well. And there are reps on this forum for alot of them that might be able to get you a good deal. Just so you know, for any PC DVR, the reliability of the DVR depends on the quality and parts used to build the PC with ... so if you dont want to go through that, then the stand alone would be your plug and play choice. Also, the camera you mentioned is a very cheap OEM camera, but should work. Just be forwarned that it would not have an IR cut Filter which means washed out colors in the day, no issue, most of the day night OEMs are like this and may not bother you anyway, and also, forget IR with OEM cameras, they are useless, spend a little less or more and just get a day night, or even a black and white ...Exview Black and White would see even better than these IR Color cameras at night .. Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joshoowa 0 Posted June 26, 2005 hey rory it says i need a user/pass for log in... also... where can i purchase eclipse cameras? when i meant 1k i was meaing im flexible i could spend up to 1500usd but i think anything more would be a lil too deep for my pockets Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted June 26, 2005 sent you PM .. If its primarily night then you may want to go with BW one time and get High Res. WizKId have some really decent vandal domes. Provideo is another option for a home user for some better "bullet" cameras. Just stay away from the IR color /day night bullets or IR Domes (BW or Color/Day Night) Use Color where there is adequate lighting, BW in low lighting, if you can afford it, then Day Night in low lighting. True Day Night cameras (best image) run pretty high ($400+) so you may want to look at either the OEM Day Nights if you dont mind a washed out day image (check the demo tomorrow in the daytime, then I can always show you another that has an IR Cut Filter at my house), or BW in low light, or Color in good light areas. I even use the Eclipse at my house, color bullets (ECL-596) and then the Provideo CVC-325WPSW (white BW Bullet with IR which doesnt do anything but its still a great image and they have lasted 4 years through hurricanes even). But like I said, I personally sell the WizKid line now, they have voltage regulators built in, and some of the best support in the industry for cameras. More expensive than Provideo by a little, not by much, but a better product if you were looking for Dome Cameras. How PC literate are you, when it comes to software, and hardware, like can you build a PC? PC DVRs give you more options to upgrade. Just a thought. And do you have a dealer or web site you are dealing with already, if so, find out what brands they sell, if they are in your area, it makes it alot easier also to use what they keep in stock. Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UMDRanger 0 Posted June 26, 2005 I got a Geo 800-4 in a 1.8Ghz with 384mb RAM. Just put it in the old computer and built a new gaming computer. Didn't reformat the old one when I installed Geo But still haven't had any problems with it running 24/7. It wasn't hard to install or anything. If you've done any computer upgrading, it's just like any other PCI device you install. My ONLY problem was the audio connector on the board was in a different location than the instruction manual said. Has a lot of features I don't need now, but I do like the ability to mask out areas for motion, so the cat doesn't set it off all the time, I block the floors. I got really cheap cameras, but they work for what I need. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted June 26, 2005 PC: Eclipse - Entry Level PC System - if you really want to save some bucks, only reliable one I have found is the basic 4 channel though, but it rocks for a 4 channel and the low price also .. simple to use, has a disk map type scroller thing that is just easy as heck for non PC users to learn. User set up is a little annoying you have to add seperate users for remote access than the local DVR Server. The browser based is pretty neat, full system configuration, but requires and IE Pop Up (XP with SP2 hates those). Had a few recent failures from their 16 channel systems though, or they didnt work like they were supposed to, eg, slower than the specified speed. Iview - Simple to use, with alot of pro features like Digital Zoom on live and playback by right clicking, 30 camera view remote software and endless DVR multi site connections, no disk map, search and playback is not all that great, but you can view the files as regular AVI thumbnails in Windows Explorer. User access is simple, set up is simple. Limitations would be support for the features and what I can tell not frequent updates to the software. Hey, it works though. If you want a multi view simple to use card, doesnt take much resources, this is the one. GeoVision - dislike the green GUI (they have a new GUI coming out) but hey, its packed with features, you many never use them, but its nice to have just incase. Being its a major leader in the PC Card industry, they seem to update their software quite a bit. They are limited on the Remote Software Live View area, but do have a Central Station software included for free with every card, and the Remote Playback is really good. Browser based software is more advanced than Iview and others, though to me its too slow. I rather a windows software over browser based, you have to download something either way. If you are into the features, this one has it. Object tracking and advanced motion detection. There are others such as Video Insight (see Thomas on this forum) Kodicom (Say Security on this forum - Jason), Avermedia, etc. I havent used them personally but here they are also good. I have also used a couple other small names, but those werent all that great. The above PC Cards go from lowest to highest price in order. Also there are alot of Geo Knock off cards so buy from a reputable dealer if you do go that route. Stand alones: there are a couple budget ones, like the Power Tellecom 4 channel, AvTech 16 channel. There are reviews on this forum about those. There are other DVRs with reviews on this forum also, which end up telling you to stay away from them for the reasons posted in their reviews. Then there is ActiveTek (4 channel only with CDRW or Without - eclipse sells the non CDRW version - but they both come with USB), Hunt (WebGate) and Nuvico for your decent mid range Stand alones (with alot of features though for stand alones), and then you get into the bigger brand names like GE which go well above your budget. Also, it really depends where you live, Americas, Europe, Australia, etc? Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted June 26, 2005 also, this is a better spec sheet on that ActiveTek DVR, its under a different name but the same thing, comes with or without CDR, and with or without hard drives. PowerPoint: http://www.bahamassecurity.com/uploads/TM4-1.5U.ppt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joshoowa 0 Posted June 26, 2005 got ur PM rory thanks i really like the image quality of the cameras during the daytime.. i would love to see some shots at night; could u tell me which one is the eclipse dome camera? im very pc-savy i have an extra dual xenon workstation that im considering using as pc-dvr setup. ok so after reading the replies and some other threads i hearr the eclipse and ivew pci dvr cards are good... how much would i be looking at just for that card and software? 4channel dvr card. i went to my local fry's today they had a 4channel Swann pci dvr setup running and the interface was really nice looking. the dvr card was retailed at 100$ it said it can run 30fps on ntsc and 25fps on pal some other stuff but i cant remember Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted June 26, 2005 All of those 4 cameras are the Eclipse Day Night Domes. here is a link to Geo with 2 of the eclipse color bullets (which have an Ir Cut Filter as they are color only cameras), and 1 BW Provideo Bullet http://xtreme1.gotdns.com cctv cctv Use the Multiview its better .. Also, I wouldnt suggest buying CCTV equipment from Fry's or Sams Club or anything like that ... also, Geo is good also, just requires more setup .. Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joshoowa 0 Posted July 9, 2005 sorry been busy with the girlfriend, well ive been doing some reading and i actually bought a cheapo camera to see how it worked... you guys sold me on using BW cameras... soooooo.... i checked out http://xxxxxx (because thats the only site i found that actually offers prices, why is it so hard to find a site that will sell cameras??) checked out their weather resistant BW bullets... can any of you guys recommend a certain model from that site... if not from that site some other camera that i can easily get ahold of without having to gouge my eyes out.. tahnks, josh edit: so i understand u need to order atleast a min of 5 from that site...so i was thining about the BW bullet cam model: 3757 * SONY 1/3" HIGH RES HAD CCD SENSOR * EIA: 768X494, CCIR: 752X582 (HxV) * 600 TV LINES * .2 LUX @ F2.0 * MORE THAN 48 db * EIA: 1/60s - 1/100,000s, CCIR: 1/50s - 1/110,000s * YES * INTERLACE 2:1 * 0.45 * BOARD LENS f3.6mm @ f2.0 * INTERNAL, NEGATIVE SYNC. * 1 Vp-p / 75 OHMS * DC 12V / 110 mA * 14oF - 122o F * 21.4 x 80.6 mm * 80G edit2: is .2 lux rating low enough to see in the dark? i have reasonable lighting due to the street lamp down a few houses Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DataAve 0 Posted July 10, 2005 rory, what exactly is a "Ir Cut Filter"? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted July 10, 2005 Basically it blocks out the IR effects from sunlight and other infrared sources. http://www.cs.unc.edu/Research/stc/FAQs/Cameras_Lenses/IR%20Filter.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DataAve 0 Posted July 10, 2005 Okay, just a ir filter. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
