cctv_down_under 0 Posted March 12, 2004 Took rory's advice and got myself a storesafe for testing, should have seen the look on the guys face when he found out how much I knew about them, they are reluctant to sell to us but maybe they will let us distribute them, but first step is to test the unit. I will post a full report on here on the system as I test it, I hope your available for support Rory. Bloody onyl 25Fps, wish I knew that before I started on it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cctv_down_under 0 Posted March 12, 2004 Hay!!! Not a bad unit at all... still dont know the pricing they offer yet, I really haven't looked hard at it yet but here are my preliminary tests.. the most important factor is the remote capability and I have not tested this yet. I will start with the negatives.... sory Rory: From opening the box I noticed it is an ugly grey colour but not that this is important, The biggest downfall of the unit is that it only records at a very slow 25FPS, this is a bit slow for 16 cameras in my opinion, mind you I do tend to overkill a little. The system will not automatically frame buffer like Geovision, however it will event buffer to what you set it to. There are only two levels of password so you can not turn of each feature for several users, therefore it is not as flexible in this regard. The system will not allow you to print pictures without a printserver, which is pretty lame but I Imagine all standalones have this problem. The maximum number of relays and outputs is 16 and as far as I can see they can not be stacked for say 30 or so individual relays. One of the big downfalls is that it will not play in standard windows media players as it is not recorded as a straight AVI file. There is no multiplexed option on the second monitor and it must be used as a switching monitor only. The system will only zoom 2x as this is the limit. There is no automatic control room where camera video streams can be sent by an event automatically. I could not get 1 camera to record at 25fps at high resolution, however I guess at lower resolutions you might be able to. Recording of audio is only available if you wish to record at 1Fps this is very lame and infact it will not even record the audio if your using motion detection and it does not detect any video motion. I assume the major disadvantages will come when I test the remote capability, but these are the ones I have found by playing with the unit. I will be fair and now list the positives. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cctv_down_under 0 Posted March 12, 2004 These are the positives of the Store Safe: The system is SOOOOOO easy to use, the manual makes perfect sense. There is a dwell setting for each camera that switches that you can set just by holding a button for a certain amount of time. You can also choose what cameras go to the switching monitor, that is excellent. The system is SOOOO easy to back up, the best I have seen yet! The system records a very large resolution and quite high quality The system can calculate your storage so that when you make changes to the system it will calculate your storage days for you. You can undelete data that you have not yet written over, this is an awesome feature! Gain control is built into the device, You can playback recordings and view live at the same time, however there are some bugs with it. You can set up a cameo switching image box on the main screen. The system automatically turns off camera inputs that are not used The system has looping outputs for each camera, The system can also reverse playback files, It has a CD Burner in it. Searching events when located are very easy to Jog and shuttle and the system has a unique disk activity mapping that allows to see when events happened. It has POTS support. It also can scan active ports for the switcher and ignore the ones not in use. The system runs on 12 Volt power. Live zoom on the main screen is available, however it is only 2x but it is directional. There is no need for a mouse or keyboard and to be honest it is very smart in how it uses the front panel buttons. I will post more info after preliminary tests, I must say it is an excellent unit, but I am still waiting on the price of it, I am thinking it wont be cheap. I imagine my standalone is about half the price but only has 3/4 of the features, I would say this is one of the best featured standalone units I have seen, however it is pretty darn slow at 25fps, even the rep told me he was dissapointed about this, however they do have plans for a new faster one. Overall it looks pretty solid, but as mentioned remote features have not been tested yet and that is where PC's usually are better. I was very dissapointed with the speed as this is a major downfall. P.S. This is what I hae concluded from a very brief look at the unit, I may be wrong on some points but I am sure Rory will correct me!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 12, 2004 -------------------------- 1-From opening the box I noticed it is an ugly grey colour but not that this is important, The biggest downfall of the unit is that it only records at a very slow 25FPS, this is a bit slow for 16 cameras in my opinion, mind you I do tend to overkill a little. A-Yep, but thats how all embedded systems are, also, it does allow you to program each camera at different record speeds for activity, alarm and time lapse. I like the dark grey color, but the CD-RW is a different color which could have been made to be the same color! 2-The system will not automatically frame buffer like Geovision, however it will event buffer to what you set it to. There are only two levels of password so you can not turn of each feature for several users, therefore it is not as flexible in this regard. The system will not allow you to print pictures without a printserver, which is pretty lame but I Imagine all standalones have this problem. A-Not directly, but using the included software it will allow multiple passwords, groups etc. By connecting it to the LAN, you can also print from your PC just like in a PC based, or save/burn to your DVD-RW or CD-RW. 3-The maximum number of relays and outputs is 16 and as far as I can see they can not be stacked for say 30 or so individual relays. A-Havent used those features yet, so you may be right. 4-One of the big downfalls is that it will not play in standard windows media players as it is not recorded as a straight AVI file. A-Nope, most embedded will not, for security reasons, however, it comes with a software program (quickwave) that will run without installation, very small, and will play the video saved to your PC, so you just copy that to the CD. You can also do what I do and use something like cam studio to capture it as an AVI file. But yes, that feature would be nice to have built in as an admin add on. 5-There is no multiplexed option on the second monitor and it must be used as a switching monitor only. A-No, only on the DVMRe models, they cost more and are the higher end units, but they are not as compact as the StoreSafe. Most muxes/embedded DVRs on the market (big name brands) only have 1 multiplxed monitor A and a Spot monitor B, I guess its an the embedded software issue. 6-The system will only zoom 2x as this is the limit. There is no automatic control room where camera video streams can be sent by an event automatically. A- you can have alarm inputs set to send an email or message. Therefore you will need something like an alarm system, motion or beam. 7-I could not get 1 camera to record at 25fps at high resolution, however I guess at lower resolutions you might be able to. A-Havent tried that with the StoreSafe, will take a look. I know the DSR-2000 will do 60pps (but then it is only a 1 channel DVR) 8-Recording of audio is only available if you wish to record at 1Fps this is very lame and infact it will not even record the audio if your using motion detection and it does not detect any video motion. A-yep, only if it is recording, in other words, will not record audio if there is no video being recorded. As for speed, ill have to check, i only have used the DSR-2000 with audio so far, which will record audio at 10pps or more. 9-I assume the major disadvantages will come when I test the remote capability, but these are the ones I have found by playing with the unit. A-let me know, I like the software more than any PC based ive used yet, it just feels more powerful. -------------------------------- Remember, the StoreSafe is the economical model of the Kalatel DVRs, the DVMRe's may differ some, as well in price though! I still prefer it though over the DVMRe's for its small compact size, you can fit it into any DVR/VCR lockbox, which is a neccessity these days, at least around here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 12, 2004 1-The system is SOOOOOO easy to use, the manual makes perfect sense. A-YEP, thats why I like it, no going back! 2-The system is SOOOO easy to back up, the best I have seen yet! The system records a very large resolution and quite high quality The system can calculate your storage so that when you make changes to the system it will calculate your storage days for you. A-yes, there are many options for back up and/or archiving. 3-There is no need for a mouse or keyboard and to be honest it is very smart in how it uses the front panel buttons. A-the DVMRe's and DSR have actual labels for what button is what, but you can quickly get use to which one is what which is ok. 4-I will post more info after preliminary tests, I must say it is an excellent unit, but I am still waiting on the price of it, I am thinking it wont be cheap. A-probably at least twice the price of an asian DVR. 5-I imagine my standalone is about half the price but only has 3/4 of the features, I would say this is one of the best featured standalone units I have seen, however it is pretty darn slow at 25fps, even the rep told me he was dissapointed about this, however they do have plans for a new faster one. A-must be a limit in the embedded OS they use, most brand name embedded DVRs only use this speed. I have only seen linux and PC systems with faster than 30fps (its 25fps in PAL, 30 in NTSC) 6-Overall it looks pretty solid, but as mentioned remote features have not been tested yet and that is where PC's usually are better. I was very dissapointed with the speed as this is a major downfall. A- let me know, i have demo alot of PC software but havent seen any extra features worth writing home about ) Though you can view multiple sites in one window with up to 64 cameras at once, in WaveReader, which is pretty cool. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 12, 2004 oh yeah, it was originally designed only as a 4 channel DVR,and eventually grew to a 16 channel, I imagine they will eventually update the recording speeds. Oh yeah, the print server only costs like $100 last time I checked, or like all CCTV systems (non PC) you can add any video printer, or use the LAN and included software. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 12, 2004 Quote:Recording of audio is only available if you wish to record at 1Fps this is very lame and infact it will not even record the audio if your using motion detection and it does not detect any video motion. Actually, it means you have to have at least one video channel set to 1pps or higher, which means you cant record audio if all video channels are recording less than 1pps, so you can record audio at 10, 20 or 30 pps settings, etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cctv_down_under 0 Posted March 12, 2004 My rebuttal: I like the dark grey color, but the CD-RW is a different color which could have been made to be the same color! Mine was light grey, and a white CD rom, go figure!! A-Yep, but thats how all embedded systems are at 25Fps Mine does 100FPS By connecting it to the LAN, you can also print from your PC just like in a PC based, or save/burn to your DVD-RW or CD-RW. Most corner shops do not have a lan, infact most would not have one! One of the big downfalls is that it will not play in standard windows media players as it is not recorded as a straight AVI file. A-Nope, most embedded will not, for security reasons, I have one that does and yes that is a downfall of embedded systems. Most muxes/embedded DVRs on the market (big name brands) only have 1 multiplxed monitor A and a Spot monitor B, I guess its an the embedded software issue. I have one that does you can have alarm inputs set to send an email or message Geovision sends a video stream, or a picture or an email or a text and on its own motion detection. there is no control room softwer, video streams are instant where emails aren't and snapshots are no where near as accurate as a real automatic stream. A-probably at least twice the price of an asian DVR. Hate to burst your bubble but all those components in the box are actually all asian, it is an Asian DVR as I can see, just rebadged for GE. Bloody best embedded software I have seen though for the price. A-must be a limit in the embedded OS they use, most brand name embedded DVRs only use this speed. I have only seen linux and PC systems with faster than 30fps (its 25fps in PAL, 30 in NTSC) As mentioned, mine does 100Fps. let me know, i have demo alot of PC software but havent seen any extra features worth writing home about ) To make this statement you have not tried Geovision! It is worth writing home about. Sadly! Like I said it is apretty good darn unit, i can see why you like it! I will wait for a price I know dealers buy at $2,200 US I will wait to find out what our buy price is.. bet it costs more in the US as it is easier to drop ship from Asia! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 12, 2004 yes but what embedded software does yours have, linux right?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 12, 2004 1-Most corner shops do not have a lan, infact most would not have one! A-then they can buy a video printer I havent seen any other embedded DVR with a print button either way. 2-I have one that does and yes that is a downfall of embedded systems. A-Havent seen and non linux and non PC embedded systems. 3- Most muxes/embedded DVRs on the market (big name brands) only have 1 multiplxed monitor A and a Spot monitor B, I guess its an the embedded software issue. I have one that does A-No high quality ones do that. 4-Geovision sends a video stream, or a picture or an email or a text and on its own motion detection. there is no control room softwer, video streams are instant where emails aren't and snapshots are no where near as accurate as a real automatic stream. A-Sends streaming video to your email?? Also, if it sent clips to your email on motion, youd be getting a ton of email. 5-Hate to burst your bubble but all those components in the box are actually all asian, it is an Asian DVR as I can see, just rebadged for GE. Bloody best embedded software I have seen though for the price. A-maybe, but its still not an Asian DVR 6-As mentioned, mine does 100Fps. A-Linux? 7-To make this statement you have not tried Geovision! It is worth writing home about. Sadly! A-it has awful tacky looking software though, from what I have seen on the browser based version. 8-I will wait for a price I know dealers buy at $2,200 US I will wait to find out what our buy price is.. bet it costs more in the US as it is easier to drop ship from Asia! A-its built in the US, unless they are manufacturing them in Australia also. When i order them, they make them directly at GE in the US, to order. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cctv_down_under 0 Posted March 12, 2004 4-Geovision sends a video stream, or a picture or an email or a text and on its own motion detection. there is no control room softwer, video streams are instant where emails aren't and snapshots are no where near as accurate as a real automatic stream. A-Sends streaming video to your email?? Also, if it sent clips to your email on motion, youd be getting a ton of email. No sends a video stream to remote softwrae that lies dorment on the machine, you could leave your laptop on at home and if anyone goes near your system it will live stream to your house.. excellent feature. 7-To make this statement you have not tried Geovision! It is worth writing home about. Sadly! A-it has awful tacky looking software though, from what I have seen on the browser based version You have to be kidding me... I mean agree the main screen looks pretty tacky, they wont change it, because they think it is their industry recognition, but the remote software looks heaps better than Kalatel C'mon you can not be serious. A-its built in the US, unless they are manufacturing them in Australia also. When i order them, they make them directly at GE in the US, to order. Rory, if this was a true statement then I could say that my DVR's are actually Australian made, I mean the board is assembled here, all GE do is buy the boards and make them themselves and i bet they buy them from some Asian manufactorer, there are very very very few factories in the US for this kind of gear and it costs a lot to manaufacture there. The standalone that I sell is MPEG-2 and is not Linuix based and yes it has two seprate composite outputs, one with a GUI and one that is either multiplexed or switching and it also has a VGA output and does 100FPS, It is not a sfully featured as the Kalatel, not even close but it is about half the price I think, I will wait to see. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 12, 2004 the one you sell sounds interesting, but you wont tell me what it is! Maybe we can sell it over here, import direct from australia? Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 12, 2004 'You have to be kidding me... I mean agree the main screen looks pretty tacky, they wont change it, because they think it is their industry recognition, but the remote software looks heaps better than Kalatel C'mon you can not be serious.' I dont need anything that looks flashy, thats why i moved away from DM, I like basic to the point software that works fast and easy I havent seen any asian stuff that looks normal, its all too pink, green, different colors, too much, kind of like what you see on Jackie Chan movies! ))) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cctv_down_under 0 Posted March 13, 2004 I havent seen too many stainless steel images in Jackie chan movies.... http://www.geovision.com.au/AboutDVR.html If you scroll down from the above link you will see a poor screen shot of Geo's remote.....NON software remote client there is nothing wrong with that Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 13, 2004 dont get me wrong, jackie rules! ))) Id like to beable to write my own gui though as I stil dont like the look of theirs, i mean the colors and icons, the program itself is ok. Does Geo do a stand alone, just wondering?? Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cctv_down_under 0 Posted March 13, 2004 Geo have started working on a standalone.. if they succeed to have the same features in the standalone, I am going to put every dollar I have into the stock when they float. You can buy OEM GUI for Geo, it is the same price and it is very easy to do your own as it is only Bitmaps, we arent allowed to or we loose our volume rebate, but I would if I was allowed, some of my dealers have done so already, I have to tell them to send it back the way they got it though if it needs repairing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted March 13, 2004 ok sounds good. i still wanna try your stand alone when you are able to release more info, i know i can take your word for it that its good Something I can sell here, as 90% of this island is poor or cant afford the higher priced Kalatel units. Alot of the standard retail/homes dont need all the features. Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cctv_down_under 0 Posted March 16, 2004 It is not as good as the Kalatel Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
