guardcompany 0 Posted May 3, 2012 Hey guys. I'm building my first system for my home with budget in mind. I was set on a Costco complete system but found this site and I'm set on putting together my own. I don't have a need or budget for a IP system although being a Linux sysadmin this seems fun, but it's simply not in the cards for this project. So I'm looking at doing a 8-channel Dahua DVR. Budget wise I'd like to stay with the Economy or Professional lines, but the Full D-1 is tempting. Is it worth it to go that route? I'd like to do it right the first time but I only don't need the best. My other question regarding these DVRs is how stable is the iPhone access? This would be a very important feature to me, so I'd like to go with the most stable platform and app for this. As for cameras I'm looking at doing 3 of the Dahua 650-1 and then 1 CNB VCM-24VF dome for the front door. Any and all advice is welcomed. Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
guardcompany 0 Posted May 3, 2012 Also... I'm looking at the Qvis DVRs too... Any reason to pick a Dahua over a Qvis? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
norcaldad 0 Posted May 4, 2012 If you are only slightly interested in the D1, I would go that route. I should have ponied up the extra dough and done so myself. I have the Nexus and can't speak to the iPhone app, but my experience with the app has been great. BTW - I love Costco but I would never consider purchasing one of their current or past systems. An electronics component with a 3 year warranty? I have never seen that without an extended contract. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
guardcompany 0 Posted May 4, 2012 Thanks. I searched this site for a couple hours today and really learned a lot. I'm going to go with a Dahua DVR for sure and go with D1 @ 7fps which is fine for my application. The real question now is Economy vs the Proline. I'll never run a cam with audio and I don't know how important HDMI out is to me. Thanks for the feedback on the mobile viewing. My main questions now concern power. Do I go with a standard 12v distro panel or do I go the Balun route. My place isn't huge so I don't see a huge need to run baluns at each end, so I think I've made up my mind there. If I do go with the ever popular CNB VCM-24VF dome can I run that off a standard 12v panel or do I need the 24v? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomcctv 190 Posted May 4, 2012 My place isn't huge so I don't see a huge need to run baluns at each end, so I think I've made up my mind there. hi. you do need baluns at both ends. no point using just 1. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soundy 1 Posted May 4, 2012 Thanks. I searched this site for a couple hours today and really learned a lot. I'm going to go with a Dahua DVR for sure and go with D1 @ 7fps which is fine for my application. The real question now is Economy vs the Proline. I'll never run a cam with audio and I don't know how important HDMI out is to me. Thanks for the feedback on the mobile viewing. There are other differences as well (alarm I/O, etc.) - as the others have suggested, talk to Sean, he'll have a better idea of how the two compare. Personally, I'd say spend the little bit extra for the Proline if you can, just because you never know what you'll run into down the line that will have you saying, "D-oh! Now I wish I had that other unit with more features!" My main questions now concern power. Do I go with a standard 12v distro panel or do I go the Balun route. My place isn't huge so I don't see a huge need to run baluns at each end, so I think I've made up my mind there. If I do go with the ever popular CNB VCM-24VF dome can I run that off a standard 12v panel or do I need the 24v? Baluns are required only to run video over UTP, and as Tom notes, they're required at both ends. If you're using standard Cat5e/Cat6, the baluns will use one pair for video; the other pairs can be used for power, be it 12VDC or 24VAC. Now if you're talking about the VPS baluns units that I so often recommend... that's a combined balun/power supply system that does indeed supply 12V to the cameras, but you still need a balun at the camera end. The VCM-24VFs run fine on either 12 or 24V (and will actually work with just about anything between 10 and 30V, AC or DC); it's just a matter of which setup is more conducive to your design. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
guardcompany 0 Posted May 4, 2012 Got it. Sorry I wrote that a little weird. I more so meant that I don't really want to bother with the extra costs of doing a balun setup since I do need one at each end and if I did it I would do a powered VPS solution like: http://securitybestbuy.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2750 Thanks for the info guys! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
