DVR Help for a complete noob!

[Loque 0]

Hi all,

 

I confess to knowing very little about your fine art, but please bare with me. Several months ago, my automotive pride and joy got vandalised by some local miscreants. Since this occurrence I have attempted to set up some kind of camera system whereby I can at the very least catch them in the act, if not dissuade them in partaking in such virile behaviour in the first place.

 

I went to my local Maplin store and purchased a night vision camera and some kind of Camera feed to USB adapter to plug into my computer. This worked fine for a while, but recently the unit has started giving a really fuzzy picture, and only when the adapter is shaken about a bit does it work.

 

The adaptor is: http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=497

 

Coupled with this I have recently upgraded to a 64 bit computer, and the proprietary software included with the package will not run on it. It's also pretty horrible to use.

 

Can anyone suggest a (cheap) replacement piece of hardware and good quality software that will work with my existing camera and 64 bit PC?

 

Many thanks,

 

Edd

[HDSecurityStore 0]

You should purchase a PCI DVR Card. Or just another cheap usb DVR and hope it doesn't burn out and is compatible with windows 7 64bit (try compatibility mode).

[tomcctv 190]

I went to my local Maplin store and purchased a night vision camera and some kind of Camera

 

 

 

maplins is one of my pet hates. selling graded products (returns or crap) and then try and sell it on.

there is not a week where we dont get a call from someone who has bought a system or camera from them.

 

 

first thing is take your camera back if its got problems you dont need it.

 

what is your budet. for what you need you can get a panosonic ip for not much money and this will also let you do away with usb recorder and record through your network. and view from your mobiles.

[Loque 0]

Sorry for the late response all... I promise not to mention the m-word again!

 

Maybe the PCI DVR card is the way to go - are there any you recommend that work well with some software that will run on my system?

 

Hmm, I wonder if there is anyway I can test my camera asides from taking it back? Perhaps plug it into the feed into the TV to see how it works out. I don't really want to take it down unless it's broken as it's up a pretty long way on the side of my house.

 

Budget is not that much at all unfortunately, quite recently I purchased this setup for a few hundred pounds so I'm somewhat reluctant to spend more on it. How much would I be looking at for a basic, reliable recording device?

 

Thanks.