Need advice on a DVR card

[guiri 0]

Guys, I had a guy build me a pc for a surveillance system but he really has no clue what he's doing but thinks he does so I thought I'd ask

a few questions here.

 

He says that most of these cards run better on XP than win7 and that they don't like more than 2 gigs on the mobo.

Is this true?

 

I wanted the computer as a DVR and to be able to use as a backup pc in case my other system goes down and

therefore wanted 4 gigs on the mobo.

 

The software he installed for me locks up and is really hard to close out/end the process.

 

It could be because of the installation which seems to be corrupt (the OS I mean) but he claims

it's because I have 4 gigs in the computer.

 

I don't need anything fancy but I was wondering what the truth is and what are my options for a decent card

and software for 8 or 16 channels and if running it has anything to do with 2 or 4 gigs on the mobo or not?

 

Also, if you could direct me to something decent to buy online for simple surveillance for either 8 or 16 channels

and a few of them with sound.

 

Thanks

 

George

[Soundy 1]

You're right, doesn't sound like this guy has a clue.

 

He is right on one point: a lot of cards, especially cheap cards, don't have proper Win7 driver support, so they won't work properly with anything but XP. If there are Win7 drivers though, there's no reason they shouldn't work as well.

 

As for memory, there's ZERO reason it should be more or less stable just because you have 4GB vs 2GB memory. Instability COULD be caused by bad or faulty RAM, but not by the amount itself.

 

The software he installed for me locks up and is really hard to close out/end the process.

 

It could be because of the installation which seems to be corrupt (the OS I mean)

What card and software are you using? Symptoms like these are common when using cloned/grey-market GeoVision cards, since the drivers and software must be hacked to work with the fake cards. I expect it's a common occurrence with other illegitimate cards as well.

 

but he claims it's because I have 4 gigs in the computer.

He's out to lunch.

 

Also, if you could direct me to something decent to buy online for simple surveillance for either 8 or 16 channels

and a few of them with sound.

GeoVision is a decent DIY system, but beware of cheap cards from online/eBay sellers - there are a LOT of fake ones out there. A legitimate seller should be able to provide you a serial number of the card you're buying. If you look up "GV800" on eBay, for example, you'll find tons of listings for <$150, and several for around $500-$600... pretty much guarantee the $150 ones are fake and will very likely give you problems.

[guiri 0]

Well, the box only says surveillance system and the model number bv8816 doesn't come up on a search either.

 

Here's the thing, he does have other systems set up around town that work well so obviously he's doing something

correctly but yeah, I can tell he's not all there on everything but that's a long story for another time.

 

Needless to say, this is some chinese stuff, I'm sure or it would have had a brand name.

 

Are any of the chinese cards worth a damn? Right now, I can't afford to spend a lot of money

as I'm already spent out so to speak.

However, if I'm not going to get anything decent, I'd rather wait but again, I'd rather use my system

with win7 and 4 gigs so I can have it as a decent back up computer anyway.

 

I'll look into the card you mentioned.

 

Update: Found plenty of them on ebay for under 150 bucks used but the ones I looked at had no software or drivers.

Is that something I can download or I need to get everything with it?

 

If the seller is chinese, should I assume it's a knock off?

 

You said something about serial number. If they have it, how do I check the number or is it just

the fact that it HAS a serial that makes it good.

 

I also did a search and found here that a bunch of people have problems running the card on anything but xp (pretty much).

Are there drivers for the real geovision cards for win7 and what about 64 bits?

 

Thanks

 

George

Edited August 4, 2012 by Guest

[Soundy 1]

Well, the box only says surveillance system

Something like this?

 

 

I'd rather use my system with win7 and 4 gigs so I can have it as a decent back up computer anyway

Again, if you're going to continue using the card with it, you'll have to make sure there are Win7 drivers available.

[guiri 0]

Nope, not even close. I'll try to take a pic and upload it.

 

By the way, I just found this pdf that says they're win7 and 64 bit compatible.

http://www.geovision.com.tw/Install_Products/GV-650800A.pdf

 

Does this mean I can buy a used card and download the software and/or does

it mean I have to have one of the models listed?

 

I have no problem buying another card, just have to find one I can afford and want

and wait till I have the money.

 

I also found this on their site http://www.geovision.com.tw/Install_Products/Card_Comparison.pdf

 

On some of the cards it tells me what the display/recording rate is on 4 or 16 channels but on the

800 card for instance, it's not broken down.

I don't know a thing about this stuff but he said that if I have a 120 frame recording rate for example,

I divide that with the amount of channels to get the actual rate.

 

Also, some of the used cards I see on ebay have a version number, ie, v.4.31 or something. What does

this mean?

 

Thanks

 

George

[Soundy 1]

Does this mean I can buy a used card and download the software and/or does it mean I have to have one of the models listed?

If it's a real GeoVision card, you can get the software from GV directly, but you have to provide the serial number that will be on a sticker on the card.

[guiri 0]

So, IF I buy one, get a serial number first or make sure it has one?

 

What are the version numbers for?

 

Thanks

 

George