Need advice on text insertion for Mace DVR

[groovyman 0]

A few months ago I had a 4 camera DVR system installed in my stores. It's a Mace 4 Channel DVR in all locations. I also have the Micros Eclipse POS system with an Epson TM-T88III thermal receipt printer connected to the serial port.

 

The company from which I purchased the Mace DVR equipment also did the installation and was supposed to install a text inserter for the POS systems, but they never did. Frankly, after weeks of asking I've come to the conclusion that they just don't know how (they also botched the DVR installations, but that's another story which I won't get into here).

 

In each location Camera 1 is watching the POS system and the video is displayed on two monitors: 1) a monitor located behind the POS system, and 2) a monitor in the back which displays video from all 4 cameras. Video from all 4 cameras is recorded to the Mace DVR. I can access the DVR remotely via the Internet to see what's happening in real time or search through recorded video.

 

I'm leaning towards the AVE VSI product for the text insertion, but am unsure if it will work with the MACE DVR &/or Epson receipt printer. As I understand it, I'll need a splitter for the serial port on the Micros Eclipse (it only has one serial port) and I'll need to configure my POS software to always print a receipt as the text inserter grabs the text being sent to the receipt printer. Is this correct?

 

I'd also like the ability to search through the text to find certain items that were rung up during the day or to see what each clerk has rung up. Would this be possible with the Mace & AVE product? Is there another text insertion product that I should possibly consider? My main goals are to be able to insert text as sales are rung up, have the ability to search through the text and be able to view the transactions w/ video. The bottom line is loss prevention and to provide a deterrant against theft at the point of sale.

 

I'm new at this, but after fixing the installations at 4 stores over the past few weeks I've given myself a decent enough education as to how the whole system is connected. Certainly, this doesn't make me any sort of expert in installing DVR equipment, but I feel I've learned enough to go forward with completing the rest of the project. Thanks for any assistance or advice you can provide.

[kandcorp 0]

The external text inserter should have no compatability issues with any DVR. Its whether or not the register/receipt system is compatable.

 

The AVE VSI is what we use here and I actually used when I worked for MACE couple years back.

 

First check if it works with your POS system.

 

And what Mace DVR do you have the 400RW or 400NR

[groovyman 0]

Thanks for the reply kandcorp. It's the MACE 400RW that I have. I'll check with AVE to see if the unit is compatible with the Micros Eclipse POS System.

[Thomas 0]

Having dealt with them, make sure you get it clear exactly what cable you need. They are fine if you send them PO's but thier support staff....