Cameras fine during day but are uniformily white at night

[stevebar 0]

I recently installed 4 Night Owl CAM-4PK-624 cameras (See specs below*) in Lorex 8 channel DVR. The new cameras look fine during the day but at night they "white out" meaning the entire field of view is white. It's not just the center of the image like you sometimes see with IR illumination. The Lorex system died and I replaced it with a Nuvico DVR and am seeing exactly the same thing so I'm pretty sure it's not a DVR issue. Although, when I contacted Night Owl technical support they said the problem was because the cameras were 600TVL and that was the cause of the problem. They also said that there was as software upgrade for their DVRs that would fix the problem but since I was using a Nuvico system I'd have t contact them. So I did and they thought the answer from Night Owl was absurd. They said their DVR is fully compatible with 600 TVL.

 

I've tried switching the camera inputs and the cameras that are whiting out will do so regardless of which channel I use. I've tried disconnecting all the cameras except one of the faulty ones and there's no change. I've also switched power supplies. I'm pretty much out of ideas and would appreciate any thoughts. Images and YouTube video below. Thanks.

 

Here's a photo of the system during the day:

 

And here it is at night. Cameras 1,2,5 and 6 are the new ones. (#5 looks OK here but it is usually whited out like #6. I find it odd that it's working in this particular capture - maybe that's helpful info.)

 

I've also have a video of the system at dusk when it's transitioning from being OK to whiting out. It's pretty interesting.

 

If those images aren't loading they're also here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39644045@N02/10909280873/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/39644045@N02/10909280783/

 

* Camera Specs

Night Owl CAM-4PK-624

Hi-Resolution Indoor/Outdoor 600 TVL Cameras

24 x 6mm LEDs (Field of View 42°)

Night Vision Up to 50FT

IR-Cut Filter

Effective Pixels: 640 x 480

Minimum Illumination: 0Lux (IR on)

Signal Noise (S/N) Ratio: >48dB

Signal: NTSC

Weatherproof Rating: IP-63

Power Supply: DC12V, 1500mA

Power Consumption: 250mA (per camera)

[Kawboy12R 0]

Night Owl is on crack. You might be able to adjust things like brightness and contrast a bit in the DVR to help tone down the whiteness but it looks to me like lousy dollar store cameras. The specs say that you can hook them up to a TV, so hook them up directly to your TV. When (not if) they still look like crap at night, tell Night Owl that it isn't a DVR issue and they aren't working with your TV like they advertise and are giving you completely unacceptable images. That way they can't weasel out of it by blaming Nuvico.

[stevebar 0]

I think you're right Kawboy12R! Thanks for confirming that Night Owl needs a little rehab.

[nick21century 0]

I think it is not the problem of DVR, i want to know if you change another camera from 4 (normal) to 1 (defective),is it still show white problem ? if so, check out if there is a strong light source from opposite,that's the problem.

[Securame 0]

That has nothing to do with the DVR. Just crappy cameras, I would say.