pelco spectra IV what am i doing wrong

[27901591 0]

hi ive got cctv system set up with maplins 8 channel sentient dvr, one pelco spectra IV, one honeywell VCL orbitor and one cheap £20 420 tvl chinese camera. i bought the pelco spectra thinking because there're used in town centres and other industrial estates that it might be good picture quality. Now the problem i have is the picture quality of the pelco spectra is the same as the cheap 420tvl camera. You can only just make out theres an moving person in the picture, where as the VCL you can pick up the face without even zooming.

 

*all the cameras are set at the same height around the building

*cable length is only 10mtres

 

ive tried messing about with the onboard settings

ive tried recording in different formats and FPS, D1, HD1 and CIF

 

do i need a better dvr or what am i doing wrong?

 

 

 

http://www.maplin.co.uk/sentient-8-channel-500gb-dvr-with-remote-viewing-used-683061

[survtech 0]

Pelco Spectras (and most PTZs) use the equivalent of a cheap 420TVL (actually 470TVL) 1/4" CCD camera, typically an Hitachi or Sony camera module from an older-style VHS camcorder. Typical specs are HERE. Horizontal resolution is listed at 470TVL.

 

The biggest parts of the price difference between a $100 470TVL fixed camera and a $2000 Spectra IV are the power zoom lens and the pan/tilt drive system. You can't expect super high camera performance from most PTZ cameras because that is not what they are designed for. Also, the resolution limitations of analog provide an upper limit on camera resolution anyway.

 

IP PTZs can, and often do, provide higher resolution pictures but can cost as much as 3x an analog PTZ.