Any opinions of Dedicated Micros, digital sprites?

[MattVidionics 0]

We have installed maybe 50-60 of these units.

 

Not sure exactly why we have chosen this particular brand, but we have been installing these for a few years now. They have excellent monitor (spot/multiscreen support) and to upgrade an old multiplexer/vcr system to a sprite couldn't be easier as the sprites are fairly small.

 

We get lots of problems with the Maxtor hard drives they use.

 

Anyone else have any experiences with these units? (good or bad)

[securitymonster 0]

I haven't used the DM units but I will tell you to stay away from Maxtor as much as possible! They are poorly made hard drives, they seem to find a problem no matter what kind of machine they are in.

 

Of course thats my opinion but I've been around computers along time and have always stayed clear of Maxtor and it works every time!

[frosted 0]

agreed maxtor are cheap to large buyers thus they tend to get used. as i say a million times and others do to. you get what ya pay for.

 

 

(well most the time if you lucky and the goverment dont sqrew you )

[CSG 0]

I've used a number of DM Sprites, Sprite2, and ECCO's. They are a reliable and well rounded DVR. I know I can plug & play, and walk away. Very important when I'm in some clients computer closet that is cramped, hot, spider webbed. They have a 2 year warranty. Even out of warranty their repair prices are fair, the support is top rate, and the turnaround is fast.

[jisaac 0]

i have had a much worse experience with dedicated micros. Their support is snooty as snooty comes. Especially the one girl who is the lead tech. Also I sent in a dvr that the os just suddenly went out after 2 months. They told me that if we sent it in however we sent it (overnight, 2 day air)they would send it back the same way in 48 hours. Well a month later I finally got them to call me back and admin they lost the dvr. so I told them "ok, **** happeans, send me a new one." Oh well I cant do that I have to get approval from my manager( i was already talking to a manager. ) So a week later I get the old "lost" dvr back and no one knows how that happeaned because no one has any record of it even being repaired or sent.

Whatever that was the last time I used DM

[MattVidionics 0]

The thing is, these DM units are not exactly cheap. I think they cost around £3000-4000? (USD=$5000-7000).

 

We generally install branded/high-end equipment.

[jisaac 0]

oh ya and I forgot to ad that dm is way overpriced

but then again so is pelco

[normicgander 0]

I agree, DM is expensive and so is GE..

[rory 0]

Hmmmm, i like the GE though, over the DM units. DM was my original choice but found the Kalatel to have better specs at the time (a few years bacK) and stuck with them .. glad i did .. everything is overpriced these days though ..

[CSG 0]

My jobs are generally in the 20k+ range, so a few hundred bucks on the price of a DVR isn't going to make a big difference if it meets the clients expectations, is easy to install, and I don't have to go back for free warranty or support calls because the client can't use it or the thing crashes.

 

For the smaller jobs, the ECCO units are priced right, with all the features of the Sprites. GE has nothing comparable to the DM ECCO's other than the 4 channel Digia.

 

Hard drives will crash on any DVR eventually. I'm sure one day technology will give us low cost large capacity flash memory, then we'll have a DVR with no moving parts (other than the fan).

 

DM has great support. Sure they can drop the ball, but I wouldn't let one goofup characterize the entire product line. Their area rep will come out to my job site or my office to give in-person support. How many other suppliers can offer that? I can't even get bloody cutsheets from GE!

 

I'm always looking for new DVRs that will be better, better resolution, more fps, easier to use, bigger drives, less cost, but i'll keep using the tried & true until I find something else.

 

It's hard to continue this discussion without bringing dollar values in, but we can't discuss prices here. Dems are the rules.

[rory 0]

agreed CSG ... hey me like A you like B but they in the same league at least ... nothing is perfect, and that certainly includes the GE (which I havent sold any of in a year now BTW)

[jisaac 0]

the only other support like that is pelco. Pelco will send someone the next day if we have any hold ups with our installs. But then again pelco gets alot of money from our miltary projects. I would to if I was them.

[jisaac 0]

ohhhh and heaven forbid you turn the dvr on without plugging in all your cameras first!

(dedicated micros)

Edited March 20, 2006 by Guest

[charliecctv 0]

My personal experience, sort of.

July 2005, I had to travel to Houston to help an installation in one of the biggest financial companies' main building. While in the security control room, my counterpart in Houston suddenly started cursing. He pointed to the big wall full of screens: look at that dame thing, it happened again!!! It turned out the 3rd DM unit he installed in the same week freezed in front of all of us. I asked where the other two were. "I dumped #$%@ into a box and am still waiting somebody to get them". Last I heard was that he switched to another brand and never looked back.

The End.

[CSG 0]

Never had any type of problem like that, I've had drive failures and lightening strikes, but no freezeup, three times in a row no less wow.

[JMANOFNVS 0]

I must say that I here it from all ends of the spectrum...DM has lost my customers DVR's, shipped them to the wrong customer after a repair and personally I think some of there techs need to lay off the drugs!!! For the long haul they have been there and the sales reps are awesome with support, upgrades, demo's, and new product intros. The reps know more then the techs in my experience. Maxtor HD's on the other hand...fail just as much as seagate and WD. It all depends on the environment I think. For the most part I would recommend DM for the right application.

[CollinR 0]

They priced themselves out of my consideration.

 

 

I just went and looked at it a month ago, not that impressed... Probably good for a what they call "standalone".

[KrCCTV 0]

My two cents...

 

Sold a half dozen digital sprites a few years ago - two or three had "apparent" drive problems within months. Sold none since but have heard of them having "drive issues."

 

Have sold over 50 of another mfr's dvr's in the last six months all with two Maxtor's in each and have not had one failure yet.

 

Have a feeling that all DM problems may not be in fact "drive problems" or were drive problems created by their host (I have seen drives "corrupted" by DVR's).

 

Only recent experience was my CPA who got a D4, new, through a "friend" last year and recently wanted to know how to offload an incident to a CD. DM site says all companies who made compatible CD R/W's have discontinued them. A.K.A. S.O.L.

 

Upside - it comes with a thick manual. Downside - it contains little info repeated in many, many languages.

[CSG 0]

I don't get it, I should be experiencng these drive issues with DM, but don't. If you unplug the power supply without proper shutdown, or no UPS's , maybe thats an issue.

 

I have Maxtors in a few Windows Domain servers and no failurres there either, as compared to WD, or IBM/Hitachi.

 

You really don't need a CD-Burner with DM since you can use the Network Viewer program to save an avi file to your PC, then burn that if you want. Many DVR's don't have any CD interface, especially 4 channel units where price is focus. DM has DVR's with built in CD, and they cost more. Ya pay ya price and dats what you git.

 

The manual is brief but complete. Most of it is self explanatory anyway. What DVR documentation is better? At least it isn't chinglish.

 

I think it's kinda funny that this forum seems to dump on DM, but touts other DVRs that don't have even the most basic of features that Sprites had 8 years ago.

[cctvqueen 0]

My experience with Dedicated Micros for the most part has been positive. I've sold hundreds of these units because, in my opinon, they are the most user friendly dvr on the market. My customer has a contract with Fred Meyers (a chain store in the NW) He installs 4-5 BX2PT's a month (16 ch 1.2 TB w/all the xtras) Lately- I've noticed a big difference in their quality. I don't know if it is the "brand" of hd, but it seems like atleast 1 out of 5 units--problems with hard drives(usually Drive C or D). That seems to be the only major problem I've experienced. However there customer service and tech support is fantastic. I give it a 10!

[jisaac 0]

has no one else powerd on the dvr without having any cameras plugged in and ruined the machine?

[jisaac 0]

and yes their tec's need to lay off the drugs. Its annoying

[normicgander 0]

Did I read it correctly? 1 out of 5 unit HD failures? Should it not be perhaps 1 out 5000 units within the warranty period? That's a high MTBF rate. It seems HDs are the weak link in DVRs.

 

In general, this speaks to the issue of allowing dealers to perform HD upgrades/repairs in the field. I mean, goodness sakes, years ago many low-voltage dealers performed component level electronics repairs. So, why not system level repairs such as HDs? As a dealer, it gets old having to pull expensive DVRs out of customer sites and provide them a loaner (because it the right thing to do) because of HDs.

 

Many OEMs even make the dealer pay for the return, even for warranty repairs.

 

Sorry for the rant..

[jisaac 0]

i agree about pulling the whole dvr and sending it in. And then having to give them a loaner. That is just a pain in the ***. especially when they loose the dvr you sent in for like a month

[Thomas 0]

1 out of 5 is a rather insane failure rate for hard drives no matter the application. Are you sure about drive failure being the cause of death?