Commercial Application and your thoughts

[copperjoe 0]

Hello;

 

I am new to the forum. I'm a state police officer in the central US and I am in charge of the security for a small agency that lies somewhere in between a full blooded state agency and a public entity. We are a relatively small but secure entity and although I don't have to adhere to the same guidelines as the Feds for quality and retention, I do have statutory requirements for data retention.

 

Several years ago I replaced all of my VCR's with Intellex DVR's. They were state-of-the-art at the time, but I have nursed them to about twice their life span. I recently completed a replacement of all 32 cameras, and now I am researching commercial grade DVR's. I have several computer feeds I am recording with home-built Geovision Card/PC applications, and the quality is OK, but for my video I am looking for something with at least 120 ips but preferably 240, close to a terrabyte of HD, DVR drive, a robust web interface and or remote software package, and I am not opposed to Linux based/embedded software. My only big requirement is that I need looping connections because I have 9 spot monitors around the building that run off of the loop out connections.

 

I can go back to the Intellex products, but I have been disappointed with their software in the past, and I don't know if I want to continue on that route. Right now I run a 4mm tape drive on each unit to archive the motion sequences, but I am hoping a large HD will give me the storage without using a tape. I have also explored the option of storing to a NAS server. I have looked at everything from Marchnetworks, Mitsubishi, Toshiba, GE, Sanyo, Pelco, Honeywell, etc.

 

I know you guys get bombarded with the dreaded "what do you recommend" questions, but in all seriousness I have been out of contact with the DVR market for so long I don't know where to start. I'm looking for recommendations for a good robust 'good' to 'better' DVR system. I will need one to handle at least 32 cameras, or 2 basic units handling 16 each.

 

(I'm planning something between the $7,000 to $10,000 range for each, but obviously I would prefer to get eh best bang-per-buck I can)

 

Thanks for the help

 

Joe

[Lolo Wolf 0]

Hello, embedded or PC-based with loop out being a priority take a look at the Honeywell line http://www.honeywellvideo.com/ maybe the fusionIII but check out their full line, and Panasonic, whats nice about Honeywell is their loaner program, being a law enforcement agency dealing with critical data its a plus to know that if one goes down you can be back in service asap.There is such a bloat in this market as you are aware of already and Im sure lots of people will provide more info on their expertise. But I do know of two retrofits for law enforcement (one being a county-state joint task force) where they went with Honeywell. Just a side note...hang on to those tape drives lot of old school still swear by em. Good Luck Sir.

[kensplace 0]

I have a low end (very low end) honeywell dvr, when I emailed honeywell to ask about any updates for it to make it a dvr that was of merchantable quality. I clearly told them it was not a dvr suitable for its purpose in its current state without updating - they did not even reply.

 

I know its only a low end DVR but if a company is not even bothered that they are selling merchandise unfit for purpose, and cant even be bothered to reply then that puts me off ANY honeywell system.

[Lolo Wolf 0]

Sorry to hear that. I cant speak for their international (UK)solutions, they replaced a zapped Quad I had in service here without jumpin through hoops. Maybe you should try phone contact vs email they have a extensive tech support network.

[griffonsystems 0]

as for loop outs you could always buy a video dist hub that would give you 4 outputs per input - i use one from pelco for a few clients here in chicago and it works great because my dvr doesnt have loop outs - and you'll probably find that if the dvr does loop its only one per input

 

as for frames you'll probably find most pc dvrs are in the 120fps/16 for d1 resolution and can do 480fps for lower res - when you put more that 16 cameras on a pc based dvr you wont get better than 120fps

[rory 0]

I would look at Geo Again, the newer hardware compression cards, the loop out card, the multi quad card, etc .. Dont know if you are usinga much older version or not, at home? Also, if Intellix was good enough for them, they will be impressed with Geo. You could even customize it so it doesnt say Geo.

 

Otherwise, if you do choose another card, there are many, Video Insight comes to mind, if they dont have loop out cards you could use anything from a quad to a mux. Choose a decent mux though like the GE muxes, not an OEM no name.

 

IMO Honeywell Video is extremely overpriced South Korean gear (the prev Ademco video), I'd stay clear of them.

[Lolo Wolf 0]

Well ok, Im sure not gonna get into a runnin argument over that one, used some honeywell over the years and pelco. Made in Korea yes but I wonder how many people know that most of the Pelco line is designed in Korea and tweaked at the clovis factory made to resemble made in the USA, A company that prides itself being American and then outsources, well ... I like pelco gear and as a retired union worker I've tried to buy american most of my life but my country went and moved the border, But I respect your opinion on gear. Perhaps he is better off going the PC route with your suggestion.

[copperjoe 0]

I appreciate all of the sugestions folks, it has given me some things to think about, and if you have any more don't hesitate to pass them along. I'm still looking at both embedded and pc based......Honeywell has our state contract, but the local reps here are terrible and they jack the price up on everything it is almost unaffordable. I'm sure it's good quality, but it's hard to pay double and triple what we should normally pay (not an exaggeration)

 

I'm still considering a Geovision.....I have 6 PC DVR's running here that I built with Geovision cards for some custom applications, but I just wasn't sure how their top-end cards would perform in comparison to a more "professional" system. I have really liked the cards and software....and as far as functionality, they have Intellex beat by a long shot. Thanks for helping.

 

Joe

[kateoh_99 0]

You should also consider the Avermedia line of embedded systems. The only drawback is that there's no video loopout but as suggested you can easily get video distributors to do the trick. The SA6416 and EB1304NET are both embedded systems and can be connected to the Central station easily and cost effectively as well.