False camera specs

[woodsy 0]

I recently read an article from CCTV focus titled “Unravel and undo the unreal CCTV camera specificationsâ€

[rory 0]

He certainly is correct .. dont believe the manufacturer all the time . .. you will also find that even more so with the OEM gear (but not excluding well known brands) .. as well as tons of websites online that false advertise .. most common example is the false advertisement of SONY cameras .. when they are NOT Sony cameras, they simply have the Sony chip, and there is a Huge Difference as there are many versions of Sony chips .. the more expensive the chip, the better it is. When looking at cameras though, the chip is important, but there are other factors to include such as features added to the camera by the manufacturer themselves; eg. Mechanical IR Cut Filter.

 

You dont need google for that though, you should be able to do some searching on this forum and find where we mention this over and over ..

 

Although larger well known brands are not 100% exempt from this, they have gotten much better over the past few years. One very noticeable difference you will experience between an OEM and a more expensive name brand, is the information provided during the presale period, in other words the literature and specs are typically more available and in more detail, with large name brands such as GE, Bosch, Sanyo, etc.

[kensplace 0]

its not just cameras they lie about, its common for them to tell porkies about other products like dvrs, multiplexers etc also.

[Deluxecctv.com 0]

I have run across this many times. The manufacture will claim a camera is 480TV lines when the manual states 420 or even as low as 380 TV lines. I have also seen this in DVR'S and some other items. You just have to be careful who you buy from. There are some manufactures out there that just want to take your money. Even in a business world such as this one.

[vf702 0]

Unfortunately, this business is a perfect target for the cheats. Many sites list high TVL without putting any detailed specs online. To a newbie or anyone of the many people who want a couple of cameras for a hobby or personal use, two substantially different cameras will look comparable. Whichever is less expensive will look like a better deal. Most probably never notice that the camera they got isn’t nearly what they thought that they were getting.

[videobruce 0]

Camera resolution seems to be the biggest LIE.

Of the cameras I have seen, there is NO way these single chip cameras acheive much over 350 lines. The video is just too smeary. They look more as you are looking at Beat 3 (if you remember that(. especially these all in one camera/lens/housing wonders.

 

Now some of these newer cameras and claiming over 600 lines.

 

Is there anywhere that does reviews on CCTV cameras??

[rikky 0]

Think I once saw a UK magazine, called Security Installer performing bench testing on different cameras and other digital recording systems.

[rory 0]

Dont buy it unless it specifies the effective pixels and they are comparative with the specified TVL.

[mcs 0]

The amount of pixels is what your looking for

also the horizontal lines,

not just the res-

 

Post here anything your worried about and well check it for you.

 

I am over sales man pitches, and have tried and tested most brands, and know what I use.

 

Not just for price (although I do get a good price)

But mainly for quality

I loose jobs regularly cause the locksmith or the electrician go in 1/2 the price I am with ****,

and then the people whinge cause they meant to have 30 days recroding, and blah fkn blah

 

I end up getting them, Im not here for the love of it.

Im here to make money and no ones friends in business and trust me the favours are NEVER returned

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for them 20 cameras we sent you accidentally, that were on back order which we filled.......................................................................... My bad

[mcs 0]

Camera resolution seems to be the biggest LIE.

........................

Now some of these newer cameras and claiming over 600 lines.

 

Is there anywhere that does reviews on CCTV cameras??

 

 

Yes you are correct, but to a point

are we talking ccd or cmos with the smeary objects...

 

600 lines is possible, are you viewing on a monitor that does 600+ lines with a 600 line camera direct feed video?

 

Prob is most dvrs dont do LIVE view-

 

Prob is its like everything everyone jumps on the bandwagon to make a buck...

 

TEST + TRY for yourself, buy a few dif models. this will help you make the most informed decision,

 

When my new office is built ill setup some testingareas and will post back, *when is the only prob*

 

 

 

Click here for 2006 review

[videobruce 0]

TEST + TRY for yourself, buy a few dif models. this will help you make the most informed decision,

That gets expensive for a small shop. Even buying and returning adds up.

 

are you viewing on a monitor that does 600+ lines with a 600 line camera direct feed video

Of the five monitors I have three are CRT with NO comb filters, one is a DLP RPTV and the other is a LCD HD set. The one I use for evaluation is a 1080p 50" DLP and being a fixed panel display doesn't do analog inputs as well as a high end CRT.

[mcs 0]

Oh I thought u were an installer, they way you were talking...

 

cheers

[captainJ 0]

its not just cameras they lie about, its common for them to tell porkies about other products like dvrs, multiplexers etc also.

 

That's true with a 60FPS/4ch GESS DVR card (Global Engineering Security Systems) I got.

It stated 15FPS per ch recording, but play back was a lousy 3-5FPS, even real-time viewing.

 

I had 4 of them and they all function alike, all returned immediately.

 

Went with AVerMedia DVR instead and performs just like stated, and runs way cooler than the Geovision 16ch DVR card I had 2 years ago.

[mcs 0]

Im sorry but nothing compares to geo, LOL

 

did you have enough airflow?

 

 

I checked a gv1000 running 12 cams today

nice and smooth hasnt missed a beat since may2005

zonealarm ran out actually so it had no AV for god know how long

ran AVG7.5 did dl Up's and scan in safe mode,

NO issue

 

 

there are alot of factors, and variables.

[captainJ 0]

I know Geovision is top line, maybe I just had a bad experience.

 

My server has a good power supply and air flow; intake from the front-bottom and side, exhaust from the top and back.

 

I initially built the server around the demanding specs for the Geovision card.

It was a GV-1000-16

 

I had a temp prob on the DVR card because the server's ambient temp was rising significantly.

Every time I opened the DVR software, the temp would climb and my PC would lock up.

Frustrated trying to troubleshoot the thing, I walked off for a second. When I came back in, the room smelled like fresh hardware receiving electricity for the first time.

I looked at the temp probe and it read 83C. So I didn't even do the whole proper Windows start/shutdown routine, just yanked out the power cord immediately!

 

Needless to say, I stopped troubleshooting, asked no questions and returned it.

 

I wouldn't mind giving GEO a second chance, but the owner that i'm building the server for, didn't want any repeat incidences.

Edited March 23, 2007 by Guest

[mcs 0]

WOW

 

 

I dont think geo is demanding, you know the cost a dvr these days I build a decent GEO with UPS, 17" samsung lcd, over spced pc, for 2500, to compare to something on the market well prob 5k or more

500gb hdd, and well

 

I think you should try geo again, I have built heaps and have heaps in the feild running since like 2003

 

get a base card base machine, just dont try and run it on 128mb ram like I have seen one company dvr they build...

50 fps over 16 cams is SAD

[videobruce 0]

Oh I thought u were an installer, they way you were talking...

I am, but it's still costly for a trial and error method. I really don't believe in telling the customer "I used these cameras before and they are great" when I haven't, nor do I want to tell him "I never used these before, I'll have to see what they will look like" either.

[Daryl733 0]

Camera resolution seems to be the biggest LIE.

........................

Now some of these newer cameras and claiming over 600 lines.

 

Is there anywhere that does reviews on CCTV cameras??

 

 

Yes you are correct, but to a point

are we talking ccd or cmos with the smeary objects...

 

600 lines is possible, are you viewing on a monitor that does 600+ lines with a 600 line camera direct feed video?

 

Prob is most dvrs dont do LIVE view-

 

Prob is its like everything everyone jumps on the bandwagon to make a buck...

 

TEST + TRY for yourself, buy a few dif models. this will help you make the most informed decision,

 

When my new office is built ill setup some testingareas and will post back, *when is the only prob*

 

Click here for 2006 review

 

Actually, is TVL really that IMPORTANT ?

IMHO, The system is only as good as the lousiest part.

If your monitor can't display high TVL, what's the use of getting high TVL Camera ?

If your DVR can't record that high TVL, what's the use of getting high TVL cameras ?

If you want to save space and recording longer period, and end up choosing lousier compression on your DVR, what's the use of higher TVL camera ?

 

It's basically all sales pitch for TVL. Lots of factors comes into play rather than just the TVL. After using and selling so many cameras, I think the most important thing abt it is reliability. There are lots of cheap china products ard, gave up using them for projects. Just sell them as retail, low price. The QC for them is bad. Every batch's different quality. And spoilage is high.

And guess what, the specs say 420/480TVL, but compare to one 350TVL cam that we have, the pictures seems to turn out not as clear. haa..

Well.. to each their own. For me, currently, reliability trumps at the moment. Too much service calls for using those cheapo china cam.

[videobruce 0]

If your monitor can't display high TVL, what's the use of getting high TVL Camera ?

That is a age old question that can be answered by watching TV.

Your average smaller TV has no comb filter. That automatically interperts into >240TVL. Watch your favorite TV program and then watch the output of the best CCTV camera you ever saw or the output of a camcorder. Which is better?

The television program. Even thought the TV has say 200 TVL a higher resolution source will still look better.

 

To use a extream case, hook a 3 chip ENG/EFP camera (<700 TVL) to a low resolution monitor, then connect a (supposed) 480 TVL CCTV camera and tell me which will look better even though the monitor will/can only do >240 TVL.

 

The same applies to any recorder in spite of a higher resolution image taking up more HDD space.