DigitalMayhem 0 Posted December 7, 2007 This is my first post, and I apologize in advance I need to setup a system for my father-in-laws company. He need 4 cameras now, up to 8 later. It's very dark at night, I already have a pc ready for a card. I need to decide on a card and cameras for my application. The system will be monitored by an idiot, so the interface needs to be easy to use. The feeds will also need to be viewed on other pc's on the LAN. I was about to buy a geovision card when I read that the remote interface requires lots of resources. I was considering e-bay but don't think I should roll the dice and get a DOA card. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DigitalMayhem 0 Posted December 7, 2007 I see there is software to help with the remote viewing issue. Now I have to figure out how to spend the money. I have a budget of $2000 for cameras, a DVR card, cable, housings, lenses, an IR illuminator? is it possible? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted December 10, 2007 LOL .. welcome to the forum .. im sure someone will reply tomorrow .. weekends are normally slow .. im ill and also just bumped my head, so cant really answer myself that well but here goes .. Geo will be okay, there are others. Basically you can get the card and an IR remote, set up a user account as a User and limit them to full screen only, so it auto logs into that account. They can use the IR Remote to just switch the multiviews, so only the admin needs to login and come out of full screen to play back video and do other admin stuff .. keeps the user from being able to do a whole lot, and all they ever see is the live video. I cant speak for the budget as we can only discuss Retail pricing, and that can vary considerably from one retailer to the next. Actually we are asked to not discuss pricing wherever possible and cannot directly recommend any particular online stores - many other members here are actually distributors and so we dont want any conflicts, but they can PM you direct if required. Stay clear of Ebay though, whatever you do. Check out the advertiser banners at the top of this site for other options and legit cards. There is a thread posted in the camera section that has links on Day Night cameras. Basically the best is a True Day Night camera, which has an IR Cut Filter. These can vary from a simple bullet camera, to a professional box camera, to something like the Extreme CCTV long range IR cameras .. the bullet cameras are going to be the most common and as they have built in IR they will be less expensive. The box and the Extreme cameras would be the best but will cost. I dont know if your budget will even cover the True Day night bullets though, you may only be able to afford what we call the Color IR bullet cameras. They also vary considerably. The better ones of that type would be the more expensive ones also, they will be much cheaper than the True Day Night bullets though. Difference is without the IR Cut Filter the colors during the day can appear washed out, how much will depend on the actual camera itself. All of these bullet type cameras are OEM cameras so once again they will vary in quality from one to the next, and in many cases you will never know who the actual manufacturer is. Some brand names, some will be rebadged, some will be the actual Asian manufacturer, but the more well known ones would be KT&C, Nuvico, Arm, Eclipse - forgive me if I left one or two out guys. Anyway those links in that thread will explain alot more. The cost of the DVR card will depend on the video frame rate you will like. If its 8 cameras you may want to look at something like the GV-650-8, 60fps. Decent enough for most applications, and yet not the ultimate budget card. The 120fps card will bring the price right up, and the real time live video cards will be even more. Dont forget the distributed power supply for the cameras (Altronix is a good brand), and also a UPS with Voltage Regulation for everything (APC or Trip lite). Power everything at the DVR location as well. Keep video cable at least 1 foot from any high voltage such as lights, etc. Get some RG59 Siamese Cable if you can terminate it properly, or can learn to do so, otherwise you maybe stuck with the ready made all in one cables which is typically much thinner and RCA, but these can encounter interference issues. There is also the option of cat5 cable and baluns, but I would learn to do the BNC connection first IMO before going that route, unless cat5 was to be required for the application (such as multi building app or utilizing existing wiring). Thats all for now .. I feel like I just had a Scorpion moment (inside joke with another member) Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DigitalMayhem 0 Posted December 10, 2007 Thanks alot rory, the whole camera thing blows my mind. I have seen the same camera from $300-$500, that's the biggest range on an apparently identical product, ummm, ever. I build alot of pc's, and a seagate HD costs the same everywhere, or close. I also buy and sell on ebay, and have bought lots of computer parts, from ram to lcd monitors, and never had a problem. So why is the ebay CCTV market so shady? I understand that support is important, or lack thereof, but beyond that, what's the problem? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scorpion 0 Posted December 11, 2007 http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=9247 (Hey Rory! How is that for quick, and simple)?? LOL!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites