I have been lurking around the forum for the past couple of days and gathering some ideas. I thought I would post a scenario and see what you suggest (forgive me if this has been posted already, I don't think I saw this scenario previously).

I am looking at setting up surveillance for the perimeter of a house, with 4 cameras, all with IR. I am also looking at the geovision GV-800-4 card for a dedicated pc for the monitoring (pc is pentium 4, 3.0ghz 512mb 80gb). My goal is to record on the pc when any of the cameras detect movement, and possible live viewing via the internet. I would also like to view the cameras when at the computer.

I was originally planning on spending around $1000, but with the geo card alone at $400, I might be pushing the budget. I would cut the number of cameras down to 2 for now if I can't get a system for under $1000.

Do you have any suggestions on cameras, different pc cards, etc? I'm in Atlanta, so the cameras will not be exposed to drastically cold temps.

Thanks for your help and ideas.

Welcome,

I would suggest reading through the forum in the areas of interest. There is a lot of good information already there.

There are many people with many different scenarios that maybe might answer those questions.

Every install is a unique one so I can't really give you a generic answer.

Check it out, and then if you have some questions regarding what you've read I am sure myself and others will try and help you out.

Why a GEO card? There are more alternatives out there, like I-VIEW and Netpromax for example.

If he reasoned like me he is buying Geo because that is what you can find the most information about on the internet.

That’s why I bought Geo. Could be many better solutions, but there is more conversation than Geo than any other.

So most people probably think it is better. I know I did and still don’t know any better. That’s all I see is discussion of Geo’s. They must have the market share and people equate that with the best product.

We all know that this is not necessarily the case.

Jasper is correct, I found out the most information on geo cards by searching around. I'll take a look at the suggestions, thanks for the discussion.

I suggest upgrading to an 8 input card since once you start using cameras it is like crack cocaine, you will need more and more. Maybe the 16 wouldn't be out of the question here. Seriously, it is worth having the ability to expand your system.

I just bought a GV-1240 8 channel combo card that I am real happy with. If you want the real time display of the video your cameras are seeing and audio ability it is a good card.

If you don’t care about seeing the display update at the same rate that the cameras are set at and not having audio ability then you can get a GV-800 cheaper.

8 cameras should be plenty for a normal house. But if you got a big house and you can go over your budget then a 16 channel card might be the ticket.

I ended up purchasing a geo 1240-8 card with 4 cameras, and installed it this weekend. I upgraded my graphics card on my pc to an ATI radeon x700 pro, and it works great. I've got the pc recording the 4 cameras, and the video out going to another tv so I can see what's going on when not at the pc. I also have the geo remote view working, so I can look in while not at home, or I can look via my wireless laptop within my lan.

The geo software is not too bad to get around in, I really like the motion detection and record capabilities.

This is like cocaine, I am looking to add 2 more cameras to cover a couple of areas that are blind spots.

Appreciate the advice on this setup, this was fun hooking everything up.

Good call on the purchase, I hope you bought it from Sal since it wasn't from me..:)

Scottj

cmf -

what cameras did you decide to go with?

I went with 4 Nuvico W27IR19N cameras. I have 1 camera in total darkness, and the IR works pretty well. The other 3 are placed with minimal access to street lights, and the views are great. All 4 cameras work great in the daylight.

Hope this helps...

I've heard those Nuvico cameras are pretty good for the price. Sounds like you have a good system worked out!

We'd love to see some hi-res shots if possible...

dont get too addicted, you will end up only getting 2 hours sleep a night like me :lol:

Oh, it's way too late, already additcted...I just got 2 more cameras, for a total of 6. I hope to install them this weekend - but I can quit anytime!

Here are some pics, both day and night:
www.carlmfischer.com/cctv

Nice shots! Thanks for sharing them.

I assume these are the Nuvico cams...

No problem, the least I could do since I found a lot of help throughout this forum.
Yes, these are the Nuvico cams. Great little camera for a house setup.