I'm a relative "newbie" in CCTV but have done a lot of research and narrowed down my 16ch DVR choice to two models/brands:

Intellicam G4-16XLA
http://www.intellicamusa.com/product_in ... cts_id=105

Argus JSD-1600
http://www.arguscctv.com/en/03_products/jsd_1600.asp

The Argus uses JPEG2000, not sure about the Intellicam (MPEG4?), both use H.264 compression.

I'll be using this at home for light surveilance, mainly just to check in on the horses and house while we're at work or out of town, so network/remote abilities and performance is probably most important. If it catches any funny business (ie: thieves) at the same time that's a bonus. I'm trying to keep the purchase under $1200 (I'm looking at OEM versions of the Argus). I don't need a lot of bling or options, just want a decent DVR that will support good images with good quality attached cameras. Remote "live" viewing quality is more important than recorded images.

I'm leaning towards the Argus for 2 reasons: 1) Dual codec w/JPEG2000, and 2) seems to be a very widely used and supported model so I won't have a problem finding info and/or support if needed. I like the Intellicam model as well but info on it seems very sparse, though comments in here have been favorable.

Anyone here have experience with one or both and can share your thoughts? I read that the older Argus models weren't good at all in terms of network/remote speed and performance, but the newer models with the dual codec are much better.

I have sold many and use an Argus JPEG2000 in our store, (not the dual codec model), and it ha been satisfactory with the exception of the internet playback speed. I havent sold or used any of the dual codec models but believe the dual codec system has resolved that issue. The Intellicam H.264unit is a faster operating machine and can be viewed with internet explorer vs. the Argus requiring software being installed for remote viewing. PM me if you want a link to connect to an Intellicam H.264 unit or view my JPEG2000 which would require installing the viewing software.

I personally sell and install the XLA unit from Intellicam. I am Master Distributor for Intellicam. I have had great success with this model and as mentioned performs very well in remote mode.

For the price, it really is a great DVR and I have used other brands but once we got our hands on the XLA and the RTA for that matter, we never looked any further.

Thanks

Mike

I am looking at the RTA D1 unit at he moment, but would still like to see a JPEG2000 in action, to see how big the difference in picture is.
Mr. surveillance, I can't PM yet, so could you please PM me the link?

thanks,
Florian

I bought an 8 channel G4-8RTA-D1 intellicam unit back in september 2008, and im very happy with it. the internet viewing is somewhat speedy (you can select two streaming speeds when you login via internet explorer by right clicking on the image. one for a slow internet connections, and one for a faster internet connection). the record quality is also nice, in my opinion.

my only gripes are that you MUST use internet explorer (i cant view it from my apple machine with safari, and i prefer firefox on my PC's. i know, i know, this is how most dvr's are because of active X... blah ), and the software interface on the DVR itself could be a little more intuitive (but i still had no problem setting it up). however, i believe that 1-2 months after i bought my unit, the software was updated. im not sure if its just the remote viewing software that got a makeover, or the setup software on the dvr, too.

also, i think its supposed to come back online after a power outage. im going on 4 months of being out of town (deployed in iraq), and i had a power outage 2 months ago, in late december, and it never came back online (my neighbor confirmed that our neighborhood had an outage for about 8 hours). i do have it hooked up to a brand new UPS, which is about a 90 min power reserve, which, obviously the power outage exceeded. i havent been able to connect to it since, so havent been able to check my cameras in 2 months, and nobody is home. i know my IP hasnt changed, and i know my internet isnt down, because i have other devices at home (slingbox, etc) that i can still access. im hoping that my UPS might just have a reset button or something i need to push.

but overall, this unit is great, and i dont think youll be disappointed.

oh, and fwiw, i bought mine from mike at shoreviewsecurity and his support is GREAT. pre sale he gave me a login to his intellicam DVR so i could mess around with it and check it out. post sale he gave me his cell number to call if i needed anything. i ended up having to call him 3-4x, and each time he took the time to walk me through whatever i needed, and 2 of my calls were smack in the middle of the weekend! and the one time he didnt answer, he called me back almost immediately, ready to help. there are other dealers on the forum that are also great, too. try to get a demo login from one of them and check the machine out!

you cant go wrong either way.

i cant wait to come home next week and add some PTZ cameras to this DVR and get it back online!

Hey alpine0000,

Thanks so much for your kind words regarding our support. It really is and was a pleasure.

I also have had UPS's do this exact same thing. I have arrived on a property only to have to reset the UPS BUT had to return again as it did the same thing. I ended up replacing it and it has been OK since.

Anyway, I wish you a safe return to the states and also want to thank you for the service you provide to our country in what ever capacity you are serving. I was once in the military and I appreciate the sacrifice. Shoot me an email when you return or give me a call and let me know how you make out.

Thanks again!!

Mike

+1 on Mike at Shoreview. I got the RTA D1 16 from him. Top notch.

Mike, is there new software??

Thanks

Glenn

Hi Glenn,

Thanks for your kind words

If you are looking for the Client Software v4.01, please visit this link...

http://www.shoreviewsecurityusa.com/kb_results.asp?ID=9

It contains the Client Software, the owner's manual for this software, the File Player and a Video Converter as well. Basically the contents of the CD that came with the DVR.

Or

Are you looking for the latest firmware? If your web viewer login page looks like the image in this link, then to the best of my knowledge, you have the latest firmware.

http://shoreviewsecurity.com/g4web.html

Thanks

Mike