Help migrating from geovision GV600 to a dedicated DVR

Hi,

I used to have a Geovision GV600 Card in my old PC but I have upgraded my computer to an all in one Sony. Pc built in to the monitor type one. I bought a usb dvr 4channel but its not up to much. The software is not upto much compared to the Geovision. The motion detect settings are useless and only detect you if you activate the motion detection and stay there for a few seconds, so mainly when there is motion sensed and recorded more often than not there is nothing to show on screen. You also cannot set a prerecord of say 2 seconds before motion is sensed like my beloved Geovision card.

So basically what I am asking is what alternative is there out there that I could use. I was thinking of a dedicated DVR but how would that connect to my PC. There are no AV connections on the back of the PC. Could I just control it locally using a network?

If anybody could point me in the right direction it would really be appreciated.

This system is for my home with just 4 cameras maximum.

Many thanks

Nick

You could either buy another PC to use for it, cheap, or build one, cheaper. Or using a stand alone DVR you could view it over the network or on a local monitor attached to the DVR. Yes the USB DVRs tend to have very limited software, at least compared to something as heavy as Geovision 8.3. If your card is an older one, pre 8.3 days, then you could use a basic P4 system, refurbished even if you want to save (needs to be a tower or cube though) and using pre 8.2 software, eg. 8.1.2 if the card is not that old. Ive got 8.1.2 running on a Celleron, and ofcourse stripped down XP

Thanks for the reply Rory. Unfortunately I have sold my PC and GV-600 card last week. I did this mainly because of space in my office. I wanted an all in one PC but I still need a decent CCTV system. I think a dedicated DVR would be my best bet. Can anybody recommend a good but reasonably priced system. Also is it easy to network these systems locally. Do they plug in with a LAN to my router.?

Thanks again

im checking out an XTSvideo slim line DVR either today or tomorrow, it is from the same manufacturer of the Intellicam GenIV DVRs .. can let you know how that one turns out. Has HDMI and 7fps D1 on every channel which is nice, plus all kind of mobile phone support from the manufacturer at the least - ofcourse I havent tested it yet to say for sure though. Otherwise the CNB stand alones are not bad, good price also, but no mobile phone support that I know of. There is alot of junk out there so beware of all the marketing hype.

Thanks again Rory. It would be good of you if you could let me know what the system your looking at tomorrow is like.

Are there any DVRs out there that you can completely control on a network locally, ie setup up motion control, email alerts etc without having to set it up on a seperate monitor. Space is of the essence.

Many thanks.

All these I am working with / testing right now allow that actually, Remote setup.

even the cheapest DVR ive seen in a long time, out of China, has that:

http://bahamassecurity.com/images/samples/Cantonk_Browser.jpg

still contemplating ordering one of those ... at least to test it.

The 16 channel one I mentioned earlier is in town now, going to grab it in a little while and will put it online here in place of my cheap AvTech. The model from the manufacture is this:

http://www.dahuasecurity.com/product_det.aspx?ID=675&p=cpyzc&p_kind=3&c_kind=262&c_kind2=&c_kind3=

Im getting this from a company in Florida that sells only to distributors, otherwise Intellicam is available on retail sites, I dont know if there are any differences between them. Both of them have an Enterprise model which claims D1 30fps on every channel, it costs ALOT more though, hard to sell that down here when we pay 45% Customs on the combined cost of the DVR + Shipping (average $100).

All these I am working with / testing right now allow that actually, Remote setup.

even the cheapest DVR ive seen in a long time, out of China, has that:

http://bahamassecurity.com/images/samples/Cantonk_Browser.jpg

still contemplating ordering one of those ... at least to test it.

 

The 16 channel one I mentioned earlier is in town now, going to grab it in a little while and will put it online here in place of my cheap AvTech. The model from the manufacture is this:

http://www.dahuasecurity.com/product_det.aspx?ID=675&p=cpyzc&p_kind=3&c_kind=262&c_kind2=&c_kind3=

 

Im getting this from a company in Florida that sells only to distributors, otherwise Intellicam is available on retail sites, I dont know if there are any differences between them. Both of them have an Enterprise model which claims D1 30fps on every channel, it costs ALOT more though, hard to sell that down here when we pay 45% Customs on the combined cost of the DVR + Shipping (average $100).

great advice