hardwired

Pelco makes a ground isolation transformer w/ BNC's http://www.pelco.com/Products/default.aspx?id=230 , it will isolate up to ten volts AC differential. I have used it in a number of installations, and it works well. You do have to factor in the fact that it adds the equivalent of 200' of RG59 to the cable length total.

I've been using the RE drives for a while now, and so far, so good. I just built a system for a long-term storage for five Arecont 5105's with 32 1.5 TB Seagate's, we'll see how that goes ( and yes, I know about the firmware problem). I've got them in RAID 6, so we should be able to ride out a few drive problems, and the price point was hard to resist.

Looks to be a Ubiquiti NanoStation NS2 with their own OS on it. I can't vouch for the EnGenius OS, but I've used quite a bit of Ubiquiti stuff, and it has worked very well. You can also add an external antenna to the NS2, if you need higher gain. I usually build my outdoor bridges / AP's / SU's with Mikrotik Routerboards in a ARC wireless antenna / enclosure, with Ubiquiti mini-PCI cards, that way I have the option of 900 MHz, 2.4, 3.x, 4.9 or 5.8 PtP, multipoint, or mesh.

Oh, and with a 1.67 um pixel pitch, (taken from the Aptina 10mp sensor data sheet) the imager would need to be about 10 inches by 7.5 inches....

Hell, any camera could do that. Just take the FOV (approx 10' at subject), you need a resolution of at least 400 pixels square at the basketball, imaged onto the subject's eye (~.5") So 800 pixels / inch at eye, X FOV (120") = 96000 Linear pixel, assuming standard 4x3 format = 72000 vertical pixels = 6912 Megapixel imager. I think the nannycam I saw on line for 49 bucks will do that, right? Or was that the Hubble telescope, after they fixed the optics, that I'm thinking of?

Some of Samsung's professional line monitors (460ut, etc)have video wall processing built in. Another option would be Matrox LPX-IN / LPX-OUT4 Card setup....

Had pretty good luck with DeView cameras, they use the Pixim chipset on their WDR cam, 3 axis gimbal, test monitor output, and the different cam modules all interchange into the same housing. BTW, I'd be concerned about the choice of DVR, too.

I use A Samsung Q1 tablet PC with a wrist strap, and a 3com # 3CNJ100 Switch, which is a single-gang sized wall mount four port switch with PoE pass-through on one port for the camera. Unfortunately, the switch is discontinued, and the replacement only works with the high power 802.11at standard, which isn't common yet.... you can still find a few if you Google around. I know it is a throwback to the stone age, but an analog output on more models would be really convenient, as not all of our installers are IP savvy, or equipped with all of the gear to setup network cameras yet.

If you are comfortable installing a card into your PC and configuring software, the capture card in your PC will be the way to go. You will find many varying opinions here on whose card to use, review their specs and PC requirements before buying. If you want to control the PTZ's through the DVR, make sure that the card manufacturer supports that protocol (I live in Pelco's backyard... do not use much AD stuff) If you also have an open PCI slot in your PC, you will find those cards to be much more plentiful. I've built a significantly large number of DVR'S for our company over the years (Windows 98 based DVR'S, yikes!), with a card manufacturer who is not one of the ones in common mention here (digi-it). It may be worthwhile to find one who also supports network based cameras in a hybrid configuration, as this provides an advantage down the road if you want to add megapixel cams, etc.

The heavy-duty solution would be to use the Pelco CM9760-DMR data merger, it will also allow merging D and P protocol streams, but it is awfully expensive. Definitely try the diode way first, but I used this to distribute out to 12+ Spectra's with no problems.

That is right, forgot that. the advice about the locking tabs is good, I've gone back and found the dome drive sitting in the bubble. I also had one of my techs call me after he dropped a dome drive 20 feet onto concrete after he thought it was locked in. Interestingly, that dome drive still worked, just cracked the drive cover. I'm close enough to Pelco to walk my repairs in, so that helps, considering the luck we have had with Pelco the last year or so

I took a quick look at your component list, and a few questions come to mind. The mux you have seems to only operate in conjunction with a Integral capture card, that is what that parallel/serial connector is for. Is that what you are going to use? And the mux provides for analog output viewing points, is that what you need? a little more information about what you are trying to accomplish would be helpful. The question about the DVR and PCI-E is that the capture card in the DVR could be either PCI or PCI-E form factor. PCI-E is the newer card format, and allows higher bandwidth for higher frame rates, but may be of little use unless you need very high capture rates (240 FPS or up). As far as access from the internet, that will be a function of the DVR you choose. Depending on the type of internet connection you have, a DVR supplier that provides dynamic DNS resolution may be helpful. For highest quality recording, make sure the DVR you use records at least 4CIF (640 by 480) or D1, (720 by 480) resolution.

I made that mistake once,the Spectra IV has the fan in the dome drive, not the backbox. Get your loaner Spectra III dome drive out, or you're going to fry it.

Up-the-Coax control systems tend to get skittish when not properly terminated. Check and make sure 75 ohm termination is on at monitoring end. Also, how long is the coax cable run between the controller and receiver? Try it with a short, known good cable, if you can.

Even though you only want to control data, the CM6700 or CM6800 matrix may still be the way to go. It would allow limiting access or priority for individual users to certain cameras in an organized way, which will allow THE BOSS to watch what he wants.... Ive been there with a system that did not do that. Better to have it and not use it than to have that discussion. If you have Windows based dvr's and a com port available, you can program the CM6800 pretty easily, too. Much easier than programming through the keyboards. You can set up fancy timed preset tours, too, if you like.

So far, we've had good luck with Acti cams and Milestone. The drawbacks with the cube was no POE, but now they have the ACM-4201 with POE, and the lens it comes with is pretty bad (fixed w/ a varifocal Computar). I got much better images with a different lens. the ACM-1431 Bullets and the ACM-7401/ 7411 dome have been good.. no 3-axis gimbal on the dome, though. Gotta use the wall mount bracket for that. They do have some new models that I will be trying soon. Overall, they seem to be a decent low/ middle line product for our use.

Exacq has a version that runs on Linux (Ubuntu 6.06 LTS)and allows you to run the recording server on that box, and the client (Windows or Linux) on another PC.. When just recording, the CPU load is extremely low, suited to a very minimal PC requirement, but when viewing, the load goes up significantly. I also use Milestone frequently.. Pricey, but you do get what you pay for. Both have one channel evaluations around to try out.

It does not seem to matter whether you use the web UI or the smart client, you are still limited to one connection remote, and when you log out, there is a five minute delay before you can log in again. As far as the remote client S/W, it does not affect bandwidth that much, and you have a lot more functionality. Also, there a lot of useful additions on Professional, (Database Export, PTZ Presets/ Joystick control pass through, Etc., and now unlimited remote connections instead of 5 in the previous release....As far as price, I feel your pain. I cringe every time I buy it... But I keep buying it. It has worked very well in 10+ installations so far, and I'm probably not going to change horses for a while.

I realize this is a little late, but it may help someone. I ordered ten IP110's for a job with Milestone, and configured them before going onsite. After my installers put them in, three failed to power up. I found the problem was a connector just inside the camera body that the pigtail connects to pulls loose when flexing the leads to get them in the backbox. This connector is covered by a small metal shield with one screw. After reconnecting, everything worked fine..... My money's still with the NW484, though. You get WDR and D/N for about the same price as the standard Pelco, and it's a lot easier to install.

Coaxitron is still a valid, current Pelco Protocol, and a unit is available from Pelco to make the conversion you want. The part is a CM9760CXTA, it is a component of their large matrix systems that converts RS422 data, pelco P or D protocol to 16 channels of loop-through coaxitron generation. I have used this unit in several installs where rewiring cabling to add RS422 data lines was not practical. Not cheap, but could save you a lot of time and hassle. Hope this helps.