Toaster

Yeah, I didn't type this properly in the first place... my fault. Let me explain in some detail. This is an 8 ch dvr. It was up and running with 8 cameras connected. The camera's connect to the DVR using a cable that looks something like this This is the cable that got cut, That cable has video feed and power feed. So when the cable cut, I meant to explain the cable that carries the video and power from inside, to the camera. The cable actually cut in 2, straight thru... The video died (blacked out) on ch4 of the dvr, while the other 7 ch's still work and display video. I replaced the cable, and still did not get any video on that particular ch4. I then swapped ch4 and ch5 as a test using the new cable, I got video on ch5 but still not on ch4.. in other words the camera that was on ch4 now with a new cable DOES WORK ON CH5 but no camera works on ch4. So I can say for certain that ch4 of the dvr is damaged in some way, because the camera works, the power supply works, and of course a new cable works. The DVR is powered using a power brick, and the camera's are powered by 2 power bricks using 2 splitters (4 cameras per brick). Everything works, except CH4 of the DVR, no matter what's connected to CH4 - I never get video on that ch, and that ch was the one that had the cable connected to it when it got cut I hope that explains my situation, and answers you questions. (yeah, all the power supplies seem to be fine - the damage was to the cable and apparently ch4 of the dvr)

7 ch work, only the 1 ch that was connected to the wire that cut seems affected. The wire that cut was the one going from the dvr to the camera.

Basically the cabling will be all run outside. NOT IDEAL - I KNOW. There is no attic, its pretty much like this, walls are drywall, insulation, outside/brick/siding. Ceiling, insulated board of some kind, shingles (roof). no attic. So, I'm going to have to poke a hole in the wall, route the wires outside, and run along the outside to wherever the cameras will go. I was thinking about pvc conduit for the wires and cabling... that's gonna be fun... but the problem is the camera location(s), should I use some kind of box? (if they even make one big enough). Some of these cameras will most likely have that little joystick pigtail thing for osd controls. If anyone has tackled this before and maybe has some pictures and advice, I would absolutely LOVE to see and read any help is appreciated.

How much would it cost me to switch from Analog to IP Megapixel cameras? I currently have a 8ch D1 30fps DVR with 8 cameras at my store. After having an incident where the footage resulted in no recognizable face shot, I'm considering adding or converting to Megapixel IP cameras. If anyone would be willing to take the time to answer my question with a little information, links, maybe some specs to look for or kind of point me in the right direction as to what I may want.... I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT.

Ganz? Explain please

$75 each? To pricey? Where can you get a 700 tvl for less?

Doesn't that just suck!? I am in the process of upgrading a couple of my main view cameras between home and work... and one camera I bought that has effio dsp and osd, is a swann and it comes with a special cable that has the rs485 leads and the osd remote is put INSIDE next to the dvr! AWESOME... The other one, which has effio osd and it has that little built in joystick thing... so you have to be outside UP ON THE LADDER to manipulate the osd options to tweak the settings.. BAD DESIGN (IMO). Now, in all fairness once you get it "right" you'll probably never mess with it again unless you move the camera, so ... I guess the idea is once its done, you don't need to fuss with it again... but I personally like the idea of a REMOTE CONTROL for the OSD inside next to the DVR. And you don't HAVE to use the supplied cable, you could easily run a pair (2 wires) for the OSD remote inside and use an existing cctv cable if already run. And one of my questions about those little joysticks is, one of my camera's has the cabling exposed, and not run INSIDE the wall (that wall its mounted on has NO INSIDES).. so I'm so that joystick isn't meant to get wet either. The pro's are you'll never loose it, but I think their are more con's than pro's to the built in pig tail joystick. Sorry to rant... that needed to come out

Way to expensive for 700TVL, keep looking. You can get a MegaPixel camera for half that, and twice the image quality. That price is for 8 camera's, so thats about $73 each, which is a pretty inexpensive, but I don't see any DSP listed - like Effio and I don't see an OSD mention either. I think you could get a similar camera WITH DSP and some OSD adjustments to tweak the camera for your specific needs in that same price range ($75/ea) give or take $20'ish. (ie: around $100 or so) I've seen a few mentions of Empire security which uses Effio, Qvis which uses Nextchip, and CNB ($120ish) which uses Monalisa and Blue-i. The empire's are 700tvl and the qvis and cnb are 600tvl.

With a budget of $1000 I'm sure you could easily get a second IP ready DVR (NVR) and a 1080p camera, or at least a 720p camera. ??????? Simply add IP Megapixel/nvr to your existing setup, since you're looking for a single camera.

AWESOME JAMES BOND JOB. So THATS what people use those little camera's for!

Is that a IP megapixel camera? That shot is soooo clear.

This thread brings up a great problem, which I'm facing also. FRONT DOOR CAMERA PLACEMENT. By placing the camera ABOVE the door, gets the tops of peoples heads more than face shots. Putting a camera "eye level" creates other problems, people being able to touch and manipulate the camera (cover it with their hands, touch it, adjust it, move it, steal it, damage it, etc) The small covert camera's I've seen are NEVER IP66+ rated, so can't be used outside. So what do you do?

Am I reading the Sony Effio web page correctly, the -E, -P and -S after the EFFIO is manufacture specific right? No difference in chipset? A Effio-E isn't any better than "effio" or "effio-s" right? EDIT: oh and is Effio considered to be better than CNB Monalisa ?

I just noticed on my parking lot camera, that the outer ring of IR led's are NOT coming on, only the inner ring. That camera faces the mid-day and setting sun (faces west). I guess that's just part of it? Or might there be a solution for the next camera I put there?????????

Curious what the opinion was of the Empire security camera ESC1. Its a huge "bullet" camera, 72ir, 700tvl, effio(-E) dsp. Anyone have any opinions. There are like 2 threads I found with very mixed opinions.

Just curious, is it possible to use an indoor dome camera OUTSIDE, like say on a porch or under a eave or awning.. It wouldn't get wet, but would be exposed to the elements... I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but figured I'd ask anyway.

OK now I'm confused again. So based on what I'm reading through on those links, am I to understand that any camera 500+tvl is simply buying the spec on paper? and no real difference can be seen or more importantly recorded on D1 ? I know the question of "Whats the best camera" comes up every day... and I'm sure the pro's who are regulars here get tired of seeing those posts, BUT here we go. (SORRY IN ADVANCE FOR THREAD JACKING) So, a couple years ago when I asked that very question, I think the CNB Monalisa chip cameras were one of the favorite inexpensive analog (non-ip megapixel) camera's. And I think KT&D (or KT&C whatever it is) was another inexpensive camera that was posted as being pretty good... Now I'm getting the impression from lurking through threads that most of the installers have switched to other presumably newer favorite cameras, like the Sony Effio chip cameras. Maybe because of availability, price, performance? I don't know. And to clear this up, CCTV is NOT my "business", I do not install, sell, or anything. I'm a simple consumer asking questions to educate myself only. Now, the simple question here is - what cameras are suggested for D1? Let's assume some knowledge of the basics on the part of the buyer to eliminate some of the obvious questions that will be posted following this.. Varifocal is usually better, because it allows the installer (either pro or consumer), to fine tune the field of view and focus to best suit that cameras application. Some cameras are put up simply to see whats going on in a certain area, while others might need to focus on detail of an area to get a face id, clearly see currency going in or out of a cash register, license plates as a vehicle enters a driveway entrance etc... Fixed lenses can not be focused or zoomed... the lower the mm to wider the field of view. 3.6mm is a pretty popular wide view lens... The trade off is generally speaking a wide view lens provides less fine detail, so facial id is harder on a wider view than on a narrow(er) view. NOT IMPOSSIBLE, JUST DIFFERENT. This is obviously something the buyer needs to know before buying a camera for a specific application. Now, here is where the experts come in. Because CCTV is not our source of income, we are not up to date on bleeding edge tech, specs, etc. WE don't now the difference between CMOS and CCD, MonaLisa DSP vs Effio DSP, S/N ratio, the Sony 760 chip, 960h chip, exview, superhad 1 or superhad 2, etc. That's why we ask the question WHATS THE BEST CAMERA. Without being over analytical. As an example, I'm trying to educate myself because of a recent incident where I captured a vandalism event but was unable to get a positive facial id. Why? My fault, the placement of the camera failed me - it was simply too high up. And like most consumers, I didn't fully understand that until AFTER the fact. Now I'm going to take steps to correct my problem and mount another camera lower that should get a face shot should I have another incident. Now the fun starts for us who are NOT IN THE KNOW.... Let's talk EFFIO since that's what I've personally be researching. Buying a 700tvl Effio camera is not as simple as finding the price you like. Why? Because it apparently depends on SO MANY OTHER FACTORS... What image sensor is it using? Spec's claiming simply "Sony 1/3 CCD" isn't good enough... there are 760 chips, 960 chips, and I'm sure more. And this is just 1 example.... So now I'm gathering that a cheaper 500tvl camera will provide the same video to my D1 recorder as a 700tvl camera? WOW.................. Unless you eat, drink, and breathe this stuff - it's SOO hard to try and keep up...........

I know most people hate the thought of ebay camera's, chinese made camera's, etc... What make's them so bad? I would think even the super expensive name brand cameras are still MADE in china, and I would think that some of the chinese made no-namers can be made with identical components, sensors, dsp's, housings, lenses, just not in the same retail name brand box or silk screened logo? Not plugging for any brand or generic, just asking a question. I have seen tons of 700tvl effio cameras from china with what claim to be nice specs, cheaper than comparable known brand names... are they really that different??????????

I've got a little cheapy ir camera at my house, and those ir must get super hot, because of all the cameras at my house, this one in particular - SPIDERS LOVE IT. During the hot months (which in texas is damn near year round) spiders LOVE to make webs across the lens of that camera.. And its because of bugs, PLACEMENT must be considered. I saw some samples from a guy who mounted a camera at the peak of his exterior roof line... The fov was huge, he could see just about anything going on at his house, his neighbors, across the street, next door.. maybe even a block over and I remember telling him cleaning that is going to be a problem. He pm'd me back later on telling me he eventually moved it because it just too damn hard to clean on any kind of schedule.

this is another problem with built in IR..... like any lighting it has a life span. cameras with IR come most with 1 year warranty...... cameras without IR can have 2-3 even 5 years. Wow, and since I'm about to place another camera mounted lower - and it has been suggested to use a dome without ir, looks like getting an ir spot might be a good idea.

Fairly upset, caught a vandalism at my store front during lunch break. Customer comes to store on a bicycle, upset the door is locked, starts trashing the parking lot and sidewalk in front of the door with trash, old tire, breaking glass bottles, that were all left on the side of the shop earlier by the lawn guy - which was my fault for not insisting he cleaned up, or going out there and cleaning it myself... Point is I capture the event on the roof mounted camera, but with no clear face shot, now what? No real evidence to speak of, unless I'm lucky enough that the guy comes back on the bike and I see him and can confront him at that point. This is a Q-see 1/3" CCD camera with 520tvl recording on a Q-see QT528 dvr which is 30fps at D1. It THIS SETUP Here's the video on YouTube TEWBfTmHwt4 The 25mb raw D1 video pulled from the dvr can be downloaded HERE

Oh really.. I just assumed it must had been the sun

That is a great question.... I'm curious to read any response to that too

That particular DVR he has is made by Dahua. It might be inexpensive, but its not "cheap". Rory helped me figure out which model it was, and he was pretty impressed with it (as I recall)

The last time I asked this question, what was suggested to me was getting some PIR motion detectors, and hard wiring those to your DVR. As I recall the QC444 is actually a Dahua made DVR, and should have some sensor inputs... so instead of using the built in video motion detection, you can use a real motion detector which would help a lot. What I did on my systems, using video motion detection is, map out any high traffic areas, so only the protected area is actually monitored, and adjust your sensitivity down to an acceptable level, to reduce false but still triggers on a positive / actual motion. As an example, for my parking lot at the store, I mapped OUT the street so passing cars wouldn't set it off, but if you pulled IN TO the parking lot driveway, it would go off... and of course any motion ON the parking lot sets it off.. now the only false alarms I get are from rain............ but in Texas that's not a problem just look at my lawn in front of my house... its basically HAY!!!!!! LOL Hope that helps.