Soundy

Your average CCTV lens uses relatively low-quality optics and won't create a terribly sharp image. With basic low-res analog cameras, this isn't a problem because it's still sharper than the sensor can detect. With megapixel cameras, such softness becomes noticeable... more noticeable as the resolution increases. So "megapixel" lenses are designed to provide sharper, clearer images - the common term is "resolving power" (loosely analogous to resolution in a sensor). You'll also find they're rated in "megapixels" - although they don't "have resolution" as such, again, the higher the camera resolution, the higher quality lens is required for optimal results - a "2MP" lens, for example, would look softer on your 5MP camera, than the proper "5MP" or higher lens. So while a standard lens will work, you may not be overly happy with the results, especially if you compare them to the included lens. That will work fine - that is a description of the imager size, usually as a fraction in inches. There are two types of "motorized iris" lenses - "DC drive" is the most common, where the camera itself controls the iris by varying the DC voltage fed to it... some older systems used a "video iris" type lens, where the camera only provides power, and a light sensor within the lens controls the iris. These aren't so common anymore, though, and some newer cameras may not support this option.

Bet Todd will be all over that one - note how the headline (and URL) on the article says "HD CCTV".

If the lens is an auto-iris type, it could be that the lens is stuck wide-open, so the picture is washing out in the daylight.

One could also put an analog camera and an IP encoder in the appropriate housing...

Ethernet is limited to 330'/100m over UTP... so you can't use ethernet to your gate (at least not without some sort of extenders)... therefore, you can't use Power over Ethernet either. SDM is correct, your best bet is to look at a video intercom system specifically designed for this purpose. Most common manufacturers have models that will work over a single wire pair - power, video, audio, control, etc., although at 700', you may need to power the station locally (I would assume there's AC line voltage at the gate, to operate the gate controls).

Maybe that's something you should have checked BEFORE purchase? I doubt it - frankly, it seems rather overpriced for what its spec sheet says it is.

From what I can find, no, it does not appear to be a day/night camera. As for what qualifies a camera as "day/night"... Image sensors are generally sensitive to IR light, but with color sensors, in regular daylight, that will cause problems with exposure and color balance... so color cameras will usually put an IR-cut filter in front of the sensor to block the IR. B&W cameras don't usually have the filter, so they work better in low light by capturing that additional part of the light spectrum. "Day/night" typically means a camera that will switch to B&W at night, and color in the day. In cheaper cameras, they simply eliminate the cut filter, and process the image electronically to correct the color balance when it's in color mode. "TRUE day/night" cameras actually have a movable cut filter in front of the sensor - in color mode, the filter is in place; in B&W mode, the filter moves out of the way. The specs on this camera don't indicate it will do either. Chances are, it DOES have the fixed cut filter, so you'd see little or no benefit from an IR illuminator. Some PTZs have an option to invert the image and controls for "upside-down" operation (relative to whatever their default orientation is). Worst case, if it doesn't, your image would be inverted, and the controls would work backward (moving left would pan the camera right, moving up would tilt the camera down, and so on).

Your ideal solution is to set up the company's router or firewall, to forward the necessary ports (these will vary depending on the exact DVR) to the DVR itself, so you can connect with a browser from outside, directly to the DVR, instead of remoting into a computer inside and then connecting to the DVR from there. "Optimize quality" does just that - it optimizes, but it doesn't force maximum quality. If the connection is too slow, it will still have to make concessions on quality for things to be usable at all.

Keep in mind, for Rory, "freezing" means anything below 60F. He's right though, you ideally want a sealed camera inside a cooler. More importantly, you want to make sure the wire's entrance into the cooler is sealed, as well as its entrance into the camera - warm outside air coming in through that hole can cause condensation, inside or outside the camera. My usual preference is a design like CNB's VCM models, with the separate back-box - mount to the cooler, drill a hole to the outside straight though the rear entry hole in the back-box, bring the wire in, seal the hole, the make the connections inside the back-box. The wire entry into the camera housing itself is well sealed against moisture at this point. A model with a built-in heater is even better - haven't actually had a problem with the VCM-24VFs in coolers yet, but a heater is a little added insurance against future issues: http://www.cnbusa.com/en/html/product/product.php?seqx_prod=1172

16/2 *and* baluns are redundant, especially at only 35'. Use one pair of Cat5e with the baluns for video, two or three other pairs for power - one wire, nice and clean. A "hybrid" DVR is effectively an analog DVR that can also record IP streams. Analog cameras hook up exactly the same as they would with any other analog-only DVR, so yes, you do need baluns at both ends of a run. As far as balun selection, I've used NVT, MuxLab, GVI and GEM - all are fine choices, but I've found GEM to have the most cost-effective models (at least for now). Currently using these, and finding they work great: http://gemelec.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=721&category_id=72&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1 - they're screw terminals, which means a little extra work over punch-down types, but they're a lot more compact AND cheaper than the punch-down options.

More info would really help, like... make and model of DVR, make and model of TV, make and model of monitor...

Or get cameras and a controller that support Coaxitron (or other control-over-coax protocol). Lots of threads here about it...

Try hitting the "Auto" button first (just to make it easy)...

I believe that's actually 24 VAC - you DON'T want to be hooking up 240V to your camera! (Well, unless you really enjoy fireworks...) But as Tom says, there is no polarity - the camera will accept 12VDC or 24VAC (if memory serves, it will actually take anything from about 10V to 30V, AC or DC). It's really not that complicated: like I said before, 99% of the time, if polarity matters, there will be polarity markings; if there are no markings, then it probably doesn't matter. Simple.

am not sure if i can install the Teamviewer direct on the DVR,, is there any specific way to install it on the DVR or just connect it to any PC and install? Hmmm, okay, on second look, I see what's happening: you're running a web client for the DVR on a remote PC, and then viewing that PC via TeamViewer. That is really convoluted and doesn't really help matters, but the gist of the problem remains: TeamViewer is scaling down the color depth to accommodate the slower connection. In this case, you'll want to install TeamViewer's monitor driver on the remote PC (the one that the web client is running on). The ideal solution, of course, is for your "outside" PC to connect directly to the DVR... Yes: TeamViewer will determine the speed of your connection and adjust the quality downward to accommodate a slower connection. It normally tries to balance speed with quality, but the option will let you select a preference for one or the other. thanx alot

Wireless seems like a nice idea - quick and convenient - but in practice, unless you're using quality wireless systems designed for this sort of purpose, you'll likely run into problems with range and network speed. Keep in mind that none of the cameras are COMPLETELY wireless, either; they still need to be powered from somewhere. Power over Ethernet provides power via the network cable. If you're using wireless, there is no network cable - you'll be looking for a wall outlet or extension cord close enough to the camera to plug in its wall adapter (probably within 4'-5'). You would either need to use IP-to-analog decoders (clunky solution, and will get expensive as you add them up), or record to an NVR or hybrid DVR. If you already have a DVR, I'm going to guess that it's not a hybrid.

Are you providing any materials, tools, etc. or are you expecting the sub to cover all that and then bill you? Are you paying mileage? Depending on the availability of subs, you may have to just pay whatever they're asking. And BTW, all-caps gets hard to read, too.

He's using TeamViewer (VNC-based). And yes, you are correct, it's insufficient color depth. The default setting for TV quality is "Auto select", and it's probably detecting a slow connection or a LOT of data (which is what happens when the entire screen is refreshing constantly). In the TeamViewer menu bar (at the top), click View -> Quality -> Optimize Quality - that should improve the picture, but it will GREATLY slow down the screen redraws. You can aid this a bit by making sure you have the latest version of TeamViewer on your DVR (you can force a remote update from the Extras button on the menu bar), and then enabling the "monitor driver" feature: click the system tray icon on the remote machine, click Options, go to Advanced, click "Show advanced options", scroll down to "Advanced network settings", and click the Install button for "Install monitor driver".

Some of the CNB 12VDC domes also come with the green connector, it has a little + sign on one side of it. Which goes back to my previous statement: if polarity matters, the polarity will be marked.

Right, except the OP states in the first post, this camera has the "green adapter", which would be the design used on the dual-voltage cameras.

Some have the plug, not the green connector. Which, as I recall, DO have a flag on them with the polarity indicated...

If polarity matters, it will have polarity markings... if there are no markings, then it doesn't matter.

Maybe we've just been lucky... only three of our big clients have their own IT departments... two of them, the IT guys don't want to bother with the camera side of things at all (beneath them, I suppose)... the other, their MIT recognizes that what we do, and our area of expertise, is beyond his expertise, and we've shown enough that we know our stuff, that he's more than happy to just let us handle the details. Then again, with the third one, we're doing all hybrid systems, so there's still analog involved, as well as the initial system design (camera locations and layouts) that he's happy to leave to the experts. In all three cases, the camera systems are on a dedicated network anyway; in the third case, we tie into the corporate lan just to provide remote access/admin, and with the other two, we don't connect to their networks at all (the one exception was a site that configured their site switch with a VLAN for the cameras, and had us use that... but AFAIK it's still isolated from everything else).

http://www.cnbtec.com

Welcome aboard!