Soundy

Really depends what the source of the hum is... it's not the same as feedback; I suspect it's related to grounding. A camera with built-in mic may or may not work better - it's really impossible to say from here.

We're not using Mobotix. Never have. We're using mostly IQEye, Arecont, and HIKvision cameras, with Vigil DVRs/NVRs and QNAP NAS arrays.

The "echo" you're getting is feedback, and it's caused by the microphone picking up the sound from the speakers. Try moving the two further apart, and closing the windows.

What do you mean, exactly, by "same cable is used for tv, surv(eillance?) and internet"? Internet over the TV cable is common enough... surveillance cameras on the same feed is generally done by modulating the camera signal onto a TV channel. If yours isn't doing this, then how do you know that surveillance is on the same cable?

If I recall the thread correctly, you should be able to search something on fleaBay based on her info. I have Dee Ann on my FB too, I could drop her a note there if you have any other questions about what she used.

It sounds like your building's system is modulating the CCTV feed onto a cable channel... in order to watch it on your computer, you'd need either a tuner card that can tune the appropriate channel... or use some sort of capture device in the computer, and plug your cable tuner box's output into that.

I would say there's a 95% chance that it's NOT possible.

This is a bad idea to start with - a DVR should have its own dedicated PC. Same goes for any sort of security-related system, for that matter. There are lots of ways to prevent this. Many DVR systems offer a "fullscreen" or "kiosk" mode that makes the desktop inaccessible to regular users. There are also systems like DeepFreeze that will automatically undo any changes with just a reboot. Or you can just create an image of the system drive once the system is up and running, and if things get too messed up, you just restore the system to its original working state. Just as easy to do with PCs - we keep a few refurbished older systems around as "service loaners" for just this purpose. The nice thing, at least with the Vigil systems we use, is that we can export all the settings for a particular site (camera names, site name, motion settings, etc.) to a file once the system is set up, and if we have to put a loaner in, those settings can then be easily loaded from a flash drive to minimize "tweaking" time. Even better: because these systems use the "octopus" breakout cables, we don't have to spend time disconnecting all the cameras from the dead system and reconnecting them to the loaner; we just disconnect the breakout cable from one machine and connect it to the other. An added bonus that we've started implementing with one client: we're doing ALL the recording to external network-attached drives, so if the DVR dies and need to be replaced, the footage all stays on-site, and can be used immediately with the loaner system. Huh?? Disabling power management settings in Windows take about 30 seconds. Our Vigil systems come from the manufacturer with their own embedded build of Windows that have power management disabled; the rebuilds we do with our own copies of Windows, I use an "nLited" version of Windows that has power management disabled by default as well. I've seen only one DVR that can directly capture POS data via TCP/IP, and log it in a searchable database, and that's Vigil, although I'm sure others exist. Many of them will do it via RS-232.

Check this thread: viewtopic.php?t=23733

Now THAT'S a cool idea. I'd love to see an "augmented reality" version that would let you automatically embed photos from the built-in camera. Imagine holding the iPad/tablet up in the approximate camera position you want, then have it digitally zoom to show the FOV you'd get with the particular camera settings!

Well, I didn't say it WOULD be, just that it COULD be. With good name-brand cards like HIK, you have a certain level of expectation that they've built good hardware and written good supporting drivers and software. Cheaper, no-name or off-brand stuff... there's no way to know without trying it.

If you think that's the case, you've been using some pretty sorry PC-based DVRs.

I've never tried a 2x16 setup, but from what I've read here, it seems it could be problematic... might want to look at a single 32-channel card. That said... it shouldn't be too difficult to resurrect your old system on a new motherboard; the BSOD you're experiencing is a well-known problem with versions of windows that use a HAL (hardware abstraction layer), ie. Win2000 and later.

No, but you limit your options by dismissing it, unless you have a specific reason for doing so. Look at some of the other threads regarding the CNB MonaLisa line of cameras, for example - the domes use a 600TVL, 1/3" sensor with 2.8-10.5mm varifocal lens, and have really outstanding low-light sensitivity... and no IR required if you have even a small amount of ambient light. And being true day/night cameras, they'll also get along with any existing IR illuminators.

That means nothing. Unless it's a "cheap" day/night camera, almost all color cameras have IR cut filters. "Traces of color" are probably compression artifacts generated in your DVR. It's nothing to do with "quality of light," just the amount of it. The noise is electrical noise - always present in the sensor, but at a very very low level (so it's normally "dark"). When the image is bright, the noise is at a minuscule *relative* level (you might see a bit if you zoom in on a black area). When the image is dark, the camera electronics compensate by boosting the signal level... which brings up the dim parts of the image, and the noise as well. If you're old enough to have played with cassette tapes... imagine you're playing a blank tape, and normally you hear nothing, until you turn it up REALLY LOUD, until you can hear the hiss from the tape (small levels of latent magnetism, in this case). If your music is at a suitable level, you won't hear the noise, because you have to turn the overall level down... if the music is very quiet, you have to turn the volume up more, and you'll hear more of the hiss underneath the music. This is almost exactly the same thing that's causing image noise in your camera at low light.

1. What's wrong with varifocal? 2. Is there any ambient light?

1.PoE managed switch plus remote to customer comp if u can ( so u can control sw and assuming we talking about IP cams Works for me

It will depend on whether it's the MBR that's changed, or the partition table, or something else... a good free tool that will let you view all that is DFSee. Formatting another disk in the DVR and then comparing structures SHOULD be a good way to test this...

If you look at how much ecah DVR is holding now, on 500GB, it should be easy to calculate what you need for 8 months... eg. if a DVR holds two months' worth now, then you'll 4TB to store 8 months of *that DVR*.

How large is this parking lot? If you want to actually identify faces in a large lot, it's not going to be cheap - you're talking several megapixels and probably something with good low-light performance, so you're probably looking at the four-digit range. Plates will be easier because cars will still be limited to the lot entrances, so you can use tighter shots on those areas.

In general... the noise is caused by the camera electronically boosting a very dark signal. The noise is always there at a very low level, but with lots of light, you don't see it. Adding IR probably won't help the color camera's performance, as it's likely got an IR cut filter (unless it's a day/night model).

It's generally not a good idea to buy ANY CCTV gear from fleaBay... Your computer would be sufficient to run a basic DVR, and most cards do come with software... however, a lot of cheap cards/software won't support using two cards in the same system, so you would either need to confirm that the ones you're looking at can (assuming you trust the what the seller tells you), or look for an 8-channel card. Given that cheap fleaBay cards will likely provide no end of headaches in getting them working properly, you're probably better off just getting a cheap standalone unit...

Yo uare right about the PoE switch, it communicates with device, but some PoE injectors are passive and, they just inject power to the cable so it is possible to fry camera. I am gonna have to disagree with you here.. I have used many POE switches and injectors and I have never fried ANY network device with them. I have even accidently used Non-standard devices with POE devices and never fried anything. This includes POE+ injectors and network devices. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_over_Ethernet Never say never It is *theoretically possible* to damage something by plugging a non-standard PoE injector into an oddball device... however, it is *very highly, extremely* unlikely.

Love it! I'm on a very large forum that's FLOODED with these sorts of memes, and I've never seen these versions. They do have some great meme emoticons, though...

Nothing from a discount house is any good. The lenses look fogged on those cameras because the IRs reflect off the inside of the glass, due to poor design, poor construction, or both. If you want to read license plates, you'll either need to get into megapixel/high-def, or make sure the plates are confined to a small area (catch them along a driveway or coming through a gate). You'll have better luck with faces if you can do the same thing as well (catch them coming through a door, for example).