Soundy

There was another thread about this recently; I believe it was decided the III and IV are cross-compatible.

802.3af is 15.4W max... which is actually plenty for most fixed cameras, even with IR; at 12V, that gives you over 1.25A. The newer 802.3at-2009 spec (aka "PoE+") lists up to 25.5W, or well over 2A at 12V.

Pretty sure we have a couple... it's the weekend though, so some guys are off doing other things. Give it a day or two

Who, me? I'm not doing his job for him...

If it's not showing up online or in the recorded footage, then the problem is NOT the camera... it's probably in the monitor itself.

Most DVRs have built-in webservers that allow you to view the cameras through a browser (many are limited to IE because they use ActiveX). If you have an internet connection on each site, it should be easy enough to just point a browser at the site (with the proper router setup) and view the DVR. That will generally require a separate browser window or tab for each site, though - not the most convenient. The VMS app shouldn't need a VPN though; that just makes things more secure.

Sorry to say, missmimi, but I must agree with my esteemed colleagues - if indeed the problem is a breakage in the wire, then it's likely caused by either improper installation, or simply using the wrong type of wire. Either way, it would be YOUR responsibility (well, your company's) to repair it at your own cost. In that case, the best way to handle is with the customer is just to say, yep, our mistake, and we'll get it taken care of, and we're sorry for the trouble. It's possible (though not likely, from the sound of it) that the problem lies elsewhere... you could spend a lot of time troubleshooting it, or just say, "we're not sure where the problem is, but we'll get it working, no charge" and then follow the advice above of using the existing traveler. That makes you look like the hero, instead of a weasel trying to pass the buck. And like Tailbone says, "a happy customer is your best advertisement"!

You're welcome! Glad to be of service; apparently I'm normally the type of person who ruins forums. BTW, I think you're thinking of Scorpion for the manuals; he's the one with the huge repository.

It certainly is possible! If you're an IT guy, you should have no problem setting up a VPN between the sites and your security center. Use DVRs with a good VMS that supports viewing multiple sites in one application, and you're off to the races (I'll leave it to others to suggest models - the Vigils I'm familiar with will do it nicely, but would probably be outside your budget - I assume that "£2k to £3k" is total for the project?). How many cameras are you looking at per site? Are these sites all the same?

Yeah, that system should work fine. If anything, it's extreme overkill! Keep in mind that unless you use a 64-bit version of Windows, you won't see more than about 3.5GB of the RAM. Also, you don't need a $200 gaming video card for that, or a $250 gaming motherboard - you could build a machine for half the price that would suffice.

You'd need a crossover cable, yes... and yes, you would be able to access the DVR from the internet, with the right setup. You'd have to configure the DVR and the LAN adapter with IPs in the proper range, and configure Windows to bridge the two adapters. It's a lot of messing around, though, and you're probably looking at a few gray hairs by the time you troubleshoot it... but it can be done.

I already gave you a suggestion at a workaround in case your service concept doesn't pan out. If you keep being such a miserable sot, nobody will want to help you.

It can still be a ground loop, if a conductive part of the camera body is attached to something metallic and grounded. Beyond that, the picture almost looks like it has a "ghost" image, like it's getting bleed-over from another camera or video source.

I can't speak for Exacq, as I've never used those systems, but I find GeoVision to be clunky and poorly-put-together overall. Poor interface, confusing menus, a lot it seems just kind of slapped-together. That said, the analog systems I've seen seem to work fairly well... have NO experience with their hybrid/IP setup. Personally, for higher-end DVR/HDVR/NVR systems, I recommend the Vigil systems (not because we sell them, either... I recommend AND sell them, because we really like them). Is GeoVision the BEST option? Not by a long shot. Is it a GOOD option? Sure.

Server 2003 is XP at its core... no reason it shouldn't run on it. The extra overhead of the server services may be problematic though; it would really be preferable to give the machine a clean install of XP.

Ah... in that case, yes, you could use an appropriate crimp-on connector... then you need the crimper as well, of course. If you don't have that, you can use the proper twist-on BNC. Then of course, you need to make sure you have the right type for the cable it uses. RG59 and RG6 will use the same twist-ons, but require different crimp-ons, as the center conductor's insulation is different thickness. If it's a smaller coax, you'll need the proper size connector for that as well.

Thing is, there really is no ONE answer... there are lots of different ways to do this, mostly depending on what's going to make the most sense to YOU, since you're the one who has to install it and maintain it. If it were me, I'd probably have all my phone, network, cable, everything into one comms closet (or similar central location). For the network, I'd look into a single PoE-capable switch for everything - that would allow me to plug in a PoE-powered device anywhere I want, not just where the cameras go. The Cat5e runs, I'd terminate in a patchbay, which then gives unlimited options for running phone, network, or whatever, to any jack in the house. Depending on how much you want to put into the whole thing, there are some really nice structured-wiring products from the likes of Leviton and Honeywell (among others) that give you installation boxes and components with standardized mounting points, so you can easily mix and match components to suit your needs. You can even tie in alarm, environmental, intercom, home automation, and other types of systems from there. That's how I would do it, anyway, given the chance to do it all from scratch... you may not want to redo your existing phone and network setup, in which case it may be preferable to bring your camera runs to a convenient spot, put a PoE switch there, then bring a single run (or maybe two) back your "control center". In this case, I'd probably go with something like a Cisco SFE1000P switch - we use a lot of these, they're fantastic - it's got eight 10/100 PoE ports, and two gigabit/fiber ports, so with that, you could pull two gigabit lines back to your office for plenty of capacity.

Sure it is - you just need a thin-tipped soldering iron, steady hands, and the right connector, something like these: http://www.rpelectronics.com/electronic-components-parts/connectors/audio-video/mini-din Then of course, you need to figure out which pins are which in the original connector. BTW, are you sure it's the plug on the end of the wire that's bad, and not the jack in the camera? Most are just soldered to a PC board and constant stress or flexing, or exposure to wide temperature ranges, can cause the solder joints to fail over time. You're right, it's probably easier to just run a new cable... using proper coax and power, with proper BNC video termination. Of course, that would also require replacing the camera and DVR with "decent" ones that use the BNC connectors, but that's probably still easier, and you get an overall upgrade in the process

Edit: hmmm, nevermind, figure it out for yourself.

I split this into a new topic. Can you post some photos of the two kinds of interference? In the first instance, is it separate lines in each camera, or lines across the whole screen? Both cases sound like there's a ground-loop issue...

I'm not familiar with any of the American Dynamics line, but considering B&H is kind of an "electronics superstore" and not CCTV professionals, I wouldn't expect them to be anything stellar. If you let us know what area you're actually in, maybe someone can recommend a better supplier.

CNB VBM or VCM-24VFs all around will work nicely... Check your local laws about audio recording - it IS ILLEGAL in man jurisdictions.

If you've read other posts on the subject, you'd already know that running ANY DVR package on anything but a DEDICATED PC is strongly discouraged...

I think we had a few days of around -10 here this winter (Vancouver area)... that's about it. Plenty of systems in the interior though, that see much colder temps without issue. We always seem to get lots of problems over the winter from Calgary and Edmonton sites, but I suspect that's more to do with the cold affecting power stability, rather than the equipment itself.

Keep in mind that all electronics generate heat, and wireless systems tend to generate a LOT... sticking it in a sealed box does a nice job of trapping that heat. I'd be willing to bet the ambient temperature right around the switch is substantially above -26