Soundy

The symptoms sound just like this Dynacolor DVR I have, that it turned out to be a bad hard drive. They could be a number of other things as well, though, and the fact that nearly identical symptoms are happening to several machines would tend to rule out hardware failure. BAD hardware design, maybe... hardware FAILURE, not so much. I'd look into a firmware update, as rory suggests... but tom's right, it's really impossible to tell much more without exact make and model info.

Are these servers only or clients too? Reason I ask is the SSD could give you some problems depending on how they render the video. The SSDs are only 30GB, according to the OP; I'm guessing those are dedicated as the system drives, so they shouldn't really have an effect on the video.

I wouldn't say the cameras are "bad" necessarily... they just don't appear to be anything special.

The WD AV drives dont work in all DVRs. And in fact, not all drives are PHYSICALLY created equal. Check out this warning from QNAP's compatibility list: "The connector height of Maxtor 200GB (6L200M0) and 250GB (6L250S0) SATA hard disk drives (HDD) is slightly different from the HDD connector of TS-101. Installing these hard disk drives on TS-101 may break the HDD connector on the NAS." Also: "Since the design of the screw position of this hard disk drive model is slightly different from others, the hard disk drives of 2-bay and 4-bay Turbo NAS may not be detected properly. Please plug the hard disk drive tray into the drive bay until it clicks into place to avoid hard disk drive detection error."

I'll have to defer that to someone else; I've not used Exacq at all, or Video Insight v4 or later.

It's possible that cable doesn't have a connection required by the DVR to detect the presence of the monitor. Have you tried a different long cable? Have you checked that all pins are present and connected through?

I haven't used Video Insight since v3.1, but they've always been a pretty solid system, and tech support was generally good the odd times I needed them. I do like their web interface, which works on any browser or mobile I've tried it on.

What DVRs are they? Standalone or PC type? Do they ALL exhibit the same symptoms? Are they running in particularly hot or dirty/dusty environments? Are they crashing with error displays, or just locking up?

^Agreed there: I have a Dynacolor DVR that was pulled out because it would start up, run fine for about two minutes, then freeze solid. I pulled it out of storage about a year later to test it, found that it would lock up as soon as anything tried to access its search database (I could make it lock consistently by going into the database settings). Swapped out the hard drive... and it works flawlessly.

^What Tom said. And don't let the Sony name fool you - almost all low-to-mid grade cameras use the same Sony sensors, as well as come mid-to-upper grade cameras. Cheaper cameras like to really push the brand name, even implying that the cameras themselves are made by Sony (most aren't), but it doesn't mean that much, especially considering Sony isn't the respected name they once were.

If both switches are gigabit, it doesn't really matter which way you wire it. There is a POTENTIAL limitation, if the backplane of a switch can't handle the combined traffic flowing through it, but with the relatively minimal equipment you're putting on the network, it shouldn't be a problem. I don't have a lot of experience with Trendnet products, but I've found the Cisco/Linksys unit to be a really solid performer.

The answer depends on a lot of things... First and foremost: in many areas, you have to be properly certified to make ANY changes to the fire alarm system... if you're not, you may want to talk to a local licensed fire-alarm professional. Regarding the sub-panel: it's impossible for anyone here to know what type of sub-panel it is or how it's wired. It MAY be possible to take your output signal from there, depending on how it's wired. That would be something a proper technician can tell you, ideally someone who originally installed it. Regarding whether you need to tie into the access control panel: when we need to add a cutoff to an electric lock (either maglock or electric strike) we generally just put a relay in-line with the power to the lock itself. Most will simple use a single pair of wires at 12 or 24VDC or 24VAC. Whether using a mushroom button, a motion detector, or a smoke detector, it's a simple matter to insert a relay in that line, anywhere along the line that's convenient. As with certifications, exactly how that will depend somewhat on local fire/building/electrical codes, too. When we put a mushroom button or motion sensor to interrupt the lock, it's generally a simple insertion... with a smoke detector, most places we deal with require a latching relay, so that if the alarm is triggered, the door unlocks, and stays unlocked until it's manually reset. I have worked on ONE site where the maglocks were tied into the fire panel: we were called out because the lock wouldn't activate, and I discovered that the power feed to the lock went through a relay in the fire panel. As it turned out, the fire panel itself was defective, and stuck in an alarm mode, so we had to call in the proper maintenance people for that.

If trying to access it from an internet connection, you'll need to create a VPN connection into your network to map a drive letter to it.

Essentially, this is correct, at least for a small network like this. The only consideration might be using 10/100 ports for uplinking - for example, if your 8-port switch is 10/100, and your 5-port is gigabit, and you go router -> 8-port -> 5-port, then you limit the connection from the 5-port to anything else to 10/100. IN OPERATION this may not be an issue... if the PCs are both plugged into the 5-port, then they still have gigabit speeds between them, but if you were, say, to plug the NAS into the switch (with a gigabit port), you'd still only get 10/100 speeds between that and the PCs, because the links between the router and the 8-port switch, and between the 8-port and the 5-port, would be only 10/100. If the 5-port linked straight the the switch in this instance, it would allow full gigabit speeds between the PCs and the NAS. Of course, if the 8-port switch is all-gigabit, then those concerns are moot. If you were to use the Cisco switch I linked to, you could use the gigabit ports on that for the uplinks to the router and 5-port switch, and eliminate that problem as well. I wouldn't worry about it too much on this size of setup.

Impossible to say without more information. What provider? What type of modem? How does it connect to the computer? Are you using a router?

Look at it this way: you have nothing to lose by trying, except time. Worst case, it looks like crap and you need to get a proper 1/2" lens.

Welcome aboard!

How much area (like, within a circle) does this initial camera need to cover, and how much do you need to zoom in? You might want to consider a single megapixel camera with a wide lens (upward of 90 degrees) or any of a number of panoramic megapixel cameras now available, that will capture 180 or 360 degree at once. That would allow you to view and record the entire area, and zoom in digitally after the fact. The one drawback is that this won't allow you to zoom in as much as a good PTZ, but if that level of zoom isn't necessary, it's not a big deal.

Define "high resolution"? Are you talking megapixel, or just high-res analog (540+TVL)? What sort of coverage are you after - ie. FOV vs. distance? If it's something that a 2.8-10.5mm lens would cover, the CNB VxM-24VF line would be well worth a look - 600TVL, ICR, excellent low-light support, IP66 rated. If you need longer lenses than that, check the BBM-24VF, a box-style camera based on the same chip, along with a suitable lens and environmental housing (we generally use the Pelco EH35xx line). I don't think WDR would be necessary, but you'd certainly want something with auto-iris to adjust for widely varying lighting conditions. You're looking mainly for "off hours" coverage, which probably means you're mainly concerned with night viewing, where WDR situations are unlikely.

It is possible, and in general, it should work fine. The main issue you'll see is that at shorter focal lengths you start to get a "tunnel" effect, where the corners of the image are rounded off.

I will be using a total of 2 switches.....probably wire cable modem to D-Link Dir-655 wireless router, then use one port out from wireless router to 8 port poe switch, and one port out of the 8 port poe switch to a 5 port regular switch to connect two LAN computers, and one network printer......does that make most sense, or should i run the second switch off of another open port of the dir-655 wireless router that I use? Depends mostly on the physical layout, I'd say, and which way is easiest to cable. With two PCs and one printer, you could just plug all three straight into the router. For the price difference, I'd probably use a gigabit switch for the five-port, and link that directly back to the router (which also has all gigabit ports). Looking at my usual retailer, for example, a D-Link 5-port 10/100 switch is $28... the 5-port 10/100/1000 is $37.

oops, double-post..??

"Gigabit ethernet" IS ethernet. What you're really asking is whether there's a benefit to gigabit (10/100/1000 megabit) vs. 10/100 switches. The simple answer is: one is faster. If you can get the gigabit at a good price point, by all means, give yourself the future expandability. The cameras may only be 10/100, but all that traffic adds up going into the NVR or NAS. We use this switch on a number of sites: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/ps9968/index.html It has eight 10/100 PoE ports, perfect for the cameras, and two non-PoE gigabit ports - in our case, we often have the NVR on one, and a NAS on the other. It retails around here for under CDN$300. It's proven to be an outstanding performer for the price.

If you're into rolling your own: http://www.qsl.net/yo5ofh/hobby%20circuits/circuits_controlling_relays.htm

There's been the odd time with both these and the GEM tool-less baluns, that I've needed to pull the wire out, snip the end, and re-snap the connection. It's rare, but it does happen. I've sometimes needed to re-punch a 110 patchbay or keystone jack connection as well. 99.8% of the time these types of connections work fine. Trust me though, you're not supposed to have to strip the wire first