Soundy

Of course it is, but sometimes people need someone else to come up with the proper search terms

Or just go straight for the Panasonic WV-CW484 SuperDynamic III - not megapixel, but still pretty much the best you can get for severe backlighting conditions... and looking at your pictures, unless you have really bright lights in the lobby, you'll have some pretty SEVERE backlighting.

If the core of the "problem" IS the DVR, then "fixing" it by boosting the signal is just throwing good money after bad. You'll probably end up replacing the DVR eventually anyway as other channels flake out; better to do it NOW and not waste money trying to simply kludge around the issue.

Or just replace the "crappy" DVR with a half-decent one...

Some DVRs will display a frozen image when they lose signal. Some will freeze if the feed is noisy. If the cameras display fine on a monitor, then the cameras are not the problem. It's possible that the DVR is simply failing, or that just those inputs are failing. Try swapping inputs of one of the "problem" cameras with one of the stable ones... see if the freezing moves with the camera, or stays with its original channel. For example: if camera 1 is good and 2 freezes, switch them, and see if 1 now freezes, or if it's still 2. That will help narrow down whether the problem is with the DVR itself.

Keep in mind that the traffic lights ARE their own light sources, and in theory should be the same brightness regardless of the ambient light. In fact, for this to work, you'll probably have to use a fixed- or manual-iris lens and turn off the camera's AGC, specifically to prevent the camera changing exposure to match the surrounding conditions. Once you have the proper exposure for the traffic lights, that shouldn't ever change.

I think this pretty much cuts to the heart of the issue. I understand why some people here don't want to let the cat out of the bag on new technologies they're working with, especially if it's something new that can give them an edge over the competition... but WITHIN THE CONFINES OF THIS THREAD, you're right, it's sort of counter-productive to post camera images and then not provide any info about the camera. If I made the rules, I'd decree that if you're going to post pictures in this thread, you must also post details of the setup used to create them (camera make and model, lens make and model, focal length if possible, codec, DVR, etc. etc.). There's NO point in making comparisons without all this information available. If you don't want to share the details, then I think it's fair to ask you not show the pictures either - it defeats the entire purpose of the thread. Unfortunately, I don't make the rules, so consider all this to be just "food for thought".

(Click picture to enlarge )

I have an older DynaColor DynaGuard 208 sitting on my bench that I pulled out of a site, I haven't had a chance to use it in a production environment, but I've played with it on my bench, and I was fairly impressed with the feature set and the ease of use and configuration. We replaced it because it was locking up after a minute or so of operation... turned out to just be a bad hard drive.

Yeah, some of the others here might have other suggestions for you, I haven't used the white-LED units myself. Keep in mind, of course, that if you put them on motion sensors, they'd be on only for very short periods. Running a 12W illuminator for two minutes is still no more power than running a 400mW illuminator for an hour. If it ran overnight for even four hours, your illuminator would have to draw no more than 100mW to be the same TOTAL power consumption.

Since IR is unavoidable, perhaps consider using separate IR illuminators, and run them off a separate battery. That way if that battery drains, the cameras and DVR will still be working. There are far more light hours than dark hours, and good day/night cameras like those CNBs will work great even in twilight, which means there are only maybe 3-4 hours of the day that the IR is really NEEDED - the cameras will be effective without it the other 20+ hours. If you really wanted to get fancy, each camera could run off its own battery as well, with the same concept: one camera's battery draining will still leave the other cameras operating. Naturally, you'd need to use battery isolators to ensure each battery sees ONLY its own designated load. One final thought: some guys here are really big on white-LED illuminators, rather than IR, as the white light does make for more realistic images and better identification. I personally like the concept of motion-activated floodlights instead of IR, because a bright light snapping on in their faces will chase off most guys skulking around in the dark. Combine the two ideas and use motion-activated white-light illuminators. This has the added benefit of the illuminators not being a constant draw on the batteries; in fact, they may not need to be on for days at a time. Even if you're set on IR, for that matter, using separate illuminators and triggering them off a motion sensor would be a big power savings as well.

Very good. It will give very close to a 90-degree FOV (about 85 degrees, I believe) with its 2.8-10.5mm lens. Indoor-only, plastic enclosure. The VBM and VCM models are the same guts, in outdoor-rated, weatherproof, vandal-resistant metal enclosures.

I'm kind of in the same boat as you in this case... CCTV is *a* specialty of mine (after several years' experience), but it's not "my" business as such, as I'm just a technician for another company. Like you, I'm paid for my experience, expertise, understanding, clinical judgement about what is actually happening, and what is best for a customer on a case-by-case basis... specific skills that can't be absorbed by reading the results of a Google search. Technology is changing even faster... and with the growth of IP cameras, things aren't as simple anymore as just plugging cable A into input B. One has to be an IT technician as well, to move beyond the bare basics in this industry. It also helps, as we see in other threads, to be knowledgable in construction practices, audio/visual, and any other number of disciplines... AND be able to meld them all together effectively! I had an acquaintance from another (completely non-CCTV-related) forum asking me about helping him with and possibly supplying some cameras and a DVR. I have him pretty much sold on the CNB domes... however, he found them on eBay for less than half of what I can sell them for. I'm not sure, but it's probably less than WE get them for. So I told him, I can give you the benefit of in-person, in-town support... but if it's for a home system, and you're on a budget, I really can't match that price, and I'll understand if you decide to source them from an online retailer. In fact, I HAVE from time to time been contacted by people for price quotes, based on my posts they've read here. Some of them, as far as I know, have never even posted here, they've just lurked and read posts. And realistically, how many of us here ARE direct competitors for others? I can think of maybe one REGULAR participant here who's in my area who would actually be considered a "competitor". There are a couple who work for a supplier that we SORT OF compete with, but more often simply work with. This is true with nearly every profession out there, especially skilled trades. The backyard mechanic, for example, will never put the pros out of business, regardless of handy sites like autozone.com and the plethora of car forums out there, because there are some things that your average joe just doesn't know how to do right... or how to do well... or how to do easily... or has the time for.

^Agreed there. Cameras aren't typically considered "mission critical" to the same point an alarm is, and like bpzle says, if the DVR isn't on a backup as well, there's no point in having the cameras still running... and once you have an external UPS for the DVR, it's easy enough to just plug the camera PSU into that. Keep in mind, too, that "professional/industrial" cameras are 24VAC; 12VDC is typically considered consumer-grade stuff. So far, I haven't found a 24VAC battery...

Needs more cowbell!

I'd look at any of a number of mobile DVRs, the type intended for automotive use - these are designed for harsh environments and low power consumption. Sorry I can't suggest any specific models, I haven't used any of them myself. As far as power, you could look at using a solar panel or two to help keep the batteries charged while the power is off, especially since 3 hours may not be enough time to give the batteries a full charge. Be sure to use deep-cycle batteries as well, so their output doesn't drop off near the end of the charge. Keep in mind that the IR will drain a LOT more power than just the camera alone - if there's sufficient ambient light (nearby streetlights, etc.), consider a good low-light-capable day/night camera like the CNB VBM-24VF. In addition to excellent low-light response, they have very low power consumption (max 2.2W, according to the spec sheet). One final caveat: remember that cameras MAY provide a deterrent for some, but they do nothing to actually prevent break-ins. "An ounce of prevention" really applies here, and a good monitored alarm would probably be more effective, with the cameras as a backup in hopes of catching burglars should they get by that.

Thing about using 24V, for any given camera and any given power draw, it requires half the current of 12V, and will be less susceptible to line losses. This is largely why most "professional" cameras use it in addition to, or instead of, 12V... and why most professionals prefer it.

Those cameras only require 2.2W, so both of them should run quite happily off a single 24V/20VA supply.

^That's purdy!

I don't know that there is a "standard" level of tint that's used... I've never personally tinted a housing myself, and I don't know anyone else who has. The tinted/smoked domes I've used all came from the factory that way and are all varying levels of darkness. A couple things to keep in mind: The human eye's response to light is non-linear so while the difference between a light and dark room may not seem as extreme to you, it may be so to the camera. Likewise a dark tint may have a more extreme effect on the camera's sensitivity than it does just to you looking through it. When you're trying to hide the camera in the housing, remember that the tint works BOTH ways - it's both reducing the amount of light that enters the enclosure and illuminates the camera itself, and it's reducing the reflected light off the camera, which is what you actually see when you're looking at it (sorry for the uber-basic physics lesson, just making sure everything is in perspective). So you don't need tint that's as dark just to hide the camera. Moving the camera further back in the enclosure will reduce its visibility as well. And of course, you could paint the camera black (ideally a flat, satin or semi-gloss black) to further reduce its visibility.

Are you set on standalone, or are you okay with PC-based? Check out www.3xlogic.com - Vigil fits all your specifications, and being PC-based can easily have more drive space added. Hybrid as well, if you should want to upgrade to IP cameras later. These are spec for two of Canada's major oil companies that we service, as well as a large upscale restaurant chain.

Like Harrar says, burn-in doesn't happen with LCDs, and persistence is rare. In either case though, a simple daily reboot doesn't fix or prevent the problem; a static image is still being displayed for all but a couple of minutes of the day.

Am I to assume most ICR cameras are compatible with the Lorex entry level dvr's such as the LH-314 and LH-310? Both are the same just 4-chan and 16-chan video inputs. These are standard visible-light NTSC/PAL analog output CCTV cameras. The only thing "special" about them is the infrared filter that moves out of the way when they switch to night mode.

You want a true day/night (ICR) camera, then. Lock it in night mode so the filter is out of the way and it should clearly pick up the traffic lights.