Soundy

Having a b!tch of a time finding anything that fits ALL these needs: C/CS mount 1/2" sensor Megapixel Manual iris IR-corrected (day/night) WIDER than 4mm (2.8mm would be ideal). The last one is the trickiest - there seems to be very little for 1/2" MP lenses that will get me wider than 4mm. I've checked Tamron, Fujinon, and Arecont (these are for Arecont D/N box cams) without anything that matches 100%

"Turret IR"? You mean the style with the IR in the bubble shield instead of situated around the lens? We call those "Darth Vader" domes. They look beyond cheesy. The only time I've installed them is when someone else supplied them for a contract job. I'd never spec one no matter how good they are, because they LOOK like the ultimate in cheap $#!t.

Looks like a lame attempt to show off failed signature for yet another of suky's websites...

What DVR is this? Your options will vary depending on the outputs it has available. Most common setup for this would probably be a composite monitor (like a TV) feeding off the DVR's "Spot Monitor" output via RG59.

You need to twist the zoom level counter-clockwise to loosen it, then you can move it to adjust the zoom. Same with the focus lever. However, by default, these cameras should be set to 2.8mm and pre-focused.

From what specs I could find on that unit (http://www.worldeyecam.com/pdf/dv3.pdf) it appears that although it DISPLAYS at D1, it only records at CIF... so there's half your problem right there (as in, half the resolution). Not being able to see anything at night is the fault of the cameras, not the DVR. That's one option, although you'll want to make sure to go for good day/night cameras if you want the low-light response to be any good. Much as I hate Arecont cameras in general, I've used a couple of their day/night models and found they work quite well at night. It would be better than your current DVR, simply by virtue of supporting D1 encoding. It won't necessarily give any better results than a proper D1 DVR.

Not familiar with any of your specific gear, but in general... If you camera supports Pelco D or P protocols (most do, in addition to their own), you can use PTZ Controller as a generic control software (www.serialporttool.com). You would need a DB9-Female plug to connect to your computer's serial port; assuming the camera's connected is RS-485, you would then connect pin 3 (TX+) to the RX- pin on the camera, and pin 5 on the serial port (GND) to RX+ on the camera. Any sort of wire is good for the connection - UTP (Cat5e, Cat3), station wire, bell wire, speaker wire... Make sure you serial communication parameters all match (baud rate, data bits, parity and stop bit) between the software and the camera, make sure the camera ID matches, and you should be good to go. A lot of DVR software supports PTZ control internally as well, using the same sort of connection.

Like Rory said... the 484 is pretty much the cream of the WRD crop, but they're not the greatest for low-light.

Haven't used the VBM model, but we have installed lots of the VCM versions... I would assume the side knockout is the same as on the VCM's backbox, in which case it's a standard thread for 1/2" fittings (EMT, LiquidTite, etc.). These cameras have no problem looking straight back down a wall... the only reason I might use a bracket is for looks, or to SLIGHTLY help prevent rain from collecting on the dome. Still, even on a wall mount, the rain beads off the domes fairly well, and a quick application of Rain-X or similar product will help that along, too.

I've used the Veracity HighWires extensively, and quite frankly, they work GREAT. Since they can be powered with 12VDC or 24VAC, it's a snap to just split the existing power feed at the camera; then all you need to do is make sure the camera itself supports the existing power. No configuration needed, just slap one on each end of the coax, plug'em into the switch and camera, and you're good to go.

Does it have to work? Best, Christopher Oh snap!

What are you going to view this on? TV? What happens if the doorbell rings and the TV is off - will the visitor have to wait for you to turn the TV on? Have you considered a purpose-built video enterphone system? The door unit has doorbell, audio and camera built into one panel; the other end has the ringer, audio, and a screen that turns on automatically when the doorbell is rung. Not generally as expensive as you'd think, either. Here's just one example (not an endorsement of this product, just the first thing that came up on a Google search): http://www.entryvue.com/residential.html

Why doesn't he just check fleaBay or Craigsh*t for a cheap used 8mm camcorder?

The only time I've ever actually seen cameras die from overvoltage (when you connect what's SUPPOSED to be the right voltage), is with some cheap board cameras that are rated for 12VDC, when using a non-regulated supply that actually puts out 16-17VDC. In reality though, most cheap cameras are just fine with the extra (as most ship with equally cheap non-regulated PSUs). Dual-voltage cameras should not have a problem with 28VAC anyway, as "dual-voltage" generally implies they have an internal rectifier and regulator that will limit the voltage to what the camera guts can handle.

"Soon enough" means sooner than anyone else

I've seen articles where guys do this to DSLR cameras. There's one guy on rec.photo.digital who's converted two of his old DSLRs to shoot IR, and there was a fair discussion there a while back about UV conversion as well. Meantime, this site might be helpful: http://www.naturfotograf.com/UV_IR_rev00.html

28VAC is a not-uncommon option in some power supplies, intended specifically for use over longer runs where voltage drop will be an issue. Usually it's done with a special transformer with a secondary wound for 28VAC with a tap at 24VAC. The Pelco supplies actually have three screws per channel: one common, and one each for 24 and 28V. Keep in mind that that spec voltage is RMS - peak-to-peak voltage at 24VAC will be about 33.7V. Cheaper multimeters will give an average of that, so they may read a little higher than the actual RMS voltage (you need one that actually states "True RMS").

With text OVERLAY, no, it's pretty much impossible to search the POS text (short of some pretty fancy anayltics). What you need is the ability to capture and log the POS data in sync with the video. Many DVRs can do this, but need to support the exact format that the POS uses - ie. which columns are what data (price, date, till number, etc.), and what control characters are used to delimit columns and rows. Vigil, for example, supports a wide number of POS data formats via both serial and network. It can also connect directly to several different types of databases (MSSQL, etc.) and read the POS data straight from the backend system. The SmartPIT can re-output the filtered data as plain text as well, so it could be used with a DVR that can log POS info but doesn't recognize the format your POS system uses.

Really depends on the design of the cameras. The Panasonic CW484 domes list something like 9-30VDC and 12-36VAC as being supported. Some are fussier about overvoltage than others.

If you're still in the process of installing all this, is it possible to run the needed coax (RG59 or RG6) along with everything else? Power for the camera could be drawn from somewhere closer, like the guardhouse or the gate controller. If you can't add new wiring now, all you need for video is a single pair of unused wire, whether it's UTP (Cat5e, Cat3 phone runs, etc.), station wire, bell wire, etc. Basic passive baluns are good for up to 1000' (depending on which manufacturer claims you believe), and active baluns can give you over a mile on twisted pair. Worst case, you could use a video-over-powerline option, or even a short-range, single-point DSL setup to run it over the phone line. Again, the power could be derived somewhere close to the camera - guardhouse, gate controls, etc. - and all you need to worry about is getting the video over that distance. Personally, I'd look first into what wiring is in place for the phone - it's probably Cat3, and probably only using one pair (maybe two, if it's a digital system), so there are two or three spare pairs available there. With that setup, you'd probably run coax and power to the camera; connect the coax to the balun where the phone line terminates; then at the other end, tie in the other balun at the phone panel and run a coax line to the office where you can connect it to the monitor (and to a recorder, if you so desire).

Welcome!

Welcome, from sunny (well, for the next 10 minutes at least) Vancouver! Takes all kinds, doesn't it? Nice to see someone who really does their homework... AND legwork! I don't know about the others, but I'll look forward to viewing and reading some of that. Hope you don't mind constructive criticism though, because you're sure to get plenty of it from this lot! Feed the geeks, tuppence a bag?

Almost looks like a custom build...

It may depend, too, on whether the cable system is FULLY digital or not. Around here, on Shaw Cable, channels up to 59 are still analog and can be tuned on any TV with a cable-ready tuner. Channels beyond that require the digital set-top box; however, they do provide a channel marked "SECURITY CAMERA" on channel 116 (which should also be tune-able on most cable-ready analog TVs).

Your basic text-inserter just overlays the text on an analog video feed, so as long as you have that, the DVR shouldn't matter. I've most recently used a Honeywell SmartPIT for text overlay and found it an excellent unit, and Honeywell's support was outstanding (I needed the text filter custom-tweaked; they did it and sent me the new filter within half an hour). http://www.honeywellvideo.com/products/ias/da/pr/125775.html