Soundy

All the Areconts I've dealt with come with thin "shim" rings that you put between the lens and the camera body to space them out. Why they couldn't just make the lens mount itself a little deeper is beyond me... You could check to see if those cameras have a backfocus adjustment (lets you adjust the position of the sensor).

Those don't look too bad, aside from the low resolution. You'd probably be a lot better if you could record at 4CIF or D1 (four times the resolution there). Other than that, you won't likely find cameras that are any better for under $100. Probably have to go to $200+ to get a significant improvement.

I think I'll have to talk to CNB about commissions...

A 24V, 20VA transformer will do just fine. I think hardwired nailed your problem: if the original transformer was a non-regulated type kicking out 17V at the source and dropping to 13V at the camera, then a regulated 12V supply would be dropping to probably 8V at the camera, maybe even lower with the greater current draw.

In addition to indoor or outdoor, other important questions are: What lighting conditions will this have to operate under? How fast will the subjects be moving? What's your budget? Does it matter whether it's analog or IP, or will either do? If IP, what DVR/NVR are you using (compatibility may be an issue)?

The only place scratches matter is directly in front of the lens - you can scratch the living $#!t out of the rest of the dome and it really won't matter. If the scratch DOES end up directly in line with your lens, remember that almost all designs will allow you to rotate the dome in one or more ways. Other than that, when you unpack the camera, remove the dome completely and put it back in the packaging until the install is done.

Check my pictures in this thread: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=20048

There's no point in dumping your money into a good GPU if the DVR software can't take advantage of it. Photoshop is designed to take full advantage of things like multiple CPU, multiple cores, and advanced GPUs to aid its processing; your average DVR software is not.

Actually, as far as I can tell from CNB's spec sheets, the ONLY difference between the VBM- and VCM- models is the mounting styles (VCM can be flush-mounted with a slightly lower profile, or using a supplied back-box), while the only difference between the VxM-2xVF and VxM-2xVD is that the VF model has "true day/night" (aka ICR aka "removable IR-cut filter) while the VD versions don't. Everything else specs-wise looks the same.

You'll have a hard time finding one that ships without a hard drive, but if you're looking to cut costs, you might go with one with the smallest available drive, and then swap in the one you have...

What are you recording to if there's no optical or hard disk drives??

My first hunch, assuming all the communication parameters are correct, would be to simply type the control codes into HyperTerm (make sure it's showing you're connected). If that doesn't work, you could try something like Comm Operator Pal (http://serialporttool.com/products.htm) to build a complete command set as shown in the DVR manual (FFC0??727F for "STOP" command, for example... the ?? I would assume is the ID number of the DVR, which would be set in the DVR menus).

I'd probably go with the option that best fits the budget and has the features I need, and not be so concerned with image quality. You're not recording the video, you don't need it for forensic identification or anything, so super-high quality isn't really a concern. You say you have good lighting, so low-light or day/night performance shouldn't be an issue. PTZ is a neat toy, but maybe not something you want either, as you don't need one clown deciding to drive the camera around while everyone else is watching something different... unless it's a feature you can lock out with user permissions. Just another thought too, you might want to consider recording anyway, just so the actors can go back and watch their performances, whether to look for places to improve, or just for their own vanity.

PoE is an established standard (IEEE 802.3af). Anything that says it supports PoE *should* (unless they're fudging it) work with any PoE power source, be it a switch or individual injector.

Hmm, that is somewhat vague. What sort of cable are you using to connect the two? If the DVR has a male port (same as on your PC), you may need a NULL MODEM cable. If it's a female port, a straight-through serial cable should work, or you can wire your own - connect pin 3 (TX) on your computer's serial port to pin 2 (RX) on the DVR, and wire pin 5 to pin 5. That SHOULD be all that's necessary. At that point, you should be able to fire up HyperTerm or whatever other terminal software you want, to send the commands.

CPU and RAM upgrades would make the bigger difference. The video card doesn't need to be anything special, as it doesn't do any processing outside its own display. Most machines we build, we just use the onboard video chipset.

RS-232 ports on a DVR are usually used to control devices like PTZ cameras... not for other devices to control the DVR. Are you sure these machines even support this type of usage? Remote access/control of your DVRs from a PC would typically be done via network.

Vigil's HD Viewer product will do it as well. It can also be used in conjunction with the Vigil DVR to display a mix of analog and IP cameras on your video wall (I've even seen both running on the same machine).

I'm guessing these are cameras with built-in IR? The spiders build in front of them because the IR attracts bugs for them. The best solution is to use separate IR illuminators mounted a short distance from the cameras, so the bugs congregate there instead of directly in front of the lens.

Yeah, I was kinda thinking that too - in a private lounge, how much vandalism is there, really?? Anyway, it's difficult in most setups like these to pull a camera down without it capturing the culprit... or without the other camera capturing the deed. If someone wants badly enough to remove or damage the camera, they'll do it... a simple wood backing will make it difficult enough that it will make it a hassle and give you a chance to get some video of the perp.

No, CNBs don't ship with power supplies. Pelco and Altronix both make power supplies with individually fused outputs. Some models also have self-resetting circuit breakers instead of fuses (very handy, especially if the PSU is in a hard-to-reach area). As far as surge suppression and filtering, that can all be done by plugging the unit into a surge power bar or even a UPS.

Yeah, well, you get what you pay for. You think that's bad, try a Pelco PC-based DVR for about three times that.

The base Vigil system has 16 analog inputs @ 60fps total, 8 audio inputs, one switched analog output and one software-multiplexor analog output, with a 500GB or 1TB drive. Any of the channels can also be used for IP cameras, and the supported-camera list is extensive. If memory serves, the system starts at around CDN$2300 - PC, capture card, software, network client, ready to go out-of-the-box. At the upper end, there's a rack-mounted 32-channel, 960fps, 2TB system that runs around $10k... and plenty of options in between. There is also a dedicated NVR version that comes without the hardware capture card, but uses the same software.

Yep, if someone really wants to damage or disable the cams, little will stop them. I'm concerned more about someone prying them off the ceiling and walking off with them. It's not all that easy to simply pull them down, especially with the wood backing - they housings themselves are a smooth surface so you can't just grab and pull. Getting a screwdriver or something in behind would mean having to get fairly close to the camera - on a standard 8' ceiling, most people would barely be able to reach the camera without standing on something, let alone get some sort of prise in behind it. That said, if you have access to the ceiling space, you can always use a larger sheet of wood, and even brace it off the joists...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but looking at the dimensional drawings on CNB's website, it appears that the only difference between the VBM and VCM models are that the VCM cams are 14.5mm [~9/16"] shorter (101mm height vs. 86.5mm exposed height). That's not much of a difference and the VCM will limit intstallation options. What am I missing here? They actually provide more installation options, as they also come with a back-box for surface-mount installation. Without the backbox though, you can countersink them somewhat into the ceiling through that 3-1/8" hole, which makes for a slightly lower profile installation. No, it's not a huge difference, but it does provide one or two more options that way. And for me at least, that 3-1/8" hole is just big enough squeeze my hand through to feel around for wires