Soundy

Another option, if all the gear is 12V anyway, would be to simply run it all off a car battery (in a well-ventilated area, natch) and keep the battery topped up with a trickle charger, preferably the "smart" type.

How long does it have to run for? You could just plug the whole thing into a standard UPS (uninterruptable power supply, not the courier). Beyond that, something like this should do the trick: http://altronix.com/index.php?pid=2&model_num=AL1012ULXPD4CB

Next day? Really? From the UK to Canada? Wow.

Well, for a noob, you've done a great job of defining your goals without going overboard on the specs. Off to a good start! Something to keep in mind right off the hop here: quality PTZs WILL NOT be cheap, and are really mostly effective when someone is watching them. Any PTZ will only record what it's pointing at at that moment; you can't go back later and steer it around and zoom on on something that it didn't record. You probably already know this, but you'd be surprised (or maybe not) at how many people think you can actually do that, based on what they see in the movies If you DO need to record a large area and be able to zoom in on it later, consider a 3-5MP IP camera with a wide lens, and a hybrid DVR. With analog cameras, motion detection and "full motion" aren't really considerations - they simply send out constant 30/25 fps (NTSC/PAL, depening on where you live) video. Your "cons" aren't really cons. Whether you run UTP or siamese, you'll need to pull extra cables if you want to plan for future capacity or redundancy. Baluns do add cost, but consider the relative cost of Cat5e vs. Siamese, and it balances out pretty quickly. Also, there's no need to spend substantially more on "power-thru" baluns - if you're going to run power over the UTP, just use basic screw-terminal or tool-less video-only baluns, split out one pair for the video, then tie the other pairs to power manually. It's a little more effort, but they're a helluva lot cheaper, and every bit as effective. In other words, with the power-thru units, you're just paying extra for convenience... like going to 7-Eleven to pay $8 for that dozen-count bottle of Aspirin at 3am, instead of suffering until morning so you can get a 60-count bottle for the same $8 at the pharmacy This would probably be my choice... and again, your cons aren't really cons. First, there's added equipment, but there's also reduced cable cost - again, it balances out a lot quicker than you might think. You'd need only one cable run for all four video feeds, vs. four going the other two options (not counting redundancy/expansion/PTZ data/etc.) Second, the number of baluns doesn't change whether you use this option, or option B, so that's not really a "con" specific to option C. Third, as nice and tidy as punchblocks are, they really aren't necessary; standard twisting-the-wires-together-and-capping-them-with-a-beanie-crimp will do just fine... especially if budget is a concern. And if you do want things tidy eventually, the punchblocks are something that can always be added later. As far as power supplies, you're not going to pay substantially more for two four-channel units than you would for one eight-channel... and in fact, it could save money in the long run, because if you put a single 8-channel in the clubhouse, and later want to add cameras, the next step in most product lines is a 16-channel... while powering the shack cameras locally would mean you only need to upgrade one supply from a 4 to an 8 when the time comes. I would go 24VAC in all instances. For one, there's less voltage drop over longer/thinner runs. Second, 24VAC or 12/24 cameras don't have problems with ground loops when using baluns, the way cheap 12VDC-only cameras do (because these types typically have a shared ground between power and video - there are numerous threads on this issue). No; in fact, in some instances, I've found baluns over *station wire* (nevermind UTP) to provide cleaner picture than coax. YMMV, of course. We use a lot of GEM and GVI baluns - a lot cheaper than the "big" names like NVT and MuxLab, and work just as well. I recently bought one pair of each brand our distributor carries (all four listed above, including two different GEM models) and tested them through a still-coiled box of about 550' of Cat5e, using a 600TVL CNB Mona Lisa dome camera, and found little to no difference between the $13/pair GEM units, and the $40/each surge-protected NVTs. CNB all the way, especially where low light and day/night capabilities are needed. Bonus is that they're dual-voltage, so you can run 24VAC. I believe there's even a version with built-in baluns, which would save you on buying and installing one-half of your balun count. That, I can't help you with - we deal with strictly higher-end PC-based systems in the $3500+ range. No problem at all - it's a hulluva lot nicer than the typical "I need a system for my house, what should I get??" types we usually see In short, this is how I'd probably do it: - 8-channel 24VAC PSU at each location (let's just plan ahead for the power capacity, the price difference from four to eight channels shouldn't be much). - Four runs of Cat5e between clubhouse and shack - one for the three fixed cameras initially, one for the PTZ (video and data), and a couple spares/future. - Power supply located near the cable entry point to the shack; PSU proximity to splice point makes things easier. - Cat5e runs from there to each camera. My color code is typically blue pair for video, orange and green pairs for power, brown pair left for future use. Splices made with B-crimps. - Shack Cat5e runs in clubhouse pulled either direct to DVR location, or spliced again, but I'd run UTP right to the DVR and tied the baluns in right there where they connect. In the clubhouse, I'd do similar: Cat5e run to each camera, PSU placed near DVR. From there, it depends on the individual job... I've pulled them all inside the PSU box, split out a healthy amount of the blue pairs, then pulled a bundle of blue across to the DVR; I've pulled out by the DVR, split out the power pairs, and taken those as a bundle to the PSU box; I've extended the PSU runs using 18/2 (pain in the arse, BTW)... One thing, if you do plan to go to IP cameras in the future, you might want to pull something for power to each camera's location... or plan to use PoE. Note: you could also put the baluns right where the UTP enters each building, and extend to the DVR and cameras using coax or Siamese, but really, one of the benefits of using all UTP is that you reduce the amount of cable you need to stock, carry, and handle. Since we've been doing baluns and UTP almost exclusively, I almost never have to load any coax into my van, or pack it into a jobsite. I just carry four boxes of Cat5e, and that does for cameras AND network installs, and in a pinch, I can use it for intercoms and other utility purposes as well (although Station-Z wire is preferable for that, because it's a LOT cheaper - I do carry one or two boxes of that as my main "utility" wire). The 3M intercoms we use on fuel sites, for example, use two pairs for RS-485 communication, and one pair for audio, between their base unit and the desktop "selector" unit (keypad and mic)... where we previously had to pull a piece of station wire and a piece of 18/2 for that - resulting in ugly wiring on the desk - I now just use a nice clean-looking piece of Cat5e - orange and green for the RS-485, brown and blue pairs for the audio. All in all, very versatile stuff, that Cat5e Cat5e now costs us about the same as coax, but with coax, I also need something for power... and it's a damn sight cheaper than Siamese cable (which really, is nothing special, just separate coax and 18/2 cables joined by a web - again, it's a convenience more than anything).

^Looks like a zillion other generic eBay bundles.

Unless there's some burning NEED to use Win7 on this machine, stick to XP.

CNB does make PTZs too...

"Remember, Kyle, there are no stupid questions, only stupid people." (Bonus points: where is that quote from? ) There isn't a "special" kind of IR, per se, but there are different wavelengths; this camera's filter may be blocking the wavelength used by your existing illuminator. Can you remove it? Probably not, at least not without damaging something.

And if I open a camera, install it, and find it's DOA... then what do I do with it? With local distributors, I can drive half an hour, maybe an hour... exchange it... drive back... install the replacement... job done. Buying online, I have to box it up, ship it off, wait for the replacement anywhere from two days to two months, then return to the site to install the replacement. My time is worth more than the savings in most cases.

use the Mona Lisa, and if you find you need more light, add a separate IR illuminator.

We don't buy online; we prefer to support local companies who can provide better support. If I have a problem with hardware, I can just take it back and swap it on the spot, I don't have to ship it out and wait for a replacement to arrive. Plus, most of our suppliers have hot receptionists, so... yeah.

Correct. Correct. However, if your monitor has a higher physical pixel resolution than NTSC video (or worse, is a widescreen display), and doesn't have good upscaling, the picture could still look like crap (although probably not as bad as you're getting now). Composite in general, or just BNC? You can still find LCD monitors with one or more composite BNC inputs... but they tend to be specialized toward professional uses and thus more expensive. Consumer TVs have RCA inputs for connecting games, older DVD players and the like, but you'll pay more for the tuner and multiple other inputs.

That's one nice thing with my new ASUS netbook, the LED-backlit screen is insanely bright - it's even readable in direct sunlight.

Standard analog CCTV uses composite video, so if your monitor has a composite RCA input, you can just use a BNC-to-RCA adapter to feed that input:

That's a color camera... meaning it probably has an IR cut filter over the sensor. I would guess your other camera is a B&W model? Don't be fooled by the low lux rating either, B&W cameras typically work far better in low light than color. That rating is enabled by the "Sense Up" function, which slows the shutter speed down, leading to motion blur. You'll get exposure at that level, but with a ridiculously long shutter speed, enough that it probably won't be a usable image.

^^Saw a guy using one of those in a coffee shop the other day, that's a sick little toy! Although my new Asus netbook is pretty handy, too

nice toy... what about for non-Axis IP cameras tho?

Get a small laptop or netbook. Plug directly into the camera with a crossover cable. Or plug a wireless router into the switch that the camera runs back to, and connect your laptop/netbook wirelessly. Or use cameras that have analog outputs for this purpose specifically (like most of IQEye's cameras). My coworker uses his Archos 5 on a wrist strap for both analog cameras (via the "DVR dock" adapter), and IP cameras via WiFi. Very handy.

Agreed there, there are still instances where extra illumination is needed... I just found archik's question kind of, well... dumb, frankly: the whole discussion is about the ultra-low-light performance of these cameras and he's wondering if they come with built-in IR??? *BUILT-IN* IR is, IMHO, a hack workaround for CHEAP cameras.

The whole point of these cameras' low-light capabilities is to NOT NEED hokey workarounds like IR illuminators.

Sounds like a hack workaround for a poor design. Why not just make it so you don't have to stop recording to change the settings? Or at least, why not make that option a default? We have only one customer with Geo systems, installed by their previous supplier. We're steadily replacing them with (more like, upgrading them to) Vigils... in part, because of silly things like this.

What are you trying to decide, then? Whether to use IP cameras, or analog cameras with IP video encoders? If so, there's no functional difference when it comes to the network... your decision should rest on the appropriate camera for the purpose; ie. day/night, IR, PTZ, megapixel, etc. If a megapixel camera is most suitable, then all you need is the wireless link; if you don't need megapixel but need other features better provided by an analog camera, go with the analog and then add the video server. I assume power is already available at the poles?

Er... I was talking about GeoVision, actually... I've never seen an Aver system

Check these threads: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=20048 viewtopic.php?f=5&t=20411

They're a decent system... lot better than most of the cheap stuff flooding the market. Works fairly well, but the interface - or more specifically, the menus and controls - are frustrating and poorly laid out (IMHO). There's a particularly dangerous oddity in that you have to stop all cameras recording before you can go into the main settings page... too often I've seen someone (including myself) forget to re-start recording after adjusting some settings, and machine have sat for days without recording anything. I've also found an annoying little hardware thing with them, at least with the versions of the cards I've had foisted on me, in that a single camera being flaky/noisy can affect up to three other cameras that share that one encoding channel, and cause them to drop out entirely. NOT a good thing, and can be very frustrating if you have to figure out which one camera is taking down all four.