Soundy

Same advice I gave on his other thread. Just FYI to the OP: you only need to post a question once... and this isn't the proper area (maybe a mod could wake up and merge the two).

No, we don't produce Cameras. It's really funny , CNB page doesn't have even 1 Greek word. Well, it's just funny because of the phrase, "It's all Greek to me", meant to indicate one doesn't understand what's being said. Quick and easy access to my Gmail, Google Docs, Google Apps, Google Maps, Google Wave, etc. And the built-in translation is handy too

That may be your problem right there: use only a single pair - blue for positive and blue/white for negative, for example.

Might be a silly question, but are you sure the polarity is right on the baluns? It must be the same at both ends. Have you tried running the video over a different pair?

I would suggest (more as a generality than for specific equipment) using a hybrid DVR, a couple/few analog cameras, and a couple video encoders. You could then start off with a "typical" DVR setup, with the cameras plugged directly into the DVR's analog inputs, and then "migrate" those same cameras to IP using the encoders (Axis, or whatever). In addition to keeping equipment count and costs down, it would help illustrate that there's no difference to basic camera technology between IP and analog, only to the way the video data gets into the recorder. If you wanted to extend the concept, you could set up a "demo WAN" in the classroom, add an NVR or NAS storage server to the "remote side" of that, and show the class how the video can not only be recorded on the local hybrid DVR, but *also* routed simultaneously via WAN to the remote storage. In this case, I'd suggest a NAS box that supports cameras recording to it directly (one I've used is made by QNAP - used it for straight up RAID storage, but it did have this function) and encoders that can record directly to NAS. I can't really suggest specific equipment, as I'm used to dealing with more upper-end stuff that's probably way overkill (and over-budget) for your purposes - Vigil DVRs and IQEye cameras, and such. I have dealt with little Acti dome cameras (didn't install them, but configured them for someone), they're a decent low-cost megapixel IP camera, if you want a couple of pure-IP cameras... but I think for the primary setup, the analog-cameras-with-IP-encoders idea is probably a better way to go, for the reasons I listed.

Not specifically; the function would be dependent on the particular software used, which I would guess has nothing to do with the PC manufacturer anyway. Generically, you'd probably configure the software for a "Polewatcher" type of device - you know, the simple little LED displays you see on a lot of paypoints that display the prices to the customer as they're being rung through. It's a plain ASCII output that pretty much all TVS boxes should be able to understand.

CNB has some WDR models, but nothing like Panasonic's "Super Dynamic" stuff.

Try just a new video card then. Shouldn't be hard to find a "spare" card to test in it.

That has nothing to do with what it shows on the computer monitor.

Good ideas. A text inserter is the easiest to implement and will work with any DVR (or VCR, for that matter) and any analog camera - you'll usually set it up with a camera pointing at the till and/or paypoint counter, and transactions appear onscreen as they're rung through. It's pretty easy to see then if something is passed over the counter without being scanned or entered as part of the sale. However, if you have a DVR that supports POS logging internally, that can be a lot more powerful and useful, as it will let you search the POS data and will sync that to the display. Agreed there too! Almost all of our liquor customers (bars/pubs and liquor stores) have at least two cameras in their coolers.

No special cable or camera required - the DVR detects motion from changes in the image.

Removable IR Cut filter - basically in day mode, the filter is in place to block infrared light for more accurate color; below the designated light level, the camera switches to black-and-white and the filter moves out of the way. This type is also know as a "true day/night camera". Sure... or if there's not a substantial price difference, just go with all 24VFs. How about more of the same? The CNBs are weatherproof and work great outside as well. We recently put three of them on a restaurant's uncovered patio - the only light here is from a couple of street lights 100+ feet away, and a little filtering through the shutters on the dining room windows:

It will depend on what light, if any, there is inside, but these cameras work great with very little light. And if there's NO light, well, there won't be anything to look at anyway - anyone breaking in will at least be packing a flashlight (unless they're wearing military-type night-vision goggles). If there's enough light for someone to stumble around, there's enough to get a good picture. They are available with varifocal lenses, yes... the ones we use have 2.8-10mm (if memory serves). As for vendor, I couldn't tell you offhand who ours is... you can probably find a local one via their website (www.cnbtec.com)

For cameras, take a look at the CNB "Mona Lisa" series of day/night domes. They work great in low light without the need of cheesy workarounds like IR. Excellent cameras for the price.

A useful diagnosis would be a lot easier if you gave a better definition of "bad (fuzzy)". Maybe with screenshots?

In theory, the drive should work... but whether you'll get DVD-burning functionality is questionable. For example, Windows XP's built-in CD burning will only work with CD-Rs in a DVD writer; it doesn't recognize DVD-Rs as recordable disks.

I'll go through your post more in a bit, but just off the top of my head, for your front door and hard lighting situations like that, you'll find the advice here pretty much unanimous: Panasonic WV-CP484 or WV-CW484 (box or dome style, respectively). The box model will probably be a bit cheaper than the dome, but you may need the extra ruggedness of the vandal-resistant dome in your situation. They tend to go for around $600 at online stores (according to a quick google search), which I realize is a big chunk of your budget, but there's little else on the market today that will handle bad backlighting like Panny's SuperDynamic III cameras. For low-light areas, check the other threads here on the "CNB Mona Lisa" cameras - they're a nicely designed dome with good quality for the price and outstanding low-light response. The Picasaweb link doesn't seem to work, BTW... tells me it's a broken link.

"Heater/blower" and "low power consumption" are mutually exclusive.

Well, I don't see anywhere to configure IP cameras in this one... but interesting thing, it will normally run for the same amount of time before locking up (about 90s from power-up), BUT if I go straight into Menu and then into Database Setup, it locks immediately. Hmmmmmmm...

I've recently been given this neat little DynaColor DG208 DVR... probably because it locks up consistently after about 2 minutes of operation. Anyone familiar with these things know if this is a common problem, and/or if there's a fix?

Thanks... this is actually the original HDD, we replaced it for the original owner because it was locking up after several years of service. If I can sort it out, it will make a handy loaner, or just something to play with. Appears to be VERY well-featured for a standalone... in fact, looks like it's just an embedded PC.

Thanks, I'll give that a look!

I am in a high volume bar business and it takes 8 hours to watch 8 hours of video . There is no way to see how much alcohol is being poured, how much money is being charged, how much change is given, etc. at 5 FPS. I don't have time to watch all the time, nor do I want to. It would be nice however to be able to see what is actually going on when I do view remotely. Inventory controls work great but when you have multiple employees on the same shift, working from the same inventory, you sometimes need to pinpoint where the problem is. If I was viewing for security purposes only 5 FPS would be more than sufficient, however that is not the case Thanks to all that have replied, I greatly appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Have you considered upgrading to a system with POS integration? A proper setup will log the transactions from your POS terminal(s), time synchronized to the video, or even read directly from the POS database, and display transaction data alongside the video. You can search transactions, select a specific one, and see the video from that time... many will also highlight a scrolling list of transactions matching the video as it plays.

Pics show up fine here. If cosmetics are a concern, how about a covert install, board or small bullet cam inside one of the lighting fixtures? Low enough for a good view, without being conspicuous. A nice clean dome design on the bottom of the archway keystone might work too... paint something up to color-match the walls so it doesn't stand out too much.

The Capture and Pelco cams I've dealt with, once they're on an Autoscan program, need a slight directional "nudge" to break out of the autoscan and enable control again. Give it a slight up or down "tap" and the autoscan should stop... then see if the other commands work.