Soundy

But seriously... the difference between CAMERAS? The actual measurement IS the cameras - the number refers to the size of the camera's sensor.

1/12"

Umm, yes, you "have" to power each camera - for most low-end cameras, it will be 12VDC. Cameras don't run on air So the electricians are installing cameras as a "standard" but not powering them?? If that's really the case, I'd look for a new electrician (hmmm, don't get me started on electricians trying to do CCTV installs....) In any case, adding more cameras shouldn't be a problem, you just need to run wire from each location, to your distribution box, or to wherever you plan to put the DVR. You have three common options for wiring: 1. one run of RG-59 or RG-6 coax (RG-59 is preferable; don't let the sparks use RG-58 CATV cable), plus one run of power wire of some sort (typically jacketed 18/2 stranded) 2. Siamese cable, which attaches the coax and power wires together with a web, allowing you (or them) to pull both simultaneously (no real benefit other than convenience) 3. Cat5e or Cat6 twisted-pair cable, plus video baluns at both ends - if you're planning to wire the house for network/phone/automation, this may be more efficient and cost effective, as they can just pull lots of UTP everywhere and it can then be used for any of the above (it can also be used for alarms, although most alarm guys don't like it). Ummm, one question, what is a CT100? I found three different Google hits, one for a cable tester, one for a Sony home theater system, and one for a 1954-vintage RCA color TV.

Have you tried the AGC with compression connectors instead of twist-on? (running away...)

Maybe you just haven't found a really GOOD AGC yet?

It's a DVR, that mounts in a rack, usually a standard 19" wide equipment rack, like this: (That's an extreme example, but it's the only picture I could find readily with a rackmount PC *in* a rack). The use of it is the same as any other DVR. The rack is for keeping everything neat and tidy and in one place, often so it can be locked up and access to it controlled.

^That works... as long as you don't have any other content already on those channels. If you have cable, those channels are probably in use.

There's your problem: four-way split is too much for passive; the signal strength to each TV will be too low. You need an active video splitter. Not sure if Leviton makes one for your setup (they probably do - try model BC200-AVD), but there are plenty of others out there.

Yeah, I can see that being useful for the 'pigtails' (we call it an octopus cable).

I have some crimp-on types of those, but I don't know where you'd get twist-ons... *running and hiding*

My bad, I read it as "vs" rather than "via"...

?? The two are not the same thing. aspx = server-based scripting language (like php, perl, etc.) iis = internet information services, aka Microsoft's all-in-one internet server application. Other than the fact that ASP (as far as I know) only runs on IIS servers, there's no connection between the two.

^Agreed, that's a really nice table...

FWIW, I just did a clean install of Win7 on a laptop and tried installing Vigil as an NVR, and it worked just fine (well, except the laptop is sorely under-powered for this, but hey...). Dunno how the capture card drivers would get along with Win7 though.

Would probably depend on the camera... AFAIK the IQEyes I normally use don't have a way to do it (short of maybe hacking the firmware).

We use primarily IQEye cameras, rarely a problem with them, and their support is really responsive where there are issues. Beyond that, I've also used Hikvision and Arecont, and find the IQs WAY WAY easier to set up and work with than either of them. They also get along a lot better with the Vigil N/DVRs we use. It's not clear if you want only SOME of these cameras to be megapixel and others lower (D1/VGA) resolutions - IQ does not, AFAIK, make anything less than megapixel, although you can configure the cameras to send lower resolutions or crop the image internally. Anyway, would definitely recommend giving IQ a look - www.iqeye.com

For monitoring what? Video? System status? Most client software is specific to the DVR it's designed for, so the "best" is really the one that works with the DVR you have.

Depends. If you're using standalone DVRs with composite outputs, you can just run those into a quad or mux. If you're using PC-based systems, you could just put two monitors side-by-side, or you could run client software to connect to both systems (if the client and servers support it).

RS-232 should be fine for the first few hundred feet. Connect TX+ on the RS232 to RX+ (or RX(A)) on the camera... GND on the RS232 to RX-/RX(B) on the camera. I've found that SOMETIMES you need to do thing in a particular sequence - like, powering up the camera after the DVR is up. And sometimes, you need to hot-swap the polarity of the wires (TX+ to RX-, GND to RX+) AFTER that camera is powered up. BTW, make sure the camera's baud rate matches the serial port's - many cameras will display the communication settings on-screen briefly after power-up. The data bit/parity/stop bit settings must match as well, although on both ends they normally default to 8N1 (8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit).

How about Internet Explorer? If all the machines have web access, just bookmark all three as homepages and set it (at least with IE8) to open each in a separate tab.

Are you talking about a "biscuit jack"? As in a jack with screw terminals and a female RJ45? If so, I've never seen that done before... except for the phone companies... I would guess he's talking about keystone jacks:

BTW this is one particular service that should be disabled on a DVR. Agreed. I have a script that I run on every DVR build to disable some services, set others to manual... this is one of its steps.

Likewise, we have XP, Win2K, and even an ancient Win98-based Capture DVR out in the field that run for months or years without attention or planned reboots. The symptoms that FranciscoNET describes sound like systems built on an un-tweaked, off-the-shelf install of Windows, running all sorts of unnecessary services and with all manner of unnecessary junk installed. Most of the Windows-based DVRs I've had issues with, it's been user-initiated... usually because some unsupervised staffer decided to surf porn sites or install DVD-authoring software or in some other way modify the system (oops, sorry, just voided your warranty!). The factory-built Vigil systems now are using a highly-customized version of Embedded XP; their HD Viewer machines have it running off a CF card, no hard drives at all. These machines are damn near bulletproof. And no, they're not using $60 eBay cards.

No kidding. Well, I guess the customers get what they pay for, too - when their vendors sell them systems built on pirate cards and $60 eBay specials, that's what they're gonna get.