Soundy

D-oh! Dunno how I missed that before In any case... Specs only tell you so much. I could show you a $50 camera and a $500 camera that list the same specs, but one will be FAR FAR better quality than the other - not just picture quality, but construction quality. This is by no means limited to CCTV; it's a problem with electronics of all sorts, where specs and measurements can be "fudged" because there's a lack of standardization in how things are measured. A favorite example of mine are a pair of amps I had in my old car's stereo system: the sub amp was rated 2x30W, the front-end amp 2x85W... but the former cranked out FAR more clean power, enough to shake the car with a pair of 8" subs. Under full load (subs paralleled, amp bridged, for a 2-ohm load), the sub amp could blow a 30A fuse, giving a good indication of its true current draw. The front-end amp, meantime, would puss out before fully driving the front 6.5" three-way speakers, and wouldn't pop its 10A fuse no matter how hard I tried. Why the disparity? Because there is (or was, at the time) virtually NO standardization in how car-amp output is measured, so manufacturers could perform all sorts of trickery to make their numbers look inflated (as far as car audio goes, output wattage of amps is about the equivalent to TVL for CCTV cameras - everyone pushing for higher numbers that don't really mean anything, but it sounds more impressive). Yet that 2x30 amp retailed originally for close to $600, while the 2x85 retailed at about $125. As with just about anything else electronic, you really get what you pay for.

Just to clarify something, a $75 camera, especially an IR camera, IS a cheap [budget] camera. +1 0.1 lux color is a pretty mediocre spec, too. That's why you have IR - to compensate for poor low-light performance. IR in these type of cameras is more kludge than solution.

Ohhh okay, I follow. Okay, here's an out-there idea: set up your own NTP server, set it to GMT+x (whatever your offset is), then point the cameras' NTP sync to that. Like if you're PST (GMT-, set your NTP server's time to NTP+8, then when the cameras sync to that, they'll be setting as GMT0, which will be 8 hours behind the fake NTP. Sure, it's a kludge, but it should work until they get their software fixed. As a bonus, you could use a single NTP server for all your cameras on all your sites, and once the software is fixed, you could set your server to maintain proper time and just keep the cameras pointed at it.

Too bad you can't just have the cameras access a standard NTP server, like time.nist.gov or something... I know IQ cameras can do that.

If you have no 9-pin serial ports, you'll need at least a USB-to-serial adapter (we regularly use these units: http://www.aten.com/products/productItem.php?pcid=2005010513171002&psid=20070130144911002&pid=2005022316346005&layerid=subClass7). You SHOULD be able to simply connect the ground and TX+ pins on the serial port, to the receive inputs (RX+/- or similar) on the camera. Software-wise, give this a try: http://www.serialporttool.com/PTZ.htm

Good luck with the rest of your project! As for researching multiplexers, here are a few examples (not necessarily suggestions or recommendations): http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=4ch+multiplexer&_sacat=See-All-Categories Models like the Pelco and Robot are very common professional CCTV units - before DVRs became a more cost-effective option, these were used extensively for recording multiple cameras to a single time-lapse VCR (other brands that we've used a lot of are National Electronics and Sanyo). If you decide to go the split-screen route, any of these are a good choice - you don't need to worry about camera sync or anything like that

A few items come to mind: 1. the Samsung is a larger chip, 1/3" vs 1/4" for the KT&C 2. the Samsung is a dual-voltage camera, meaning it has an internal rectifier and regulator to allow it to run on 24VAC or 12VDC, while the KT&C is 12VDC only with no regulation 3. the Samsung uses a C/CS-mount lenses, which itself is physically a much larger lens mount 4. the Samsung also has an auto-iris driver, which is additional circuitry 5. it doesn't state it, but chances are good that the Samsung uses a mechanical IR cut filter for day/night switching, which adds more bulk as well, vs. the KT&C, which states that it does "digital day/night" Beyond that, there's not a lot of "specs" to compare. It wouldn't shock me to find that the KT&C specs are overstated somewhat.

I agree, I doubt a 35x optical zoom will quite do it. You'll need your FOV to be, what, probably less than 10' wide to be able to ID the plates... ideally not more that 5-6'? So by my calculations, for a 10' FOV, on a 1/4" sensor (which I believe the Spectra domes have), at 2600', your lens would have to be around 832mm(!!). For a 1/3" sensor (like in your Esprits), you'd be looking at a focal length of around 1144mm(!!!). If you want to cut that down to even a 6' FOV, you're now talking 1387mm or 1906mm - in other words, you're looking for a focal length pushing 2m! (Other calculators give me slightly different numbers, but not substantially different - you're still talking a LONG-ASS zoom!) Now, "35x" merely states the range from shortest to longest focal length, not the actual focal length, but assuming just for the sake of argument that you're 4mm at the widest, your longest there will be 140mm. Not quite where you need it to be.

+1 I just can't fathom spending $60 on a card when you have these specs for a PC... Hell, the power supply alone would be worth more... QFMFT. Hell, let's just build a freakin' Ferrari and then put a $200 Clarion radio in it. Or more the point, put a Chevy Sprint three-banger in it, and say it's because people want a more fuel-efficient Ferrari. Sure you can do it, and some people will probably buy it, because they believe the hype, but what's the point?? Just sell them the Sprint in the first place, and walk away - less headaches.

Don't play your guitar within about 18" of the monitor, and you should be fine. Seriously, a typical CRT's field is NOT that big. CCTV monitors tend to be a lot better shielded than your average TV, too. I've built and worked in a number of studios, I know whereof I speak Sync isn't really an issue with the split-screen; the only place sync issues tend to be noticeable is when doing a sequence (switching from camera to camera full-screen), where it can cause a flicker or a jump in the picture when switching. Well, it's always good to have the future capacity... you'll be kicking yourself if you don't, and put it all in, and then think, "Ya know, that Soundy dude was right, it WOULD be really handy to have a camera in here too!"

Oh, one other thought on that (and this definitely falls into the "WTF?!" category: the HiK cameras (now Vigil-branded) have a 12VDC barrel jack for power, and come with a 12VDC, 1.5A switching power supply... *WITH WIRE TAILS*. NOT a barrel plug! I'll grant you the camera isn't often mounted close to the power source anyway, but they could at least include a barrel plug with tails as well!

How about buying dead DVRs for cheap??

You'd need either LCD TVs (to avoid CRTs), or composite-to-VGA converters to use cheaper LCD computer monitors. If you want to simplify a bit, you could use a quad or multiplexor to generate a 2x2 split-screen display (four images), then use an active video splitter to send that feed to your two rooms and the control room, so everyone sees the same thing. If you wanted to be really trick with it, you could add a camera to the control room as well, so the musicians can see the producer/engineer, and another monitor there so they can see both musicians at once. How big is your main live room? If it's big enough, you might even round things out with a second camera and monitor in that room, to fill up the fourth corner of the display. Or leave the channel free in case you add another iso booth later. The fourth square could also include a video feed from a DVD or VCR, possibly input from a computer for displaying lyrics, or whatever else you might want to display there. It's a really poor picture, but this gives an idea of what I'm talking about: Finally, as pretty as LCDs are, I've used CRTs in studios for years and never had noise problems from them. As long as you're using balanced audio lines and don't run your wiring too close to the monitor, you should be fine - frankly, the video will look a LOT better and clearer on CRT than LCD, and you should be able to find larger models for really cheap (I've seen 20" TVs regularly going on Craigslist in the freebies section). So, quick count: 2-4 bullet or dome cameras video quad or four-channel mux 3-4 channel video splitter/amplifier 2-3 monitors

+2 - there's a time-honored phrase that applies especially well to CCTV, and that is, "you get what you pay for." There's much, much more to the equation than just resolution. Total framerates factor in. Processing quality. Hardware vs. software compression - your cheap cards are letting the PC do all the work, that's why they're so cheap; expensive cards don't just convert they video, they do all the compression as well. Think reliability. Think software support. Heck, think driver support - cheap cards will usually work only with a "current" version of Windows; more expensive cards will often work with multiple versions of Windows, with Linux, with other *nix variants like BSD, or even with MacOS. Some will work with your choice of software; cheap cards are often locked to specific software, meaning they make their money selling you the software after getting you with the cheap hardware. Think about product and technical support - what do you do with your cheap cards when they crap out, or worse, arrive dead out-of-the-box? Will your eBay vendor take it back? Will the answer your questions when you get strange error messages? Will they send you updated software or drivers to address your problems? Will they even answer the phone when you call with your questions?? Anyway, back to your original question, you're not looking for a card to give you the output you want, you're looking for SOFTWARE. Vigil and Video Insight, for example, both use the same cards: Vigil can record in MJPEG or MPEG-4; Video Insight can record to MPEG-4, DivX, or WMV. You're not likely to find many systems that will record directly to MPEG-2, because it's a very inefficient format, and efficiency of compression is an important factor in CCTV. There may be some that will EXPORT to MPEG-2; most that I've seen will export to AVI. One other thing to consider: you're looking at extensions, but you need to think about the actual video format and compression codecs the files are using. *.MPG can mean MPEG-1 (which is 352x240 by spec) or MPEG-2. *.AVI files can be any of a number of formats and codecs - AVI ("audio video interleave") is a wrapper only, defining how the audio and video are stored... it tells you nothing of how the audio and video THEMSELVES are formatted and compressed. Try creating an AVI file with some of the features of a newer version of DivX, for example, and then play it back with an old version of DivX. On that note, a lot of "proprietary" DVR file formats are really common formats but with different extensions, and can often be read by WMP and other programs by simply renaming them. Some DVD authoring programs can import using any available codec on the system - for example, Vigil uses a variation on MJPEG that they call "Aztech", and when you install their player, it also installs a codec that allows their files to playback in any other player (WMP, VLC, etc.). If your DVD software supports this functionality, and your DVR software includes an installable codec, then the format won't matter, because your DVD software becomes "extensible" to support the DVR's video. If NeroVision doesn't do that, it may be time to look at different software.

Argh, attachment limits! Here's the HiK at night... What strikes me is that there's no option (that I can see) in the HiK configuration screen for adjusting shutter speed. The IQ has settings for "Optimize Speed" and "Optimize Quality" as well as "Auto" and a range of pre-set shutter speeds. The HiK's sliders for contrast, brightness, saturation and hue, however, ARE much nicer than the IQ's method of just entering numbers from 0 to 1 - change number, apply change, see how it worked... lather, rinse, repeat. I also couldn't find anywhere to set the time on the HiK. There's a section in the web config to set an NTP server, but it's greyed out. The HiK utility I got for it allows setting the IP only. The setup utility from 3xLogic that automates integration to the Vigil DVR, has a "Synchronize Time" function, but nothing that will let me set an NTP server, or manually set the time. Very strange. You'll note the embedded timestamp on the "day" image is way off - the HiK video starts shortly after the IQ frame (the last one before I swapped out the cameras). Annoying that the HiK doesn't support PoE, either, so I had to run a power adapter to the housing. Hmmmmm.

Wow.... what a difference! Had an IQ511 watching the street out front... slapped in a HiKvision DS-2CD852F to test... daytime, not bad... night-time, well... Images have been resized to fit attachement constraints - the IQ is 1.3MP, HiK is 2.0MP

Just make sure you don't post any prices that come up on an internet search. Apparently you can post links to your search results, but if you state any prices listed on those pages, they'll get edited out.

One job, I had nothing but twist-ons to use. After less than a dozen of them, my wrist was sore, my fingertips were getting raw from the knurled barrels, and fingers on both hands were cramping. Why anyone would WILLINGLY choose twist-ons is just beyond me. I guess they prefer manual screwdrivers over screwguns for driving 3" deck screws into hardwood, too... 20' extension ladder over a lift... parking a half-block away from site so they can carry everything farther... You're just too hardcore for us, Rory.

You can perform some very basic tests with a multimeter, mostly just for shorts and continuity, but nothing that will tell you the quality of the cable or whether there's noise on it.

What did you find wrong with it?, I only disliked the missing test port. Which, Arecont or Hik? My general hatred of Arecont is well-documented here: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=17784. I'm told that their SDK is horrid as well, leading to very flaky support in some DVRs. The HikVisions I've been playing with aren't so bad, but their config interface is poorly laid out (at least on these particular units) and the Engrish gives me a headache.

It depends on the source of the ground loop. If it's related to an earth ground, then yes, you have to physically isolate the camera. If it's because of a common power/video ground, you can fix it by getting rid of the cheap cameras. Uhhh.... wat??? Almost *any* dual-voltage camera will run on 12VDC or less internally... the rectifier and regulator are ALWAYS in play. This is why dual-voltage units don't have polarity markings - you can hook up DC power either way, and the rectifier will produce the required output. Input power is simply fed into the rectifier, then into the regulator, and the power board spits out the voltage that the camera internals need. Either way, this shouldn't introduce ground-loop problems, because the power and video grounds are electrically isolated from each other.

Nope, doesn't have to be random... predefined sequence is fine. It ideally should work with the existing cameras (a mix of IQ511s and IQA11 domes), and display full-screen at high res (no visible browser windows).

I actually got an email from an IQ rep, in reply to this post, with some suggestions and the full docs for the 511. Gonna work on that over the weekend, see what I can come up with.

Argh, I posted a reply to this last night and it seems to have vanished. Your problem sounds like a ground loop, which is very common with baluns when using *cheap* 12VDC cameras (this should be in the site FAQ, seriously). Cheap cameras share a common ground between the power and video, which can lead to two ground paths back to the power supply and DVR, and when you effectively introduce several thousand extra feet to the video run (as happens when you put two baluns inline), you get mismatches and ground loops. If you disconnect all but one camera, I bet the problem goes away... and will start to come back worse with every additional camera you connect. If this is the case, there are a few ways around the problem: one, you can use individual 12V wall-wart adapters for each camera; two, you can use ground-loop isolators; three, you can use cameras that have internal voltage regulators, which effectively breaks the "common" ground between the power and video - this includes dual-voltage cameras, since the issue is not with 12VDC power per se, but with the common ground used in low-end cameras. And no, none of this has anything to do with the proximity of the power supply to the DVR, or with using Cat5, or with baluns *in general*... it's strictly the "interaction" of baluns on low-end cameras.