Soundy

You do know where I work, don't you? Of course, I'm familiar with the game!!! My question is why would you want to show the players' hole cards and do you actually think the players would comply? I certainly wouldn't - even in a "friendly" game. "The idea is that we'll have a big poker game with 20-30 people, and as people drop out, they can go into another room and watch the game while seeing everyone's hands as they play, live."

That camera is super-low current draw, so you should be okay. Even at 12VDC, losses should be only 0.1V, although just to be safe, I'd use 24VAC for the power.

SO, who's watching? Surely Rory wants to see all the snow I just ask because, well, I live in Vancouver (or the burbs thereof )

That spec sheet says nothing about a BNC ouptut, it lists only the 2.5mm jack. You could probably find something at Radio Shack or an electronic parts store for it, or hack the wire off a phone headset that uses that type of plug, and put a new connector on the other end. The only mentions of the service output, however, are "The analog video service output and the on-screen displays (OSD) simplify focus adjustment and network configuration" and "Network parameters and basic camera set-up, such as lens set-up and back focus, are quickly and easily performed using the on-screen displays (OSD) and analog video service output." I'm not familiar with this camera specifically, but based on other IP cameras I've seen that have a similar output, it may have focus aids overlaid on the image, or may only work temporarily (some will shut off after a few minutes)... plus, the jack is typically inside the dome, so you may not be able to leave the wire connected once you close the camera.

Uuuuuummmmm slight problem with that plan: for the overhead cam to see the players' cards, the cards would have to be flipped up, which would allow the other players at the table to see them as well. Perhaps you're not familiar with the nuances of the game, but this is not a desirable thing...

You probably want to search for "pinhole" or "spy" cameras - not that they need to be covert, but those are small so they can be easily mounted in the table, and are designed to give a wide view with a lot of depth-of-field. All you need after that is a multiplexer - a nine-channel model should suffice (they typically come in 4, 9 and 16-channel designs). Shouldn't be hard to find one for a decent price on fleaBay or even Craigslist, as they're not used very much anymore. You don't even need a fancy duplex/triplex type - a simplex version will be fine. Some will give you simple 2x2/3x3/4x4 splits, better ones will give you additional Picture-in-Picture options. Something like this would do nicely, if you can get a good bid in: http://cgi.ebay.com/GV-MUX16TC-16-CHANNEL-COLOR-MULTIPLEXER-30FPS_W0QQitemZ190372063826QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2c530f2a52

Good for you! You've already learned the most important lesson from being here: think for yourself! My next question for them would be, why "ioimage"? Why not find software that does what you need first, and then spec cameras that fit the need? As someone said in another forum recently, "utilize a technology that fits the application, rather than forcing the application to fit the technology".

You could do it with a really freakin' log VGA extender (make sure it's the good, shielded type), but the VGA-over-UTP extender is probably going to be cheaper overall, and undoubtedly easier (fishing a big thick VGA cable with its D-sub ends can be a serious PITA).

Hi Alex... it would be helpful if you updated your drawing to show what areas are of particular concern, how big those areas are, etc. Maybe a little better description of what the various boxes are as well - is the main large box the building, or is the small center box the building and the large box a fenced yard around it? Is that a driveway at the top-right, and do you need to watch that? How about some dimensions? $3000 doesn't sound unreasonable... DEPENDING on the exact recorder and cameras, and how complex the installation is (whether conduit is needed, plenum-rated cabling, trenching, etc.) Labor can be a large part of the installation cost. There are recorders ranging from $300 to well over $3000 on their own, too.

VGA or standard composite monitors? If you're talking about a PC's VGA output, you can use one video head with a VGA splitter, or a dual-head VGA card (same as you would normally use to extend your desktop across two monitors). With a composite output (RCA or BNC), you can just use a T-connector or Y-cable, although an active (electronic) splitter is generally preferred, to avoid signal loss and a reduction in quality.

Depends whether you rely on the maglock as the ONLY means of locking the door after-hours, I suppose. I never recommend that - a power outage would readily unlock the door to anyone who wanted to walk in, too. We've had the odd clerk lock themselves out as well - they have the door locked (night service being via a passthru window), then hit the exit button by the door to go outside for something, then get trapped... so for these instances, we install an outdoor keypad that they can use to unlock the door. Unfortunately, unless you use a really pricey enclosure or something like a Scramblepad, those can be fairly easily defeated and bypassed by someone with a few minutes on their hands, so again, it's not a recommended method of securing the site for overnight.

Honestly, unless people are RUNNING through the door on a regular basis, 3-4fps should be more than enough to capture clear face shots. In my experience, a subject is in-frame of a typical ID shot for about 2-3 seconds, so even at 1fps, you would end up with 2-3 individual images of the person. Are 30-45 individual pictures really required to identify someone?

...or just "mobile CCTV" in general? Good idea

Was that his actually wording, "MUST NOT work"?? Because that sounds like someone grasping at straws after not being able to find an appropriate "canned answer". You just picture him shrugging his shoulders and saying, "I dunno, that must not work..."

So does the spec sheet or anything list a minimum PC power supply requirement? Considering some of the systems I've seen (5-6 drives in a machine with a 300W PSU), you'd want to be careful about what you're adding that extra 70W load to.

That sounds like a system that has the computer built into the display. Your idea would only work if there's a separate PC with a standard VGA cable that runs to the display.

Soundy, They do have 4 pin connector for power supply on PCB Yes, which doesn't have -12V. ------------------------------------------------------------ They do not use 24 v They stepping up 12v to 48 v for PoE confusion is about their pdf What they mean that board can take between 12 -24 V not that board need 12 and 24 v that all http://www.directindustry.com/prod/korenix-technologies/industrial-ethernet-switch-card-29418-410948.html "Korenix patented Built-in DC24 to 48V Booster for powering PCI card and PoE ports in rail, bus, transit transportation systems" Maybe it's just the bad Engrish, but to me that says they're claiming they boost from 24 to 48.

I'd be interested to see how that works out under FULL load - this sort of cheap offshore stuff, I'd expect to find that they're counting on 99% of devices it will be used with, not needing anywhere near the full 15.4W. Kind of like the "200W" car amp my buddy bought once, that had a 10A power fuse - even at 100% efficiency and assuming a full 14.5V, you CAN'T get more than 150W without blowing the fuse... nevermind that a typical cheap Class AB amp is only about 40% efficient. Yet somehow they manage to claim that it does 200W output power...

Soundy, They do have 4 pin connector for power supply on PCB Yes, which doesn't have -12V.

And how are you converting the file?

I dunno, those pictures look pretty good to me, all things considered. You'd have a hard time getting more detail than that without going to a megapixel camera. "Refresh rate" on an analog video camera is fixed - 30fps for NTSC, 25fps for PAL... perhaps you mean shutter speed?

What DVR is this from? Most systems aren't set up to record audio - are you sure there's audio on the file to begin with?

^I call BS on that. They state a full 15.4W *per port*... there's no way it will do that all at once. One port at a time, MAYBE. MAYBE. The page states the card starts with 24VDC and steps it up. The only place it can get that 24V from a PC power supply is using both +12 and -12V rails together. The PDF says it uses the ATX 4P power connector (uh, and what if your motherboard needs it???), which doesn't have -12V on it. And as noted above, even on a 500W Antec supply I have here, the -12V rail is only 0.8A *max*. They may be good stepping up from 12V, as the PDF suggests (contrary to the page Harrar linked to, which states only a 24V supply), but not from 24... It's a nice idea, but there's something fishy in all that.

That depends on your needs. So far, we don't know what they are, so it's hard to say. And to be sure, you need to define the difference between what you actually NEED, and what you THINK you need (aka WANT). Frankly, given the hardware you list in the first post (four cameras), 60fps total is probably more than enough. I can't speak for how others deal with it, but with the Vigil and Video Insight hardware, the total frames are divided into "banks" of 30fps, and it can be split up any way you like within those banks. Example: on a 60fps card, the odd-numbered channels are one bank, the even-numbered channels another. So you could put all four cameras on the same bank, and give each one 7.5fps; or give one of them 10fps, two of them 6fps, and the fourth 8fps; or any other combination adding up to 30fps. Or you could just put them on channels 1-4, meaning two cameras on each bank; you could then assign them 15fps each; or 20 fps to one and 10 to the other; or 29 and 1... or whatever is suitable. At 15fps per camera, most people would be hard-pressed to tell it from standard 30fps anyway. In any of these cases, resolution is independent of framerate: you can run a single camera at 30fps and full D1 if you want; you could run all four at D1 and 15fps. But then let's get back to NEEDS: running them full-out is going to chew up a LOT of disk space, especially if you don't use motion recording. It's also probably not necessary to have that high a framerate. It's NICE, it's PRETTY, but it's probably not NECESSARY. So you can play with the settings, monitor the disk space over time, and adjust them as necessary to find out what works best to balance "smoothness" vs. retention time. But ultimately, it's up to you to decide what's best for your situation.

Vigil supports a couple dozen brands... www.3xlogic.com