Soundy

Ain't that the truth! Same goes for DVRs as well. There's a thread for this as well, at least for megapixel cameras, as well as numerous samples of different cameras in various individual threads. Part of the problem is, there are SO many different types of cameras and their performance is affected by SO many different things... add in that most better cameras allow at least some level of user-adjustment than can significantly affect the image quality... you could compare some generalities, but it's difficult to really quantify a lot of what you're showing. People do this from time to time... usually posting diagrams and asking for camera positioning advice. As long as you don't post any store ID info (name, address, etc.), I don't see that the owners would have any problem with you sharing diagrams of your setups. Blur out any faces or other identifying info on any camera stills, too, of course.

Means he wants to know how far away you are (rough translation)

All that notwithstanding, high framerates are often overplayed in CCTV. You're generally looking to record "trouble" events to see what happened, not making movies, so while 20+ fps may "look nicer" it's often far more than is necessary simply to see "what happened". For license plates, unless you're trying to capture fast-moving cars in a small space, 20-25fps is WAY overkill. FAR more important is a fast enough shutter speed so that the plates aren't blurred. If you get into systems that sync a strobe light (like photo radar/red light cameras) all you need is a single frame, synchronized to the strobe.

Lighting is your main issue here, since most pub entrances (in my experience) are fairly dark, and you get NASTY backlighting on people coming in when the door is open. If the budget allows it, I'd suggest a pair of Panasonic CP484s (box-type) with ~3-10mm varifocal lenses, or CW484s (domes). They'll work well in the dim light and handle the backlighting really well.

Yeah, that's an important point too - no-name stuff, the specs they list may not necessarily be accurate or truthful.

Probably have a firewall active on the laptop that's blocking the incoming connection from the other machine.

I think that's the "career whinge" for just about everyone here!

Welcome aboard! This really is an industry where "you get what you pay for", and when you pay more for a camera, there's a lot more to it than the sensor. For example, there's the processing circuitry - the stuff that adds features like extended/wide dynamic range, low-light noise reduction, digital slow shutter, day/night mode switching, backlight compensation, bloom suppression, digital zoom, and so on (this is a generic list, btw, and not all features apply to the cameras you listed). There's the "accessory" support, like auto-iris lens drivers, user-adjustable shutter speeds, serial-controlled onscreen menus, etc. There's the quality of the housing - metal vs. plastic, Lexan vs. glass vs. plastic domes, weather sealing, etc. There's the lens, if one is included (as it is with most bullet or dome cameras) - varifocal vs. fixed, auto-iris vs. not, and just the quality of the optics (particularly glass vs. plastic elements). And there's the sensor itself: with the cheap camera, you don't know what sort of manufacturing quality you're getting. They may be using "factory-second" chips (those that didn't pass the manufacturer's initial QC checks). They may simply be made to lower standards, or with looser tolerances. Or they may be just fine... but that's the chance you're taking. And of course, if you're sourcing from eBay suppliers, there's the standard cautions there - are you actually getting what you think you're ordering? What if you get a bad camera that needs to be returned under warranty? Will you need to pay your own shipping? So many ifs that you don't have when paying more at a local supplier or reputable online seller. So yes, you can set your customers up with the $50 cameras and they'll PROBABLY work fine for them... just make sure to "manage their expectations" so they don't come back later wondering why they can't zoom in on the reflection from a dine-and-dash customer's spoon to see the name on their driver's license, like they'd do on CSI (which you won't get with the $200 Bosch either, BTW).

No... at least not with such a minimal amount of information. There are literally dozens of types of replaceable fuses in use in the world, we have no way of knowing what YOUR power supply needs. Most PSUs I deal with that have replaceable fuses, use automotive-type glass fuses. Some (Pelco in particular) use regular 3AG size, some (like Altronix) use mini-scale 1AG sizes, which are hard to find. Nevertheless, try a local auto-parts store for these types.

Hmmm, it wants me to download and install an app? That's not very convenient. Personally, I like running my own web/ftp server at home... copy files directly to it from my workstation or laptop at home, upload via ftp or VPN when away from home... then I can just provide people a web link when I need them to download something. Great for hosting my own images for embedding in forums, too. Considering just about any old PC will do the trick (mine is a PIII/1GHz), I'm surprised more professionals here don't do it that way.

Yes. We usually use four-conductor "station wire" for power alongside RG59, which is probably pretty similar to what you're looking at. You can also use 18/2, 16/2, Cat3, Cat5, or anything else with at least two conductors of thick enough gauge to handle the current needs. Heck, you could even use a separate coax run for power... just be careful not to mix them up with the video runs!

NO! Simple good quality 3M electrical tape does it all. If you have to do any splicing, especially in hostile environments you can use a quality heat shrink tubing that has hot melt adhesive on the inside. You can safely go under water or direct burial with this stuff. But for 99% of the jobs good quality tape does it all. Agreed! I'll often pack a little dielectric grease (the type sold in autoparts stores for battery terminals) into the connection itself, to prevent corrosion, then just wrap it tight with some *quality* PVC tape, like Scotch 700 - pull it tight as you're wrapping, so it stretches a bit and form-fits the connection. The ONLY time this practice has failed me was on a rooftop installation where the gulls got the end of the tape wrap and proceeded to slowly unwrap it...

Vigil will output IP cameras to multiple monitors in multiple resolutions with their "HD Viewer" application, but it is view-only and not something you'd normally be switching view on regularly. We use it in fuel services to provide paypoint monitors showing the pump and store cameras, and one for the customer-awareness monitor to display the ID camera.

Didn't figure it was. Looks like the innards of a half-dozen mid-grade PTZs I've opened up. No, attachments have been broken for a long time. You need to host the image somewhere (tinypic, imageshack, photobucket, etc.) and link to that. Good info, though!

There's always your friendly neighborhood Radio Shack...

^Yeah, good point, that input is likely line-level; the only mic that would drive it directly would be an old-style carbon or crystal mic (along with terrible sound quality).

Any *dynamic* mic should work without an amp, although you may find an amp is required depending on the sound level you're trying to record. Avoid condenser mics, as they need to be powered, which most often means using a battery - last thing you need is to be replacing a mic battery every few months.

Yes, that one allows you to remove the blades and has multiple slots to reinsert them at different spacings. Most better tools will do this.

Can you provide pictures of this cam? Edit: okay, the info I found on it says it's made by Hitachi and is used as the "guts" for several different manufacturers' PTZ cameras. It's POSSIBLE that the 9-pin ribbon to it can be hooked up directly to power, video and serial control, but there's also a chance that it needs an outboard voltage regulator/power supply, video processing, and/or buffer interface for the RS-232. Best bet might be to contact Hitachi directly for the technical info.

buellwinkle, have you looked at IQEye's cameras? I don't know how the cost compares, but they do have 5MP models that should fit your requirements, and I'm told their SDK is quite well-done. The web interface is also quite extensive and does have full motion-detect, ftp, mail, and other support.

There was a thread on this a little while ago. General consensus, I think, was that it's doable, but not really recommended - it would be preferable to use a spare pair of wire in the runner (possibly on the emergency phone run) with balus to get a signal out.

Wow... and here I was starting to think I was alone in my dislike of Arecont's lousy engineering/design. Don't even get me started (there's already a thread for that: http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=17784).

General consensus, I think, is that a dedicated network is the ideal situation most of the time. Using existing infrastructure is usually possible, and can sometimes be much more efficient if the capability is there, especially in instances suggested in hardwired's post, but keeping your camera traffic as isolated as possible from your regular network traffic (whether via physically separate wiring, or via VLAN) is your main goal.

IP cameras don't use your capture card - they just send the data via TCP/IP network (hence the name). You could probably run your IP cameras side-by-side with your existing analog cameras for comparison. Almost all of them can be viewed via a web interface, so you don't even need your current software to support them simply for comparing images.

A DVR is something you really want to have a dedicated machine for - they tend to be very processor- and I/O-intensive, much moreso than RAM-intensive. I'd be worried about other processes affecting DVR operations, moreso than the DVR processing slowing down other processes. In most cases, I think the hardware drivers (for the capture card) supporting the 64-bit OS would be more of a problem than simply running the software on a 64-bit OS.