Soundy

How do you define "pixelated"? Keep in mind that a lot of remote/web viewer setups will recompress the video to take less bandwidth, and that typically means more compression artifacting than viewing directly on the DVR.

You need a "CATV modulator". Try googling that phrase, there are hundreds of products out there.

You'd have to have two or three larger frames (covering 2x2 regular frames), if you want everything to fit perfectly within your 4:3 box.

That's good enough reason right there Correct. Video only requires one pair of wire; you have four pairs available in Cat5e, so you can actually run up to four video feeds over on cable. Yes... or "wall wart" transformers... or whatever sort of power supply (or supplies) is suitable. Correct. Because the wire is such small gauge, however, you usually want to use two of the four pairs for power. For example, I'll usually use (and mind you, this is just my own color scheme; it's not a universal requirement) the blue/blue-white pair for video; green and orange pairs for power - green/green-white both connected to ground or neutral (depending on whether it's DC or AC) and orange/orange-white to V+ or "hot"; and leave the brown pair for future use, or use it for PTZ control if applicable. Depends what you mean by "the only way". Pretty much all cameras have power terminals that need to be supplied; if you're using Cat5e (or any sort of UTP), you can run power over extra pairs in that; or you can power the cameras locally; or you can run separate power feeds alongside the UTP... in the end, that's your choice as to which works best for you. Some baluns simply have a pair of screw or punch-down terminals for video connections... In this case, you'd split off the power pairs yourself. Some have RJ45 jacks on them and split out the power connections internally to a pair of pigtail wires; this is functionally no different from splitting out the power connections yourself, it's just done for convenience and a clean install. It does mean that you have to terminate your runs with RJ45 plugs or jacks, however.

Exposure basics are the same regardless of what kind of camera you're talking about, film or digital, analog or IP, photo or CCTV.

Oops, hit Submit too soon. So, where this would apply here, is if you were monitoring snow conditions, those aren't going to change much in the matter to a few seconds, assuming you use really long shutter speeds. Now in "standard" CCTV uses, you might want to limit the camera to NOT use longer shutter speeds, to avoid blurring of moving objects. However, this could potentially reduce the camera's low-light response in very dark conditions. In an instance where blur is not a concern, such as monitoring snow conditions, it might be acceptable or even desirable to allow the longer shutter times in order to improve image quality.

How would that help? Or does snow look better with a slower shutter? Hello Rory, Admittedly, I am still new to cctv (just got into it about a year and a half ago), and am not 'hip' with setting up shutter speeds yet, so I dont know how that would help. I was just making a guess at why a ski resort 'might' do that, as somebody else had suggested the whole ski resort thing. Excuse my ignorance sometimes when it comes to shutter speeds and focal stops. But hey, thats why I hang out here with you guys! I am still learning a lot about cameras each day Quick primer on exposure: Exposure is a balance of three things: imager sensitivity (whether film or an electronic sensor), lens aperture (the size of the iris opening), and shutter speed (how long it remains open). Assuming the sensitivity is fixed (and ignoring things like AGC and other methods of boosting the signal, just for the sake of illustration), as it gets darker, you need to either increase the aperture to allow more light, or leave the shutter open longer to allow the sensor more time to collect light. Now assume that the iris has reached its maximum aperture, and the camera has reached the limit of its AGC and signal boosting ability, and it's still too dark - the only way to get more light is to increase the time the shutter is open. As long as the shutter is open, it's constantly collecting light from the image it's looking at. If something is moving through the image while the shutter is open, that movement will be captured as blur across the image. The shorter the shutter time, the less movement will occur during it, and the less blur you get. Other ways to get around this are to use a lens with a larger maximum aperture, or a camera with a more sensitive imager, or better gain-boosting circuitry.

Personally, I can't praise Milwaukee tools enough. My dad has used them for years (including the original Sawzall). My first one was their 2.4V cordless screwdriver, that I bought in 1990 when I started working in car audio installations. It was about $220 with the fast-charger and two batteries, but could keep up with the other installers' 7.2V Makita drills in most instances, while being a lot smaller and lighter. It saw 8 years of pretty steady use before the first NiCad battery died completely and wouldn't recharge... the second one went three years after that. Milwaukee still sells the exact same design today, including the same kit with two batteries, fast charger and carry case. Definitely NOT your average "cordless screwdriver".

How would that help? Or does snow look better with a slower shutter? Maybe they just have day night cameras? Maybe they have exview B/W with SDNR? Or maybe they are using a 1/2" EM-CCD or Thermal? Many other alternatives to slow shutter. Slow shutter = slow video. Eg. DSS was introduced as a cheap method of obtaining low light video, instead of using the right cameras which cost more money. I think the point is simply that a slow shutter isn't an issue in this situation, since what they're actually looking at doesn't change much in the course of two seconds (or two minutes, for that matter... or even two hours, most days). There'd be no point in paying big money for advanced low-light technologies when all you want to see is how the snow looks... and thermal would be particularly useless in that instance. alpine0000, forgive rory - he's in the Bahamas, he doesn't know what snow is

Depends on the application. Snow and weather conditions at a ski resort are one such example. Best, Christopher How does that work? Well, the ski resorts around here have cameras mounted at the top of the mountain just to monitor snow conditions, and the probably dont care if the people skiing are a little blurry in the picture. I guess they use a slower lens, or slower shutter speed, but I dont know? If they want to see snow conditions at night, in the dark, then no, they wouldn't worry about a 2s shutter speed.

Just because YOU have never needed in the past, doesn't mean you won't find an instance where it's useful in the future, and certainly doesn't mean it's "useless" to everyone else.

Slow Shutter speed is USELESS for CCTV. Yes, but having the ability to set the shutter speed isn't - not to set it at a low speed, but to lock it at a higher speed, even if it means underexposure. It's usually easier to pull details out of a dim, sharp image than from a bright, blurred one. Edit: and by the same token, there may be instances where it's acceptable to sacrifice shutter speed for better exposure... not necessarily in "standard" CCTV applications like identifying people and vehicles, but in certain circumstances. The point is, it's ALWAYS useful to have more control over your camera's operation.

yeah I just checked the menu setup didnt realise that it was there, typically only find that in Zoom CCTV cameras. Not something one wants to use for CCTV anyway. What isn't? Shutter speed settings? Auto-backfocus? I can think of plenty of times I could have used either...

Hey, on a side note, maybe you can answer something for me: I discovered (while on a site, and only after several different calls to Panasonic tech support, argh!) that the CW484 disables SDIII when you plug into the service jack - drove me nuts trying to set it up when I couldn't access the main output connector. This is apparently a design decision, I can't even begin to fathom why. Have they fixed this with the SD5s?? You're right, these Panasonics are definitely in the "you get what you pay for" category, but even then, there are still some little oddities to be aware of.

Most of these power supplies are the same basic design: a big transformer feeding into a terminal strip, some with fuses inline with each output. Unless you get into something that adds substantial filtering, I don't think you'll see a difference. Check my message again - it really sounds like your problem is related to grounding, especially since it disappears with individual transformers.

Depends somewhat on the number and type of camera (specifically, how much data the switch will be required to handle). One site, I have seven 3MP Areconts channeling nicely through a D-Link DGS-1008D 8-port gigabit switch (a budget model, retails about CDN$55) There are also seven ACTi domes routing through another DGS-1008D, that are having what appear to be traffic-related issues, but those are MPEG-4 vs. the Areconts' H.264, and they're in high-traffic areas, meaning they're streaming a LOT more data through. For smaller installs, I've used a number of D-Link DSS-5+ and DSS-8+ 10/100 switches without problems; some have been running for several years now. I've also used the LinkSys SFE-1000P on a number of sites - it's got eight 10/100 PoE ports as well as two GbE/fiber ports, and works GREAT for running PoE cameras, along with a DVR and NAS plugged into the GbE ports. It's also a bit pricier, I think retails about CDN$300, but they've proven to be a very solid performer.

Fair enough! Yes! Especially if your feed wire is running through the car's firewall and/or under carpeting, fuse it as close to the splice point as possible - this is done to protect the CAR, not the equipment, as a short along the way to the chassis of the car can easily start a fire. Wouldn't happen - a spike like that in a motor is caused by the collapsing magnetic field from the rotor cutting through the fixed magnets' lines of force. In an alternator, that field is created by powering the stator windings, and as soon as you shut off the engine, that power is cut as well - there's no magnetic field TO generate a reverse spike.

Not really. Vehicle power is 12V when the vehicle isn't running and you're drawing from the battery (and even then it can vary by half a volt either way, depending on the condition of the battery). When running, most vehicles' electrical systems put out anywhere from 12.5V to 15V, with 13.5-14.5V being nominal, depending on system load (lights, blower, A/C, defroster, stereo, etc.) and engine RPM. Put a voltmeter on your battery and rev the motor up and down, then start turning things on, and watch how much it changes. Many cameras can handle the variation (some 12VDC wall-warts output up to 18V) but cheaper ones will blow up within hours. Collapsing field from what? A car's voltage regulator doesn't directly filter the power to the automotive systems - it controls the alternator to regulate the voltage that IT puts out. The only thing "behind" the regulator is the alternator itself. Hmmm, wouldn't really do much. It'll smooth ripples in the voltage supply, but won't do anything to alter the wide swing of voltage you see. If you're really concerned about protecting your cameras from your car's power systems, use a small board-type regulator of your own between your cameras and your power feed.

I don't know about that... I recently "repaired" an enterphone camera for a neighboring condo building, that it turned out was suffering from undervoltage. It was someone's DIY design, a board cam with a pinhole lens mounted behind a hole in the the enterphone's front panel, and was showing poor signal, noise, and low contrast. I brought the camera home and found it worked perfectly on my bench for a week, so I reinstalled it and found the problem still there, even on my service monitor. Then I discovered the cause: there was a board regulator inside the enterphone as well, and it was providing only 10.3VDC to the camera. Then I found that it was being supplied by a 12VDC regulated wall-wart inside the building electrical room, and most of the loss was within the regulator itself. I replaced the 12VDDC supply with a 24VAC/20VA transformer and adjusted the regulator for a solid 12V, and all was good. Overclocking is a different thing than overvoltage. The clock rate driving the CPU is increased, which generates more heat, and it's heat that will shorten the life of the CPU. That's why overclockers usually have to increase their cooling capability, getting into things like liquid cooling and what not. Usually, if anything is done with the voltage, it's DECREASED, to help reduce the creation of heat. I don't know that there's any "general knock against bullet cameras" around here. Like anything else, they have their place.

You'll probably want to go with a megapixel camera of some form, 3MP or better to get the most detail possible. There are camera manufacturers that specialize in license plate capture and recognition, others here with more experience in that area should be able to point you to some websites.

I won't argue with rory's assertion that some baluns are crap... I have a whole tray of them that a buddy got for $5 each that don't work at all As rory says, either way you go, you don't need to put power near the cameras - whether you run Cat5, siamese, or separate coax and power, the standard practice is to power all your cameras from a central location whenever possible, usually very near your DVR. Most commonly this is done with some form of 18/2 wire (18 gauge, two conductor), although we usually use station wire (22/4) - it means there's another pair available for future use, a practice that has save us a few times. "Siamese" cable is nothing special - it's just a piece of coax and a piece of 18/2 attached together for convenience. Also, if you do go Cat5e, you don't need baluns to be able to run power over it. Or more to the point, you don't need baluns that INCLUDE power support. You DO need baluns to run video *cleanly* over UTP. Some *include* power connectors, but again, that's just for convenience - those kind of baluns generally cost more, so we generally just use the type that are video-only, and then split off two pairs of the Cat5 and connect them to power ourselves. Generally I would suggest just going with the Cat5e and *quality* baluns; as rory points out, that leaves you the ability to easily upgrade to network cameras in the future. If you really want to cover your bases, you can pull Cat5e *and* coax, then use the coax for video and the Cat5 for power. Or pull all three and be prepared for anything

I think it largely depends on its quality, no much relation with its power supply. Just two models with different specifications. Bingo. Some cameras will handle a range of input voltages, sometimes up to +/-20% of rated supply... some, you'd better use a regulated supply to avoid blowing it up. All depends on the particular design and quality.

Yep, I do agree with this as the price point makes it great for disposable tools. The funny part is there are so many contractors that "forgot" their drill or it "died" an untimely death. Most are good people and it makes everyone's life easier by letting them borrow the tools. They're also good for tools that you use infrequently... like in my coworker's Ryobi kit, the sawzall (sorry, Milwaukee brand name... "reciprocating saw") almost never gets used except for sometimes cutting EMT or PVC conduit or maybe small pieces of wood... the circular saw usually for cutting thin plywood for backing boards or 2x4s. Neither see very heavy use, so lower-cost tools are acceptable.

Not on any PROFESSIONAL equipment I've seen. RCA has a distinct disadvantage in that the connectors don't lock together.

Standard multiplexor will do all that. The VCR output of a MUX typically just flips quickly from one view to the next, synchronized to the video fields recorded in each pass of a helical-scan VHS head. You could feed that into a DVR and get alternating views of each camera - the quality would probably suck, but it would work. Or you could take a 2x2 or 3x3 or even 4x4 grid main-display output of a MUX and feed that into a DVR channel - each portion of the image will be tiny, of course, but it will work as well. We did have one site where there was one camera run going to the gas-pump canopy and they wanted two cameras, so someone (before my time) added a simple video switcher *inside the canopy* to toggle two cameras over one feed into the store. It was painful, because the view usually flipped just as you go to the part of the video you wanted to see.