Soundy

Ummmmm okay.

I thought about that but I firgured on not going out more than 10'-15' from the house with the camera views and masking out certain areas. Doesn't matter how carefully you mask it, you'll still get false triggers... probably right in the middle of the Superbowl-winning touchdown or the photo-finish at Daytona or something equally frustrating. It would be better to trigger such a system with PIRs or tie it into the doorbell or something. If the TVs are "Smart" TVs, it may be possible to set them up so the signal pops up in a window or something... if you have a DVR that will work in a non-IE browser, you should be able to get it in the TV's browser; then you don't have to run separate wiring to the TVs.

Was a spam post that I deleted. Don't worry about it. It's possible the problem is just the cameras ("Effio 700TVL" doesn't mean anything on its own), although the cables sound pretty low quality. Baluns are designed for use with twisted-pair or similar wire, for example, to use network cabling instead of coaxial/power wire. Using UTP and baluns may be an improvement over the cheap included cables... but it won't help the image if the cameras are crap.

What are the DNR and SBLC settings?

Basically doing the same as motion-activated recording with 15s pre- and post-record, but triggered, I would guess, by an accelerometer rather than scene change in the video.

If you're using Cat5 and baluns, go with one of these: http://www.easterncctv.com/accessories/ev04p-vps.htm We've used the 16-channel versions on our last two big installs (two per site) and they've been working great. Baluns and power supply all in one unit - combine with baluns like this: http://www.easterncctv.com/accessories/ev01p-vp-t.htm and it makes UTP installation about as plug'n'play as it gets. Only other thing you need then is a set of short BNC patch cables from the VPS unit to the DVR.

Not really... the wire is slightly larger (23ga) but that doesn't really gain you much. The shield might be useful in a REALLY noisy environment, but most of the noise rejection is already handled by the twisted pair and the balanced line. I've been using these: http://www.easterncctv.com/accessories/ev01p-vp.htm They go really nicely with these: http://www.easterncctv.com/accessories/balun-vps.htm Power supply and multichannel balun in one unit makes it SO painless... Whatever.

Only thing you have to worry about with analog cameras is that both use the same video standard - NTSC for North America, PAL for most of Europe and Asia. Unless you're getting hinky gear from some random fleaBay seller, there normally won't be a problem. There are certainly other, more expensive systems, but the Dahua and CNB setup is top-notch for the money (I could get you into a $3000 PC-based DVR with all the bells and whistles ) I'm in Canada too, and find dealing with Nelly's to be a piece of cake.

Why not post a link to the manufacturer? http://www.everfocus.com/product.cfm?productid=1639

And as a further complement to the "DVR screenshots" thread, here's one for NVRs and VMSes. To kick it off... a few from a Vigil v6 hybrid system.

Same concept applies, though - if your cameras and recorder together draw even 2A, that's 48Ah that they're going to use up running for 24 hours straight. Leave it over the weekend, you're pushing well over 100+Ah (Friday afternoon to Monday morning). That's a substantial drain on any car's battery, and thus why you'd want to consider a separate battery for it.

So I figured this could be a complement to the "Megapixel camera demos" thread, showing the web setup pages or config apps for various IP cameras. To kick it off, this is what the setup looks like for an IQEye IQ511 camera:

^That belongs in the other thread: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=11322

IR-corrective lens coatings and optics FAR predate commercial CCTV...

"Officer, he ran away, tripped over the edge of the curb, and fell on his face. Six times."

Fiber would normally just be another way to carry an IP network... copper or glass will make no difference to the image quality, it's all just digital data. Either way, I'd just have the analog cameras running directly back to the head end using Cat5 and baluns, then plug them all into the encoder there. ?

^And for those worried about giving up their email address, IPVM is a trusted site

In my experience, yes, that's the norm - I've never actually set one up to mirror the image... but as I say, I HAVE seen the option available in a few monitors. Remember, the idea is not for people to sit and study themselves in it, it's just to let them know that they ARE on camera. Reversed or not, seeing themselves there as they walk under it gets the point across about as good as it's going to be gotten.

That's why you'd either use a laptop hard drive, or ideally an SSD. Except... If it was me... I'd use a small mobile DVR (okay, IDEALLY I'd use a Vigil MVR model, but that's getting a bit spendy) mounted in the trunk (boot) along with a small-ish battery, probably something like a motorcycle battery. A battery isolator goes at the front, and a 16-14 AWG wire goes from there to the rear battery - this is standard practice for high-drain mobile equipment, so that the alternator powers the gear and keeps the battery charged while running, and the battery powers the gear when it's not, all while keeping the gear completely separate from the starter battery (remember that the battery's original purpose was simply to crank the starter!). All my cameras would tie into that, and then the output would feed into an in-dash DVD/Nav system. I've always wanted to embed a small board camera in the outer end of my passenger mirror to be able to better see around the jerk in front of me so I'd have one there, plus one in the back for a backup camera (that could, of course, double as an "event" camera). Then you get the dash camera, and for security, a pinhole cam with a fisheye lens in or around the dome light to capture the entire interior. As for the type of battery, keep in mind that you want something that will keep the system powered even if you don't go anywhere for a few days, so over-spec'ing the capacity doesn't hurt. Normally the most my work van will sit is over the weekend, but there are times that I work from home and it may not move all week (for a total of *nine* idle days). A deep-cycle battery is preferred for this, as they're designed to support extended, steady drain, rather than supplying large "bursts" of cranking current.

No - the "IP" is short for "TCP/IP", which is the same network protocol as the Internet uses (in fact, "IP" itself stands for "Internet Protocol". In other words, they're network cameras; to record them, you need a "hybrid DVR" that can record them via the network, or an NVR (Network Video Recorder).

If there's even minimal ambient light, you can get by with a *good* true-day/night camera and no IR at all... otherwise, you need to look at longer-wavelength IR (930nm and up)... but you also need cameras that are sensitive to those wavelengths; the IR and cameras will both be more expensive.

I dont believe a Brit or Canadian would spam their site like this, has to be some [enter foreign 3rd world country] company that makes money based on ads .. or their address is total BS. Wow, lucky guess - his IP resolves to China!

You have to run wires to the front anyway, if you want to put a camera in the back... and where will the DVR go? Guessing the boot would be the best place for that too... You don't need a huge wire for the secondary battery anyway - just a positive lead sufficient for charging current and running the DVR/cameras (16 gauge at most, I would think). Everything gets grounded to the car chassis.

Not really viable - actual CCA (cold cranking amps) required may vary with weather, temps, etc. Battery voltage alone won't give a good indication. You could simplify the concept with a small gel-cell battery and a charging circuit for it, then just run the system off that... really, a small RV or motorcycle battery shouldn't be THAT expensive.

Or power the cameras and recorder off a separate car battery (deep-cycle type preferred), and keep it charged using a battery isolator (usually available from RV/camper shops) - that way the video system never drains your primary car battery.