Soundy

You could use a transistor buffer or opto-coupler to allow the 3.3V to trigger a standard relay... most small relays are going to be either 12V or 5V.

That would make more sense. Vigil uses MAC-based software keys - when you install it, you're prompted for the card type, or you can select "NVR", which simply installs it without card drivers.

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Keep in mind that a capture card has NO (direct) effect on the IP video. A software compression card may put excessive load on the CPU, but IP video does not use the card at all. I'd tend to suspect the difference in in the software itself, and its handling of the H.264 video.

Vigil DVRs can accept the serial POS data and log it in a searchable database, perfectly synchronized to a related camera (each terminal number can be assigned its own camera). When playing back video, the corresponding line in the POS display is highlighted; when selecting any line in the POS display, the associated camera is displayed at that exact time. Great thing about the POS database is that it's completely searchable, something you can't do with video-embedded text. There are other DVRs that will do this, of course... this is the one I'm familiar with, though. edit: found it! ap89dschKlA

Both/either? Some of these come with Bluetooth as well, so you could use a BT mouse/keyboard.

Realtime POS text overlay is SO 1992. Transaction data logging in the DVR is so much more efficient, effective, and powerful.

Sounds like you're getting dropped B-frames and things clear up once there's another I-frame. I had the same problem when I tried it on a Vigil V6 system (the first version that included generic support for custom RTSP streams), and it got a lot better with V7's implementation. See if Aver has an update for their RTSP support. Try playing with the framerate, bitrate, and CBR vs VBR, to see if it's a bandwidth problem, and try reducing the I-frame interval. If the software has a pre-buffer setting (I'm not familiar with the Aver software), try matching the pre-buffer time to the I-frame interval; note that the camera specs it in number of frames, so for example, at 10fps, a 10-frame interval would equal one I-frame per second... so you'd want a 1s pre-buffer.

^Yup... same idea:

CMOS cameras by nature are progressive-scan, AND are direct digital-to-digital output (addressing the Mpix video's "digital-analog-digital" claims). The vast majority of megapixel cameras you find will use CMOS sensors. There's nothing inherently wrong with it.

Rewire with Cat5e and your total cost for IP drops by about $1000. Plus, you can use your analog cameras with it initially and then upgrade easily.

Too late now, of course, but for future reference: the only problem with this thinking is that many (most?) of these types of kits use cameras, DVRs, and pre-made cables with proprietary connectors... making it virtually impossible to upgrade just one thing at a time. If this system is like that, upgrading will be an all-or-nothing venture ("all" including the cables).

Most (but not all) require you to power both sending and receiving units. Most tend to be a bit on the larger side - might fit a dual-gang, but would need a single-gang to be fairly deep. Keep in mind these things normally start around $100/set and prices go up sharply from there (realistically, plan on $250-$300/set).

I picked up a little Android media player for $89, does the job as well - same "IP Cam Viewer" app as on my phone.

I thought you were testing the Dahua 3MP Box cam with a Fujinon lens on it? Or am I confused again, after my recent heart attack? Den I used four of the ES 3MP box cams on another site. Didn't test them on this particular site, although I did test the 2MP ES dome.

If your TV runs Android, then you should be able to use the same app as you would on a tablet or phone. Otherwise, your choice of cameras will depend entirely on the capabilities of your TV's browser. On my Sony Blu-Ray player, for example, my IQEye cameras' interface doesn't work (uses ActiveX or Java), but I can pull a direct still JPEG image from it with http://(camera ip)/now.jpg; however, and a live MPJEG stream with http://(camera ip)/now.jpg?snap=spush. If the browser supports H.264 RTSP streaming, you should be able to view most H.264 cameras on it.

And in fairness, a high-quality "SD" lens will probably give better results (up to a point) than a really cheap "MP" lens. But then, that's the case with cameras themselves as well. IR is a whole other matter too, as IR light focuses differently than visible light, and if you have a TDN camera, you really want a IR-corrected lens that has optics designed to compensate for this fact. Without, you'll often find the image goes soft when switching to night mode, as the IR spectrum of the image will be slightly out of focus.

It's not. All of those make MP-specific lenses...

I believe I already explained that:

That's not actually what I was saying... sensor size is a different issue. And as long as the lens is rated for a LARGER sensor than the camera has (eg. a 1/2" lens on a 1/3" sensor), you should have no problems. I was talking about the "resolving power" of the lens - its ability to render detail. Or in short: the quality of the optics. Typical CCTV lenses tend not to be the highest-grade optics, because they don't need to be with the low-resolution cameras. As you get into higher resolution cameras, any flaws, software, aberrations, etc. in the lens become more apparent... and so you need a better lens to get the full benefit of the camera.

Camera sensors are sensitive to a wide spectrum of light beyond what human eyes can see, particularly infrared. With B&W sensors, the extra spectrum can be beneficial at night, as there's more ambient IR than visible light. With color sensors, though, the ambient IR can adversely affect the color balance and even the exposure level. So color cameras have an IR cut filter that blocks the IR wavelengths. However, this lowers their effectiveness at night. "Standard" day/night color cameras are usually just color cameras without the cut filter, so at night they get the extra light (and switch to B&W for clearer image and less noise), but tend to have poor color rendition in the day. "True" day/night cameras have a movable IR cut filter that sits in front of the sensor when it's in color mode, but moves aside when the camera switches to night mode. That's why you'll hear a "click" when you power up your 24VF.

Main thing I can see is that the cheaper one is a video iris type, which most cameras don't support. With video iris, the camera mainly just provides power to the lens, and the lens itself controls the iris. Video iris used to be a lot more common, but not so much these days. Most cameras that do auto-iris these days, use a DC iris lens, where the camera controls the iris. One other consideration: for best clarity, you want to use a megapixel-rated lens, preferably one rated for the camera resolution you're using (ie. minimum 1.3MP lens if you're using a 1.3MP camera).

You don't use baluns with coax, you use it with twisted-pair. For coax, you want just BNC connectors. Exactly how you attach them will depend on the specific type, whether twist-on, compression, or crimp-on.

1. Don't do it. 2. Don't do it. 3. Especially don't do it if the camera has IR. 4. DON'T DO IT.

Better yet, tell them if they have a problem with your cameras, they're welcome to file a complaint... with the police. Seconded. IR is the hallmark of a low-grade camera that NEEDS the extra illumination. These are low-profile domes with smoked plastic bubbles, so they're unobtrusive, and it's difficult to see where they're pointing.