gordonh

Hmm, just tried to download this 'free' remote viewer and you have to pay to download files from the site. So the program itself is free, but you need to pay for the right to download a particular group of files. Must be an odd meaning of the word free.

And yet the UK gov spends all its time telling us that kids are lazy and stay in bed all day, this one was up at 5:30am.

I've posted a link to this kit before but will do it again. http://www.aban.co.uk/4-sony-13-effio-e-700tvl-cameras---dvr-complete-security-kit---smart-iphone-remote-access-2281-p.asp I used this place a few times for cameras, and 700 line cameras are a lot better than the 420/480 ones you get from most kits. I doubt you will get 30fps D1 on all channels, and most people on here normally suggest that 6-7fps D1 is normally good enough. They have other kits that include 4cams and an 8ch DVR which might be a better solution for you to expand into later.

Well if I minimize the window I will no longer be able to see changes in the footage. I can have a browser open with the feeds on it but a tidier solution would be a simple screen without all the extra bits/buttons around it, and even better if it could be locked to stop accidental closing.

It looks like my DVR won't do RTSP, my fault for getting the lower end one I expect. I just installed the PSS software and that goes some way to doing what I want as I can setup a view with a number of cameras above each other and just drag that to where I want it. I did think 'great idea lock it to stop it moving/closing' and then the damn thing shot to the middle of the screen DOH! Thanks for the try though.

Does anyone know of a widget that would allow me to place a single camera feed on my desktop from my DVR? I can set up a webpage to view the DVR feed but that requires me to have that browser at the front all the time. I use dual widescreen monitors and often have desktop space that I could still see whilst doing other things, if I could place a camera feed in there I would spot a movement and then go back to the full browser window if I want. I'm running Windows 7 64-bit and a Dahua DVR. Alternatively, is there a URL format that would allow my to stream a single camera to a window instead of opening the full interface?

You can still get a free service from DynDns as long as you use the forwarded URL at least once every 30 days. I just keep forgetting to do this and end up having to restart it, so gave up and paid the $20.

Every time I look at the Maplin deals there is nearly always something wrong with the setups. I've been looking for a simple setup for my parents and currently looking towards a setup from Aban Technology. 500GB 4-chan DVR with network access 4x 700TVL cameras with cables etc for £300

Probably something like FRAPs (www.fraps.com), it's normally used to screen capture movie files from games but no reason why it wouldn't work for any other screen video. There are also some free alternatives out there too. I expect there is also a CCTV optimised version out there too. The only problem would be that you are only playing back all the videos at smaller than the max size so if the police need to ID people you might also need full screen vids too.

If all you are over is a live view so you know what is happening, do you really need HDMI ? Also, what inputs does your 'media hub' have ? Chances are that it'll have some form of composite in so you could just get a reasonably cheap 600TVL dome and a BHC-phono adapter and plug that into it.

There are a bunch of small motorcycle trackers on the market that could be used, I think they have a GSM sim in them that reports it's position to a server and then you log on there to view the location. If the cars you want to track are 'friendly' you could use Google Maps and Latitude to track their smart phones.

I have a Dahua DVR and it has a monitor out and a BNC vido out. Most modern TVs seem to have a VGA socket on the back so that will work, but the other option would be to put a BNC to phono plug on the video out and plug that into the composite in on the TV. I doubt that the browser on the smart TV will be able to handle monitoring the DVR over the network. Alternatively, depending on the smart TV, some are starting to consider putting Android on them (or an external Andriod set top box) and run the Android App to monitor the DVR instead.

Using the web interface the Prerecord is on the Schedule page.

Instead of buying expensive long VGA cables, could you not just use a phono lead from the video out of the DVR and run that to the TVs in the house with a view splitters to feed them all at once? It might not give a perfect picture but it'll be useable, cheap and much thinner cable than anything else.

Not sure if you can use BBC iPlayer outside the US but here's the link http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b019gb3t/Burglar_in_the_House/ I expect it'll appear via other sources soon as well in the same way Top Gear does.