larry

You looking for concealed or a standard camera. Yes the software comes with the card and Xp is fine.

You are correct Sue, you do not need the DVR. Just purchase the GeoVision card, you might have to also purchase the audio board if it is not built into the card. The card has 4 bnc connectors on it. Buy a security camera. Make sure you get one that is 12vdc; as it will be easier to power. Buy rg59 cable and two piece bnc connectors. Find a place you want to put the camera. I'd suggest an interior wall because fishing the wire will be much easier. When you get the Geo card, I'd suggest installing it into a computer using Win 2K or above. This computer will have to run 24/7, so beef it up if you have to and keep it cool. Install the Geo software. Locate a cool place to put this computer then run the cable, you will have to fish it like cat 5. Now crimp the bnc connectors and hook it up. If it does not work, check your crimps then check power. Read the manual because the Geo has tons of features to play with. You are going to spend more than 350 ( not too much more ) but you'll will be happy with this setup. If you need suggestions on cameras, just ask.

Hello Sue, Welcome to the forum. Do you want complete concealment or just cameras that don't stand out too much. Do you want to store the images and audio, just view the house from the web or both. Also what is your price range?

Hello Chuck welcome to the forum. How did you find it by the way?. It sounds like you are in the same position I was in about a year and a half ago. I had to put a system together and I had to search for weeks trying to piece together information to make a decision. Mind you I have only installed the one system so I can only tell you information based off the what I am currently using. Alright, you are going the PC DVR Card route. Cards: Geovision: I currently use this card. It has been solid for 18 months. Geovision comes out with updates about every three to four month that add more features to the software. They come out so often that I am currently 2 versions behind. TAI Labs: Never used them but I think someone commented about them in another thread on this forum. Bolide: Never heard of them but remember I don't install systems full time. AverMedia: Never heard of them either. G-Max: I went to their site. I would bet that this board is a rebranded Geovision. Im' guessing but the specs sound very similar. "Watch Dog" technology is also a term used by Geovision. DVRCards.com: I saw this site too when I was looking 18 months ago. At that time they did not sell Geovision, I wonder what made them start selling them?. The prices for their "professional" boards were to rich for my blood even though I was not spending my own money. Their boards may very well be better but unless they offer me one for testing, I'd go with the "economy" Geovision any day on price alone. I mean this is for surveillance not MTV Videos, MPEG4 has a very good picture. For 16 cams per card I would go with a minimum of 120fps. Let me mention that any of the cards above will beat the picture you get on tape any day. Digital is better. Another thing to mention is that when you play a recorded video back, it will not be full scene like your tapes on a television. I get a small 5 by 6 inch video when viewed on a monitor at 1024x768. I’m not sure if there is a way to get full screen or not. Computers This is where you want to spend the money in my opinion. Make sure to build server class computers with proper cooling and ventilation. I lost a hard drive due to heat. These things will have to run 24/7 build them solid. As Rory and DVR_Expert have mentioned in other threads, make sure you get surge protectors and a UPS. It sounds like you are going to keep your current cameras?. Please keep posting your questions/updates here. Everyone would be interested to know how this turns out for you.

Which version of the GeoVision software because I may have the need for this ability too. Would I have to buy one of the addons to make it work?.

For a wired system, I think you would be very happy with something like: http://www.bezerkmedia.com/shop/customer/product.php?productid=16200&cat=294&page=1 I have used this card and software and I like it. You would have to add a computer though. You could get a Dell for about $500 bucks or use an existing computer exclusively for this card. The only concern I would have about putting the above system in the home is that the cameras wouldn't go with the furniture. Wireless would be nice but good, and secure, systems are more expensive. You would not want a cheap X10 system because your neighbor could buy a receiver and see exactly what you see. So you would have to go for a high end system that adds some type of encryption. If you have access to your basement and/or attic then I'd say a wired system is your best option.

Hello Rob Welcome to the forum. The fact that you don't need recording is tricky but you cant definatly find what you want for your budget. Actually you can probably get what you want plus recording. I'll see what I can come up with but there are some really sharp people here that can help out as well.

Welcome to the forum DVR_Expert_Australia! Thanks for the tips. This is exactly why I started this forum. I searched for info and could not find enough before I placed the order for the equipment so I had to make guess on alot of it. With 272 installs of Geovision your knowledge is valuable. I have a UPS but did not install the shut down software. I was afraid it would mess up the GeoVision software. I will install it now. Are you saying stay away from Western Digital, IBM, Seagate and Maxtor - or just the first two in the group. Because if all four, who else is there. I will order the extentions when I order the cooling fans.

It is an indoor. Here is the link: http://www.cctvproducts.com/sonelssminfi.html I get about a year out of them then the picture starts to turn yellow then about a month after that it goes black.

Thanks Rory As I said before, I could have used a site like this to put my system together. Maybe somebody could have warned me about those Sony domes I got ( I just mailed another one back for service today ). The trick is getting people here though. I am playing around with getting the site indexed on the search engines now. Hopefully I will have luck with that.

Another nice system Rory. I think people thinking of putting systems together will find this information valuable in their decision making process. In my opinion, readings trials and errors from people who install video systems is much more valuable than reading product brochures.

Welcome to the forum Rory. I have 370 gigs and I am only getting 12 days so I think I may play around with the frame rates to get more time. Are the cameras in this setup triggered by motion detection or do they record continiously?. Also do the cameras get video noise from the cooler lights. I think that is why we are only getting 12 days because the picture "waves" at times from the lights and the software picks it up a movement. The picture quality looks excellent what resolution is that? That's a very nice system. I am sure your clients are happy with it.

Yeah I think with dvr cards the computer is the critical component. I am going to add fans to the harddrives. Lack of proper ventilation was probably the reason behind the HD failure. The fans are only about 15 bucks each and they don't draw much current.

Hello welcome to cctvforum. I'll give this one a shot. I have read that the frame rate is divided among the number of cameras you have on your system. For example, 60fps divided by three cameras means an adjusted rate of 20fps. Smooth motion is about 30fps. For security purposes, I think an average of 10fps would be fine. Keep in mind though that most software used to run dvr cards allows automatic adjustments to the fps. An example would be - say you have 4 cameras on an 60fps card, but you have the cameras on motion detect; meaning they only record when they sense motion. If only two are picking up motion then your recording fps could be 30fps each. So the higher is better but fps really depends on your layout and how many cameras will be recording at one time.

http://www.huttononline.com has one but it is expensive. It's called solacam They even have a live demo www.huttononline.com/solacam

Hello F150 , I can usually get about 12 days worth of video. The cameras are set to motion detect only but sometimes they run at length anyway because of the video noise that the cameras pick up. I found that playing around with masking certain sections of the view helps but not in all situations. So is that go or bad? larry

Hello Cloak welcome to the forum. I never heard of TAI Labs but I have personally used geovisions gv800 which is a 16 camera card. I have had no complaints. I will actually be providing a full description of my system soon in the system design forum. Larry