CCTV_Suppliers

Just revert back to factory settings... looks like that you do not have the password allowing to check or to change the IP setting of this system...

There are three cards in the system... VACD main, the daughter board and the spot out board... can you check the connection on the spot out card? Internally there are two ribbon cables.. make sure to insert them properly in their respective slots...

The short answer is Yes and Yes... This hardware is no nonsense performer. Delivers goods day or night... I remember Rory (one of our admins in this forum) had shown some outstanding pictures shots... If someone can find them, that will help... By the way, where is Rory? I have not seen him in the forum or reading his articles for a while? We need Rory for the rescue... It is expensive and there is no questions about it. But if you have to have the ultimate solution, nothing comes any close... There may be a chance to come close to this performance using hardware from different manufacturers... By the time the list comes together and the installation complete, the cost basically will be the same. If you want a list of hardware that potentially can give you this type of performance, let us know. It will be combination of hardware from Panasonic, Pentax and possibly housing from another manufacturer and then you have to put them together (more labor and tinkering).

Then the only explanation that makes any sense is that non-US type of systems must come with a different firmware... What storage capacity did this system come with before such repairs commence? I am not sure if you actually are talking to Sanyo in your country, as Sanyo will not give you this type of response.. Their technical support in US is very good and has not failed us yet answering any questions or providing assistance. Is your system takes two 500GB drive or just one? Are you using regular ATA drive or SATA drive with ATA to SATA converter cable?

You can have this problem if the master and slave assignment of your drives are not correct. Also, make sure to change the riboon, as I have seen original ribbon busted... There are no firmware updates that I know about this unit... We are able to add 750GB drives in this unit and combined get 1.5TB internal storage... firmware does support it regardless what Sanyo says. There are no special files you need to upload (like GE recorders) for any additional features... Everything is built in the flash memory.. Dependent how old this unit is and if it is still under warranty and if the problem is within the motherboard, then put the original drive and contact Sanyo and they will replace it...

Andy, the answer yes and yes... Divar series DVRs are mainly hybrid and give you both analog and IP connectivity... If I recall it correctly, there should be (15) different models in this series... Very easy systems to setup and to operate... and the integration to Bosch IP is flawless... Any other questions, let me know.

You are referring to Panasonic CL924A what they call it "Starlight" series of cameras... Installed quite of few... the functionality is actually tremendously better than their 484 series and of course for a price... Unless you need viewing with extremely low light and have true B&W camera, CL924A is extremely expensive. However, if your application does call for it, then cost is well justified... Just make sure to use 1/2" day/night and IR corrected lens with it or one that they recommend (which is a Panasonic lens)... I used Pentax high end lenses with this camera and the picture quality was and still is second to none.

Scorp, you are not rea about this, are you? With your credentials and knowledge of websites and products, you can (or should) reconsider "buying" a business... You have very nice websites... If you do not have online commerce setup, then you should... You can run a simple and yet very profitable business online and advertise for your local area if you want... If you need help, let me know.

To cover this distance and still be able to capture license plates will require at least 100mm lens... Due to the distance and the clarity of the picture to allow viewing license plates, 1/3" camera may not do... It will give you decent picture, but will not be as clear as you may want it. For this type of application, 1/2" CCD based solution what works. I do not know of any minidome that comes with higher than 50mm lens.. The Panasonic minidome mentioned above is a great piece of hardware and with its lens capability, can do some wanders.. but not for this distance. I understand that this is a price sensitive application... and sometimes the budget does not qualify the mean. Here are some suggestion: Pickup good 1/2" day/night camera (approximately $500.00), 1/2" varifocal lens lets say going from 5mm to 120mm (approximately $150.00), put it in a decent outdoor housing (approximately $150.00) and the results will be excellent... This package will cost more than the Panasonic Minidome pricing, but will give you exceptional results. How about MegaPixel camera with 100mm lens? Dependent on the software that you may use, it can give you yet another very decent results.. Pricing again will be higher than Panasonic solution, but it will deliver your requirement.

Are you referring to street traffic, freeway traffic or pedestrian traffic?

The most obvious cause of your description of the problem is the processor fan... and then power supply... Change the processor fan first and see what happens... If it is an original Intel fan, they are dime a dozen and available all over.. if it is a generic 70mm fan (which AD used in the past), they are even easier to find... At the worst case scenerio, it could be the motherboard, but before you change it, go through the basic recommendations above...

Has anyone used these IP solutions from this manufacturer?: http://www.bikal.co.uk/ Looks like they are covering many aspects of the IP software and hardware. If anyone used it before, how does their product line match up with the rest? There are discussions that we may carry their product line, but I want to know if anyone used them and if so, how well they perform. Thanks in advance!

The main reason is that the first drive contains files that you update using special utility available from GE... This utility picks up a slice of the hard drive and adds files (in FAT format) for the purpose of remote connectivity and for some of its internal use. Otherwise, I will suggest not to use 160GB drives, rather go with two 500GB drives and arrange them master/slave properly and the system will recognize both drives just fine. Then contact GE and download the utility that will perform the necessary tasks as explained above and then you are ready... Also, while contacting GE, find get their latest firmware available for your unit, just in case to cover any basis pertinent to fixes that they had over time... Do not waste your money on $78 for 160G drives... seem too expensive and besides, they are obsolete... For about $100+ range, you should get 500GB drives or even higher that will increase your internal storage capacity. One other notation... replace the external power supply (I think it is 5.2A) to their 7.5A unit... this way it will cover all your power requirements. These power supplies run around $100 range, so it is always a good idea to replace them after few years of use. We convert quite of few of these type of systems, so they are fairly simple to upgrade and work great. Use surveillance grade PATA drives either from Seagate or WD... and then you are ready to rock and role...

http://www.gesecurity.com/portal/GESDownload?ID=127&DID=127&documenttype=User%20Manual Look at the page #3...

This is a very simple upgrade... Do not use 160G or even 250G drives. Rather, go straight to 500G PATA drives... Take two of these drives to obtain 1TB internal storage.. Make sure you assign them as master and slave and the internal firmware will automatically recognize both drives and give you combined 1TB internal storage. Dependent when you bought this unit, there may be a firmware upgrade, so when you contact GE, ask if your firmware is up to day and if not, they will give you the latest firmware. Now, you also have to contact GE to obtain a utility (they will give you the url for download) that allows to assign your remote connection... Lastly, I will suggest to replace the external power supply that comes in 5.2A and get the one with 7.5A... While at it, change the CD burner - they are a dime a dozen... Otherwise, not much of anything else could be done... Good luck.

Try http://www.b-tron.com/... they make excellent power supplies too... They are located in New Jersey.. so give them a call.

This model from Panasonic sets the standard for day/night applications for the price... They have newer model coming based on SDV (SD-Five) which is due out any moment that gives a better performance than SDIII... however, the SDIII is ideal for the app that you are referring to... ExView cameras that we have seen were from GE and they work fine... but do not come close to what Panasonic model above can do.

Power supply that you should have gotten is 5A 12VDC... You should consider the next level which is 7.5A... As for the hard drives, there are plenty of surveillance grade drives in the market... try www.newegg.com and others... they are fairly cheap...

Replace both hard drives with two 500GB PATA drives. When done, contact GE's website and there is a utility that will allow you to install few files on the first drive (for mainly remote connection) and it does it automatically. Also, I will suggest to replace the external power supply with higher capacity unit... These units have these generic problems with the power supply and drives, otherwise everything else holds up fairly good.

Before you restore your system, you have to partition your new drive with 8GB storage and make sure it is set active... and the rest of the process is covered in the above url... Any other questions, let us know.

So issues to replace or to add additional hardware.. Dependent how old the firmware is, chances are good that you can install up to 1TB internal storage by using two 500GB PATA drives... Just make sure to assign the Master and Slave jumpers in both drives and they will work find... Sanyo DVRs use hard drives to store video only... and they do not add anything else, like GE does, for processing anything... All the functions are built into the firmware, so it is very easy to either upgrade or to replace drives... Hope this helps..

Great answers... My take always has been more warranty years from known manufacturer, it is better. Warranty aside, what also is very important is how such manufacturer tackles warranty repairs - do they force customers to pay for shipping or absorb such costs as well... All the majors warranty basically is the same except how they handle it... As an example, Bosch covers (3) years warranty and pays shipping costs both ways by shipping advanced replacement overnight - thus far the best warranty procedure in the market. In case of Mitsubishi, they offer (5) years warranty and suppose to cover shipping costs both way, but it is a hit and miss.. Some claim that their warranty does cover shipping costs, but in an actual practice, they back peddle. All the rest give you RMA and wait until you send the defective equipment back and then they repair or replace such equipment, unless such failure occurs during first 30 days... and even then, it is a serious problem. Notion that such companies stand behind their products is a great marketing ploy, but not everyone explain how they do it until you fall in their trap... I see a trend recently that produces even better customer service than what manufacturer offers (besides Bosch at least). Some integrators started to offer the warranties directly bypassing manufacturer warranties, thus improving the rotation and the repairs necessary for warranty equipment. This is not an easy task by any means, as it requires indepth knowledge of such hardware, resources to substantiate such repairs and necessary parts. This also is possible if such manufacturers are willing to discount their systems to substantiate such a venture (most do not). Considering the facts that most DVRs have the basic computer parts - hard drives, power supplies, etc., it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out how to repair most DVRs in the market. Besides proprietary capture cards, software, some special motherboards, most of the other components are common computer parts. Here are items that I you should steer away at any cost... 1.Any proprietary software that requires software key each time you have to change the motherboard. Some of the manufactures believe that each time you change the motherboard that is out of warranty should entitle them a new software key, which will cost a lot. I guess they believe that they can pull Microsoft scheme. 2.Proprietary capture card that is manufactured only by one company. Most majors have their own capture cards, but some actually use prepackaged version of existing common capture cards with different firmware. 3.Run away from special cases that take only one type of motherboard not available in the market. Such cases have motherboard outputs that are available through machined metal cage. 4.Special motherboards that have unique output connectors that are only available from such manufacturers. This way they do limit where you can buy replacements. Such motherboards even come with special monitor connectors limiting someone's upgrade possibilities. 5.Not much anyone can do with embedded systems. Unless they are cheap enough to trash upon failure and replace with new. 6.Newer manufacturers with no recognizable brand names. These are the companies that give our industry the black eye – they come in and sell the products dirt cheap, make some money and leave the industry. 7.Watch the accuracy of the specs – not everything they state in spec sheets are accurate. Ordinary user will not know the difference, however it is our job to educate the end users. This is a very difficult task, as end user do not have time or willingness in most cases to understand facts. 8.Ask questions and participate in forums to observe what others say or think of a product before purchase. Price only should not be the determining factor on such decision. What you find in Costco at a cheap price should not constitute a purchase, just because you are buying it from Costco. 9.Research everything and if necessary, talk to the manufacturer. Compare their biased statements with what other state in the Internet. Find users of the same products and ask direct questions and you can ask users names from manufacturers for a point of reference. 10.Experience does count – it is better to spend more money to have a local support from a local dealer or integrator rather than take the manufacturers words. This way you can visit or talk to such dealer or integrator who hopefully can provide this essential service. In the nutshell, more warranty is better only from reputable companies. What is even better option is to find a company that prolongs such warranties to preserve your investment in such hardware. The best ideas are always the simple ones – make sure that your system is not a closed loop solution, rather it is an open ended, so that you can upgrade your existing setup with less money in the future.

You're welcome!