Sawbones

Yes... don't neglect the bullets (the projectile kind, not the camera kind). Early warning via camera only does you good if you have some method to respond to the intruders... and dialing 911 isn't a fast enough option in most places. You'll need help in seconds, not minutes.

You really need to work a PC somewhere in there, and split the VGA/DVI monitor output to where you want it to go. I did this with my own system. I piped the second output over Cat5 to a completely separate location (I suppose you could pipe it to wherever you're injecting the RF into the cable system). The client's going to be damned disappointed with the picture quality if he's just going with RF. You've gotta talk him into something else... I suspect he's NOT going to be happy with the way that setup is going to look.

Yep. I'm using a couple of those tubular lens-ended jobbies right now, and they're actually pretty functional for narrower areas. A couple of those would probably cover that driveway.

For that limited a budget, your best bet is probably Ebay. I reviewed a bunch of the common illuminators in this thread: http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=13935&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0 Pick what you like best.

Nothing that's going to be effective. Look at your high-end domes and PTZs... I don't know of a single one that actually has integrated IR. I've used cameras with and w/o IR, and I've moved to the latter with separate illuminators. [/code]

Does anyone know if Nuuo has a demo version available for IP cameras, ala Exacq, and Video Insight?

I'm demo'ing a VI system right now, and I have to say it's working well. The Exacqvision demo software was unstable... kept crashing on me. Luxriot doesn't offer a full demo, and while they claim to support Acti cameras and mexapixel, they don't list a single Acti megapixel camera model under their supported models. Pays to read the fine print.

I'd just add some extra outside lighting... that's your easiest and cheapest route to go. Virtually ANY camera works better with more light, and you'll avoid the slower shutter speed problem. It doesn't have to be daylight-bright, since most of these cameras will automatically slow the shutter speed a little bit as the available light drops. You may only need a few floodlights to substantially improve your image quality. A 3MP image should look pretty stinking good... it might be the monitor you're using to view the image. Have you looked at it on a higher resolution monitor? I usually have my desktop set at 1280x1024, and even that won't begin to show a full 3MP (2048 x 1536) Mobotix MEGA image. *********** Edit ************* And mismatch between LCDs and the image your DVR is putting out is a frequent cause of bad image quality. There's often nothing wrong with the image once it's on a regular CRT monitor.

That camera will not work well for motion at night. Look at the shutter speed difference in those lux ratings: 1/60 versus 1/1 The latter is a very slow shutter speed; an entire second, if I'm reading it correctly. This will result in better low-light images (hence the lower lux rating), but very poor low-light motion images.

Sometimes you're simply better off with multiple illuminators. Not only does it give you better coverage, but you're not completely blind if one of them goes Tango-Uniform.

Agreed. Unfortunately, many manufacturers confuse the issue by specifying low light lux values without specifying the shutter speed. That low lux value in the data sheet may look promising, but without a shutter speed, it may be 2 seconds, which is useless for motion. Best, Christopher That's exactly right. Without a shutter speed, you have no idea how long that shutter is open. Ever seen those funky "freeway at night" pictures? Here's a good example: The reason you're seeing the funky motion effect in that picture (eg. blurred lines instead of discrete car headlights/tail-lights) is because the shutter speed used in that picture was too slow to capture the action. Hence, the light "smears" across the film instead of showing up as a discrete pinpoint. A CCTV camera with an artificially low shutter speed (to gather more light) will do exactly the same thing, rendering any object in motion as nothing more than a smear across your monitor.

LOL.

Night is the real test... particularly motion at night. I've had plenty of cameras that provided excellent pictures during the day, but were absolutely worthless at night. The "low light" cameras that slow down the shutter speed to increase the light gain? Those are fine for static images, but absolutely suck eggs when it comes to anything moving. Avoid such cameras, otherwise you'll end up with a motion blur that's completely unrecognizable. Consider adding supplemental light sources if you really need to see at night.

As far as bathroom windows are concerned, I say, let'em point a camera my bathroom window! If they like what they see, well, great! If they're horrified and go blind from what they see (more likely in my case), then it serves'em right. Hah! " title="Applause" /> Well played, Sir.

I'm currently evaluating video management software for a purely IP-based camera installation (my own). Some of our esteemed forum members have been kind enough to provide me some demos of their products, but one product that was suggested is Avermedia's new IP-only software. Anyone used it? Anyone have a compatibility list for it? Anyone know hardware requirements? Avermedia's website was VERY thin on details, and I'd like to know more, and preferably even find a demo version to evaluate. I'm referring to the NXU8000.

Very nice... thanks.

VST_Man speaks the truth. And it's not only weather-related events. If you have day-night cameras, you'll get a "motion detected" event every time the camera switches from day to night mode, or vise versa. If you watch the video, you can clearly see the IR-cut filter being removed from the lens, and it's triggered the motion detection in every DVR, camera server, or software package I've ever used. You're much better off using the motion detection to trigger a "chime" function in your home alarm, rather than the alarm itself... similar to what happens when a door opens (most alarms have a "door chime" function that you can link to any zone, including the I/O input from your DVR). That way, you're alerted to motion if you're home, but it's not setting your alarm horn blaring every time a tree sways in the breeze.

Yes. Most have a built-in photocell, so you simply wire them up and forget about it. Howver, some do not, even some of the higher-end models. I have a couple of American Dynamics illuminators (AD1020 series). I don't think they're making them anymore, but they have great performance, and run off of 12V (actually 13.3V, but we're not splitting hairs here) Unless you buy the PSU to go with it (they're quite expensive... to the tune of about $700 each), you have to wire up your own photocell. Or you could just put it on a timer.

Here's an idea of what a bright laser will do to a picture... found this on candlepower forums. Bear in mind that this isn't even directed into the camera lens; this is just backscatter. http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/8178/lazor002tt7.jpg Is that the kind of effect you were looking for?

You really want to blind his cameras rather than damage them? Focused beam-of-light would do it, with the spectrum dependent on what time of day you're attempting to block. A very bright light will screw up the white balance in his daytime images, and an IR light will screw up his night-time view. For night-time use, maybe pick up a cheap IR illuminator (or laser) from Ebay and see how big the spot is. In the case of a laser, if the divergence (beam spread) is wide enough, and sufficiently low power, it won't physically burn out his camera... but it will effectively blind it. It's not unlike the "laser dazzler" concept currently being developed by US and NATO forces to temporarily blind opposing forces. A bright light source focused directly on the camera from within the camera's view will effectively "bloom" out his picture. Give it a shot. You'll know it's working if he starts monkeying with his cameras, or ***es at you about the lights. EDIT: how high-end are his cameras? If he has wide-dynamic range, you may have more trouble. I can't find a good picture to adequately describe what I'm talking about. Now that I think about it, I have an extra camera or two laying around, and a few lasers. I might have to trash a camera just so we can all see what it looks like.

I'm not presuming to speak for other members, and I certainly can't presume to speak for the mods, but I'd wager that plenty of people arrive here looking for information on CCTV... that IS what the site is all about. Many undoubtedly start out looking for information on the hows/whys of the concept, but once that has been satisfied, they're probably also looking for places to get the equipment. We have banner ads on the site, and those undoubtedly generate revenue to keep the entire enterprise going... but I'm talking about something additional. I'm sure the mods don't want people endlessly plugging their business in threads about general information... that kind of forum spam would quickly drown out the useful information, and that's not what the site is intended to do. HOWEVER, that would be entirely different from having a sub-forum where you could go to see who in your area deals in the equipment you've decided upon. Something like "Check here for CCTV pros in your area." People can go there, see who deals in their region, and decide who they want to contact... It can be a completely neutral list, and doesn't have to be ranked in any way (I think the guys on this forum who are consistently helpful and take their time to answer the questions of newbies might garner a bit of extra business that way). It might be nice for those guys to get some return out of the hours they spend here answering questions, and generating goodwill not only for themselves, but also for the industry in general. Take this for what it's worth. My business is healthcare. I'm not a CCTV dealer... I'm a hobbyist; I have no commercial interest in this whatsoever. Just a thought.

Don't know what else I have in my photobucket account... let me look. EDIT: I don't have any handy... I'll have to grab a few screen shots and post them up. I should have them tomorrow or the next day. All I have is night shots, which you already have. EDIT2: Here are a couple of screen-shots from tonight... These are both from Pano domes of the exact model you're looking for, and both are illuminated with IR (both scenes are absolutely pitch-black to the naked eye). I'll see if I can grab you a few daytime pics when I get the chance: EDIT3: Here are some daytime images: Note: All of these images are screen grabs from Axis 241Q video servers.

Agree... probably your LCD being finicky. I've had better luck with the LCD TV/Monitors, rather than simply using an LCD monitor. The TV/monitor combos seem to support more modes than regular LCDs.

One additional thought: Depending on how long your power cable is (and the gauge of the wire), you may be getting enough voltage drop over that wire to render the camera non-functional. Take a multi-meter with you when you check out the camera connection, and test the voltage at the camera end.

I've also looked at the Mobotix cameras, and I'm sure there are dealers here who could get you what you need, but I don't know who here retails them. That could really be a nice feature for this site... create a "dealers" list where you could look up who deals in what, and maybe pick a distributor geographically close to you... Come to think of it, the fact that I've never seen anything like that here doesn't mean it doesn't exist... do we have anything like that, and I just don't know about it? Mods?