Visible distortion troubleshooting

[stevefpi 0]

OK, quick rundown on what we have:

 

-Homemade computer running Windows 7 enterprise

-Q-see 8 Channel Software H.264 Real Time Recording PC Based Network DVR PCI-E Card. Product Model Number: QSDT8PCRC

-8 cameras:

4 x Outdoor 6mm Color CCD 420TVL Camera - 30ft Night Vision. Product Model Number: QD28414

4 x Outdoor 3.6mm Color CCD 420TVL Camera - 30ft Night Vision Product Model Number:QD28414W

-SuperDVR 6.3.2.3- DVR Card Access Program

 

For power we're using the q-see provided 8 camera power adapter. Cables are all q-see made and came with the cameras.

 

Our problem: Test of the setup showed no initial problems but on two separate occasions (and two completely separate locations) we're seeing a full image wobble type effect in the feeds. See example at:

 

http://www.parafpi.com/images/test.avi

 

We're seeing it on multiple feeds and it comes and goes.

 

Any ideas as to what is causing this and how to stop it would be greatly appreciated!

[D.V.S. 0]

I had to watch the video numerous times to see a wobble effect. Very slight shaking. You might see if any vibrations are causing the camera to shake ever so slightly. I have an outside camera mounted on the house beam, and everytime I close the gate the video from that camera "wobbles". Check if any vibrations are causing this first. If not then I would recommend you using rg59 coax cables if you are using those thin q-see cables.

[rory 0]

I dont see any wobble? I see blurring from low bitrate and in low light. Do you see this with all the lights on, or just under IR in the dark?

[D.V.S. 0]

I dont see any wobble? I see blurring from low bitrate and in low light. Do you see this with all the lights on, or just under IR in the dark?

 

Lol. Me too at first. The "wobble" is most notable in the last few seconds of the video. Very slight though.

[tomcctv 187]

I dont see any wobble? I see blurring from low bitrate and in low light. Do you see this with all the lights on, or just under IR in the dark?

 

 

its not a wobble. the guy is just shaking his head. for qsee cameras/cables/powersupplies. at least you have a picture

[stevefpi 0]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I can say for sure that the camera is not moving. We see this on all 8 cameras and all are placed in various positions around the location. I have not checked if the wobble appears in the visible as we mostly always use the IR. I'll check that asap.

 

At one point, one of the q-see cables got wonky so we replaced it with a coax. I'll check that and see if the wobble is present on that feed as well.

 

I'm open to any and all ideas at this point. Thanks!

[SEANHAWG 1]

Yeah, if anything is Wonky about the Q-see products, its definetely their cable. Its Wonktastic.

[stevefpi 0]

Lovely,

 

Can anyone suggest good cabling preferably ones that have the power included with the signal? Manually stringing out cabling for each camera is a pain in the butt already and I don't want to double that.

 

Thanks

[Soundy 1]

That sort of "wobble" can often be caused by electrical interference, usually by cabling running too close to strong EM sources like fridge motors, fluorescent light ballasts, etc. With cheap systems like this, it's also possible that EMI getting into one cable run is affecting all of them intermittently. Check the locations of your cable runs before you go to the effort of replacing them all...

[Birdman Adam 0]

The camera may also be shaking from a very slight vibration; one that you can't see or feel. For example, a refrigerator kicking on may slightly vibrate a camera sitting on the floor.

[stevefpi 0]

I'm fairly confident that it's not actual motion of the cameras themselves. We've now had cameras spread out over a location and we see the effect happen on all cameras at the same time. The firs ttime I noticed this, I had the DVR setup right next to a fridge that was kicking out a huge EM surge everytime it cycled on. (stupid, I know!) So I chalked it up to that. Now we've had the unit in locations where it's not setup next to a high EM source and we still see it.

 

I've got alot of options to test, thanks for all the great ideas!

[rory 0]

Yeah thats another thing the camera or cable could be run near some high voltage. That type of ready made cable is more likely to pick up interference.

[stevefpi 0]

We recently had all 8 cameras running for a long period of time and tonight I was able to compare them. Two cameras showed the wobble distortion and the rest were fine. 7 of the 8 cameras were on the same floor as the two showing the distortion and in both cases, the problem cams had a working normally cam running in the same room.

 

I'm now pretty confident that the problem is cable related. If the placement of the DVR (being near a high EM field) was the problem, I'd suspect that all cams would show the same behavior at the same time. If it was cabling being strung near a high EM field, I'd see the same behavior from all cameras in the same room because the cables coming out of the room are strung together. I'll do some testing on all cables and see if I can't find the culprits. We setup and tear down the cabling each time we use the cameras so we might not have been as careful as needed and wore out the cables quickly.

 

Damn Q-see. I've dealt with their support before and it was not fun. I guess I'm in the market now for more robust cabling that can handle the signal and power for all 8 cams. Lovely, more money to spend that I don't have!

 

Thanks to everyone who commented, your ideas were extremely helpful!

 

Cheers