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480TVL vs 600TVL vs 700TVL vs 800TVL on D1 DVR

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Seller1: We have good TVL cameras and we record at D1 resolution

 

Seller2: We have HIGHER TVL cameras and we record at D1 resolution so we are BETTER.

 

Is this true? or just a sales thing?

 

For me the real deal breaker here is the recording playback, will they look the same? is there a big difference?

 

Is it like comparing raster image vs vector image?

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TVL number indicates horizontal resolution. 480 TVL could be very old. The more TVL, the newer sensor. It is highly likely to carry the newer & advanced image signal processor at the back end chipset for the analog camera.

As to DVR side, not camera, where compression and storing is taking place, D1 is the conventional video format, around 720 Pixel Width X 480 Line or 576 Line. The newer one is 960H (960WX 480 or 576 Lines), wider(33% more resolution) than the conventional D1.

To me, the deciding factor of analog video quality is the Lens, as long as TVL is over 640 TVL.

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Sorry, but TVL specs, as most manufacturers state today, are BS. TVL are supposed to be measured by counting the number of alternating vertical black and white lines that can be discerned in a square section of a monitor whose width is equal to the total screen height. The purpose of using less than full monitor width is to eliminate variances caused by different aspect ratios.

 

NTSC's maximum TVL capability is actually around 520-540TVL using that measurement method. PAL is similar but allows a bit better horizontal resolution. At some point, some manufacturers decided to ignore the rules for TVL measurement and started counting lines across the entire screen width. So 540TVL became 720 (rounded off to 700) TVL (540/3*4=720). Eventually most manufacturers followed suit so now we have 600+TVL cameras (basically 450TVL),700TVL cameras (basically 525TVL), etc.

 

Then comes 960H. It is incompatible with standard definition encoders and DVRs and requires both 960H cameras and 960H encoders or DVRs to provide any resolution increase. But then again, so do 600TVL and 700TVL cameras because standard definition devices are limited by their own resolution, no matter what resolution you feed them.

 

So to answer your question, you will not likely see any improvement with 600TVL, 700TVL or even 960H cameras when fed into a 4CIF/4SIF/D1 encoder or DVR.

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However, if you're choosing between an old 480tvl cmos camera, which most likely doesn't even include TDN, and a 650tvl CCD effio camera with TDN, you'll for sure see a difference between those two cameras. TVL number aside, avoid cheap old cameras which usually are of the 400 to 480 tvl variety. They're cheap for a reason.

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However, if you're choosing between an old 480tvl cmos camera, which most likely doesn't even include TDN, and a 650tvl CCD effio camera with TDN, you'll for sure see a difference between those two cameras. TVL number aside, avoid cheap old cameras which usually are of the 400 to 480 tvl variety. They're cheap for a reason.
I don't think so. First of all, there is no such thing as an "old 480tvl cmos camera". Old cameras were CCD, unless you want to go way back to the days of vidicon and newvicon tube sensors.

 

Second of all, TDN has no effect on a camera's resolution.

 

Third of all, I defy anyone to demonstrate any resolution increase between good quality 480TVL, 500TVL, 540TVL, 600TVL, 700TVL or 960H cameras when fed into a 4CIF/4SIF/D1 DVR or encoder. The limiting factor is the DVR/encoder, not the camera. Even fed directly into an analog monitor, the differences are subtle, at best.

 

An example: we tested 470/480TVL, 540TVL and 600+TVL cameras on casino gaming tables. The vast majority of the cameras were only able to display the suits of around 70% of non-face cards and almost no face cards. The best analog camera we ever tested was the inMotion in11S3N2D and its successor, the in11S4N2D, which allowed us to identify around 90% of non-face cards and maybe 50-60% of face cards suits.

 

960H is not an option. No one makes a 960H encoder compatible with our VMS.

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Thanks for the replies.. I often play with my Photoshop and my rule is the bigger the picture (resolution/pixel) the better.. because when you shrink it or resize it, well it looks better..

 

1. BIG picture resize to "x" size picture = looks great

2. MID picture resize to "x" size picture = looks good

3. SMALL picture resize to "x" size picture = looks like a picture.

 

does this apply to DVR and Cameras?

 

Hope you guys understand my point.

 

Also i have seen comparison/demo of cmos 700TVL and cmos 600TVL, and 700TVL looks better. I don't know if it is a "demo thing" to suggest buying higher resolution/price TVL.

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I have q-see 400tvl cmos non TDN cameras sitting in a box and let me tell you, they look suck. My 525 TVL's look better. I know it's not the tvl. I guess I got off the topic a bit. I'll only suggest that if you have a clearly superior camera spec wise compared to a lesser one and the superior one happens to be a 700tvl, it's gonna look better than the piece of crap, resolution be damned, just because the other components are better and the picture 'looks' the better for it.

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