which computer of mine would u use to setup a standalone dvr

[joshoowa 0]

i have two computers and one will be used for the dvr rig.

 

custom PC with

asus a7n8x-deluxe mobo

amd athlon xp2400 2.0ghz

512mb corsair pc2700

geforce fx5700 ultra 128mb

 

or

 

dell desktop

3.0ghz P4 w/ HT

1gb of ram

on board video mem.

 

i left alot of other components out because these parts are interchangable...so with these specs in mind which would u keep to surf web play games, and conversely which one would u use to setup a dvr rig.

 

another quick question.. i have 3 harddrives

(2) 80gb

(1) 160gb

 

which HD(s) would be good to run a dvr rig? im expecting maybe atleast 1wk without erasing and probally 10hrs a day recording non-stop, with motion record on the other 14hrs.

 

also running 3-4 cameras

[Securitymaster 0]

You can only use the Dell P4, VIA chipset has issues with the majority of DVR boards.

 

I would use the biggest hard drive that you can get, or get a bigger one.

 

The problem with determining what hard drive to use for the amount of time that you want, is that different boards use different compression methods for recording video. I would suggest for you to choose a DVR board and then start thinking about what PC and what components to use.

 

FYI, you need a separate video card, nothing integrated if you want the best possible picture.

[joshoowa 0]

well i had my mind set on a geovision gv-800 dvr card... i can always move over the geoforce vid card to the dell..

[kandcorp 0]

That would be my suggestion. Use the Dell with the GeForce Card. Also, use at least one of the 160GB HDD's. You are going to have to partition the drive in 2 parts(if using one HDD), one for the OS(windows) and the other partition will be for Video/Data storage from your DVR.

 

You will be very pleased with the results of that hardware setup. Also, I would dedicate that system to DVR purposes ONLY. Strip down the OS to only necessary DVR software/drivers, you dont need all the extra services and software. It will just weigh down system resources (CPU usage, RAM usage etc.). We can guide you through the setup to get you the most efficient DVR system possible.

 

Is the Dell system being used right now?

[Jasper 0]

I'll take your Intel P4.

 

Thanks for the system. PM me for my address.

[joshoowa 0]

i bought the dell used just picked it up last week...

im going to reformat the HD with a clean install of winxp sp2

[Jasper 0]

That worked out well.

 

How come you decided on the GV800 and not one of the newer combo cards?

 

GV1120, 1240 or 1480?

 

Just curious.

[joshoowa 0]

well its been awhile since ive been back to [EDITED]...last time i decided to do my surveillance setup everything didnt work out ($$$)...

 

all the geo cards u listed run at 480fps + im only running at most maybe 4-5 but more likely 3-4 cams.

 

also i guess im not ready to spend ample amounts of money on a dvr card...

 

and what i know from science the human eye can not tell the difference from any fps above 30.

 

so the gv800 being at 120fps / 4 cams = 30fps per cam isnt really that bad imo. plus u setup up to center the cam that picks up motion and your pretty much good to go.

 

then again i dont know how much more efficient the gv1120 and newer cards are. maybe the use a new method of compression??? i'll probally have to search around and see whats up.

[joshoowa 0]

well i read that the newer cards can ready at higher resoultion...720 x 480

 

while the one i want runs at 640x480

[kandcorp 0]

Josh,

 

30 FPS (frames per second) is the most you can achieve per channel. So yes 120FPS on a 4 channel card would give you the best framerate possible.

 

Between a 7.5FPS (30fps /4cams) and a 30FPS (120FPS / 4cams) per channel system there is a difference and you can tell. At least I can. I would say its less of a difference between 15FPS and 30FPS per channel.

[Jasper 0]

well i read that the newer cards can ready at higher resoultion...720 x 480

 

while the one i want runs at 640x480

 

The new combo cards I listed have frame rates as follows 120, 240 and 480 frames per second.

 

As far as the performance of the new combo cards they don't have hardware compression if that's what you're alluding to.

 

They have a DSP output jack for connecting a CCTV monitor or television. Which may be no big deal to a lot of people. But then again someone at home might like it to hook up to their television set to allow them to monitor their security system on RCA video input on the television.

 

Currently the combo cards have a problem with recording of the 720 x 480 mode as they pixelate more at this resolution triggering false motion detection video to be recorded. Most people that know this are recording at 640x480 currently. I know I am.

 

The combo cards also have real-time display output to your monitoring device. So essentially a combo card offers you DSP, an audio card, real-time video display and it as you mentioned the 720 x 480 recording mode.

 

If you're only going to use a maximum of four cameras and I think the GV-800 would be a better choice than the new combo cards.

[joshoowa 0]

sent u a PM jasper

[rory 0]

you can do 720x480 on all GV cards using at least version 7.0+

 

Like Jasper said the diff on the combo cards is the DSP and audio.

You can also just use the Video card output to a TV if you want, that gives you the "what you see on the PC" scenerio, with the DSP output you only see the video, no GUI. The DSP is real time analogue so better quality than the Video card output, though with the Svideo output or DVI it can be very good, especially if using a CCTV Monitor, clearer than the PC monitors.

 

If only 4 cameras you really dont need a combo card, just the GV800-4 if you want real time. No not a huge diff from 15-30fps, but it can matter sometimes.

 

They also have the DSP card add on, but then its better to get the combo card one time if the DSP was required.

 

Rory