DVRs

[FDR]

I'm looking to get a DVR and hook up some outdoor home secuirty cameras to
it. Image quality is very important, as is the ability to set areas for
motion detection within each camera feed (if possible) as well as the
ability to connect over the internet.

I've been trying to research over the internet but there's so many different
dvr products and so little information on-line. I feel like I am unable to
find a good product that will do what I want.

Is there a good resource to look at? A particular brand or two that is
reliable and good? A respectable on-line store?

I've seen a brand called Clover that might be ok but not much information.

Also, was looking to do this for less than a $1000.

Help please!

Rob

 

[Group-Moderator]

I'm looking to get a DVR and hook up some outdoor home secuirty cameras to
it. Image quality is very important, as is the ability to set areas for
motion detection within each camera feed (if possible) as well as the
ability to connect over the internet.

I've been trying to research over the internet but there's so many
different dvr products and so little information on-line. I feel like I
am unable to find a good product that will do what I want.

Is there a good resource to look at? A particular brand or two that is
reliable and good? A respectable on-line store?

I've seen a brand called Clover that might be ok but not much information.

Also, was looking to do this for less than a $1000.

Help please!

Rob

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Here is the link:
http://alarmsuperstore.com/gs/dmdvr.htm

 

[alarman]

I'm looking to get a DVR and hook up some outdoor home secuirty cameras to
it. Image quality is very important, as is the ability to set areas for
motion detection within each camera feed (if possible) as well as the
ability to connect over the internet.

I've been trying to research over the internet but there's so many
different dvr products and so little information on-line. I feel like I
am unable to find a good product that will do what I want.

Is there a good resource to look at? A particular brand or two that is
reliable and good? A respectable on-line store?

I've seen a brand called Clover that might be ok but not much information.

Also, was looking to do this for less than a $1000.

You might find a package at a discount store for around $1000, but since
image quality is important, you'll need to beef up your budget two or three
times.
js

 

[FDR]

You might find a package at a discount store for around $1000, but since
image quality is important, you'll need to beef up your budget two or
three times.
js

Depends on ones perception of image quality I suppose. What does the extra
$2k get you?

 

[FDR]

email, ftp, or grps notification/ remote archive capacity. more fps per
channel.
triplex or better operations, real time viewing.

Other than fps, is there anything else that gives you a better view for $3k?

 

[Everywhere Man]

Think about the question you just asked "Other than fps, is there
anything else that gives you a better view for $3k?". Ask yourself WHY
you want cameras, and what you are trying to accomplish with them? If
you are using them to enhance your home security then cheap is not the
way to go. Why wouldn't you want the best resolution, or recording
features?
When it comes to CCTV you either purchase quality or you're just
wasting your money.
You asked for help in a newsgroup comprised of people who work with
these systems day in and day out. Appreciate that they even offered a
reply, free of charge, and before questioning their answers take a few
moments to look at some systems they suggested.
Odds are you will have a better understanding of your options after
doing so, and you'll probably end up agreeing with them (and someone
other than them turning a profit on the sale).

 

[alarman]

Depends on ones perception of image quality I suppose. What does the
extra $2k get you?

The quality images you seek.

Image quality is subjective, and I'm only guessing about what you will find
satisfactory. It would help to know what you expect to see, and what you
intend to do with the video. IME, people looking for residential video
systems are trying to catch a neighbor, habitual vandal or thief, etc. Their
desire for good video to turn over to the police or DA for prosecution is
fueled by emotion, which cools once the cold reality of what you need to
do/spend to achieve your goal sets in.

Images of the quality necessary to be of use in these cases require good
quality equipment: (garbage in, garbage out)

1. An incident at night requires a special camera and good lighting to
produce a good image.

2. A common mistake is to try to see too much with one or two cameras.
Wide-angle lenses and low resolution imager chips common to inexpensive
cameras see a wide area, but not much detail.

3. Once you have the cameras sending good video, you need a good DVR to
manage it. A decent DVR will likely cost you at least $2K. Some will say
that you need to pay a lot more.

Again, maybe all you need is to see that there is someone there.
js

 

[FDR]

Think about the question you just asked "Other than fps, is there
anything else that gives you a better view for $3k?". Ask yourself WHY
you want cameras, and what you are trying to accomplish with them? If
you are using them to enhance your home security then cheap is not the
way to go. Why wouldn't you want the best resolution, or recording
features?
When it comes to CCTV you either purchase quality or you're just
wasting your money.
You asked for help in a newsgroup comprised of people who work with
these systems day in and day out. Appreciate that they even offered a
reply, free of charge, and before questioning their answers take a few
moments to look at some systems they suggested.
Odds are you will have a better understanding of your options after
doing so, and you'll probably end up agreeing with them (and someone
other than them turning a profit on the sale).

I'm trying to understand what someone means when they say to spend 2k to 3k
on a system vs. 1k for better picture quality. When I asked that someone
pointed out fps, but the rest was about ftp, e-mail, networking, etc., which
as far as I can see is not about picture quality, especially if I don't use
it most of the time.

I'm not trying to be disrespectful. I sincerely want to know what the extra
money gets you in picture quality so I can decide if it's worth it. If it
isn't I'd rather spend the money on cameras.

 

[FDR]

The quality images you seek.

Image quality is subjective, and I'm only guessing about what you will
find satisfactory. It would help to know what you expect to see, and what
you intend to do with the video. IME, people looking for residential video
systems are trying to catch a neighbor, habitual vandal or thief, etc.
Their desire for good video to turn over to the police or DA for
prosecution is fueled by emotion, which cools once the cold reality of
what you need to do/spend to achieve your goal sets in.

Images of the quality necessary to be of use in these cases require good
quality equipment: (garbage in, garbage out)

1. An incident at night requires a special camera and good lighting to
produce a good image.

2. A common mistake is to try to see too much with one or two cameras.
Wide-angle lenses and low resolution imager chips common to inexpensive
cameras see a wide area, but not much detail.

3. Once you have the cameras sending good video, you need a good DVR to
manage it. A decent DVR will likely cost you at least $2K. Some will say
that you need to pay a lot more.

Again, maybe all you need is to see that there is someone there.
js

I can spend $50 bucks on a cheap dvr card to see if someone is there. What
is special about the hardware or software that you get with a $3000 unit?

 

[Doug L]

You could try posting the same question on http://www.cctvforum.com/

Doug L

 

[alarman]

I can spend $50 bucks on a cheap dvr card to see if someone is there.
What is special about the hardware or software that you get with a $3000
unit?

My point was that you need to spend money on good quality cameras, and more
of them. If you do that, and get a quality DVR, it will cost you more than
$1K.
js

 

[FDR]

My point was that you need to spend money on good quality cameras, and
more of them. If you do that, and get a quality DVR, it will cost you more
than $1K.
js

My $1k was the allocation for the DVR portion. I already own some nice
cameras.

 

[FDR]

Thanks!

You could try posting the same question on http://www.cctvforum.com/

Doug L

 

[Matt Ion]

I'm trying to understand what someone means when they say to spend 2k to 3k
on a system vs. 1k for better picture quality. When I asked that someone
pointed out fps, but the rest was about ftp, e-mail, networking, etc., which
as far as I can see is not about picture quality, especially if I don't use
it most of the time.

I'm not trying to be disrespectful. I sincerely want to know what the extra
money gets you in picture quality so I can decide if it's worth it. If it
isn't I'd rather spend the money on cameras.

One thing I've not seen mentioned here yet, by you or any of the
responses I've read so far, is whether you're looking for a "standalone"
DVR, or a PC-based system.

A standalone will generally be less expensive *as a whole*, but if you
have a suitable spare PC (and keep in mind, you want a DEDICATE PC for
this type of system; don't be doubling it up with a game machine), you
can put a DVR card and software in it for less than the standalone unit
would cost; if you need to purchase a PC for it, that route will likely
cost more.

Ftp, email, networking etc. are not related to image quality, but
they're considerations that must be included when determining cost, as
to whether you want or need any of them.

You also didn't mention how many cameras you're looking to hook up -
standalone DVRs and DVR cards typically come in 4, 8 and 16-channel
versions, with prices increasing accordingly the more channels you want.
Framerates, capture resolution, and compression levels all affect both
image quality, and along with how much time you want to record for, how
much storage space is required... and all of those, including storage,
affect total cost.


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[FDR]

One thing I've not seen mentioned here yet, by you or any of the responses
I've read so far, is whether you're looking for a "standalone" DVR, or a
PC-based system.

A standalone will generally be less expensive *as a whole*, but if you
have a suitable spare PC (and keep in mind, you want a DEDICATE PC for
this type of system; don't be doubling it up with a game machine), you can
put a DVR card and software in it for less than the standalone unit would
cost; if you need to purchase a PC for it, that route will likely cost
more.

Yeah, I don't really have a spare PC that meets the requirements for most
DVR cards. The advantage of a PC based system though is the ability to
expand or change configuration as well as setting motion controlled areas
for recording.

 

[plug]

Yeah, I don't really have a spare PC that meets the requirements for most
DVR cards. The advantage of a PC based system though is the ability to
expand or change configuration as well as setting motion controlled areas
for recording.

most unit that allow motion detection also allow setting up or blocking off
areas for detection.

 

[FDR]

most unit that allow motion detection also allow setting up or blocking
off areas for detection.

This goes back to my original issue. Finding documentation on this is ofen
difficult.

 

[Slim]

This goes back to my original issue. Finding documentation on this is ofen
difficult.

tell me about it. i have put many hours into research on this kind of
stuff. thank god for high speed internet. did you say how many
camera dvr you were looking for?

 

[FDR]

tell me about it. i have put many hours into research on this kind of
stuff. thank god for high speed internet. did you say how many camera
dvr you were looking for?

2 to 4 cameras and one dvr.

Starting to wonder again of pc based dvr isn't the way to go.

 

[J. Sloud]

I'm trying to understand what someone means when they say to spend 2k to 3k
on a system vs. 1k for better picture quality. When I asked that someone
pointed out fps, but the rest was about ftp, e-mail, networking, etc., which
as far as I can see is not about picture quality, especially if I don't use
it most of the time.

I'm not trying to be disrespectful. I sincerely want to know what the extra
money gets you in picture quality so I can decide if it's worth it. If it
isn't I'd rather spend the money on cameras.

Picture quality can refer to many things. The most common refers to
the resolution displayed. Is the image displayed at 1 CIF, 2 CIF, 4
CIF, or D1? The best DVRs combine high frame rates per channel with
high resolution. A top quality DVR such as an AD Intellex Ultra may
be able to process 30 images per second for 16 cameras (480 IPS total)
at 2 CIF. Compare these stats to the cheaper DVRs and you'll see the
difference.