michael Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 I know there are a few threads on this but I can't see the answers I crave. If I want a multi-camera setup at home that records onto a PC (and then uploads images) is this what I need? Wireless Camera(s) Wireless Receiver DVR Card for PC that connections to receiver Software Is that it? Does the software do the hard work like looking after motion detection? Is it possible to record 4 cameras at the same time or have it swap recording to one where motion has been detected? Am I likely to get a decent setup for ~£300? Is this going to be pants? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160178622757 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 I want to know how the motion detection works as well, but I want a plain DVR HDD version cos my PC isn't left on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted November 10, 2007 Author Share Posted November 10, 2007 I've played with motion detection on a webcam so I know software can do it but then you see cameras with PIR too so I'm trying to suss out what's best to go for. I'm going to have a dedicated PC for it, I have a few spare ones kicking around at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merckx Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 You could look here: http://www.cctvforum.com/index.php?sid=1ac6133587b485e301027697ccd8f597 I'm in the process of building my system, I've got the DVR recorder, monitor and most of the camera's that I need. I decided to go for wired camera's,that way you'll be spending your money on better optics rather than the wireless feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted November 10, 2007 Author Share Posted November 10, 2007 I signed up on there earlier today but ended up getting confused Will have a better read of it all but I want to get to grips with the basics, I've decided on wireless because it's not my house to drill holes in and I don't want to be here for too much longer so wireless will be easier to put up and remove. Ideally I'd like a system I can upgrade later though, no point in having CCTV if all you can see is a pixel walking past a block of blurred pixels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 A big problem seems to be software from my limited experience of DVRs and their PC applications. I know you're not talking about a DVR per-se, but the software will still be an issue. GeoVision is supposed to be very good though, although expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 You need to know that most capture cards and also cheaper DVRs, sort of channel-scan (not sure of the correct term) through the ADC chip (the capture chip), so for example they might have a single Rockwell/Conexant/Brooktree capture chip which is capable of 25fps PAL or 30fps NTFS overall, but that's it. So if you are using four cameras then you won't be able to get more than 7fps per channel. These cards have costed ~£10 for as long as I can remember (lots of years) and haven't changed much at all. A proper card which can capture 25fps on four channels will cost more. I think in theory a card with four of the bt84x chips on it is supposed to be dedicating one to each channel, but I even think there are fakes out there where they stick a load of chips on the card just so it appears to be a higher-end one - it's just like PC Chips did with the fake cache memory chips on their motherboards. I could be wrong though. Also some DVRs (unsure about capture cards and PC DVR software) will specify a nice maximum resolution, but this is not a recording resolution, just a viewing resolution, strangely. The recording resolution is lower (typically half the vertical resolution of that stated as the maximum resolution). GeoVision really is a proper setup apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Do you need to put up a sign at home saying "You are being recorded by cameras" etc in order for the evidence to be used like in commercial property? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbleapple Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Do you need to put up a sign at home saying "You are being recorded by cameras" etc in order for the evidence to be used like in commercial property? I could be very wrong but I thought it was necessary for the images to be able to be used in a court action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vaderman Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 You will need plenty of hard drive space and off-set the refresh rate for a decent fps image. I have had a massive DM system installed and in my experience, the set up is the easy part but the software set-up needs to be reliable and a good product. Although it did cost a fortune.http://www.dedicatedmicros.com/uk/regional_home.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakewebster Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 We have a system at work which is fantastic, controls everything, motion detection etc. All records onto a hard disc and can be burnt onto cd. Very easy system to use. We have 9 cameras working at the same time. Will find out the make etc later on for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bromy Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Soop Dogg has a not too expensive system that can be viewed over the internet etc do a search Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted November 11, 2007 Author Share Posted November 11, 2007 Soop Dogg has a not too expensive system that can be viewed over the internet etc do a search I looked at that one, it's nice but I don't want to get involved with subscriptions for services I can provide myself using existing hosting etc. At the moment I'm just thinking of throwing something basic together using a 4 channel USB DVR that does motion detection recording and a couple of cameras with night vision, if / when I move house I'll get something more robust. I figure anything is better than nothing, I'm messing with a webcam at the moment to see if that'll give me some basic cover in the meantime. It would be nice if we can end up with a basic "better than nothing" type list for folks on here at the end of this though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bromy Posted November 11, 2007 Share Posted November 11, 2007 Can Emin suggest anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted November 11, 2007 Author Share Posted November 11, 2007 I think he's more high-end stuff but his input would be good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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