where to buy cctv systems? affordability and choices?

Comments

1. Arthur says:

   March 21, 2010 at 2:16 am

   Less you pay, less you get. Try eBay but it’s important to understand what you want to achieve. Do you need it for monitoring or for identification purposes? For less than $400 only monitoring quality cameras will be available.

   PC is BAD! for CCTV. Use a dedicated box, Don’t use IR cameras. They’re useless. Buy cheap halogens with motion sensor and install them above your cameras. Don’t install them too high or too low. Do not try to cover your driveway or garden with one camera only or you won’t see much. When installed, maintain them regularly. Clean the glass and lens. Re-adjust them every 6months. Avoid direct sunlight and hide you DVR box in the basement and not by your plasma TV! Use 1000W UPS for DVR and cameras, ust in case there’s a power cut.

   Cameras – varifocal lens with min 480TVL resolution
   DVR with min 500GB HDD and motion detection enabled + min 15fps.

   Good luck.

   Because I cannot answer William’s post below:
   All good, but can you offer everything you’re talking about for less than 400$ as per Eric’s post? I doubt.
   References :
   My brain and experience.
2. William says:

   March 21, 2010 at 2:25 am

   Author your both right and wrong.

   True you get what you pay for.

   Not all IR cameras are junk the cheap ones out there our but if you buy from a good bran name company you get perfect monochrome images in complete darkness. I work with companies that give 3km of night vision. (Ascendent Technology Group)

   Also Bc based DVr are the best available on the market when you buy high end ones if you buy geovison, avermedia or other Chinese companies then yes they are a waste of money and give performance.

   My write up bellow explains and goes into detail about DVR’s.

   A good brand name DVR manufacture will also have good cameras though if you are looking for a good Day/night outdoor cameras I recommend :

   Ascendent Technology Group: http://www.ascendentgroup.com/
   Model: VIS-56IR-2910
   Resolution outdoor Long-Range IR Camera
   550TVL Day (600TVL at night)
   56 high output IR LED’s (110ft illumination)
   2.9-10mm IR corrected lens
   IP 67 nema 4x Rugged outdoor housing

   Not all DVRs are created equal, in fact there are many options that offer varying performance much like the automobile industry. In the world of DVRs you can find the equivalent of a $10,000 Kia and a $350,000 Ferrari and everything in between. Both have 4 wheels and windshield but that where the similarities end, it’s under the hood that counts. Just like any other consumer electronic in the end you get what you pay for.

   I suggest you buy a PC based DVR has they have more processing power and normally have a much smaller file size and offer more features then Standalone DVR’s. I know many people buy a cheap standalone DVR, only to upgrade to a PC based in 6 months especially when they are using it to manage a store remotely. Also PC based allows you to record up to 64 cameras where a standalone will have a limit of 16.

   Many people have the misconception that a PC-Based DVR is simply an off-the-shelf PC with video capture (encoder) cards, display (decoder) cards and some generic OEM software. A true DVR requires years of research and development to facilitate the seamless integration of both the hardware and software. DVRs are highly complex systems that must run 24/7, processing millions of images per day. This makes consumer-level hardware inadequate for DVRs which is why Ascendent uses custom-built PCs with performance-level hardware.

   My personal favorite DVR is Ascendent X4 series: Ascendent’s Tri-Fusion Hybrid Platform allows for the creation of a true hybrid surveillance system by utilizing the advantages of Analog, Megapixel, and IP technologies for unparalleled customization and expandability. I am working on government projects and use Ascendent cameras and DVR because the offer superior performance and cost less then comparable brands like bosh, Honeywell and pelco.

   The X4 also uses the latest H.264/SVC codec offer video substantially better quality,. While its file size sizes is 30% smaller than MPEG-4, 60% smaller than MPEG-2, and exponentially smaller than MJPEG.

   File size is crucial to streaming because most DVR’s on the market record at real time performance (30FPS per channel) so on a 4CH is trying to send 120, 8CH 240, and a 16CH 480 images per second which requires way too much bandwidth even for the most extreme internet connections.

   The smaller the files size the more images are able to be sent, and the faster they can be processed improving both FPS and speed. File size is the heart of any DVR and goes far beyond just its streaming capabilities, as it also determines the recording storage time, how much you can back up at once, how fast it renders and searches video. The file size of a DVR impacts the performance of the DVR in just about every aspect from speed to longevity and is often the most important spec of any DVR.

   If you are buying a DVR and streaming is a high priority I suggest you ask for a demo and connect to the DVR to make sure it is able to stream fast enough for your needs. Most DVRs say they have remote viewing but it is often too slow and laggy to be of any use especially if it is a standalone. Some good DVR brands that I recommend are Bosch, Pelco, Honeywell and Ascendent. These brands are what security professionals use, Q-see, Swan and Lorex are only used in residential applications because they are sold by Tiger Direct, Spytown, Newegg, Sams Club, Costco and other retail outlets but are not used by any security professionals also their tech support rarely speaks English as their first language…

   These brand manufacturers also have a complete line of CCTV cameras for any application from residential to military.

   http://www.ascendentgroup.com (Recommend)
   http://www.honeywell.com
   http://www.pelco.com
   http://www.bosch.com

   I have done projects that required cameras to stream over satellite and cellular networks and the only DVR that could provide the video streaming was Ascendent Technology Group’s X3 DVR. To give you an example of what a good DVR should stream like, be
   References :