CCTV cards

[dotcom]

Hi ppl, i currently have a cctv capture card with one main chip on the board and it captures 640X480 in one big screen at 25 FPS.
but i have it split into 4 and 3 are recording etc, but last week one of my card had a slashed tyre, so on playback i caught the person at 3:30 in the morning but couldnt make out a facial picture because of resolution.
SO, my question is is that i have seen on e-bay there are cards with 5 main chips and can record 640x480 in each window aparently.

has anyone on this board got one of these cards and give me a thumbs up or down or what would you recomend to use on a p.c. with 4 cctv inputs and have good quality on playback.

many thanx ppl and hope somone can advise.
cheers

dotcom

[RayB]

A can of worms....

What type of cameras are you using? I've tended to go with IP based systems lately simply because it's easier to manage - you only need a decent graphics card and reasonable processor to record multiple cameras simultaneously.

Are your cameras capable of 576 line resolution and is your s/w set up to match the cameras?

[dotcom]

Hi rayb.
well the cameras i have got up i have had for ages and ages and they are baxall ones.and they look a bit like this e-bay link below

COMPUTAR ZOOM LENS FITTED TO BAXALL CCTV COLOUR CAMERA on eBay (end time 28-Mar-10 17:19:52 BST)

exactly what model they are i aint sure unless i go open the case up etc.
i have got 3 up and running and once upon a time i did have them up recording on a 196 hour time laps that i had set to 96 hours and split up on a 4 picture screen and i didnt realy have any problems at all up untill the tape kept on getting crumpled and after several clean ups then eventualy gave up totaly have now changed to the DVR method.
i do have a card that records 640x480 in a single screen but if 4 screens are chosen then the resolution is 1/4 ed
So my question is, is that what would you think i go for if i use one of my spare p.c's for a CCTV aplication only and control via ethernet or via VNC etc.as i intend to store this unit out of the way , like in the loft etc.

i dunno m8, what card etc would you recomend.

thanx
dotcom

[RayB]

To be fair, most cameras look like the one in the link

It's worth having a look at one of your units to see if its got an ethernet port. If it has, then I'd seriously consider running your lan to each one that does. All the camera functions can typically be set over the lan and most IP cameras have a built in web-server which makes setup so easy.

The real advantage is that you don't need extra cards in the PC - it's all done over IP which means it can also be monitored from anywhere....

It that is not an option have a look at any of Baxall, Gardiner Security or Source Security websites for cards - they are not likely to be cheap though!

One other option is to get a dedicated DVR with an ethernet port - this will take the video signal from standard cameras and record as specified by you. Once the disk is full it'll start to over-write. Most come with a built in DVD recorder for burning off incidents to pass on to the boys in blue. Having the ethernet means that cameras can be monitored live or played back from anywhere.

[dotcom]

Thanx rayB.
None of the cameras i have got have got an ethernet slot on them as these are ones i have had passed down to me from many months / years ago.
however i do have my main camera on a PTZ with a 120mm lense and thats realy canny.
i have one of those tinny pin hole cameras that i have hidden in my front door knocker where the spy hole is and one external baxall on the back and a new one covering my drive etc.
I have seen those all in one 4 / 8 / 16 DVR recorder units that have ethernet etc, but at the time i wanted to use what i had to get going with a new pci dvr card , but if time for an upgrade is due then an upgrade is going to have to be done.
So if i was to go and get a new unit that i simply had to plug my camers into and then connect and configure through ethernet and have an internal HDD for storage etc, then what would you recomend etc etc, instead of replacing a P.C. tower or desktop.

thanx ray and your help will be welcome, as i have loads of CCTV bits and bobs that av collected over the years that may be old hat at the mo and i may need to either flog on fleabay on here if poss.

cheers

dotcom.

[RayB]

If the cameras you have are meeting your needs then I'd be tempted to go for the DVR option. It'll most likely come with software for the PC so that you can monitor/playback from your chosen location or if using a laptop, from pretty much anywhere.

If you stick with just a PC and it fails, sods law says that whilst it's down you'll have an incident...

If you do go DVR, get one that gives you some spare capacity - if you move house you might want to add to your kit.

Source security are currently having a sale on DVR's as luck would have it...