MACE DVRs

["Bob La Londe" <nospam@xxxxxxxxx>]

I decided to try one.  But a 16 channel one packages with a 20" flat screen
LCD and 16 inexpensive cameras.  One of my distributors was closing them
out.

It was a breeze to setup.  Took about 5 minutes to have it on my network,
and not even a minute to set it up with a nonstandard port on my router so I
could access it from home.  Actually a little easier than some of my
Dedicated Micros systems.  Definitely easier than other cheap DVRs I have
played with.

Its got some draw backs.  Other than a 160 gig HD I have no idea of its
specs from any of the documentation.  I can get the resolution from the
setup menu since its selectable.  Nowhere that I saw did I notice the max
PPS or anything about its compression ratio.

What I found absolutely appalling is... ITS SIMPLEX!!!   Well, it might be
duplex.  I have not done enough testing to see if it records all images
regardless of what is displayed, but it will not play back and record at the
same time, and what you see locally is what you see when remote viewing.  If
I change the view on my front desk I can here the unit beep in the back room
as it changes views just like as if I was using the front panel of the
recorder.

Conclusion:  Cheap?  Yes.  Works?  Yes, but more like a VCR than a DVR.
Good Specs?  Don't know because it doesn't say.

I have had it up and running with five feeds looped out of my DDM DS2P demo
unit for about a week now.  It has no hiccupped.  I powered it up and used
it.  I also hooked up a couple of the little color IR cameras that came with
it.  They actually do a pretty good job in no light out to about 25 ft.

It might be a solution for a totally indoor retail application for a
customer who won't pay for the good stuff.

I visited MACE's website to see if I could get any better specs.  No joy
there either.  In fact they list fewer units on their website than I can buy
from my distributors who stock it.  Interesting.  I dropped them an e-mail
requesting specs, catalog, etc a week or so ago, but so far no response.


--
The Security Consultant
Bob La Londe - Owner
849 S Ave C
Yuma, Az 85364

(928)782-9765 ofc
(928)782-7873 fax