Re: Cheap network dvr 4-8ch

[Jim <alarminex@xxxxxxx>]

On Thursday, November 15, 2012 7:15:31 PM UTC-5, Bob La Londe wrote:
> "Jim" <alarminex@xxxxxxx> wrote in message news:83231c55-42fb-4268-8140-5=
cfd1dcb0b1e@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > On Tuesday, November 13, 2012 1:01:02 PM =
UTC-5, DS wrote: >> Yes..i mean model to recommend..not site > > I think wh=
at Bob was trying to say is .... I don't think anyone here would > know whi=
ch "cheap" unit to recommend. We're all professional installers > and anyth=
ing we use in not going to be cheap. We have to guarantee and > support the=
 equipment that we install and going back to a job to repair or > replace a=
n item because we used a cheap piece of equipment is not > something we do.=
 It's not profitable and it makes you look bad. All I can > say is, Google =
the part that you're looking for and buy the least > expensive one. There's=
 no such thing as good and cheap in the same > product. > > My suggestion (=
?) Shop around for the product you want. Find the high > price. Find the lo=
w price. Buy something in the middle. Be aware of > warranty, shipping and =
return policies and availability of technical > assistance. You can look at=
 the product lines of Speco Technologies, > Everfocus, Dedicated Micro and =
Digimerge. I'm not sure if their equipment > is available for you to buy di=
rect but these are some of the popular > DVR/NVR manufacturers that install=
ers use. They're not cheap and will > likely not talk to an end user should=
 you have technical questions. > > Most of the cheap products come directly=
 from Korea, China, Tiwan etc. > They claim to do all the things the produc=
ts from the above manufactureres > do but.......... there is no or inadequa=
te support, it's highly likely > that they will not be available in the fut=
ure, it is difficult to get > anything repaired because there are no repair=
 or mfg facilities here in > the US aaannnnd ...........you can't understan=
d what the hell they're > saying when you call and ask for information on t=
heir product or need > technical assistance. > > You ask me ..... How do I =
know all this? > Well ...because ONCE ..... Just ONCE, mind you .... I boug=
ht one and I'll > never do it again. I have used mostly Dedicated Micros fo=
r DVRs for a number of years now. I do have a Pelco unit in service, and wh=
ile it was a pain to setup it has remained in service for quite a long time=
. I setup some Falcon DVRs that a customer bought from somebody else and th=
ey were a pain in the wazoo needing constant tweaking and service. I recent=
ly quoted some DigiMerge stuff, and I have one on the shelf awaiting an ins=
tall, but I have not installed on yet. I've played with several DVR PC card=
s, and they are ok at best. Even the Geo Vision some guys like didn't impre=
ss me all that much.

I've been using Speco for the most part with a couple of tries with others =
but it's a case of ... Even though I think the Speco's that I'm using could=
 be easier to set up for remote viewing, I'm thinking that if I try another=
 brand I'm just going to have to learn another whole process. So it's just =
"stickin with the problem I'm familiar with rather than dealing with one I'=
m not"=20

My next foray is trying some IP cameras. But I'm not going to go out and se=
ll anything until I can set one up with an NVR first. I never go through th=
e learning curve on the job. So it's just a matter of finding time to inves=
t in a day to learn what the details are. I don't have any doubt that I'll =
be able to figure it out but mainly I want to be able to find out compariso=
ns between analog and IP cameras. For instance, I KNOW what a varifocal len=
s will do on an analog camera under given conditions but I don't have that =
first hand and similar experience with IP camers.
I just have to work with it for a day or so ..... I don't like dissapointin=
g surprises on a job after I've made assumptions on what a piece of equipme=
nt will do. I'm too freekin picky and I don't ever put my self in a positio=
n of not having an answer for my clients or implying something that I can't=
 deliver because I didn't know the product well enough.=20

I'm figuring that I might set up a networked analog camera and an IP camera=
 at my home and view them on my laptop to up-sell to IP. It's hard to expla=
in to a potential client just how much better the IP picture is ...... with=
out a picture.