cctv direct review

Saruman

Saruman wrote:

I just purchased the following.
http://www.cctvdirect.co.uk/PRO+CCTV+Kits/Bronze+Enforcer+-+4+X+IR+Camera+Pro+CCTV+Kit.html
Remote view over the interweb etc.
I had been looking since before christmas and this was what i decided on, i was going to go for POE camera's thinking it easier for power etc but i just reaslised today that these standard camera's, while they do require a Power supply, actually get the power over the same cable as the video so it will not be as messy as i thought.

Total cost: £451.21 / €603

In conjunction with my HKC alarm with text dialler whenever that gets fit , i will have total peace of mind.

This is from another post recently. Well the kit arrived last night. Thats 5 days for delivery and considering i ordered on a Saturday and my order probably only got processed on monday.. thats excellent.
So the Kit itself is as described in the link. The only thing is hooking it up to a standard LCD or TV. The video output is a BNC connection and not many monitors have that. There is a D/V port but its a male connector as opposed to the normal female on a computer, so i would need an adapter.

Thankfully my intention with this was always to use it over the LAN and hook it up to the internet. This evening i unpacked it and hooked it up to my Lan using one camera. It took me about 15 mins to set up for the internet. It probably helps im an IT engineer for that one but it was simple and straight forward.
I assume the other 3 camera's work perfectly also. I might have a go at installing it properly tomorrow, but for tonight im going to let my wife log on from the US so she can see me wave to her as she misses me a lot.

And no i will not be posting the link to my CCTV server
Maybe when i have it set up properly.. if anyone is considering purchasing one i will give them details (by PM) and set up a temporary username/password to have a look.

Michael Collins

Thanks for the review Saruman. I'm interested in something like that myself...

Saruman wrote: »

And no i will not be posting the link to my CCTV server

That's OK, no-one asked, who knows what might happen after the waving...

Saruman

By the way, i got my wife on very quickly last night. Obviously you do not see in real time.... its sort of like using a quickcam for speed of remote viewing. Fine on the lan but over the net its much slower. Thats not a problem since i just need to see if someone is in the house or not so i can call the police. Im only using Perlicos 1mb broadband though, not that it matters as im limited by the upload as opposed to download speed.

I know there is the ability to email or FTP snapshots or video clips when motion is detected using the videoserver software. Im not sure if i need the software running somewhere for that or if that option is on the DVR as a standalone. I will know more when i can get a screen hooked up directly.

Now i just need to decide where to put the camera's and DVR and get the willpower to do it.

Stoner

I'm not one for talkin about maplins etc, and I'm surprized to be posting this. But I was in maplins today, for 650 euro they have a 4 channed DVR kit. I could not get the specs, but it had no cameras but it looked like a 17 inch screen with a built in 4 channel DVR, looked tidy, it has a RJ45
USB
4 channel camera input
VGA out
Security triggers

etc.

have no idea about the frame rate or the size of the hard drive, but it might work out well

Saruman

Actually i was also in Maplin and if its the same box i saw, its actually the same DVR i got. Different manufacuter name on the box so i assume its a rebadge. Although the one i saw (and i have) does not have USB. I did not bother as i can backup over the network.

The kit i got is better value, though i did not get a screen with mine.

Very happy with mine, i got it all set up on Saturday

Bobby04

Hi,

this kit looks to have fairly impressive max recording resolution. Have you played back any recorded footage, and how does it compare with live pictures from the cameras? I'd be very interested in getting a peak at it over the net if you want to PM me with details?

Stoner

yeah there does seem to be a tendency for the back of these units to print IO that is not there. I went in to look at Maplins special one, with the built in 19" monitor, it has USB printed on the back, but its blanked over.
I also have one that has a VGA and RJ45 blanked out but printed, so the pics of the back of these units should be compared against the data sheets,

Saruman

Playback is fine, i have not yet hooked up directly to a monitor yet so im only streaming over the Lan at home. Until i hook up to a monitor i will not know for sure just how good the quality is. It might actually be the same quality, but i would assume its better than what i see when streaming.

Its a pain in the arse that the DVR does not have a standard VGA port, instead it has a DV port which is used for VGA but i can not hook a monitor directly into it. I got a male/female converter but it is not fitting right due to the screw hole nuts. I can not take them off the converter. Will look at it over the weekend.

stapeler

Saruman, any chance you could PM me some details, I was hoping to do similiar and have some of the equipment lined up. I had thought about using xtrasence from Dewang group as it looks quiet simple.
Is a fixed IP address a requirment for remote viewing?
Thanks in advance. Stapeler

Saruman

No you do not need a fixed IP address. Just sign up for a dynamic DNS account (https://www.dyndns.com/services/dns/dyndns/) and link your router (assuming you have the function) to it. That way you will have a static domain name that updates the when your IP address changes.

If your router does not have that option, the DVR has the option in the settings anyway.

Will set you up over the weekend to take a look if i can.

sphere2007

Hi I have bought a 4 Channel DVR and have been able to connect over my LAN but have having probs connecting over the internet through my router to view the cams off site my broadband service does not have a fixed IP address (eircom)

from the instructions I have set up a Dyndns account and turned on the DHCP service on my router(netopia)

but can't connect via the video server e when off site (I have set the port to 90)

Do you have any advice do I need to set up a NAT or IP forwarding in my router

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Saruman wrote: »

And no i will not be posting the link to my CCTV server

Not to worry, google should pick it up;)

Saruman

sphere2007 wrote: »

Hi I have bought a 4 Channel DVR and have been able to connect over my LAN but have having probs connecting over the internet through my router to view the cams off site my broadband service does not have a fixed IP address (eircom)

from the instructions I have set up a Dyndns account and turned on the DHCP service on my router(netopia)

but can't connect via the video server e when off site (I have set the port to 90)

Do you have any advice do I need to set up a NAT or IP forwarding in my router

PM sent

Francob

Hello,

i also have the same problem as Shere2007

I have a 8 channel DVR connected to my eircom netopia router, the router has DHCP turned on and is giving an ip address to the DVR.

Ant help on what to do for static route or NATing would be greatful

Thanks

Philbert

Hi Saruman,

The original link you gave to the cctvdirect.co.uk website is no longer valid. Could you tell me which product it is on the site? Also, does it come with the cabling required to connect the cameras to the DVR, and if so, what kind of length are they?

In fact, given that its a couple of months since you last posted, perhaps you could post a follow up review of where you are with the system now?

Thanks if you can.

Philbert.

Saruman

http://www.cctvdirect.co.uk/CCTV+Kits/Domestic+CCTV+Kits/Bronze+Enforcer+-+4+X+IR+Camera+Pro+CCTV+Kit.html
System is the Bronze enforcer (cheapest of the kits).
Looks like they changed the category and its now under home.
Anyway it comes with everything, all cables etc. the cables are 20mtrs which is more than enough for any normal house. If your house is so big that 20mtrs is not enough, you can afford a pro install

Its a great system, one of the camera's actually went on me but i sent it back in the post (less than €5) and got a new one a few days later, so customer service is grand.
I was playing around with the detection settings and set up an alarm and had it uploading stills to my server via FTP any time the camera's picked up movement. When i got to about 30 stills within an hour i turned that off

So im very happy with the system. Would be nice if my broadband had a decent upload so it was not so slow over the internet, thats an internet issue as opposed to the system though.

Philbert

Saruman

Thanks for the additional feedback!

Sounds like a great system. And its possible to just get two cameras instead of the 4 for £100 less.

I thank thats a pretty good deal considering the amount of single stand alone 'IP Cameras' I have come accross for nearly the same price.

I'll probably set it up to email upon motion detection during the day when nobody is home.

Thanks again

Saruman

Thats fine, you can actually select the motion area for each camera too, so it is narrowed down to where you are likely to see motion.