XDH compact FPS?

Calibos

We have a 7 year old CCTV system in our shop with 3 Panasonic WV-CP242E cameras with zoom lenses. A google search gives the following info:

1/3-type CCD (380,000 pixels), the WV-CP240 series achieves a horizontal resolution of 480 lines, and a signal-to-noise ratio of 50dbB. Minimum illumination is 2 lux (0.2 fx) when used with a F1.4 lens and 0.6 lux (0.06 fc) when used with a F0.75 lens. The camera has various image adjustment functions such as Backlight Compensation (BLC), Aperture Correction, and Auto Tracing White Balance (ATW). This allows the cameras to produce natural looking images even in poor lighting conditions.

First question. Should I think about upgrading to 600+ line cameras?

I also want to supplement the 3 cameras we already have(or their replacements) with 2 external cameras and an internal small dome camera directly over the till area to combat the 'I gave you a €50' brigade. One of our current cameras is doing double duty trying to cover the door and the till and thus it does neither as well as it could.

Our DVR died recently and I need a replacement. I've read about CCTVdirect here and their prices seem good. The DVR I am looking at is the 8 channel XDH compact. I've read here that 600 lines is the minimum recommend camera res these days and that the minimum recommended recording FPS is 12FPS @ D1. Can the XDH compact deliver that. The following is from the specs PDF:

Recording Resolution - 704x480, 704x240, 353x240(NTSC)/704x576, 704x288, 353x288(PAL)
Max Recording speed - 240FPS @ half D1 (NTSC)/200FPS @ half D1 (PAL)
Time laps Recording interval(FPS) - 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,15,20,25(PAL),30(NTSC)

Does 200FPS at half D1 mean 100FPS at Full D1 dived by 6 cameras(current and new) = 16FPS per camera, meaning I am good to go with this unit for decent RES and FPS. Confused.com because the promo material says 'Realtime DVR D1 Resolution' and yet I only see half D1 mentioned in the specs.

Any help much appreciated.

Calibos

No one knows what 200FPS @ Half D1 means??

KoolKid

You can have CIF, 2CIF, 4CIF, Half D1, and D1 .
The resolution for these are around

CIF 352 x 280
2CIF/Half D1 up to 720 x 260
4CIF/D1 640 x 480 /704 x 480

Half D1 is Semi Recording Quality its OK for Home and small business use, but does not produce fully professional and reliable evidence in all situations. Up to 720 X 260 Pixels.

D1 is the ideal CCTV recommendation D1 records at up to 720 X 520 Pixels, which is much higher quality.

The frame rate (Frames Per Second FPS) gives the number of pictures that can be captured every second over all Inputs. So a 50 FPS DVR Recorder with four Security Cameras connected can record at a max. of 12.5 FPS per camera. A 100 FPS machine can capture 25 FPS (Real Time) per camera.

In most cases a recorder would be set up to record less frames per second and revert to Real Time when an alarm or motion is detected.

I'd recommend at least 100 FPS DVR for 4 Cameras ,200 FPS for 8 Cameras and 400 FPS for 16 Cameras etc...

Jnealon

A lot of dvrs say they are realtime but they neglect to tell you at what resolution.
Recording at 12 FPS@D1 is more than enough. If you play 25fps and 12fps beside each other there is very little between the two.

Calibos

So am I right that if this unit can do 200FPS @ half D1 it can likely do 100FPS at full D1 dived by 6 cameras at most giving each camera near 16FPS at full D1 res??

Jnealon

Thats right.
You should give cctvdirect a ring and put whatever questions you may have to them, they are very helpful from what I've heard.
Also check benchmark magazine for reviews of their kit