4 camera CCTV system

[bluenun20]

Thanks for clearing that up, those links were helpful.

Did you attach the static discharge cable that came with the DVR? It is only about 1m long and my DVR is off the ground by 2m, I could extend it and and screw it to the floor boards or will it be any good if I screw it to the back of my wooden desk?

What do you think of the system?

 

[Rob.S]

I haven't attached that cable to be honest so I am not completely sure. I think it would have to be something metal and grounded rather than wood.

IMHO its a good system for the price. Picture quality and reliability is fine. From some experience with "proper" CCTV DVR systems the user interface is about the same you'd expect for a lot more money. There are some good advanced features on the DVR, especially via the LAN interface so I'm very happy with what I got for my money.

 

[bluenun20]

I have had a chance to set the system up now and on the whole I am very impressed with it.

The picture is very clear but lacking some colour.

Where the power adapter plugs into the back of the DVR it is a loose connection and pulls out easily disconnecting the DVR.

I have set the sensitivity right down to number 1 as any higher and the cameras are activated by plants blowing in the wind and car lights shining onto my drive.
Even turning on the kitchen light would activate the camera at the rear garden.

In set up, camera, do you know what "dwell time" is? Mine is set at 10 seconds and is not changeable.

What method do you use to save any footage you want?
I have tried with an SD card, it accepts the card but when I copy it to the card it does nto transfer.

Do you ever turn your DVR off?
I am guessing you should not need to as it has a fan.

 

[Rob.S]

I have set the sensitivity right down to number 1 as any higher and the cameras are activated by plants blowing in the wind and car lights shining onto my drive.
Even turning on the kitchen light would activate the camera at the rear garden.

My cameras record these things but it takes quite a while to fill the motion detection part of the hard drive. The worst thing is spider webs across the camera during the night as they catch the IR light and trigger constantly.

In set up, camera, do you know what "dwell time" is? Mine is set at 10 seconds and is not changeable.

I think this is the amount of time it sticks on each camera in sequence mode. This is also set on another menu but I don't use it as I prefer the split screen.

What method do you use to save any footage you want?
I have tried with an SD card, it accepts the card but when I copy it to the card it does nto transfer.

I use a LAN connection to get them onto my PC. There is some software you can use to convert the files into standard AVIs if you need to.

Do you ever turn your DVR off?
I am guessing you should not need to as it has a fan.

Nope, I leave it running 24/7. Not had any problems so far but hard disks do have a finite life which is shortened if the unit is in a warm environment. The DVR has a HD failure alarm which is worth switching on so you know as soon as this happens.

 

[bluenun20]

Thanks for your help Rob. I have it set up as I want it now but just need to work out how to play back what I backup.

I had no luck with the SD card, it recognised it, accepted it, copied the file but the is nothing on the card when I go to view it.

So I bought a 4GB USB DataTraveler.
The DVR recognises it, accepts it, downloads the file onto it.
When I plug it into my PC I can see it has saved the file.
I am asked what programme I want to use to view the file, I tried Realplayer and Windows mediaplayer but they cannot play the file as they don't support that type of file or codec.

I am searching on google to see if there is anything I can download to view these files.
Do you have any idea what programme I need to view these H.264 files?

 

[Rob.S]

The vids are in a propriatary format but you can download a player and converter to view them in Windows Meida Player etc.

Use an FTP client to access ftp://www.deeplet.com.tw/Utilities/ (clicking the link in Internet Explorer should work).

Login with the username 'ftp' and password '11yvonne' then download and run the installers (vcredist_x86.exe and setup.exe). These will put a few utilities on your PC for dealing with the files.

 

[bluenun20]

Rob thanks very much for your help. I appreciate it.

I had downloaded VLC mediaplayer and Quicktime 7 but cannot get them to play my files.

I followed your instructions and logged in and downloaded vcredist_x86.exe and setup.exe and then installed them to my PC.
I also needed to install DirectX end user runtime 9.0.

But when I click the file I want to play, Windows Mediaplayer still gives me the message,

"Windows mediaplayer cannot play the file. The player might not support the file type or might not support the codec that was used to compress the file."

 

[Rob.S]

You need to open HemPlayer or AVI converter from your programs menu (under Hyper Electronics Mappers) then choose the file to play. WMP can't play them unless you convert them to AVI first.

 

[bluenun20]

Fantastic! Thanks so much.

 

[MaxC]

I'm a CCTV installer and you will find the kits Maplin offers are usually a couple of years behind the independents. Infact reading through this forum i'm shocked at how many people are buying such outdated low quality cameras and kits. I get called to so many houses how have installed similer things and the users are disapointed, take them back and get me in to install somthing that actually works. Always choose a DVR that has an easy extraction method, ie to usb or DVD.

 

[bluenun20]

I am grateful that I was steered away from buying a CCTV system from Maplins.
But you have to start your search somewhere, for me it was Argos, Maplins and then after posting on this board I was told about buying direct from China.
I was cautious at first as I had never bought off ebay before but I have had good service and am really pleased with the DVR and cameras I bought especially now I know how to save, transfer, store and play back any files I need to keep.

 

[bluenun20]

You need to open HemPlayer or AVI converter from your programs menu (under Hyper Electronics Mappers) then choose the file to play. WMP can't play them unless you convert them to AVI first.

Rob, if you are still around.
I had to re-install windows xp and service pack 3 onto my PC but HEM player is no longer in my programs menu for some reason.
I did not download it before it was just there.

I have searched on Google but there does not appear to be a download available.

Can you please shed some light on how I can get HEM player onto my PC?

 

[Rob.S]

The FTP link in my post above should still work. Just download and run setup.exe again.

 

[bluenun20]

Thanks a lot Rob. I have it working again now.

I am still very pleased with this CCTV system.

Regards.

 

[VasilisS]

Is it possible to get access to these files too? I guess the password doesn't apply any more...