gr8jpn wrote:Where did you read that only Silver cameras were iphone compatible?

I scoured their website and did not see that??

I saw it when ordering. By default black is chosen and in red text it says not 3g compatible or something like that. If you pick silver that message is replaced with a black text one that says 3g compatible(or something like that). You can probably see it too by clicking order but not going as far as clicking the ridiculously large buy it button.

Here is the summary from my order:
You ordered 3 Zmodo H.264 4-Channel DVR, 4 Weatherproof Infrared Cameras, Motion Detection, 3G Phone Compatible. Silver

My guess is that it is just extra software thrown in with the silver ones but who knows. If you can get a pic file out on the internet most phones should display it somehow. I used to ftp some pics snagged from my old D-Link DCS-900 files to a website of mine and even my old feature phone would display them. Maybe whatever the difference is just makes it easier than my DIY method. I'm getting too old for DIY so any assistance is welcome, whiskey included.

teejgeig wrote:Can the DVR be used for viewing on a regular TV?

Yes but you need a BNC to RCA adapter to connect a regular RCA cable to the DVR. The adapters are less than a dollar.

jenjerstar wrote:Is the 'secret' Big o' Cosmos supposed to happen today too? Does anyone know?

I know, but I can't tell you.

Why? Because it is a secret (du-uh).

dviolino wrote:I wouldn't recommend it, as you have to extend the power cable as well as the video. If the voltage drops too much, the camera won't work at all.

Couldn't you plug the camera into an electrical supply closer to its location?

refriedbeans wrote:I saw it when ordering. By default black is chosen and in red text it says not 3g compatible or something like that. If you pick silver that message is replaced with a black text one that says 3g compatible(or something like that). You can probably see it too by clicking order but not going as far as clicking the ridiculously large buy it button.

Here is the summary from my order:
You ordered 3 Zmodo H.264 4-Channel DVR, 4 Weatherproof Infrared Cameras, Motion Detection, 3G Phone Compatible. Silver

My guess is that it is just extra software thrown in with the silver ones but who knows. If you can get a pic file out on the internet most phones should display it somehow. I used to ftp some pics snagged from my old D-Link DCS-900 files to a website of mine and even my old feature phone would display them. Maybe whatever the difference is just makes it easier than my DIY method. I'm getting too old for DIY so any assistance is welcome, whiskey included.

These DVRs are 3G compatible. The cameras have nothing to do with being 3G compatible.

Geez woot. What to do what to do? I'm wondering should I buy the woot one, then find my own larger hard drive?

Or should I just buy the complete system we have here with the harddrive already installed for 199.00??

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch.asp?scriteria=BE50012&pagetitle=Zmodo%20Surveillance%20PKD-DK4208-500GB%204Channel%20CCTV%20Secur

What do you guys think?

plytrim wrote:Since this supports USB backup, can I just use an external harddrive instead of mounting an internal SATA drive?

No. USB is for backup only, not live recording.

colosiclan wrote:Does this unit overwrite once you fill the hard drive/memory stick so you'd have continuous coverage?

Yes.

zadriel wrote:Geez woot. What to do what to do? I'm wondering should I buy the woot one, then find my own larger hard drive?

Or should I just buy the complete system we have here with the harddrive already installed for 199.00??

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch.asp?scriteria=BE50012&pagetitle=Zmodo%20Surveillance%20PKD-DK4208-500GB%204Channel%20CCTV%20Secur

What do you guys think?

You can get a 500gb drive for $36. So that is slighly more plus shipping.

dinald444 wrote:So you CAN or CAN'T use a TV instead of a computer?

You can use a TV but you need a BNC male to RCA female adapter, the adapters can be found online for less than a dollar.

Um... South Dakota????

beachkid wrote:Is this a system I could set up at a cabin and monitor activity from a another location?

Yes, as long as you have a high speed internet connection and a router.

ROGETRAY wrote:That depends...are you a glass is HALF FULL kind of a person? or rather the glass is HALF EMPTY type?

You forgot one option ... I'm a "glass is twice as big as it needs to be" type of person ...

lordiego01 wrote:I've been wanting one of these for AGES.. but I'm worried about routing all that wire throughout the house.

May just be worth to spend the extra coin and go wireless...

any thoughts??

Beware of 2.4GHz wireless cameras if you also have WiFi. Each camera channel covers 3 or 4 WiFi channels, so 4 will completely knock out your WiFi. (Unless you're using "n" at 5GHz exclusively.)

I got this instead

If you have wifi in the house and just a little technical skill in configuring your firewall, this is IP based and easy to access and reorient remotely. I'm very pleased with the decision to go wireless.

Any sample video of this system in action anywhere?

Does anyone know the specs on what weatherproof means? i.e. Low Temp...

Can this work and can be viewed remotely on the Internet without a hard drive installed in the DVR?

dviolino wrote:I wouldn't recommend it, as you have to extend the power cable as well as the video. If the voltage drops too much, the camera won't work at all.

The Zmodo site says you can safely go up to 1,000 feet.

bcraig6737 wrote:What......no hard drive?

THERE ARE NO HARD DRIVES!

Will it still work for live view without a hard drive installed?

equimatc wrote:I was techincally savvy once, back in the day, but now I live on a farm and need something to keep an eye on the critters in the barn. Is this a practical system to set up in an outbuilding at a distance, and watch online live from indoors? Would I need a physical connection from the DVR to my router?

It does need a physical connection to a DVR, however, I have mine wired to a repeater/bridge which wirelessly connects to my main router. The DVR itself shouldnt be outdoors and should be in a temperature controlled location.

Trying to decide if this would work for us....we are not looking for anything super high tech or expensive. But I saw something that said there is no night vision?? Is that correct? If that is the case then what would be the purpose at all?

zadriel wrote:Geez woot. What to do what to do? I'm wondering should I buy the woot one, then find my own larger hard drive?

Or should I just buy the complete system we have here with the harddrive already installed for 199.00??

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/SKUSearch.asp?scriteria=BE50012&pagetitle=Zmodo%20Surveillance%20PKD-DK4208-500GB%204Channel%20CCTV%20Secur

What do you guys think?

Well when you add the shipping in, it is almost $220 and only $155 with woot. You could buy a 1 or 2 Terrabyte HD for that... So that makes this Woot Deal Much Better.

lordiego01 wrote:I've been wanting one of these for AGES.. but I'm worried about routing all that wire throughout the house.

May just be worth to spend the extra coin and go wireless...

any thoughts??

I was originally thinking the same before buying this system, but then realized that even for the wireless systems, I still need to wire power supplies to the cameras.

Can this be configured to send an email when motion is detected? If so, can the email include some pictures or a video?

I am playing with a USB camera using the software named "motion" and I have it emailing me a video when motion is detected, but such a system would cost much more than $150 if I bought 3 more USB camera's and weather proofed them. And that does not include night vision. However, using motion, I could have many cameras and they could be HD. It really depends on the computer I use. The 1 camera I am using with motion uses about 3-6% CPU on a P3.

If interested:
http://motion.sourceforge.net/

cltmhorn wrote:I'm curious how many days of surveillance data can be stored on a 1TB drive.

It depends on your recording settings.
If you record non-stop (not based on a specific schedule) and record at the highest quality level you will likely get close to 30 days. Lowest quality will yield significantly more (maybe 60 days).

mmmata wrote:Any sample video of this system in action anywhere?

I think this is video from one of the cameras.

YouTube video

mfarris1971 wrote:Trying to decide if this would work for us....we are not looking for anything super high tech or expensive. But I saw something that said there is no night vision?? Is that correct? If that is the case then what would be the purpose at all?

It has infrared LED's that allow it to 'see' in the dark. For it to be effective, objects have to be aprox 10 to 20 feet away from the camera. Dont expect full color images at night - the images are very washed out and white.

Th0r wrote:Can this be configured to send an email when motion is detected? If so, can the email include some pictures or a video?

I am playing with a USB camera using the software named "motion" and I have it emailing me a video when motion is detected, but such a system would cost much more than $150 if I bought 3 more USB camera's and weather proofed them. And that does not include night vision. However, using motion, I could have many cameras and they could be HD. It really depends on the computer I use. The 1 camera I am using with motion uses about 3-6% CPU on a P3.

If interested:
http://motion.sourceforge.net/

Yes, it could be configured to send an email. I havent set this up yet on my system and am not sure if it actually sends you a video file via email or just an alert that it detected motion.

mmmata wrote:Any sample video of this system in action anywhere?

Go to: http://www.zmodo.com/live-demo/

Use Internet Explorer and live demo the 9104UV after following the steps below the live demos to ready IE for active x controls. The 9104V and 9104UV have the same software as far as remote viewing and image quality are concerned.

mnevenflow wrote:I think this is video from one of the cameras.

YouTube video

Aside from likely blowing my cheap Woot SDAT speakers, that movie was pretty anti-climatic... I was hoping one of those trees would fall over on a passing car or something..

pohlmacs wrote:Can this work and can be viewed remotely on the Internet without a hard drive installed in the DVR?

Yes.

Caffeineismydrug wrote:Aside from likely blowing my cheap Woot SDAT speakers, that movie was pretty anti-climatic... I was hoping one of those trees would fall over on a passing car or something..

And the user must have installed a microphone next to the camera, because I don't think these cameras have mics.

Only if you set it that way. There is a control panel that lets you configure users who may access the camera system via a web browser. You can give the users the ability to monitor the cameras, but not make changes to the system. The level of permission is granular, you turn features on and off for each account. The remote can be used to program and control monitoring, but the best way to configure and operate is via the web interface.
You can find these systems all over, checkout Tiger for some of them, they have different cameras on some, but the basic system is all the same. The picture i got from the one I configured was very good, but I used a camera that cost over $100 on it's own.

dsteidin wrote:Yes.

The one I played with would allow Ethernet cameras to come to it. If the distance you need to cover is within the limit for Ethernet, you coiled run a buried Ethernet cable out to the out building.
You could also put the server in the out building and use a wireless bridge to tie to a wireless system in the house. You would only have to have power, and be able to keep it dry.

equimatc wrote:I was techincally savvy once, back in the day, but now I live on a farm and need something to keep an eye on the critters in the barn. Is this a practical system to set up in an outbuilding at a distance, and watch online live from indoors? Would I need a physical connection from the DVR to my router?

sender581 wrote:1. I'm not familiar with zoneminder but could tell you it works with the ASee app and the box includes a NetViewer application (which isn't really necessary because you can view it on the web from anywhere without the application).

2. Yes. Each camera is separate and can be viewed by selecting its specific channel.

3. Yes.

4. To my knowledge, yes. You don't need to have your monitor plugged in.

Thanks! I pulled the trigger. If I can get simultaneous MJPEG streams for each camera, I'm set. Even though it's cheap, it's better than nothing. I can upgrade later, plus I get the added deterrent effect now. :-)

Can anyone share as to how wide the lens is on these cams??

Do they have to be set really far away to see a whole drive-way? Or a door-way??

I just spent an hour chatting with Zmodo's online chat. The 1/4" CMOS are lower quality cameras. They recommend going with the 1/3" CCDs if you want better quality. You can get other cameras at their website, including those with pan/tilt/zoom, but zoom is expensive. She said this was the best deal she's ever seen them offer, and their similar (with hard drive) in-store offer has been suspended so they can fulfill woot orders. They also have higher end models with 8 channels. I'm picking up this woot for home, and we're getting an 8 channel for the store, plus I'll pick up a single pan/tilt CCD camera for home. The DVR box supports sound, but the cameras have no mic, you can add that if you want.

She estimates with continuous record (no motion activated recording) that four cameras can record for about 68 hours on 500gb. Windows computer may be required for some configuration thanks to active-x, but a VGA monitor is all you will need once set up, and there are several apps on the apple app store for remote viewing, at least one of which is free. (can also view on the LAN or port map for viewing over the internet, I'm betting that requires active-x also) You can attach an ext usb hdd to copy off video but I think we will just arrange for swapping internal hdds if we need to keep video after an incident.