Comments for Surveillance Video System News

Comment on Aposonic A-CDM03 Dome Camera by Nelson

Nelson — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 10:22:48 +0000

0 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Decent dome, September 15, 2010

Nelson -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Aposonic A-CDM03 Dome Camera (Electronics)

You get what you pay for. Surprisingly, it comes with power adapter!
Really save my time and money.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Comment

Comment on Zmodo CM-I12316GY Night Vision Wireless IP Network Surveillance Security Camera by harkind

harkind — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 03:03:56 +0000

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Good Camera For the Money, August 24, 2010

harkind -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Zmodo CM-I12316GY Night Vision Wireless IP Network Surveillance Security Camera (Electronics)

Although I have no experience with other IP cameras, this one does exactly what I want. It does not require a computer beyond initial setup. The camera has a built in web server that is easy to access and configure. The picture quality is adequate. The night vision is great. During the day, the colors will appear to be off, but this is due to the sensor's sensitivity to infra red light for night. Overall, I think this is a good camera, and will buy a couple more.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Comment (1)

Comment on Zmodo CM-I12316GY Night Vision Wireless IP Network Surveillance Security Camera by G. Jeronowitz

G. Jeronowitz — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:40:38 +0000

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

works, but you'd better be able to go it alone, April 20, 2011

G. Jeronowitz (Mesa, AZ) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Zmodo CM-I12316GY Night Vision Wireless IP Network Surveillance Security Camera (Electronics)

I use a Mac. The documentation for this camera is just about non-existant and what does exist assumes you are running Windows.

I finally noticed there is a sticker on the box with the default IP, username and password as well as info about the DDNS settings. Once you get in to the web interface, setup is fairly straight forward and I have the camera under the control of my Security Spy software which is doing the motion detection/capture and alerting. Some very useful information such as the ethernet and WiFi MAC addresses are missing, and it should probably ship with DHCP set up instead of a manual IP.

The box itself states the camera can record audio. There is an audio cable hanging off the back, but no audio is sent along with the video stream unless you use Internet Explorer to watch the video.

My casual indoor test with the lights off show a good range of visibility with only light from the built-in IR emitters. Under normal white light conditions the color balance is off, significantly.

The description and box state 30FPS. I've not seen more than 15fps in either the 640x480 or 320x240 video modes yet, not even on ethernet; I can only assume the 30fps is referring to the analog output connector.

The wireless range seems okay. I had the camera a few rooms away from my router and it was holding 18Mb/s and the aforementioned 15fps.

Once I installed the camera on a tripod I noticed that the internal camera sensor is not aligned with the exterior chassis. I have to have the camera rotated about 20 degrees so the captured image is aligned to the horizon properly. The focus on the camera is non-adjustable as far as I can tell and it is off in my unit just a bit.

update;
I dismantled the camera and found an internal focus mechanism. The video from the camera is now quite sharp.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Comment

Comment on Zmodo CM-I12316GY Night Vision Wireless IP Network Surveillance Security Camera by VC Geezer

VC Geezer — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:20:55 +0000

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

Difficult to set up - no documentation, December 22, 2010

VC Geezer (Nevada) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: Zmodo CM-I12316GY Night Vision Wireless IP Network Surveillance Security Camera (Electronics)

I did get the wireless part to work fairly quickly. My biggest gripe is that it does not appear to support email notification on motion detect with Gmail (requires SSL SMTP (secure socket layer simple mail transfer protocol) and TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption). Also since no useful manuals or help screens are supplied or available from Zmodo, it requires the user/installer to attempt all setup processes by trial and error, consuming a lot of hours.
Contacting Zmodo is a hit or miss proposition.
If you botch or forget the login and password, I found out that if you short the pair of loose contacts that may be labeled "reset" (the label tends to fall off) for 10+ seconds, it will put the camera back to its factory defaults - that is not in any of their documents, along with most all other information that is missing.

Got a response a day later from Zmodo on the email situation:
"We have had some trouble with our customers being able to use Gmail's SMTP server. We have since set up our own email server for the sole purpose of providing our customer's with motion alerts. Please use the following settings and then put your email address in the Recv Address field."

SSL: Disabled
SMTP Server: zmodo.net
SMTP Port: 26
Sender: emailer@zmodo.net
Username: emailer@zmodo.net
Password: zmodo

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Comments (4)

Comment on VideoSecu CCD Pinhole Lens Covert Security Camera Weatherproof Outdoor 420TVL High Resolution CCTV Camera for DVR Home Surveillance System CC29P C42 by Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 19:24:07 +0000

For pice its ok, July 28, 2011

Positronic (West Coast) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: VideoSecu CCD Pinhole Lens Covert Security Camera Weatherproof Outdoor 420TVL High Resolution CCTV Camera for DVR Home Surveillance System CC29P C42

I bought this as someone had been stealing stuff off our carport. The video image is not as clear as I'd like but for the price it's expected. I'm going to try out a camera in the $80-$90 range (560TVL) to see if I can get a camera with a more detailed image. Btw - I'm using this with the 4 Channel Embedded Linux US411L which costs about $130 on Amazon. It is a standalone DVR which allows 4 cameras up to 320x240 resolution at 30fps, or, 2 cameras at 740x480 at 15fps. The reviews were good which is why I bought it, and, this camera. You would also need a cable to carry power and video (and audio if wanted though you'd need a seperate mic). This is the cable I bought - VideoSecu 50 Feet Power Video Audio CCTV Security Camera Cable Wire with Free BNC RCA Adapter 1JC, and this is the power supply - VideoSecu 12V DC CCTV Security Camera Power Supply Adapter with 4 (2.1mm) Channel Connectors Port PW154 1I0, and this is the mic - VideoSecu High Sensitive Preamp Mini Microphone with Power Bypass for Security Audio Sound Voice Monitoring Recording and Free Warning Decal WD4. The DVR only has one mic input (though may be able to use a splitter).

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Comment

Comment on VideoSecu CCD Pinhole Lens Covert Security Camera Weatherproof Outdoor 420TVL High Resolution CCTV Camera for DVR Home Surveillance System CC29P C42 by A. Psarianos

A. Psarianos — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:49:10 +0000

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

Good quality hidden camera, nice price!, October 12, 2010

A. Psarianos (NJ) -

This review is from: VideoSecu CCD Pinhole Lens Covert Security Camera Weatherproof Outdoor 420TVL High Resolution CCTV Camera for DVR Home Surveillance System CC29P C42

My husband and I bought lots of different cameras for our HIDDEN security setup and this one is the best hidden camera by far. We bought and returned several cameras, and this camera is the best for its size in all of our hidden cameras, for the fact it does not have those LEDs around the lens (at night when you look at a camera with LEDs you can see them glowing, not good if you want hidden cameras). If you have 8 or 16 LEDS around the lens, they might only throw a little light about 5-8 feet, but beyond that they are useless. However, a 100 led light camera is really easy to spot if you are trying to hide them. We did have a camera with 28 LEDs inside my department, but because of the light they put out, small bugs would be attracted to the light and set off the motion sensor constantly. I think companies put LED lights on cameras to sell them because they seem like a good idea. But in reality, I found them to be useless if you want to hide a camera or use a motion sensor.

Pros:
Tiny, about the size of a lipstick
Sturdy, aluminum construction could use in any environment
Excellent high res image with good color
Pre focused lens from about 2 feet to infinity
Reasonably wide lens
Work well with IR illuminator

Cons:
Nearly immune to the effects of high wind, blowing dust, and gale force rain

In service with full exposure to several rain storms, high winds, and temperatures ranging from - 20 degrees F to 122 degrees F with no problems.

Color balance is very good, and the aperture control is excellent.

Light sensitivity for a good picture is acceptable to deep dusk, and objects can be recognized beneath street lights.

If you are looking camera you can to the point it's basically invisible. For high quality and around 50 dollars, this VideoSecu camera is the best one.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Comment (1)

Comment on VideoSecu CCD Pinhole Lens Covert Security Camera Weatherproof Outdoor 420TVL High Resolution CCTV Camera for DVR Home Surveillance System CC29P C42 by Technical Reader

Technical Reader — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:37:39 +0000

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

Better Than Expected - A Great Value, December 15, 2010

Technical Reader (Washington, DC) -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: VideoSecu CCD Pinhole Lens Covert Security Camera Weatherproof Outdoor 420TVL High Resolution CCTV Camera for DVR Home Surveillance System CC29P C42

Bought this from Amazon as a little test camera before buying a better model, but was pleased enough with the quality and function to actually use it for real.

I have this attached to an Axis M7001 Video Encoder to convert the analog signal from the camera into a digital version capable of being viewed over our LAN. The signal from the camera is strong, the picture clear and the quality very good.

This was originally just going to be used to develop a sample of the system (encoder + web + camera) but it is now watching the front of my house full time. It is hanging outside under the eaves, unprotected, in winter weather. Over the last week it has dropped under 20 degrees with snow and a great deal of wind (the camera does not get rain or snow on it under the eaves). No problems. The Axis encoder (inside the house, of course) reports when a signal is lost and so far it has stayed up even in the bad weather.

Light sensitivity is high and it switches to B/W mode about as well as any other model I have seen. It will deliver a picture when your eyes will not, but it is not a "night vision" device. Some ambient light is required (you should put up an IR light if you want to see in the dark).

A few notes about the camera if you choose to buy it:

- There is no power supply provided: this is normal with security cameras. You may have a 12 v. dc power adapter laying around that does 500 mA or more, but if not you can run down to the local Radio Shack and pick one up easily (or get one on Amazon). The adapter size is standard for security cams. If your adapter plug does not match...again - run down to Radio Shack and get one. Or better yet save the hassle and just get the one Amazon tells you to get.

- There are no adjustments on this camera. None. The field of view you buy is what you get.

- The video connector is a standard BNC type. This means it is not compatible with your home coax wire (screw-on terminal) unless you get a BNC/Coax adapter.

- If you want to plug this directly into your TV, DVR or VCR: Look for some BNC/Coax and BNC-RCA adapters (search on Amazon, they are easy to find). Use the BNC/coax adapter on the camera to attach the camera to standard coax cable, then use a coax/RCA adapter on the other end to plug it into your TV on one of your alternate video inputs (don't use one with a channel tuner as this camera does not use 'channels'). Done.

- To hook it into your computer (see over the web): you will need a video encoder to do this. These are invariably more expensive than the camera itself. The Axis brand products are pretty much the industry standard but you are looking at something in the $250-$270 per camera depending on which of their encoders you use. But they work great. There are a dozen other options you can figure out...but the stand-alone encoders work and do not require another computer - the web server is built it.

We'll be adding more cameras soon and I will probably get more of this model. They offer great capability for the low price.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Comment

Comment on Echelon – Most Secret Spy System (History Channel) by Rand Stevenson

Rand Stevenson — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 02:40:46 +0000

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Comments on Echelon, May 6, 2007

Rand Stevenson -

This review is from: Echelon - Most Secret Spy System (History Channel) (DVD)

Echelon is a most secret communications intercept and monitoring system on which little official information is available. The program provided an excellent overview of the intent and purposes of the Echelon Program, but perhaps more importantly, it revealed the vast scope and capability of the listening capabilites of this worldwide system. If anyone has any doubt if anyone is listening, this will provide a sense of reality to the fact that they are indeed listening. After watching the program you may not be a technical expert, but you will be a believer.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Comment

Comment on SecuriX Sound Activated Thumb Size Camcorder with Belt Clip Kits by dennis1

dennis1 — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:50:58 +0000

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

to good to be true, March 17, 2011

dennis1 -

Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)

This review is from: SecuriX Sound Activated Thumb Size Camcorder with Belt Clip Kits (Sports)

This product simply did not work and once plugged in a blue and red light would come on regardless of any action taken, meanwhile the poorly written english from japanese instructions talked of a yellow light. Someone with a better grasp of the english language needs to rewrite those directions

dennis

I was looking forward to videotaping my motorcycle rides this summer. so I am bummed!

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Comment

Comment on SecuriX Sound Activated Thumb Size Camcorder with Belt Clip Kits by enero30

enero30 — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 19:09:37 +0000

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

rip off, September 8, 2010

enero30 (Brooklyn, NY) -

This review is from: SecuriX Sound Activated Thumb Size Camcorder with Belt Clip Kits (Sports)

This is a chinese knock off of a AEE MD80 MiniHD camera that sells for about $15 at most other retailers. It works maybe half the time, if you are lucky. Even the more reliable AEE MD80 can be had for half the price these guys are charging! RESEARCH BEFORE YOU BUY!

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you?

Comment