Thread: Low power consumption 24/7 video recorder?

Wow, I so wouldn't cut a hole in the sheet metal either. Best I can do for the rear window is to mount it up high behind the window (sun glare but whatever), just under the headliner. The front is easy, right up with the mirror with the wire running up above the headliner (many of these cars have light sensors that mount both there and behind a cover in the top of the dash for auto lights/dimming).

"The one listed previously" was taken as the most recent post, the recorder located at http://cgi.ebay.com/Car-Mobile-4CH-M...item5880a43af3 . At least that one appears that it may supply the 12v for the cameras, without needing regulated power to power it.

Originally Posted by Seek

Where does it show 5v? The listing says 9v-32v and 5v would just be stupid on a system outputting 11-15v under normal circumstances. Anyways, the recorder isn't typically the problem, it's the cameras and trigger mechanism. Typical surveillance cameras are rated at 12v/500mA but that is often at full tilt with an auto iris. I have no clue what lenses with auto focusing will do. I still don't understand why cctv systems are still basically limited to 400-500 tvlines for the best price/performance while we've got 2TB hard drives and sub-$300 compact camcorders that do 1080P easily. If they were the size of a penny, it'd be fine but those type are only 200-300tvl and do horrible in low light.

I wouldn't be surprised if a low quality camera will get you the action but not an ID on a person - you can typically have one or the other. You shoot for having an up-close where people have to go so that you may pick up their details and clothing, then an area view to see who wearing what does what. When I find parts that I like, I will have wide angles in the front/rear windows for liability sake and two aiming at the side doors.

heres the thing--high res cameras are available, but there is a cost to them-- less recording time, and you would also need a recorder that uses less compression. it is as much about what cameras you pick as what recorder you use, and how it compresses, and processes the footage.

most people that install a camera system want to go back as far as possible--for referance, a 16 input dvr using mpeg4 compression, 70% image quality(larger saved pixel area), and 320x240 resolution, 7fps and 1tb drives will net you at least 30 days recording-- to alot of businesses, anything lower than that is unacceptable

on the same system, raise the frames to 30fps, raise the quality to 100%(smaller saved pixels), and change to 640x480 res., and you can expect recording to drop down to at least 15 days-- so just a small amount of changes, and you would need 2 tb to get back near 30 days. (keep in mind that the image is still getting compressed all this time to save on recording space, at the cost of image quality)

now just imagine the amount of recording space that someone would need to get something similar to even 720 res in uncompressed format. there is a very small market for systems in that cost bracket- most would probably end up going to Vegas Casinos....(though ip cameras are quickly changing the rules...)

on a cctv forum, i read a post a while back on what type of camera it would take to get resolution shown on tv shows 'surveillance video recordings'--the color chip on the camera would be need to be near 5 feet across-- most standard cameras use 1/3" chips...

i laugh every time they 'enhance' a camera to read a licence plate that was 3,000 feet away, pointing towards the crime scene, and not looking anywhere near the building it was supposed to be monitoring...

in real life, the only way i can get a readable licence plate catpure/ or facial recognition is to put a camera over a small, narrow area that they MUST go through, and zoom the lens in where i expect them to be(usually overhead to get suspects/cars of different hights).

granted, there are cameras on the market that are designed to be dedicated for this, but most smaller companies do not want to pay that much for a camera that will only see a liscence plate/face...

sorry, i am kind of venting at what people have come to expect from cameras after watching shows like csi...

Originally Posted by Seek

Wow, I so wouldn't cut a hole in the sheet metal either. Best I can do for the rear window is to mount it up high behind the window (sun glare but whatever), just under the headliner. The front is easy, right up with the mirror with the wire running up above the headliner (many of these cars have light sensors that mount both there and behind a cover in the top of the dash for auto lights/dimming).

"The one listed previously" was taken as the most recent post, the recorder located at http://cgi.ebay.com/Car-Mobile-4CH-M...item5880a43af3 . At least that one appears that it may supply the 12v for the cameras, without needing regulated power to power it.

Thing is I plan to keep my car till I die. It will never be sold. Plus you can not even tell its there. It looks OEM. Also I did a special treatment on, it sealed it, so no water can get in. I didnt want an obvious camera that can be stolen. Also because the electronics for the camera are behind the car, they last longer. Before I had an external camera and it rusted and filled with water. Now if you go with camera on the inside, facing out, they can not have I/R at all. If they do, at night the IR will reflect off the glass and you will not be able to see past the glass. All cameras that are built for the car can run on non regulated power. All my cameras are set up that way. Only the DQP and DVR have regulators.

Originally Posted by soundman98

heres the thing--high res cameras are available, but there is a cost to them-- less recording time, and you would also need a recorder that uses less compression. it is as much about what cameras you pick as what recorder you use, and how it compresses, and processes the footage.

most people that install a camera system want to go back as far as possible--for referance, a 16 input dvr using mpeg4 compression, 70% image quality(larger saved pixel area), and 320x240 resolution, 7fps and 1tb drives will net you at least 30 days recording-- to alot of businesses, anything lower than that is unacceptable

on the same system, raise the frames to 30fps, raise the quality to 100%(smaller saved pixels), and change to 640x480 res., and you can expect recording to drop down to at least 15 days-- so just a small amount of changes, and you would need 2 tb to get back near 30 days. (keep in mind that the image is still getting compressed all this time to save on recording space, at the cost of image quality)

now just imagine the amount of recording space that someone would need to get something similar to even 720 res in uncompressed format. there is a very small market for systems in that cost bracket- most would probably end up going to Vegas Casinos....(though ip cameras are quickly changing the rules...)

on a cctv forum, i read a post a while back on what type of camera it would take to get resolution shown on tv shows 'surveillance video recordings'--the color chip on the camera would be need to be near 5 feet across-- most standard cameras use 1/3" chips...

i laugh every time they 'enhance' a camera to read a licence plate that was 3,000 feet away, pointing towards the crime scene, and not looking anywhere near the building it was supposed to be monitoring...

in real life, the only way i can get a readable licence plate catpure/ or facial recognition is to put a camera over a small, narrow area that they MUST go through, and zoom the lens in where i expect them to be(usually overhead to get suspects/cars of different hights).

granted, there are cameras on the market that are designed to be dedicated for this, but most smaller companies do not want to pay that much for a camera that will only see a liscence plate/face...

sorry, i am kind of venting at what people have come to expect from cameras after watching shows like csi...

I agree with you 100%! People believe anything they see on TV now a days. Also something that you may want to add is the fact that these high res cameras are also alot bigger in size. I drive an SUV and I would never consider putting one of those on my car because it woudnt be flattering to the car.

As mentioned before by several users, the best thing to do is have high res cameras watching your car from your house. Then add normal cameras to your car for an added layer of protection. Then get a really good quality car alarm system. I plan on getting one with a one mile range, and that monitors everything, windows, doors, and what not, if anything is tampered with, it will go off. I am even looking to have it trigger my camera system if it goes off. Also if you do not plan on having auto start on your car, you could have this installed: Ravelco Anti theft. They basically rewire you car to this connector and because all connectors are different, it is imposiable for a theif to figure out the combination. I will note again though, that if you use this, auto start feature will not work unless you leave the connector in its socket, which would defeat the purpose. Another option is LoJack LoJack, which is monitored by the police. If your in another country, I am sure your country has something similar. Basically when your car is reported stolen, the police can directly track your car. Another option can be a GPS based system so you and the police can track the car, I also plan to use this also, unless I go with a LoJack. With all these methods combined, your car should be safe.

to avoid blindnes by headlights there is special soft for the camera BIOS, and there are some special cameras, standard feature valled Wide Range Dynamics WRD (aka WDR) it takes low exosure frame and high exoposure frames and combines them in one so light blidbness is reduced. But you need smarter camera for this (or webcam w. custom drivers) chippo $10 webcams have it as Outdoor mode. My cam mounted unde the car w/ Outdor mode and UV+IR filter im gettin OK over headlights... still need to tweak filters, maybe mesh filter would work, have to hunt for it on ebay as new one cost half of the car lol

Originally Posted by tempgp

to avoid blindnes by headlights there is special soft for the camera BIOS, and there are some special cameras, standard feature valled Wide Range Dynamics WRD (aka WDR) it takes low exosure frame and high exoposure frames and combines them in one so light blidbness is reduced. But you need smarter camera for this (or webcam w. custom drivers) chippo $10 webcams have it as Outdoor mode. My cam mounted unde the car w/ Outdor mode and UV+IR filter im gettin OK over headlights... still need to tweak filters, maybe mesh filter would work, have to hunt for it on ebay as new one cost half of the car lol

The cameras do that. I know if the sun hits them directly, I can still actually see the sun, but its not blinding. Also at night, the camera uses every little light to make the camera light. I am going to have to do some testing and see what it looks like.

Personally, I know cctv well after leaving a surveillance camera installation company about 5 years ago. Cctv Cameras haven't really improved at all since then, besides pricing as more and more moves overseas. We normally had a camera zoomed into half of a two way road, being able to pick up license plates from the shortest cars an tallest trucks, then area view cameras of the parking lots. Of course, these concepts are still needed today and will be for a long time to come.

Even an easily replaceable trunk lid (which mine is) is a bit much for me to want to hack up but I've got thousands of hours of labor into this vehicle.

I'm looking at setting up a pin hole camera and DVR in my dash for security purposes. I'm considering setting it up on a relay to turn on the power source only when the car is off. At that point, I'd like it to be in motion detection mode.

Do you guys know if this unit has volatile memory for its settings? In other words, if I hard wire it, will it turn on to motion detection mode when the power is turned on?

Here's a link to the unit I'm looking at -- the same one as mentioned in the thread:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310225530032&ssPageNam e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Does anyone know if the DVR mentioned in the thread, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT will leave off where it was if you turn the power on and off?

In other words, if I hard wire the unit in my car and set it for motion detection, will it resume motion detection after being power cycled? Or, does it default to some other setting or need to be turned back on via a push button?

Originally Posted by Seek

Personally, I know cctv well after leaving a surveillance camera installation company about 5 years ago. Cctv Cameras haven't really improved at all since then, besides pricing as more and more moves overseas. We normally had a camera zoomed into half of a two way road, being able to pick up license plates from the shortest cars an tallest trucks, then area view cameras of the parking lots. Of course, these concepts are still needed today and will be for a long time to come.

Even an easily replaceable trunk lid (which mine is) is a bit much for me to want to hack up but I've got thousands of hours of labor into this vehicle.

That is actually one thing that bugs me. The wide angle cameras make everything look smaller and farther away, but you can see alot more area. Mine can see almost 4 car lanes worth of width, which is awesome because I can see people trying to hide in my blind spots, and they seem to be shocked when I turn on my blinkers and actually wait for their dumb @$$es to move. After about 3 car lengths back, cars look like they are about 6 car lengths back. I have been running that camera for about 4 months so I am use to it and it is actually easier then using the standard mirror.

The cameras I bought all came with a special drill bit tool that makes a perfect hole. In the end its a choice of making it look 100% intergrated or not. When people pull up to my car, they dont know there is a camera because its so well intergrated. The only time they do know is when they are behind me and can see the screen at night. You will see them turning on blinkers and flashing lights to see if that is them on the screen. Its the most funniest thing.

Originally Posted by LMB68

I'm looking at setting up a pin hole camera and DVR in my dash for security purposes. I'm considering setting it up on a relay to turn on the power source only when the car is off. At that point, I'd like it to be in motion detection mode.

Do you guys know if this unit has volatile memory for its settings? In other words, if I hard wire it, will it turn on to motion detection mode when the power is turned on?

Here's a link to the unit I'm looking at -- the same one as mentioned in the thread:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310225530032&ssPageNam e=STRK:MEWAX:IT

Does anyone know if the DVR mentioned in the thread, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT will leave off where it was if you turn the power on and off?

In other words, if I hard wire the unit in my car and set it for motion detection, will it resume motion detection after being power cycled? Or, does it default to some other setting or need to be turned back on via a push button?

The DVR you linked to, from my understanding, does leave off. Another user uses it, but I keep forgetting his name. It starst with an L and he uses it in his Mini Copper.

Thanks so much for the reply. I did a Google image search and saw a picture of the side of the unit. It uses a slide switch for on-off so it should resume.

I'm planning on using it as a security camera, installed in the dash of my 2005 F150 and pointed at the two front seats. I'm going to add a couple infrared LEDs in the air vents to provide night vision. My truck was broken into a few weeks ago and about $1500 of stereo stolen.

I'm also installing a Viper 5901 which I'm going to try to set for a 30 second delay to let the morons get in the truck and in front of the camera before going off...

Any suggestions for cameras?

This is the one I'm considering: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

It has a max resolution of 768x494 and 520 TVL. Minimum light of .03LUX. The SecuMate records at a max of 704x480 for NTSC.

Would the difference in resolution cause any degradation in the captured image/video quality?