Should I go for Geovision card for Live VideoStreaming?

[teren]

napoleon3rd
If you want stability and dependability, Goevision is the way to go. I have tested few different cards to incorporate into commercial video surveillance unit and GV card came a winner.
It had built in watchdog that will reset computer upon lockup and does not require propriatory software to access video or playback over the internet. It downloads its own player. It will stream in MPEG 4 or send JPEG.
It also has imbedded support for PTZ cameras (6 or 7 types). I also found that it should be running on a dedicated system. The best combo I found:
P4 1.8GHz and up
256 MB RAM for 8 cameras, 512 for 16
Asus mother board, stay away from VIA
NVidia 64 MB video card
GV600 or better
Also decide if you need 4, 8 or 16 port card because there is no upgrade or add on card. Specs and info on their site - http://www.geovision.com.tw

[napoleon3rd]

The cousin of my wife offered himself up as the guinnea-pig for spending the money and test the card, he wants to achieve the same as I do, so that helps....

Where shall I but this card? What shuld we pay?
Agree with the observation to go over the GV600.
And: Is this prepared for both NTSC as PAL (European TV protocol)?


Zoomkat, interesting it is, but that's not my strong side... The Ocelot in a watchdog function is where my knowledge ends, I guess that this rebooting without checkdisk without window password nor network passwords are the most important changes isn't it?

thanks

380 MHz, Ocelot, VCR, 2x751, 2x501, 4 ActiveEye, 2 XCAM2, 1 IR Cam, 4 PH, 5 keychain, 3 stick-a-switch, 5 AM, 5 LM, 3 WS, PCS05, univ mod, P-Flash, 11 Door-sensors, DS7000, GlassBreak, MS10a

[teren]

napoleon3rd

Check out http://www.digitalssinc.com/store/customer/home.php
The card is both NTSC and PAL.I normally run on Win 2000 Pro, autologin, no sreen saver or monitor power saver and recycling bin set to " do not move files to Recycle bin". 80 GB drive will give you 2 weeks plus of 24X7 continuous recording with 8 cameras. On motion detect only will give more time (only recommended for indoor cameras).
On motion gives you options of e-mailing Jpegs or call your pager, cell prhone, land line. The features are too numerous to mention and are described on their web site.
There is also an I/O card with RS232 interface that can trigger on motion detect and activate siren, lights, etc...

[ToyMaster]

They DVR system that I plan on selling are a bit more pricey then the others but I am working on that and I feel it is worth it. If you look very close to the Server screen layout you will see that a lot of the DVR systems have the same layout. This is because most of the companies purchase the OEM version and have it branded. Also the manufactures will not sell to the general public or the smaller business. They require you to sell at least 500 cards a year and that’s where the interfacing comes in. In order to get the programming information to integrate with their product you need to sell 500 units a year. My personal favorite is based off of the Pico 2000 software and I have already been able to get some SDK information on it and I am in the process of getting the information to be able to trigger an alarm from an external application on another computer off the network. Right now the only way to integrate the two is to come out of HomeSeer with an I/O board and then back into the DVR system with their I/O card. If you end up searching the Internet for the Pico 2000 software be very careful! About 2 years ago there system was stolen and is still today being sold on the internet from next to nothing to full price stating that is the current version but in fact it is running version 1.7 and they are currently on version 2.2 If you have any problems with the card there is no warranty and no support given buy and dealers. There are a few things to keep in mind during your search for a card. One there is a difference between Video “Capture”, “Compression” and “Multiplexer” boards. Capture boards are software based compression and puts a heavy load on your CPU but each camera is recorded as it own feed. Compression handles all of the compression on the boards and treats each camera feed as it’s own. Multiplexer can be either hardware or software compression but handles each camera feed as one loosing fps recording and viewing. Also keep in mind the frame rate, a 30 fps boards not only have to capture video but broadcast it also so you end recording rate is only 2.5 fps if you are recording and capturing all 4 ports then if you don’t have good software having multiple remotes viewing will drop that rate even more. Then comes the Computer it self. Having a software capture card will require a fast CPU to keep up with everything and most of the quality cards will not properly function on a “Off the shelf” computer like a Gateway or Dell because of the chipset and or Bios they use and you will also need a AGP 32MB video card like a ATI. I am hoping when I am done I will have a quality DVR that will have the choices of different fps per card and integrate into HomeSeer and I will be able to create plug-ins that will provide the needed options. So far I have been hitting "road blocks" at every turn mostly due to the quantity issue. The main reason I do not like the Geovision is you are required to purchase both the GV-Net and the GV-IO to get any I/O connections. There is also No type of custom apps you can design for it and all the dealers I called did not no much about their product and the company would not return my emails or take my calls because I was not a dealer and I need to go through a dealer. I have not trace the other "no name" brand I mentioned yet but I have not been too happy with it after testing. It is Very Picky about the hardware it uses. After the amount of time I have put in researching this I could go on and on but I am tired and bid you all a good night.

[adiaz]

I bought mine here:
http://www.sonerik.com/

[napoleon3rd]

Zoomkat your observation is spot on, I will in reality be needing only 1 Port, as I use the 2.4 GHz Receiver of the XCAM2, (even for the IR Cam I canibalised an XCAM2 to use its 2.4 GHz sender only). Through the Ocelot I control the powersupply of the camera that I wish to transmit to the receiver. Or when the Wireless HongKong camera arrives, I will be needing 2 ports as this wireless receiver is different.

Then the A/V receiver is connected to the VCR or in the future to the GV650.

Question that pop's up after going through the FAQ of the Geovision website: are all cameras OK for input to this card, or is that restricted to the couple of Cams that they portray in their list? I.e. does XCAM2 work for Geovision?

Second question: how do I get the Optex LX-402 outdoor detector to tell the Geovision to do something: it doesn't interface with X10 at all isn't it?
It looks like that the Geovision Software has its own SW related motion detection that triggers it's own e-mail submission, is that right?

Toymaster: I see your point, and their website has literally only 11 questions in their FAQ.
You are mentioning the hardware accessories, I saw them (NET - I/O - Relay etc) but don't know when they are needed, probably for the above problem isn't it?

I see that when doing 1 step ahead, I am in need for doing 2 steps back...

380 MHz, Ocelot, VCR, 2x751, 2x501, 4 ActiveEye, 2 XCAM2, 1 IR Cam, 4 PH, 5 keychain, 3 stick-a-switch, 5 AM, 5 LM, 3 WS, PCS05, univ mod, P-Flash, 11 Door-sensors, DS7000, GlassBreak, MS10a

[ToyMaster]

napoleon3rd: Right now in order to get any DVR system to be controlled by external sources you need to hook it up to an I/O device that is compatable with the DVR Software. Some DVR systems have I/O built into the Video Board and some require an optional I/O addon. In Geovisions case you will need to purchase the GV-NET and also the GV-IO this will give you 8 alarm input to activate the record on the camera. The alarm that is built into the software is for camera motion sensing.

Most cameras will work with the Geovision or any other DVR System. As long as the camera is a NTSC or PAL composite video. So to answer you question about the XCam2 it should work. Right now I have a xcam receiver going into a DVR System BNC Port.

I do see some problems that you will have when you switch to the Geovision or any other DVR System. If you have multiple wireless XCam camera feeding a single DVR port and are using sofware camera motion sensor every time you change the camera you will trigger the motion sensor alarm if it is enabled. Also The way camera motion sensors work is it watches a selected area of the video for any change so that means you will not be able to use software motion sensor on any DVR port that has multiple cameras connected to it.

In order to get the Optex LX-402 to trigger DVR recording you will have to get the GV-NET and the GV-IO and wire it to the Optex LX-402. Also if the camera that you want to record from is on one of the ports that have multiple wireless cameras you need to turn that camera on at the same time the Optex LX-402 is triggered.

I hope this was some help

[napoleon3rd]

Great to have your advise. I am starting to see that with not having a plug-in this system stays basically totally stand-alone from x10 and Homeseer and the Ocelot.

What would be your reading on why these Geovision guys don't want to wrok with leading companies to have their product integrated with their products?

thx

380 MHz, Ocelot, VCR, 2x751, 2x501, 4 ActiveEye, 2 XCAM2, 1 IR Cam, 4 PH, 5 keychain, 3 stick-a-switch, 5 AM, 5 LM, 3 WS, PCS05, univ mod, P-Flash, 11 Door-sensors, DS7000, GlassBreak, MS10a

[ToyMaster]

Your statement is almost correct:
"totally stand-alone from x10 and Homeseer and the Ocelot"
DVR systems will work with the Ocelot as long as you have the SECU16 and an I/O board for the DVR. HomeSeer could then trigger the SECU16 output that is wired to the DVR input and start recording. You may or may not have to add a relay.

As far as your other question first off not alot of companys want to give you the ability to make changes and intergration because it will incress the need of tech support and end up incressing price on the product. I also feel they do not want to work with other companys and giving them what they feel is secure company information. Most of the time is because how the software was designed. It would take a complete rewrite in order to do what we want and we are not a BIG part of the market.

It all comes down to dollers and no sense.

[rblout]

I am currently running 3 live streams on a Linux box using 3 single Hauppauge WinTv cards and RealNeworks Helix Server and Helix Producer, both free downloads from Real Networks. Stability is exceptional. In the event of a camera failure the "process id" for that camera "disappears" and a cron job which statuses these cameras restarts the failed camera. Does not happen often but when it does its nice to know that you can get "back on the air". The "Helix" products requires a certain amount of effort to learn/master, but they care capable of so much. Again all the documentation is free online or for download. The one "gotcha" is that the client machines must have RealPlayer installed. You can have a look here:

http://stormfront.dnsalias.net/rear_cam.html
http://stormfront.dnsalias.net/front_cam.html
http://stormfront.dnsalias.net/garage_cam.html

These 3 are embeded in an html page. You could also paste the "rtsp" from the source into your RealPlayer.

These are temporary links while I work out some issues. I am also in the preocess of replacing the rear camera and the garage camera due to limitations of the cameras themselves.

This link will stream all 3 images (or should) in a smil presentation. However bandwidth is limited so the "motion" my qickly degrade:

http://stormfront.dnsalias.net/3cam.smil

Oh, Linux recognizes the booktree chipset so if you are considering Linux as a streaming option then you must ensure that the video device employs this chipset or there could be problems.

Just another option.

[napoleon3rd]

Alfonso, just before Christmas I went to Sonerik Security, signed up for the on-line dealership, ordered the GV650-4 card, -indeed the best prices- and heard little on it apart from the Visa Charge.
I tried to call but nobody picks up the phone, not in Miami office either; e-mail's sporadically replied with avoiding answers. This could very well be that this is a one-man-band and that the guy is a bit chaotic and/or busy with other stuff...

What was your buying experience?

thanks

380 MHz, Ocelot, VCR, 2x751, 2x501, 4 ActiveEye, 2 XCAM2, 1 IR Cam, 4 PH, 5 keychain, 3 stick-a-switch, 5 AM, 5 LM, 3 WS, PCS05, univ mod, P-Flash, 11 Door-sensors, DS7000, GlassBreak, MS10a

[napoleon3rd]

Just to let you know that I received my Geovision GV650 with 8 Camera ports and 8 Audio Ports and GV-Net to connect to remote appliances.
Sonerik was indeed the best deal, they were maybe a bit overloaded for which it took so long.

First impression: indeed high-end stuff, extremely stable, doesn't eat much CPU while running with 1 camera it eats 20-30% of my Pentium4 - 2600.
Now I will try the webcam functionality... and let you know.

2600 MHz, 128Geforce, Geovision 650-8cam, Ocelot, VCR, 2x751, 2x501, 4 ActiveEye, 2 XCAM2, 1 IR Cam 3 other cam, 4 PH, 5 keychain, 3 stick-a-switch, 5 AM, 5 LM, 3 WS, PCS05, univ mod, P-Flash, 11 Door-sensors, DS7000, GlassBreak, MS10a

[napoleon3rd]

Rick, I am preparing to request an API from Geovision as I want to control the camera access through an IBM Lotus Notes application to create a distant learning solution. What kind of API do you need to be able to integrate Geovision with Homeseer? Geovision does use DirectX version 9.

Just to give all people that may be interested a status overview of my video project: Meanwhile I got my Geovision 650 card with 8 Audio+Video ports with in total 120 FPS capability, it's amazingly stable, writes all cameras in parallel to the harddisk, or if you wish only after a trigger. If you wish it calls or sends e-mail (now working on an SMS gateway) when a trigger is met. The best place to buy today this seems to be eBAY, I just bought 2 more cards, Geovision 800 one with 4 and 1 for 16 cameras, I will link them into 1 virtual site. Next week I will be getting an IR Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) camera that needs apart from Video, 2 cables for power, only 2 cables for PTZ. The web-cam functionality is extemely good when you have a DSL line, see for yourself: 217.127.202.253 (userid: guest, pw: guest), or with Alfonso.

Teren, I don't need the watchdog either as the PC (P4 2.6MHz ASUS SIA with 512 MB, Geforce128, XP) doesn't hang up. A Special thanks on the warning of no upgradeability.

Toymaster: I am interested in learning about a cheap 4 port Linux-box dedicated to mpeg4 web Videostreaming, with SW that has the same functionality as Geovision vs 6, did you proceed with your DVR project?

thanks

[Rick Tinker]

Last I heard the Geovision did not have a DirectX driver and thus would not work with HomeSeer.

Interesting to hear the Lotus Notes reference - thought that product had about died - last I worked with it was back in the mid 90's!