Security Camera, Repair and Troubleshooting Tips

Security cameras are a great asset to any business or home, but it is a technology that few know much about outside of the industry. In fact, If we're going to be perfectly honest, few in the industry know very much about them. Sure most installers can do a halfway descent job installing them, but few really understand the technology behind them, and why a specific camera is perfect for one location, but leaves much to be desired in another location. But I digress, what you're interested in is how to keep those blasted things running, and so I've put together a few tips to help you do just that.

I've seen techs just try one thing after another basically throwing mud on the wall to see what sticks, but this approach is both costly to you, because it is time consuming,(techs aren't cheap) and ineffective. A better approach is to break the system down to its most basic elements, and then troubleshoot each element of the system until you find the specific area that is causing the problem. I recently helped a ghost hunter with his camera set-up. (I know, cool right!) He was preparing to record a haunting, but since he didn't use his cameras on a regular basis, he had made some minor mistake in his set up,(Either that or his poltergeist was camera shy) and he could only see one camera on his four camera system. Following is the procedure we followed to solve his ghoulish problem, and oh by the way, he had some pretty cool images on camera that might make you rethink your opinion of those manifestations, that haunt the night.

Step one of our ghost busting is to isolate the problem: After making a preliminary check to see that each camera had power (by the light on the transformer), and that the transformer met the proper specs, the next step is to see if each camera had video. Obviously the camera that showed up on the screen was working but the next step was to isolate one of the other three cameras to see what was going on with an individual camera. Take a small monitor with a video input and hook the camera directly into the monitor. Do not use the existing cable because you are checking to see if there is a problem with the cable. Since the problem affected three cameras the chance that each cable was defective was unlikely, but you have to isolate the problem by eliminating the obvious. We had a picture, so the next step is to move the test monitor down and incorporate the existing cable. If we hadn't had a picture while taking our video feed directly from the cameras, it would have told us there was likely a power problem or defective cameras.

To test for proper power I would have taken a voltage meter and tested to see that I was getting full power from the transformer. If I was not getting enough power the camera would not turn on. This is common with cameras that use infra-red, when the IR lights turn on, if your power supply is not adequate, the camera will turn off. Many times an installer will use a transformer designed for one camera and use a splitter to run multiple cameras. When the IR lights turns on, all of the cameras are pulling more power, which can cause the cameras to shut down. Sometimes just one camera will shut down because it is at the end of the line. If you have the power you need,(usually around one amp per camera), and the camera still doesn't work then you've isolated the camera as the problem.

If I was getting full power at the camera, but no picture, the last thing I could try would be to reboot the camera by "pulling the plug" so to speak and then after a few seconds restoring power to the camera. Believe it or not this has worked for me in the past. Usually from the result of a power surge or loss of power causing the camera to freeze up. A security camera has many of the same elements of a computer and rebooting helps it to correct itself. If I still had no video at the camera, then the camera is dead. Possibly a faulty cord, but not repairable in the field.

Now that I have resolved the camera is working and the cable is not defective I have isolated the problem somewhere between the DVR and the monitor. The next phantom to look for would be in the monitor. To find this apparition you need to isolate the monitor and take it out of the equation. The first thing to do here is check the cable configuration. Most DVRs have three cable hookups, VGA output, Video Out, Spot Video Out. Your VGA output allows you to use a computer monitor to capture the image. Since VGA monitors are built to be on all the time for computer use, they are built to last, and are your best choice for a video monitor. On a VGA monitor, if your not getting an image and you're plugged into the DVR, then you have narrowed it down to the monitor. Since this ghost hunter's problem was only one camera showing up on his screen, this is not a likely problem. There is one connection that can cause this problem and that is if the cable is plugged into the "spot" video out instead of the "video out" jack. The video "spot" jack is meant for just monitoring one camera for various reasons. This was our specter's secret. Not being familiar with the DVR our Ghost Hunter had plugged his monitor into the "Spot" jack. By changing the connection everything worked as it should have. If the monitor had not been working at all the next step would have been to test the monitor to see if it was working at all by feeding in another signal such as a test screen from a test unit. Of course if the monitor hadn't been showing anything this would have been the first area I would have isolated.

What if the monitor was hooked up correctly and working properly, then you've narrowed it down to the DVR. Likely a software conflict. If you can't find the problem in the software most DVRs have an option to put all the settings back to factory default. This would undo something you might have done and solve the problem.

Nikon introduces new digital camera technology

Nikon has introduced a new digital imaging technology that aims to keep faces in focus, eliminating one of the most common pitfalls of digital photography. This new technology is being introduced into it's Nikon Coolpix line of digital cameras. The idea here is to make the camera better able to snap a perfect picture with minimal fuss by the photographer. Imagine that, a digital camera that makes it easy to take great pictures!

It seems like a no-brainer to tackle this technological problem inherent to digital cameras but Nikon has engaged it's engineers to come up with a suite of solutions and incorporated them into the Nikon Coolpix line of digital cameras. It's not enough to have features or high megapixel resolutions, and it's good to see a company like Nikon with decades of experience manufacturing high quality cameras tackle this problem with such great results.

Nikon solves common problems such as dark exposures and blurry photos. Taking photographs is often a spontaneous act. There's no time to fiddle with obscure icons and knobs when the perfect smile is presenting itself. With it's "Face Priority Auto Focus" technology, Nikon makes it easier than ever to point and shoot great digital photographs. It doesn't matter how many megapixels a digital camera possesses, or how slim or stylish it is. What counts is the quality of the photograph. We strongly urge you to try out this camera, you may be quite impressed.

Nikon S100 Digital Camera Review

First introduced in September 2011, the Nikon S100 is a slim and attractive digital camera. The manufacturer has included a lot of technology in a relatively small package. Featuring a 3.5 inch touch-screen along with a 5x optical zoom, this camera also allows users to create 1080p videos with stereo sound in both regular and 3D.

Users will appreciate the fact that all moving parts other than the lens cover are enclosed in the camera body. Even the 5x zoom lens is enclosed to protect it from dust and dirt. While overall good quality is seen in this camera, some may find the lens cover to be flimsy.

The Nikon S100 is not the smallest camera on the market today, but it is smaller in size than most iPhones that are used on a daily basis. While it has the appearance of an inexpensive pocket camera, the manufacturer has included feature that set it apart from these cheap digital cameras.

The camera manufacturer has included three separate autofocus modes with this camera. Out of the box, when the camera is turned on, the default mode is the touch shutter option. Users simply point to an object on the touch-screen and this camera focuses on that object. Subject tracking auto focus allows the lens to focus on an object and follow that object as long as it does not leave the screen. Touch AF/AE allows the user to set the focus to a specific distance by using the touch-screen.

The Nikon COOLPIX S100 depends heavily on the easy to use touch-screen. With a single shutter button, all other controls are managed through the screen. The camera's touch-screen makes full use of the entire 3.5 inches unlike many other models that tend to use only 3 inches of the available space.

Picture quality from this camera is excellent. Colors are captured in true to life features. The high pixel resolution allows users to make digital zooms without pixelation once the photo is downloaded on the computer. Whereas other cameras might have lost distant shots using lower resolution, this easy to use model allows significant zooms.

The Nikon S100 is a camera that can be appreciated by many who consider photography as a hobby. The device is easy enough to use that it will be enjoyed by the family photographer. Although it is not likely to win the favor of a professional photographer, it will quickly become a favorite of amateurs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6738649

Top AVCHD Converter for Mac Offer Solution for AVCHD to iDVD, iMovie, FCP 2011

AVCHD and Mac seems exist a long breaking-in period, until the half second year of 2011, we till see the problem from discussions apple:
“I’ve imported some video from a Sony HDR-CX305E camcorder, which shows up as AVCHD in the import window, and selected the FULL file size. Everything goes fine and the video looks fantastic on my Macbook.

When I export the finished, edited movie to iDVD, regardless of the resolution I select, the finished DVD when played through my PS3 is of horrific quality.
I am wanting to know if I am doing something wrong here – why can’t I get a better resolution from the finished DVD? I thought that AVCHD meant HD quality on a DVD as long as it was played in a Blu-Ray player?”
We’ve waited for a long time and it’s glad to know iMovie is able to accept rather AVCHD Camcorders from Sony, Canon, JVC and Panasonic. Though still most other AVCHD models have importing problem with iMovie, but the above question is iMovie export bad quality MOV or DV format so after editing on DVD, it also export poor DVD quality.

To completely solve the problem, AVCHD to Mac Converter is specially designed to:
1. Convert AVCHD to iMovie directly supporting formats;
2. Convert AVCHD to iDVD directly importing formats;
3. Convert AVCHD to FCP directly importing formats;
4. Convert AVCHD to FCE directly importing formats;
5. Convert AVCHD to iTunes, QuickTime directly playing formats

In summery it is designed for converting Sony, Panasonic, Canon and JVC high definition consumer cameras’video (.mts or .m2ts file extension) to the popular video player supported formats, such as MP4, MOV, AVI, 3GP, FLV, etc. This AVCHD tool converts HD files with high quality for playing mts movies on Mac applications as mentioned above. Then you can enjoy your masterpieces shot by AVCHD cameras on your portable devices, including Nook Tablet, iPhone 4S, Kindle Fire, Motorola Xoom, HTC Sensation, HTC Thunderbolt, Apple TV, iPod, PSP, GPhone, Walkman, Zune, Creative Zen, Palm and more.

In addition, Mac AVCHD Converter can extract audio to MP3, WAV, AAC, M4A, AC3, FLAC, MP2, MKA, AMR and convert video to picture by capturing wonderful image from AVCHD video to JPG, PNG, GIF or BMP because it supports snapshot in preview process. Just take snapshots at will for your favourite moment.

System Requirements

Intel-based Mac(32-bit)
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, 10.6 Snow Leopard or 10.7 Lion
Located in Shenzhen, Doremi Software Co., Ltd. has extended its business worldwide and is consistently dedicated to satisfy customers with diversified consumer software products and services. Ever since its foundation, Doremiosft has become one of the world’s leading multimedia software providers of digital video and audio conversion solutions.

Source- http://goo.gl/Rm5Lh