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Author Topic: Has anyone successfully recorded security video onto a pc?  (Read 5005 times)

chomlee

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I am trying to start a business setting up computers with home/outdoor monitoring and I thought that I would give x10 a shot since it is apparently the most economical thing out there and you seem to get the biggest bang for the buck (internet monitoring, tilt swivel, night vision, wireless, outdoor etc).  I purchased the internet package for 100.00 that comes with the VA12A usb video adapter, the ninja camera setup with tilt swivel, the wireless reciever, and motion sensor, and the Vanguard software.

Ok, the problem I am having is 2 fold.  When I run the vanguard software, my cpu usage pegs at 100%.  I also get the dreaded rundll.exe error when it finishes recording video.  I have tried deleting the my images folder, returned the old va12a video adapter and got a new one, installed the software on 3 different machines (low power machine in xp, medium power machine in xp ,and a high power dual core machine with vista).  The odd thing is, I get the exact same problem on every machine.  First off, I can't uninstall the software, it is totally impossible.  I have been able to reinstall the software but have never ever ever been able to uninstall it because it does not put an uninstall.log file into the operating system (vista, or xp).  I was able to remove it from one of my machines by rolling back the system, but again, it will not or cannot in any way uninstall on any machine I have tested.  That to me is totally unacceptable and cannot for the life of me understand why I am the only one with this problem.

The other problem which is the main concern is that the system is no good to me if I can't record video.  When I record the video, I get a rundll.exe error when it finishes recording, and it does it on every machine.  I can record a couple of seconds of video on low quality without this error, but if it is longer than 5 seconds the rundll.exe error occurs (again, this is the same on every machine I have tested).

I went through all the steps with tech support and the only thing he could think of was maybe I just got a bad usb adapter so I returned the va12a and got a new one.  I also searched all the forums and only found people who either solved the problem by deleting the myimages folder or others who just gave up and returned the entire package.  Although I am frustrated and hate them right now, I don't want to give up if there is something simple I am missing.  The big question is has anyone used the internet package and successfully got it to work and record flawlessly without any rundll problem????????  Also, what kind of hocus pocus magic do you have to do to uninstall this software?????

My experience level is somewhat high on computers, I have installed my own media server, built many pcs, etc. and I have to say, this is the weirdest most difficult problem I have come accross.

Any help would be appreciated,
Thank You
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astrothug

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Re: Has anyone successfully recorded security video onto a pc?
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2009, 10:53:57 PM »

the software is super buggy, I use a usb dvr I got from here http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11127 it came with basic software that works well with x10 hardware..

good luck with configuring x10 software to record on a daily bases.
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hawk1

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Re: Has anyone successfully recorded security video onto a pc?
« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2009, 09:36:52 AM »

could try blue iris.  Can use any kind of camera.  Analog, webcam, IP cam basically any windows video source.  Has a 15 day trial to see if you like it. Here's the link:  http://www.blueirissoftware.com/

IMHO I think Blue Iris is way better than Iwitness.  It also has commandline triggers so you can use it with AHP Macros to trigger recordings.
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crowntown

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Re: Has anyone successfully recorded security video onto a pc?
« Reply #3 on: May 28, 2009, 12:25:53 AM »

Hey astrothug, I love DX and have ordered from them many times over the past few years.  Nothing but great experiences.  That USB DVR is a good deal, like most of their stuff.

I use DVR PCI cards myself.  If you want more than 4 cams this is the way to go.  Also, there's a lot of entirely free dvr cam surveillance software out there exactly like that Blue Iris and quite a bit that's much better.  I would recommend finding software that uses the H.264 codec. 

There's no need to buy dvr software unless you're using high-end hardware.  I'd take a look at cctvforum.com for more info.
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Tinman55

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Re: Has anyone successfully recorded security video onto a pc?
« Reply #4 on: May 28, 2009, 07:57:27 AM »

  Also, there's a lot of entirely free dvr cam surveillance software out there exactly like that Blue Iris and quite a bit that's much better. 


I would like to know which one is better and FREE....I would like to evaluate it.
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astrothug

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Re: Has anyone successfully recorded security video onto a pc?
« Reply #5 on: May 28, 2009, 10:08:36 PM »

webcam xp is great.... I use it with cams, USB/ IP/ and dvr, very easy to configure... http://www.webcamxp.com/home.aspx :)% :)% :)%
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HA Dave

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Re: Has anyone successfully recorded security video onto a pc?
« Reply #6 on: May 28, 2009, 10:34:38 PM »

webcam xp is great.... I use it with cams, USB/ IP/ and dvr, very easy to configure... http://www.webcamxp.com/home.aspx :)% :)% :)%

Does/will it work with the VA11-12A?
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astrothug

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Re: Has anyone successfully recorded security video onto a pc?
« Reply #7 on: May 28, 2009, 10:47:07 PM »

webcam xp is great.... I use it with cams, USB/ IP/ and dvr, very easy to configure... http://www.webcamxp.com/home.aspx :)% :)% :)%

Does/will it work with the VA11-12A?
I never had luck but then again i don't use it, i use the usb dvr much better and cheaper.....
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Tinman55

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Re: Has anyone successfully recorded security video onto a pc?
« Reply #8 on: May 29, 2009, 08:03:03 AM »

webcam xp is great.... I use it with cams, USB/ IP/ and dvr, very easy to configure... http://www.webcamxp.com/home.aspx :)% :)% :)%

Well...yes its free but I am afraid it don't even compare to BlueIris. ( just my 2 cents)  I would like to see one with all of the same features that is free.
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gigabyte

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Re: Has anyone successfully recorded security video onto a pc?
« Reply #9 on: May 29, 2009, 11:19:04 AM »

webcam xp is great.... I use it with cams, USB/ IP/ and dvr, very easy to configure... http://www.webcamxp.com/home.aspx :)% :)% :)%

Does/will it work with the VA11-12A?
I never had luck but then again i don't use it, i use the usb dvr much better and cheaper.....

Which usb dvr?  I didn't know they made those.
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astrothug

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Re: Has anyone successfully recorded security video onto a pc?
« Reply #10 on: May 29, 2009, 07:49:21 PM »

webcam xp is great.... I use it with cams, USB/ IP/ and dvr, very easy to configure... http://www.webcamxp.com/home.aspx :)% :)% :)%

Does/will it work with the VA11-12A?
I never had luck but then again i don't use it, i use the usb dvr much better and cheaper.....

Which usb dvr?  I didn't know they made those.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11127
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