I have a Sony time lapse VCR, three JVC CCTV cameras that I want to install on my house. I have an idea what kind of cable I need for connecting the cameras, but I don’t know if I will be needing an additional device to connect the cameras to. I have heard of a four channel quad processor, but I,m not sure. Please anybody help me clear the smoke.
That all depends on how you want to view the images. With a VCR as with any single channel recorder there are three ways you can go.
1. Sequential switcher – sequences camera’s. You can miss things with this method
2. Quad splitter – splits 4 images onto one screen. When you play back you will only see the split screen and have no control over it. You will see everything but at 1/4 the size.
3. Quad multiplexer – sequentially sends images to the recorder. Also has the ability to take those sequential images from the recorder and "play back" in order. You can view played back images in split screen what ever you like.
example: numbers indicate camera number
record
1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2 , 3, 4
Playback through Multiplexer
1, 1, 1
Obviously depending on the multiplexer you purchase, there will be spaces between the images (Not real time). Truth be known, with what you will end up spending if you go this route, you may just want to consider a digital video recorder (DVR) All images are recorded onto a harddrive and you can view them in a similar manner as the multiplexer.
There are also multi channel PC cards available, but I would definately not recommend this option. Computers crash and the quality is not as good as a dedicated linux box.
There is abit more info on video surveillance on my website. It may help you in answering any other questions you may run into. http://www.keepsafesystems.ca