What is the problem with FAKE DVR Cards??

We are all about a good deal, I mean who isn’t?? We aren’t trying to be cheap or picky about this but there are a few facts you need to be aware of when making the purchase of your DVR Card product. Here are some facts to consider if you are in the market for a good GeoVision DVR Card and some things to keep in mind if you are considering to buy one off of eBay.

• Fact: The counterfeit cards are not the exact same thing as the originals. This is a hard one for people to accept. They DO NOT come from the same factory as the originals. They are build with cheaper components and are built to be sold ( make money ) and to last a few months. For every 5 that you buy, you WILL get 2-3 dead out of the box.

• Fact: Fake DVR Card products are NOT reliable for the long term. Almost all of these products will not last 1 year from the day you purchase it. This is true, and we have seen it happen several dozen times to many disappointed customers. The circuits on these boards are as cheap as they come and they are not simply built to last. They are built to be cheap and to be sold. That’s it. If you are ok with this and have money & time to burn, then it should not be a problem. However, most people do not fall under this category.

• Fact: You will not get ANY technical support from the counterfeit supplier in China and you certainly will not get support from the original manufacturer. If you do, it will be substandard and you will end up frustrated without any answers to your problems.The serial numbers on the fake cards do not mach with the real ones and it won’t work.

• Fact: The person in China that is selling you the fake cards is a small middle-man, they are NOT the manufacturer. Trust me on this one. I visit Mainland China one time every year and have meetings with several vendors including those that sell the cards. Since these items are counterfeit and are thus illegal, you will never buy from a true factory. It doesn’t matter what they tell you, this will just never happen.

• Fact: Genuine DVR Cards are made with more reliable, quality components and are built to last. The last thing a true manufacturer wants is to deal with defective items that eat away at their RMA and repair department. When you buy an authentic product you are essentially buying a small part of their company. They want to support you, fix the problem and never hear from you again.

• Fact: Ebay is literally full of counterfeit geovision dvr cards. If you are shopping on Ebay for a geovision DVR Card you need to be really careful. Ebay is the #1 place to find counterfeit geovision dvr cards.

Why is GeoVision DVR Card products copied so much?

GeoVision DVR Cards are copied and counterfeit so much because they have a great product that thousands of people love to buy. They make a reliable and powerful product that has turned the attention to them by many.  If you doubt this, ask yourself when the last time it was that you saw counterfeit AverMedia, Alnet, NUUO or any other brand. 

Counterfeit Detection: A Guide to Spotting Counterfeit GeoVision Products 

Here is a letter from GeoVision regarding the detection of the counterfeit card problem as well as what you should do if you purchase a fake card.

Several serious technical problems related to counterfeited cards have been reported to GeoVision tech support: Serious Technical Problems in v7.05 “Mutation”

• Pirated cards with a v8.0: Black screen followed by video loss and continuous fake-GeoVision software restarts.

• Pirated cards with a v7.05: “Can't find USB protection key for new system” message followed by no video screen.

• Pirated cards with v7.05 “mutation”: Due to technology limitations of the pirated product, counterfeit card sellers made a v7.05 “mutation” to run on older driver versions but still claim it as v7.05. The v7.05 “mutation” does NOT contain functions GeoVision intends to deliver to our customers (while all genuine card users are able to use an updated driver version for v7.05 for full features). There are also various additional problems related to the v7.05 “mutation”.

Ensure Your Right as a Product User:

• GeoVision Inc (“GeoVision”) NEVER authorizes any of its sellers to sell on auction sites (such as eBay, Yahoo!).

• GeoVision may not be able to provide our standard customer services (such as warranty, RMA, 24-hour tech support lines) if your source of product is unknown. Sellers on all auction sites are considered “unknown” to us, as we do not authorize any sellers to sell our product on auction sites.

• Products acquired from unknown sources may cause problems or may be deficient in operation, and the buyers shall bear their own risks for purchasing goods outside GeoVision's authorized distribution chain.

• GeoVision does not take any responsibility for problems arising from cards purchased from “unknown” sources.

How to Avoid Illegal Use of GeoVision Software:

• Genuine GeoVision products are ONLY manufactured in Taiwan, NEVER in other countries or in China, as some sellers may claim.

• GeoVision NEVER authorizes any OEM production of the video capture cards, as some companies may fraudulently claim to be the “OEM factory” for GeoVision cards.

• GeoVision software is ONLY authorized and legal to use on video capture cards manufactured by GeoVision. Companies claiming their video capture cards are “compatible” with any of the GV-series software may leave users open to claims of copyright infringement.

Trademark and Copyright Declaration

GeoVision is the Intellectual Property rights-owner for all products sold under its own name, and it enjoys broad copyright and trademark protections in jurisdictions around the world. GeoVision, as a technology leader in its industry, regularly takes aggressive action to protect its rights and to protect its consumers. To report piracy, please write to "piracy@geovision.com.tw" Your name will be kept confidential.

This is how you can identify a fake DVR Card from an Original:

GeoVision DVR Cards are copied and counterfeit so much because they have a great product that thousands of people love to buy. They make a reliable and powerful product that has turned the attention to them by many.  If you doubt this, ask yourself when the last time it was that you saw counterfeit AverMedia, Alnet, NUUO or any other brand. 

Every GeoVision DVR Card features a holographic decal on the box, the DVD as well as the DVR Card itself.  You need to look for these decals.

On the Authentic DVR Card:

The Holographic Decal as displayed in the picture above (Figure 1) are featured on both cards. When you move a genuine GeoVision DVR Card from left to right while looking at the decal, you will notice that the letters, “GV” will break apart and move in the opposite direction.

On the Fake/Counterfeit DVR Card:

 However when  you have  a counterfeit DVR Card, you will not see this. Instead, the letters, “GV” will remain in place. This is an easy way to determine a authentic product from a fake counterfeit. If you can compare the real decal to the fake, it is obvious that it is not as clear and detailed as the real thing.

On every DVR Card you will find a small row of image processor chips. These chips are different from all of the others because they are removable and are pushed into a chip socket.  All of these chips are responsible for controlling the video as every 1 chip will handle 4 channels of video.

On the Authentic DVR Card:

On a authentic GeoVision DVR Card product the image processor chips will have the company logo printed in the center of the chip as well as a very, very small 4 digit number engraved to the right of the logo. The number may be something like , “0949, 0938,” You will also find a hand written number on the top of each chip which will number 1-4. If you look closely at the picture above, you will notice the numbers hand printed on the top of each chip.

On the Fake/Counterfeit DVR Card:

The fake dvr card will have the same row of image processor chips, however they will be much different. The logo will not be printed very well, the color will be light grey and will not be very sharp. The 4 digit number will actually be printed on the chip to the right of the logo. Also the chips may be pushed in sideways and or crooked, sometimes the chip leads will be bent as the assembly worker forces the chip into the socket.

On the reverse side of every single DVR Card you will find a serial number, barcode and a decal with the year and month that it was manufactured.

On the Authentic DVR Card:

The round sticker will have (2) two digit numbers on the top indicating the year produced, under that will be 1-9 and A-C which indicates the month during that year. GeoVision will indicate the dates by marking them with a black marker. The serial number will start with either (4) or (5) zero’s proceeding with a number. The barcode when scanned will match the number printed below it.

On the Fake/Counterfeit DVR Card:

On a common counterfeit dvr card, the QC sticker will not have any marks on it to indicate the year and month. However, the most important thing to notice is that the font style of the serial numbers is too thin and the font style doesn’t match 100%. Not to mention, the serial number is fake and when referenced with GeoVision it will come up as a counterfeit.

On the front of every DVR Card there are two things to look for with one being more obvious than the other. Some of the fake cards will be different than others which will depend on how old/new the product is.

On the Authentic DVR Card:

To the left of the picture you will notice a small round circuit that is inside a little square. On the top is the print, “330”. This is a high quality crystal oscillator and is made from an epoxy resin material. This is a very durable circuit and it made to last.

To the right of the card is featured the GeoVision logo, FCC and CE stamp as well as, “Made in Taiwan”

On the Fake/Counterfeit DVR Card:

The crystal oscillator is a half-height in a silver metal enclosure. On the top you will find the print of, “eCERA 1.892 NB5vA”. This is a very low budget circuit when compared to the epoxy resin oscillator on the GeoVision DVR Card. This is one example of why these products break and fail with such a high frequency.

To the right you will not likely find a logo or anything of the sort. You may or may not. I guess it depends on what month it is.

Every counterfeit DVR Card comes shipped with an outdated version of the software.

On the Authentic DVR Card:

You will find a holographic sticker on the front and the software version will be the latest version of the software. The outer ring of the transparent center of the DVD will have the graphic covering it.

On the Fake/Counterfeit DVR Card:

The DVD will be lighter and brighter in color, it will not have a holographic sticker and will be a much older version of the software. Notice the obvious difference between the two.