TakenItEasy

I'm still fairly new to CCTV cams/dvr's so it's just a guess. Are these cameras IR or cameras capable of low light recording? IR cameras pack a bunch of LEDs around the lens. From what I understand, there is less data recorded under low light conditions for cameras without IR. I'm not sure about IR cameras. Perhaps it's just a band width issue with too much data for too many channels during daylight playback. Do you have the same issue when viewing a single channel vs multiple channels with daylight playback? Also if your playback is done remotely on a PC via LAN/WAN connection, the bandwidth issue is an even bigger problem for multi-channel playback.

I run a legal home poker game that uses a public social web site to invite players into my group. With fairly high stakes and players drawn from the public, there's a need for extra security in my game to keep out/discourage the cheaters. All cameras are analog with resolution between 600 TVL and 960H. Some with PTZ features. security camera setup: Various cameras to capture different parts of the table to guard against improper shuffling/dealing/card marking/shorting pots, etc. For those cynics out there, cameras only capture hands/cards/chips on the table. No views of faces/bodies to pick up tells or otherwise give the host an edge. For security purposes I need an 8 channel DVR capable of 4 channel playback at minimum (8 channels is better) to review portions of the game to detect any foul play. Play back locally from DVR with monitor is fine. Viewing 1 channel at a time is very awkward and time consuming. Up to 64x FF and RR also very useful. I am also attempting to record training videos using CCTV cams that takes a little explanation of how I currently handle it in case there are DVR's with editing features that can do a better job. Camera setup: #1) overhead cam to capture flop/turn/river cards plus pot and betting action. #2-?) Each player has a dome camera placed in front of them pointing at 1 player directly across the table. Therefore each player has a camera showing them during the hand. These cameras double for the hole card cams so that the players show the cards to the camera in front of them when they enter the pot, no need to show mucked hands. After the game I playback interesting hands from the DVR remotely on a pc with a 4 channel view of up to any 3 players involved in a hand plus the overhead camera view as well as sound to catch the bet sizing and any table talk during the hand. During playback I run a PC desktop recorder that captures the 4 channel playback and add a voice over commentary. This is a quick and easy way to record a live poker hand for a video that simultaneously captures the hole cards, flop/turn/river cards, betting action, and even all of the active players synchronized actions/reactions and table talk during the entire hand. Much better for training purposes than high production TV hands that have edited out vital content for better entertainment value. Commentary can be provided by each player during their turn or just one-two commentators discussing the hand similar to Live at the Bike. I had an older 4 channel D1 DVR which did a somewhat passable job but only provided an RCA video output so the local monitor resolution was terrible. The 4 channel playback was somewhat better resolution but the playback speed was only near real time making long decisions drag on even longer requiring editing and losing the "real time feel of the hand" distorting timing tells. I upgraded to a Swann Pro Series 9 channel 960H resolution DVR which promised 4 channel playback but which didn't actually support that feature. I need to return it and Now I'm looking for a suitable replacement. Any recommendations for DVR's with the best multi-channel playback both locally and remotely on a PC? Also alternative solutions for creating videos such as a DVR with editing features would be appreciated. Thanks.