DVRs, PC Cards, IP cams and more

[dejota 0]

Hello,

 

I recently began working for a manufacturer and we work exclusively with DVRs. I've been on this forum about 3 weeks now and I still lack a fundamental understanding of what makes DVRs different from PC cards. In particular, I'm interested in the pros and cons. Also as somebody that's only selling DVRs themselves what differences should I be aware of to make my life easier and keep my distributers happy?

 

Similarly, we only offer one IP camera and from everything I can tell they're more of a hassel and more expensive yet only provide one obvious upside. They also seem to be more popular on this board so I was hoping for a similar run down of the IP world and what I need to know being in the shoes of somebody that's generally going to steer people away from IP cameras (I.E. when should I be pushing my one IP camera or what upsides do IP cameras provide that I'm not aware of?)

 

I'm sorry if there are threads pertaining to this that I've not managed to find over the past month.

 

-DJ

[rory 0]

Hi, about IP cameras, there are a few regular members on here that like and use them but you would find the majority still use CCTV cameras, and there are alot of DIY coming here looking for assistance of which most would be using the cheapest cameras they can get their hands on.

 

About the DVR, PC based typically gives you much better evidence sharing, backup to AVI, more networking and features overall, as well as easier to replace parts when it breaks down. Stand alone, at least the small 4 channel units, easy to stick in small contained areas, dont get hot, plug and play. The hardware is typically much different, at least in the size of it; smaller onboard CPU and memory with the standalone DVR, less heat. Most standalones also run an Embedded RTOS, and have no internal power supply. Basically a PC DVR and a Standalone DVR are completely different.

 

Another thread I started in reference to this:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19678

 

Best way to learn is hands on though .. get some stand alone DVRs and PC DVRs and work them .. or go around people that you know who have the different systems and try them for yourself .. same with the cameras .. get some and test them in harsh environments.

 

Best of luck

Rory

[Soundy 1]

Hello,

 

I recently began working for a manufacturer and we work exclusively with DVRs. I've been on this forum about 3 weeks now and I still lack a fundamental understanding of what makes DVRs different from PC cards. In particular, I'm interested in the pros and cons. Also as somebody that's only selling DVRs themselves what differences should I be aware of to make my life easier and keep my distributers happy?

 

FUNDAMENTALLY, the difference is simplicity: the end user needs only to open the box, take out the recorder, plug in the cameras and a monitor, and he's off to the races.

 

Internally, they're largely the same thing: your typical standalone DVR designs are based on embedded computer hardware that isn't very different from a PC's motherboard, CPU, I/O chipsets, and capture device... except they're not in the standard PC form factor of an ATX motherboard, removable CPU, and PCI slot with video capture card.

 

Instead, the mainboard is usually smaller, doesn't have standardized I/O ports, and the CPU and possibly the RAM are permanently attached, but they're still likely very similar to the I/O, CPU and RAM chips you'll find in any PC- the main difference is, in a PC, those chips are attached to standardized carriers that are intended to be able to be removed and upgraded.

 

The capture hardware will also probably consist of a custom-shaped card connected to the mainboard by a ribbon cable, if not being built into the mainboard, rather than using a PCI slot, but they'll likely use one of the same analog-to-digital chips common to many PC capture cards.

 

The operating system will most likely be a stripped-down embedded version of Linux or maybe BSD or other open-source OS custom-tweaked to be specific to that hardware, rather than Windows or a common Linux distribution, but it's still an OS that's initially designed to be installed on a PC, or at least based on the same core as a PC OS.

 

The most similar thing will be the storage: pretty much all standalone DVRs use off-the-shelf IDE or SATA hard and optical drives connected to the exact same type of IDE or SATA controller on the motherboard.

 

In short, they're both PCs, just one is customized by the manufacturer and the end user has little or no ability to change or upgrade the hardware, while the other allows the end user the ability to upgrade or replace almost any component.

 

Similarly, we only offer one IP camera and from everything I can tell they're more of a hassel and more expensive yet only provide one obvious upside.

 

There may be only one OBVIOUS upside - ie. far higher resolution than is possible with analog capture - but it CAN be a pretty substantial upside depending on the user's needs. A 1.2MP camera, for example, has fully FOUR TIMES the resolution of 4CIF capture - that can give you four times as much detail over the same field of view, or it can give you the same level of detail covering four times the field of view. In some circumstances, this MAY allow a single 1.2MP IP camera to do the work of two, three, or mathematically four standard analog cameras (and yes, many will come back and say that this is rarely the case, which is why I stress that it only MAY apply, and only in certain circumstances... but if those circumstances apply to you, the convenience and savings can be substantial).

 

They also seem to be more popular on this board so I was hoping for a similar run down of the IP world and what I need to know being in the shoes of somebody that's generally going to steer people away from IP cameras (I.E. when should I be pushing my one IP camera or what upsides do IP cameras provide that I'm not aware of?)

 

An important thing to keep in mind is that IP and megapixel are not always necessarily the same thing. There are IP cameras that are only VGA/4CIF/D1 output, as well as "adapters" (commonly known as "video servers") that allow you to plug in any analog camera and put it on the network, thereby turning it into an IP camera.

 

While it does add some complexity and arguably more points of failure and lowered overall reliability, simply going IP does have some advantages on its own. For example, it makes any individual camera directly accessible on the network or even over the internet, without the need of a DVR. It allows an installer in some cases to make use of existing network infrastructure rather than running all new cabling (and yes, some here will dismiss that concept as well; the important thing to remember is, you don't HAVE to do that if it's not appropriate to the specific install, but you DO have that option/ability, and more options are generally better than fewer).

 

It also allows an installer or system designer to get away from the need to home-run every camera. For example, say you have two separate buildings to cover, with four cameras in each one, and only one DVR... you can put four IP cameras (or analog cameras with IP video servers) into the remote building, run them all to a readily-available network switch in that building, then run a single network line (or use an existing network connection) across to the other building with the DVR. The all-analog way, you'd need to run four separate video feeds between buildings. Again, this may not be an option that's suitable for every install, but it IS another option that's available.

 

IP cameras do also allow you an additional measure of redundancy, in that you can have multiple DVRs record the streams from any cameras without the need of splitters and additional cabling. Take the above example: you could have DVRs in both buildings, and four network cameras in each building, and easily configure both DVRs to record all eight cameras, using that single network link between buildings.

 

There are certainly more benefits than that, but those are some of the main not-so-obvious ones. Hope that helps.

 

I'm sorry if there are threads pertaining to this that I've not managed to find over the past month.

 

There are TONS of threads that cover (or devolve into) these same topics (read: arguments)... and that's the problem. The information is there many times over, and it's scattered all over the board, so it's not surprising that it's hard to find solid information in one place.

[dejota 0]

That helped quite a bit. I've literally been thrown in a cubicle with a binder and told to go sell CCTV equipment so a lot of my training has been my own responsibility.

 

This forum has been a great aid in learning the ropes.