DVR Cards Pros & Cons

[MetzLyov 0]

Hey guys...

 

Since I joined this forum, I am seeing many posts and comments regarding on PC based DVR Cards from various manufacturers, pros and cons, etc... I need little more “educationâ€

[rory 0]

Why are PC based cards so popular according to so many posts, regardless of OS and besides being very cost effective or cheap?

 

More Features - if you need them all ... Sometimes a Stand alone can be even cheaper than a PC DVR after you add the PC into the equation, Depends what the budget and needs are, and the features required.

 

How manageable are they? Since all the components are manufactured by different companies, including the computer, the video card(s), the hard drives, the OS, the DVR cards, their own software, etc., how do you maintain such an animal??

 

Its just a PC, you can use any parts from any computer store. They have to be to spec though with most cards.

 

What do you really get from DVR cards that embeded systems do not provide (excluding costs)?

 

Features, and faster recording speeds .. generally, but for sure, features.

[cctv_down_under 0]

Te main reason PC Based systems are so poulart is of course the price, there are also many other advantages, in truth you can always get faster recording speeds on a PC as it has a lot more power and therefore can generate faster recordings.

 

You are right about PC's being a Beast, it is really hard when the bits come from all over the world, but it is an old addage that "you get what you pay for" a common misconception is that PC's are unstable, well, in some ways it's true and infact many computer people accept a certain level of crashes, purely because they are just simply "used to it" and therefore they accept a PC as stable, in saying that you CAN build a very stable PC, if the correct parts are chosen and if it is set up correctly.

 

if you buya card and whack it into a computer and expect it to work...it simply will crash!!!! the fact is there are many adjustments to be made, partitions to be done and the correct hardware is always a must as compatatbility can be a huge issue..

 

In short ... PC's offer much more features than a Standalone will ever offer and more software is being developed every day that is made for windows and linux and can sometimes be used for DVR's to their advantage, this takes a long time to appear onto the DVR as they need to be written into the embedded system.

 

What we will see soon is a lot of PC's running Embedded XP, the reason is they can take advantage of the latest technology developments but they do not need to install anyhting they do not need, hence the embedded solution si much more stable.

 

Lets face it adjusting WIFI, rendering and sampling and overlay of powerfull video cards gets better every day, so you do not want to rle yourself out of the game by limiting your OS.

 

There are really not all that many DVR card manufacturers, just different softwrae that runs on those cards, and before you say "but my card looks different" of course it does, this does not mean it doesn't come from the same manufacturer, when you buy Nike shoes they are not all the same but they do come from the same factory.

 

For example Thomas's DVR card comes from http://www.comartsystem.com but they haev redone the software due to a SDK or from scratch.. the most popular DVR card in the market is the Geovision card, the main reason is the vast array of features that change so rapidly, it has an awefull GUI and very bad management, but it does have a load of features, making it very easy to sell.

 

The Avermedia card is very popular as well but I guess it is different in every country, the IDIS machines are top notch and well priced as well..

 

Personally I preffered PC, but I am being swung around, not tottaly, but one thing I am now dead set against, is any company that sells cards only, sure.... you might build a nice machine but DOES your competitior and if his crashes, guess what your DVR brand gets a bad name.. so unless everyone can build them as good as you, the product you sell can loose it's reputation due to some very dodgy building of PC's.

 

Youa re never paying the costs of the DVR card... not at all.. you are paying for the development of the software, hence why soem are more expensive than others.

 

personally the Geo is alright but recording quality is better on a Standalone and when you take into consideration the time taken to configure and build a PC and support all those features and the likely hodd of it failing, it really works out similar in costs.

 

Regards

GC

[scottj 0]

Te main reason PC Based systems are so poulart is of course the price, there are also many other advantages, in truth you can always get faster recording speeds on a PC as it has a lot more power and therefore can generate faster recordings.

 

 

absolutely correct! Terrible for the reputation. What is just as bad are people who build the DVR unit that carries a 2,000 market value, but sells them for 100 bucks profit (no overhead, or just plain idiots). They cut their own throats and devalue the product. In addition, if they needed to warranty or service the machine just once, they can't afford to do so. Then the brand gets the image of poor support and crappy service. Let's face it, we are in a very service oriented market and we really need to be protecting one another as much as possible.

 

Just my 2 cents

 

scottj

[rory 0]

A big myth is that any card will work in any PC .. alot of clients will look at the cost of the card, but forget the PC required ... even a $100 card from ebay needs a decent PC ..

[scottj 0]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48636&item=5769674563&rd=1

 

 

are you sure Rory????

 

read this auction ad...this guy swears that all a DVR is just a card in a PC.

Then again, he sells his DVR as "weatherproof"?

 

maybe he puts a Trojan over the case or something?

 

haha

scottj

[cctv_down_under 0]

Crikey..is he on the same planet...

 

Lets see my standalone does 768x576

Hmm Full Duplex

Networkable

PDA is ok

 

 

Boy how far off the mark is this guy?

[rory 0]

i think he must have only worked with an AvTech DVR .. LOL

Except he is still wrong on the Resolution either way ..

 

and wow, I can record non stop video to my hDD and still play Flight Simulator, on my 1Ghz with an 8mb video card and 128SDRAM .. wowwww!! LOL

[Thomas 0]

Geovision doesn't make thier cards. UDP makes them.

[rory 0]

UDB is a political party down here ,.

[qman 0]

Uhm, that eBay seller is actually a member of this forum...

Just FYI

[baywatch 1]

Main reason we tend to use PC based cards is ease of repair (we do have a computer shop as another business).

With most of the stand alones they are difficult to get repaired or the makers are difficult to deal with on warranty work (Norbain !)

Also it creats work for the computer business.

[MetzLyov 0]

Thanks for the replies...

 

Here is what I understand so far and you guys can correct me if I am wrong...

 

A lot is dependent who sells it? How about the hidden cost of the computer? Is there minimum PC hardware requirements?

 

If these boards are actually made by few and the difference is software, then each such "supplier" must have their own hardware requirements based on their own software that they wrote??

 

Lets say I am an end user and I am interested to purchase this technology. Obviously, I must already have the computer (this is a hard cost that I must consider, regardless if I bought it for reasons other than security). How would I know the hardware requirements for my pc or OS will be compatible with the DVR card? Lets say I bought it, plugged it in and then I have problems, where do I find support and who stands behind the product? Is it the manufacturer, the distributor or the reseller?

 

I can understand that certain dealers will sell these cards dirt cheap, as they work from the garage and that happens. They may even sell a good quality card (not sure which one yet), and there is a problem - and if there are many problems that I can see already as an end user, who do you contact to take care of problems??

 

Here is another take and again guys, please correct me if I am wrong.. I assume that these cards come with 1 year warranty. What value do you put on YOUR TIME and what is your time worth to you on building, selling, supporting and maintaining this type of DVRs. How do you handle warranty related problems?

 

I know for sure that DVR cards have always pushed the envelope on the technology side and if it was not for them, the majors will still be selling 30FPS units.

 

I want to sell them and of course, profit has to be there to substantiate support, warranty and any other problems that you customers may have. In many cases, I see selling costs for these card that I can not beleive, because I am not sure where they make the profit for any type of growth or to sustain business existence..

 

Levon

[DataAve 0]

I don't get it. By the time you build a computer around a say $4-500 DVR card, you're into about $1500 plus. You can get a decent Standalone for that. A computer in the living room is not very attractive, whereas a standalone can be put in your media center cabinet with the rest of your equipment.

[rory 0]

I love the stand alones, but there are just some features you get with PCs that are not found in any stand alone, its not even the price, its the features that make the difference. Some stand alones are alot cheaper than the cards (with the PC). If you dont need the features .. well, get the Avtech

[DataAve 0]

You have the AvTech on your web, ror?

[rory 0]

yep, home page, just added it again ...lower right side.

[DataAve 0]

Oh, I thought it was a standalone.

[rory 0]

yes, it sais Budget 16 channel DVR .. i may take it off though, as the users connection is sooo slow .. i may need to bring it back to my place instead .. as it used to be very fast on my connection ...will see .. its just a demo machine, not a clients.

[DataAve 0]

I'm not seing it?

[rory 0]

ahh, i just took it off, i tried to conect but its wayy to slow, Im going to see if I can convince them to give it to me to hook up ..

 

try the direct link for now though ..

 

http://www.bahamassecurity.com/r16000.asp

 

Remember, it is a very basic network server, 1 channel basically, so only in 1 camera view is it any good really, though it does have some features like multiple users and levels, etc , the windows software is better than the browser also ... but ..anyway, nice local motion detection and all ..and for that price, you can at least log in and see your video ..

 

Rory

[rory 0]

demo, demo

[DataAve 0]

Will not load here and I have a super fast connection. Where is it hosted?

[rory 0]

Yeah, here in Nassau, but it used to be fine on my connection, its at someone elses on a different node now, they have always had a slow upload speed .. i told them id need to bring it here otherwise ill leave the demo off for now .. they have a network and the kids like to stream video, etc etc, download stuff so thats probably slowing it down too ... oh well ...

[qman 0]

Crapy