DVR for an multimedia installation

[protochar 0]

Hi people,

 

I'm researching how to build a system that meets the following demands:

It should accept 5 camera inputs (from five interactive rooms),

mix the pictures into 1 (larger) picture. This combined picture should be displayed

on 2 outputs, on one in realtime and on one with a delay of 5-10 mins

(so that visitors can watch themselves).

 

It's for an installation, CCTV surveillance for artistic purposes .

Software solution would be fairly complex, and some people have suggested

that there could be a DVR solution.

 

In the most ideal case DVR would do the following:

Reproduction in realtime and with delay (delay is very important),

nice looking arrangement of 5 camera picutres on combined picture,

with as much flexibility as possible (not just a fixed grid),

composite video inputs for cameras (or something that

composite can be converted to), good quality of individual inputs, nice looking

combined picture (with resolution as high as possible), high fluid framerate, the

2 outputs connectable to projectors (ideally via vga cable), or at least to a PC.

 

So I would be grateful if someone could recommend a suitable DVR or

give any suggestions...

 

Thanks a lot.

[Soundy 1]

nice looking arrangement of 5 camera picutres on combined picture, with as much flexibility as possible (not just a fixed grid),

 

This will be your biggest issue. Everything else should be (relatively) easily doable, but I can't think of any CCTV products that will do this.

 

The problem is, there's no way to do it without either stretching or cropping most or all of the images, and doing that just isn't a desired thing in surveillance installations. You can do 2x2 easily, or 3x3, or 4x4... A six-camera layout is easy enough, and not uncommon - imagine a 3x3 grid, where the top-left four boxes are joined back into one, so you have one large image, with two small one to its right, and three more small ones across the bottom.

[protochar 0]

This will be your biggest issue. Everything else should be (relatively) easily doable, but I can't think of any CCTV products that will do this.

 

If that's the biggest issue, it's not that bad. I'm thinking maybe 6 camera layout (3x2 grid) where one space is either empty or it's filled with a still picture from some output, or maybe we can even get the 6th camera.

 

A six-camera layout is easy enough, and not uncommon - imagine a 3x3 grid, where the top-left four boxes are joined back into one, so you have one large image, with two small one to its right, and three more small ones across the bottom.

 

I didn't know such combinations are possible.

We could also play with that, I suppose something similar is also doable in 4x4

 

But delay on one of the 2 outputs is more important, so if it can be done, great.

Do you maybe have some suggestions of DVR models that could do that?