tomster 0 Posted May 17, 2011 Hi all, I am running a 16 channel Bosch DVR. I wish to add a remote 8 channel DVR for data redundancy in the event the main DVR walks out the door. My DVR has 16 BNC outputs (one for each channel). I was going to pick the 8 most important channels and output them to a remotely located 8 channel DVR that would be housed in a lockbox. The thought of running 8 seperate coax cables to the remote DVR would be a pain. I just so happened to have run a few extra cat5 cables from the current DVR to where I will mount the remote DVR. So I was thinking of using an 8 channel balun like the one pictured below You see these passive units on ebay for about $20-$30. My total run distance is about 60 feet. Does anyone have any experience with these units and can you recommend them or other baluns? Thanks for the help! Tom Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomcctv 190 Posted May 17, 2011 Hi ebay is hit and miss ... most times a miss. you need to run 2 cat5 anyway so for the cost i would just use single baluns. one other thing you need to look at is the main 8 cameras .... you are best running them to your hiden dvr first. if they do get to your main dvr and pull all cables out you will also loose the 8 running to your second dvr. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomster 0 Posted May 18, 2011 Excellent information! I looked and saw that the single channel baluns are the better way to go. Do you recommend any over another or is ebay ok for that? Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soundy 1 Posted May 18, 2011 I used two of these on one job - worked great and helped make a nice, clean install: http://www.muxlab.com/products/vec_quad_video_balun.htm# Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SDM Group 0 Posted May 18, 2011 Can the DVR be programmed to record to external storage, might be less expensive than using another DVR, lockbox etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomster 0 Posted May 18, 2011 Can the DVR be programmed to record to external storage, might be less expensive than using another DVR, lockbox etc. No, the Divar MR series has only internal storage. You can export data, but not continuously. I went over and over it and it was a dead end. Since I already have the wires run and the DVR's are relatively cheap, this option works. Thanks Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Soundy 1 Posted May 18, 2011 Can the DVR be programmed to record to external storage, might be less expensive than using another DVR, lockbox etc. This is something I've started doing for one customer: all recording goes to an external RAID array, and the DVR's internal drive is allocated only as a "backup" location in case the array is offline. That way, if the DVR goes down and needs to be replaced or even just have a loaner swapped in while it's repaired, ALL the data stays onsite, and new video simply gets added to it, so when the loaner comes out, again, the data all stays onsite and becomes available to the repaired/replacement unit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
liveinxs 0 Posted May 26, 2011 Short and sweet, why don't you just put your 16 channel DVR in a lock box...then it can't be stolen... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Colin1001 0 Posted May 26, 2011 Short and sweet, why don't you just put your 16 channel DVR in a lock box...then it can't be stolen... or do what i did and screw to desk/bench etc with 3inch screws Share this post Link to post Share on other sites