CD R/W (DVD R/W) all that important?

[John_lin78 0]

I've read through all the links Rory posted here http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1204, and I noticed that alot of brand and models include CDR/W or DVDR/W as built-in features or add-on optionals.

 

are they really all that important? I mean, it looks good on paper, but when it comes to actual uses, is it really that great of a feature?

[VST_Man 1]

yes it is important. my clients need a way to transfer the video "evidence" to a device that they understand, use, and able to be handed off to others to view...ie. police, insurance investigators, ect. EVERYONE has and understands DVDRW/CDRW. USB? Memory sticks? email attachments?

 

a resturant owner copies the video file to DVD, plays it on his 9" DVD player and on his PC at home. He has no problem and all can use it. Will DVD/CD be replaced one day? I believe so, but, look at how long the VHS has been around and has become such a trusted "appliance".

[MetzLyov 0]

I myself do not like CD or DVD burners on DVRs and I think it is a waste of hardware in any DVR configuration. If you are using CD or DVD burner, then you have a restriction how much video you can store on them. Unless you are using a DVR that does not have ethernet connection and it is just a VCR replacement (yup there are quite of few out there), then I will stick with DVRs without CD or DVD burners.

 

I rather connect to the same DVR via local LAN or WAN or connect remotely and then transfer as much video as I want without any restriction and then I can burn the same content on any media of my choice.

 

I always suggest my customers to buy smallest hard drive configuration of DVRs (the pricing for hard drives increase in any DVR is very high) and then use local cheap machine with as much hard drive space it can take to perform backups. Hard drive costs have been droping, however hard drive costs in DVRs increases much higher than it is worth.

 

Levon

[bob the b 0]

Metz has a good point, i disconnected my cdr and fitted another hard drive on the serial cable.

By transferring the video through a lan you can burn the video to mpeg2 using nero, then it can be played on a dvd player.

[MetzLyov 0]

Bob, I agree... I see many people buying CD or DVD burner along with DVRs and wasting money and then DVRs with higher hard drvie capacities and they usually pay double on the hard drive costs that is included on DVRs... In some reports that I read, they markup hard drives 100% when selling them along with DVRs. There is no rime or reason to pay for such costs, when you can have a cheapo computer next to it or available remotely that you can add as much hard drives as you want without any restrictions and then transfter all the video you want.

 

Levon

[scottj 0]

Then again, what is 18 bucks for a CDRW drive on a machine that could effectively costs 5000.00 (more or less depending on the DVR)? Thats almost as foolish as buying a 500k home and not enclosing the sofits...

 

scottj

[bob the b 0]

Then what do you play the cd/dvd on?

 

Dvr's normally have their own alogirithm in which you have to install software to play it, dont think the cop's would mess with that, and $5000

for a dvr with cdr,we all know you can pick them up for $800 inc a cdr.

 

Not sure about a house without soffits though

[scottj 0]

I use 5k as an example. We don't have customers who use an 800.00 DVR, we refer those to Ebay and tell them to cross their fingers. And as far as the backup video format, most high end systems will automatically add the viewing client to the CD or DVD for ease of playback for the police stations etc. AVI is also very common, can be played back through WMP.

And from experience, if the police are investigating a crime of any magnitude (homicide, rapes, abdutions, assaults) and the system does not have a easy way to extract the data they will seize the DVR (such as the 800.00 one).

 

scottj

[bob the b 0]

I've read through all the links Rory posted here http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1204, and I noticed that alot of brand and models include CDR/W or DVDR/W as built-in features or add-on optionals.

 

are they really all that important? I mean, it looks good on paper, but when it comes to actual uses, is it really that great of a feature?

 

These links are what the question is about,these are sub $1000 items and not ebay items.

Most dvr's (budget) are low end machines with limited capabilities as far as the cdr is concerned, and this is my point.

High end machines with a cdr should convert the media into a playable medium for that sort of money!

[C7 in CA 0]

 

Not sure about a house without soffits though

 

500k in California won't buy a house with soffits. That's extra...

[scottj 0]

500k wont buy a house in So Cal...haha Unless you want a shack in Santa Ana.

I can relate Scott, I still own my home in Newport Beach. (originally from there)

 

scottj

[CompSlave 0]

My company has recently purchased a dvr made by rifatron called the "imdvr 1648" which records at, i believe 30 fps and stores

up to 14 days on whatever number of cameras we have installed on there. the only problem is, after we have used up the 14 days it recycles the storage space. if there is coverage of an event we need to have preserved for evidentiary purposes, how can we go about transferring it onto an external storage medium (for example: dvd, vcd, or vhs)? also the there is no "video-out" outlet, but rather where there should be one is an xj-45 outlet and an ethernet outlet. i am wondering if there is a way to hook up a stand alone dvd-recorder or (must it be?) networked to a pc with dvd-burner preinstalled? any information you could supply would be of great help to me, the young guy in the department with SOME computer knowledge. below is a link of the product.

 

 

http://www.rifatron.com/product/imdvr-1648.htm

[cctv_down_under 0]

Dude... not sure if you posted the right link, that machine not only has a SPOT output (a composite output that you could plug into a VCR) but also says it has USB, so probably has thumbstick ability for backup, there also is remote networking so i amagine you could back up from there as well.

 

I agree DVD is a waste of time in most cases, excepting if no other PC is on site, easier to use a thumbstick than a CD.

[baywatch 1]

And from experience, if the police are investigating a crime of any magnitude (homicide, rapes, abdutions, assaults) and the system does not have a easy way to extract the data they will seize the DVR (such as the 800.00 one).

 

scottj

 

Over here for a serious crime the police demand the uncopied evidence so they usually sieze the hard disc. We have been paid by the police on a few cases to replace the Hdds with new units & put the originals in evidence bags, all under police supervision. We have one ongoing murder caseat the moment.

[bob the b 0]

Thats a good point by you and scott, so if that is the case ,the poilce need the uncopied/ untampered source, is a cdr all that important?

 

I suppose if you have no-other way of extracting the video (lan etc) it is.

[rory 0]

Yeah but then in most cases, they will need the same DVR on their side to play it back, if it is an RTOS dvr that is.