Need some DVR suggestions, please...

[dorough 0]

I have a Dedicated Micros ECO-9 DVR that recently stopped transmitting images over the internet. The unit works fine in every other way, so evidently the NIC or something on the motherboard went bad. Either way, I'm looking at about a $600-700 repair. So that puts me in the market for a new DVR with newer technology. This one is 8 years old.

 

I have 9 cameras. Most of them are 620TVL. One is 700TVL. Evidently the old ECO-9 is not capable of giving me the best images over the internet... images are interlaced and sometimes just plain crummy.

 

So, can anyone recommend a good DVR in the $1,000 neighborhood that would give me better image quality and still have good FF/REW, download & mobile device viewing (iPhone) options? And if $1,000 sounds too low, please let me know other options that may cost more. Thanks in advance!

[Soundy 1]

You can get a 16-channel system that will do FAR more than that, for under $600. In fact, if you can live without full 30fps @ D1 recording on all channels, you can do it for as low as $200. Dahua makes a range of DVRs that are solid and easy to use, work with both browser and remote clients, and have client apps for most smartphones.

 

You probably won't find anyone selling under the Dahua brand name, as they're mostly an OEM manufacturer; their equipment is generally rebranded for the various resellers to sell under their own names.

 

Unfortunately, board rules prohibit me from actually mentioning any of the brand names or resellers... at least any of them that I know. So you'll have to do a little research on your own there.

[dorough 0]

Thanks Soundy. I've done a little more research and have a question about the user interface. I happen to have a Defender system set up in another location in addition to this DM ECO-9. The two differ dramatically in how they handle reviewing video.

 

With the DM ECO-9, I can go to the main menu, punch in an earlier date and time, and the DVR immediately goes to that point in time and I can instantly switch between any camera, and FF/REW at will... even speed through a whole week or two of video very quickly, switching cameras all at the same time.

 

With the Defender system, in order to view video from an earlier date and time, I have to go to the main menu and click on the desired day within a calendar. The system then returns a list of 30-minute blocks of time for each camera for that entire day. So it's quite a long list. To view a desired time, I must click on the matching time block and the system begins to buffer that 30-minute video clip. After it loads (which can be several minutes) I can scrub through that 30-minute block for that camera only. If I need to view a different camera for the same time period, I have to start the whole process again. There is no quick switching back and forth between cameras on the fly.

 

So, I really need that on-the-fly switching capability that the DM ECO-9 offers, and to be able to fly through a week or two of video while quickly changing cameras. Does Dahua offer the same thing, or is it more like the Defender system?

[dmoore 0]

Before I installed my IP cam system, I had a Q-See QT-526 and it was a fairly good DVR. We still have a 16 channel unit at our community pool and it's worked without issue. Full D1 at 30FPS on all channels, remote access, fairly good interface.

[TipoFloe 0]

I have a Dedicated Micros ECO-9 DVR that recently stopped transmitting images over the internet. The unit works fine in every other way, so evidently the NIC or something on the motherboard went bad. Either way, I'm looking at about a $600-700 repair. So that puts me in the market for a new DVR with newer technology. This one is 8 years old.

 

I have 9 cameras. Most of them are 620TVL. One is 700TVL. Evidently the old ECO-9 is not capable of giving me the best images over the internet... images are interlaced and sometimes just plain crummy.

 

So, can anyone recommend a good DVR in the $1,000 neighborhood that would give me better image quality and still have good FF/REW, download & mobile device viewing (iPhone) options? And if $1,000 sounds too low, please let me know other options that may cost more. Thanks in advance!

 

As many mentioned here, you will get a full 16 channel real-time 480 pps DVRs for under $1,000.00. Many of these DVRs should be able to give you smart devices accessibility as well. For a little more, you should be able to get a D1 480PPS DVR for under $1,500.00. If you need to take advantage of your sharp cameras, you should be recording at D1 30 PPS per channel, but then again, you were only getting about 6 PPS per channel with your Eco9.

 

So if you were to get a lesser expensive DVR (CIF 480), you will still be able to get at least 60 PPS at D1 resolution, so get about 6 PPS per channel with your 9 existing cameras. If you want to keep it with the same resolution as your old Eco 9, it will give you 120 PPS at Half D1, or 2CIF. As far as the record fluidity, you should not notice any difference, but then the picture quality on recorded and transmitted data will be dramatically be better, especially because I know what these old Eco 9's look like.

 

Dedicated Micros were the top of the line back in the days. Eco 9, unfortunately was just a bad response to all the Chinese, Korean and Taiwanese DVRs that were being pumped out like crazy. If you're not brand savvy, then look for any manufacturers with local support and with at least 3 years of warranty, which seems to be the standard with security products these days.