DVR recommendations

[filburt1 0]

I'm looking to set up a CCTV security system for my house involving two cameras. My car has been vandalized three times now (once involving $900 worth of repairs that my insurance covered) and I want to both prevent future vandalism, and failing that, catch and get evidence of the offenders.

 

What DVR would you recommend for the given requirements?

1. Support for two cameras (up to four in the future)
   
2. 30 FPS recording for each video stream, meaning I can play back an individual camera's recorded video at a full 30 FPS. This does not mean recording in a "quad" mode where the actual video is a grid of four cameras (in the case of a 4-channel DVR). I want to be able to view any camera's feed at any time (live or previously recorded video) at a full 30 FPS. This is by far the most important feature.
   
3. Internet/LAN viewing is highly desirable. USB I don't care about.
   
4. Dedicated DVR, not a PC with a capture card.

From my searching, it looks though I'll want a 4-channel DVR with embedded Linux. The problem is there are so many and the prices vary wildly. I also don't know of a reputable place online or physically (Maryland) to buy one.

 

For retailers that sell security DVRs without hard drives, is adding a hard drive as simple as buying one and just plugging it in, or do I have to format/partition it first through some tediously difficult process? If it's simple, it would be much cheaper to buy the DVR without a drive and then add one; a 300 GB drive is regularly less than $100.

 

Budget is very important. From what I've seen, each quality camera would be $200 but the DVR can easily exceed $1000.

 

Any thoughts? Thanks. I've been overwhelmed with my days of searching.

[Metal Shaper Man 0]

First, I must tell you that I’m very new to the subject. I have an antique car restoration business and use a surveillance system for obvious reasons. I’m also very interested in cctv, therefore, I did learn a few things before buying and after purchasing two DVR’S. If I understand correctly what you are asking, I, don’t think you will find anything that will do all you’re asking for. Before I go into a big lecture on field, frame, fps and ips, please tell me how much experience you have in this subject.

[filburt1 0]

While I understand basic video concepts, I'm not sure how they apply to security DVRs: most likely, the hardware (plus possibly the hard drive and its interface) doesn't have the power nor bandwidth to encode the video fast enough.

 

Essentially, I want a DVR that can record two to four streams at full framerate or at least something close, not a lame jerky 7.4 FPS as advertised for some DVRs. Recording at 120 FPS but in quad mode is pointless IMO as you get a quarter of the resolution per camera.

[Metal Shaper Man 0]

As I understand it, the unit will play one camera at, lets say, 30 fps. However, if you have four cameras, you have to devide 30 by four. In this case play back is only 7.5 fps per camera or channel. If you have a 120 fps set on your dvr you will get 30 fps but you will most likely have to use a lower picture quality setting. It's a trade off. That's why I said, I don't think you will find exactly what you're looking for in a DVR. I have a Panasonic WJ-HD 316 which is a 16 channel unit. I can set it at frame but with 16 cameras I only get 1 fps. If I use the feield setting I get 3 fps. There is anther setting that gives me 120 fps ,but, the picture quality is nothing like the first two. I'm pretty sure they all work the same way. You may want to look into something that will give you realtime play back. However, there is a sacrifise. You unit must recognize alarms from the cameras and only the alarm will play in real time. This will stop the other cameras from recording so the unit can record the fps in real time. Ther is a lot to this and the advertising can mislead you. Try to find out as much as you can before you spend a lot of money. I can tell you more if you would like. But it is hard to explain in short terms for as simple as it is in the end. I'm pretty sure that all of them are the frame rate divided by the amount of cameras on recording or play back. However, there is a chip or circuit board built into my unit that will allow live pictures to show all 16 cameras in full frame rate.

Edited February 28, 2006 by Guest

[securitymonster 0]

Hello guys, welcome to the board!

 

First off, yes, there are plenty of 120fps full frame recording stand alone DVR's that will exceed your expectations. Its just a matter of finding one that will fit your budget. Everything you want is pretty standard for the 120fps recording units.

 

I will say that 30fps per channel is a little overkill. Most people would be fine with 15fps per channel. Doing this will save you some money and you can still get all the bells and whistles you want.

 

When installing a hard drive into a unit that does not come with one, it is as simple as screwing it down, plugging it in, and turning on the machine. Once you load up the machine, you will go into the menu and format the drive. Some have different steps but that is basically what you need to do. And yes, it is much cheaper to purchase hard drives outside of the security vendor, however sometimes you get a longer warranty when you purchase their DVR with their hard drive.

[Metal Shaper Man 0]

I knew we would end up getting someone with more than back yard knollodge that could answer the question. However, how doe's that effect picture quality as far as ID.

[securitymonster 0]

generally to get a better frame rate, you will lose some resolution with a stand alone DVR, this is where the PC based solution comes in handy as you have more room to play with that. Compression is another factor to consider.

 

Are you asking about ID as in identifying? Its very hard to identify when your not in a traffic controlled environment (front door, traffic gate, counter, etc) and it gets even harder at night. Not that it cant be done but you really need to get strategic when placing cameras!

 

For example, if you wanted to watch cars come and go from a parking lot, you could put up a $100 camera, but if you wanted to effectively capture license plates from that same parking lot, you would need something that has been tried and tested which runs about $3500 and carefully placed on top of that.

 

There are no shortcuts with security!

[filburt1 0]

I wouldn't terribly mind a computer-based solution, but only one that I build myself. I parted out a capable system for $500 that is a fully-functioning computer and would only require a suitable capture card, but I have yet to find a suitable card that seems reliable, reputable, and also matches the requirements of said DVR.

 

I just prefer a DVR, at least for now, because it would be a dedicated and stable solution.

[Metal Shaper Man 0]

I agree. With my limited experience with only two DVR's I can see and understand what you are saying. I also agree that 15 fps will cover the task. And most of all, I agree that there are no short cuts when it comes to doing any job right. That's why it will cost $100,000.00 to $150,000.00 for me to restore an old Packard. No detail will be missed.

[rory 0]

With Stand alones it depends on the brand. GE for example is a PITA to do and most people end up just having the GE Factory do it. But it is still one of the best Stand Alone DVRs.

 

The budget ones generally will be easy to switch.

 

As for PC based. . there are many cards. You will get a pretty good idea from Browsing the PC Card forum.

[securitymonster 0]

Here are 2 brands of reputable PC based solutions:

 

Geovision - www.geovision.com.tw

 

Video-Insight - www.video-insight.com (www.demovi.com for demo)

[kandcorp 0]

I wouldn't terribly mind a computer-based solution, but only one that I build myself. I parted out a capable system for $500 that is a fully-functioning computer and would only require a suitable capture card, but I have yet to find a suitable card that seems reliable, reputable, and also matches the requirements of said DVR.

 

I just prefer a DVR, at least for now, because it would be a dedicated and stable solution.

 

Give us the run down of the PC setup; hardware, software, case, cooling. We will be glad to recommend the best DVR card for your application. And maybe save you some trouble with incompatible hardware conflicts you may come across.

[filburt1 0]

2.6 GHz Pentium 4, 512 MB RAM, 250 GB SATA HDD, Windows XP. The case varies, but it will be adequetly cooled.

 

I have built several computers before so I doubt I'll have any incompatibilities, but while looking for motherboards, I did specifically avoid ones with SiS-powered video, as well as trying to find one with AGP so I can add a dedicated video card: in this case, a Geforce 4 Ti4600.

 

edit: I still prefer a DVR, even if it will be slightly (but not excessively) more expensive as it will be more reliable, use less power, and be optimized to do its one purpose.

[rory 0]

okay then ... check out the GE DVMRe-Pro 120pps. Comes with CDRW or DVDRW.

Click here to view

[Securitymaster 0]

I got to tell you, If I where you, and if you know how to handle PC'S, I would go with a PC Based DVR, just for the fact that you will get the resolution and speed you want at a better price than a good stand alone.

 

Everycase is different, I would, for example, recommend a Chance-I card for you, once is set up, you leave it as is and don't worry about it, plus it has a composite Video output, realtime, which you can set up to watch in any TV in the house.

[filburt1 0]

I got to tell you, If I where you, and if you know how to handle PC'S, I would go with a PC Based DVR, just for the fact that you will get the resolution and speed you want at a better price than a good stand alone.

 

Everycase is different, I would, for example, recommend a Chance-I card for you, once is set up, you leave it as is and don't worry about it, plus it has a composite Video output, realtime, which you can set up to watch in any TV in the house.

In that case, I'll post a thread in the Computers forum (unless it's appropriate to continue this one, only discussing DVR PCI cards instead).

[JMANOFNVS 0]

For PC cards I have heard good things about Avermedia, Geovision, Digiview and Luxriot in no particular order and personally have played with none of them unfortunatly but I have played with a couple PC DVR's.