Selecting the right Digital Video Recorder for your CCTV application - By: Andy J Thompson

Next to choosing the right camera for your surveillance needs, the selection of an appropriate recording device is the second most important decision you will make. There are a lot of different options to choose from, each with their own pros and cons. The easiest decision to make is that of the recording media. VCR type recorders that use VHS tapes to make time lapse videos are pretty much a thing of the past. They have all but been replaced with Digital Video Recorders (DVR) that store recorded video in a digital format onto a fixed storage device. Digital Video Recorders are available as stand alone devices, or can be purchased as a card that is added to an existing PC. Stand alone DVR devices are about the size of a DVD player and do not require additional hardware to function (other than a monitor). Be aware that some models do not include a hard drive - you must install one inside the unit yourself. If you do not want to be bothered with doing this, purchase a model with a hard drive already installed. Stand alone DVR's are very convenient and reliable. You simply plug your cameras into the device and configure your recording preferences and before you know it, your are done! No fuss, no mess. Some models even feature a network port that allows you to access and view your cameras from the Internet. Others have built-in USB ports and DVD burners to export video clips. Video capture cards are used to add DVR capabilities to an existing PC. They tend to be less expensive than a dedicated DVR, but they require quite a bit of legwork to get up and running. The first issue to deal with is compatibility. Some cards only work with specific video card chipsets and operating systems - therefore it is important to be very diligent when looking over the system requirements before making your purchase. Video capture cards usually include the necessary software to monitor your cameras. The second issue with video capture cards is the nature of their installations - your computer must stay powered on in order for the software to function, and the installation is highly dependent upon the reliability of the computer operating system. It is for these reasons that I prefer the ?install it and forget about it? nature of stand alone Digital Video Recorders. Is is also important to take into account how many cameras you need to monitor and record. DVR prices start at about $100 for a basic video capture card and can reach up into the thousands of dollars. The more cameras you need to record, the more the unit will cost. For most residential and small business needs, a 4 or 8 camera DVR will do just fine. Expect to pay about $100 per camera port for a good stand alone DVR. The next thing you want to verify is the recording resolution and frame rate. It is important that your DVR have the capability of recording at the same or higher resolution than your camera feeds. If you cameras transmit 480 lines of resolution, make sure your DVR can handle it. Digital video recorders now use several different video compression standards to store video. Try to get a unit that supports either H.264 or MPEG4 - they will allow you to store more video on your hard drive at higher resolutions and frame rates. As far as storage is concerned, the bigger the hard drive, the more footage you can store. Combining motion activated recording with today's larger hard drives should allow you to store months of footage on a 4 or 8 camera setup. Finally, you will want to look into features such as the availability of motion based recording, scheduled recording and remote access to both real time feeds and stored video. These features are now pretty standard on newer models. Also make sure that the unit makes it easy to search and export video clips.