CCTV DVR choices

[Paul Gordon <paul_gordon@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Peeps, anyone got any opinions / recommendations for a good choice of
network CCTV DVR?

=20

I=92m continuing on my quest to rid myself of the agony of maintaining a
la=
rge
Windows PC based HA setup, and the next item in my sights is my current
Geovision based CCTV server=85

=20

I=92ve been quite happy with Geovision on the whole, but nonetheless, I=92m
determined to move to something that isn=92t PC / Windows based, and for
various reasons I want a dedicated, single purpose analogue network DVR. =
=96 I
want to stick with analogue wired CCTV primarily because I=92ve already a
f=
air
few cameras installed, and replacing them all with IP cameras would: a)
cos=
t
as much, if not more than just getting a new DVR, and b) give me a whole
load more work to do actually replacing all the cameras, changing the
wirin=
g
etc. =96 which I really can=92t be arsed to do=85  (Yes, I know IP is the
w=
ay to
go, and at my *next* house, I will=85)

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It looks like there are a veritable plethora of similar H.264 based units
available, at a few different price points. Obviously I know that in
genera=
l
one gets what one pays for, however, having already done some side-by-side
comparisons of a couple of the dearer units with a couple of the less
expensive ones, the differentiating features don=92t seem all that great,
a=
nd
are often in areas that aren=92t crucial to me=85 - things like central
monitoring station for multiple units for example=85

=20

I=92m looking for an 8-channel unit, of which I have at least 4 channels
already installed & ready to plug right in. None of my current cams
have
audio or PTZ, although that may change in future, so support for both is
quite desirable=85 - although whether or not I need audio support for *all
=
8*
channels is rather doubtful..=20

=20

I=92m not expecting specific recommendations for any particular unit, but I
*AM* interested in hearing if anyone has had any experiences, either good
o=
r
bad, of one manufacturer vs. another=85 there are plenty out there, but the
units themselves all look like they=92re OEM=92d Chinese units, so
identify=
ing
any vendors USP isn=92t proving especially easy=85

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My wish-list feature set includes:

Decent remote network monitoring =96 would be nice if not based on ActiveX
=
and
thus limited to IE, but since Geovision live view is, that wouldn=92t be a
huge downer=85 just so long as the browser UI is =93nice=94 =99

Decent smartphone monitoring =96 primarily iDevices, but android may be a
n=
ice
to have in the future

Fairly good motion-activated recording, with flexible masking options (all
the units I=92ve seen so far aren=92t *quite* as flexible as Geovisions=92
=
image
masking =96 GV=92s is free-form, whereas everything I=92ve seen is based
on=
a grid
system) =96 I suppose with a fine enough grid to define the masked areas
th=
is
needn=92t be that much of a problem=85

The best image & recording quality I can get =96 at a reasonable price
=96 =
I
would have to make a serious value judgement whether I think it work paying
=A3600 instead of =A3300 where the difference is just for a boost in
resolu=
tion
or frame rate=85 - I would *like* to be able to record at the highest
quali=
ty
settings on all 8 channels, but I=92d never need to do so concurrently (I
envisage all channels set to motion record, so only 1 or 2 channels should
ever be recording simultaneously).

=20

I=92m really not fussed about fancy-pants features like ANPR, face
tracking=
,
object tracking, image analysis, and so on=85 GV has many of these, and I=
=92ve
never used them once=85

=20

What I really need is just a good, solid, reliable easy to configure &
use
CCTV DVR that I can install then pretty much forget about, and not regret
buying a year from now=85

=20

Grateful for any thoughts/feedback/opinions no matter how small=85

=20

Cheers!

=20

Paul G.

=20

=20

=20

=20



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