Re: DVR for Dummies (aka - me)

[Matt Ion <soundy106@xxxxxxxxx>]

spamdisintegrator@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
> We currently have a 16 channel multiplexer with a time lapse VCR.  It's
> about 8 years old and needs replaced.
>
> We have been looking into DVR systems and DVR cards available on Ebay
> and elsewhere.  (I won't get into why we'll never purchase CCT
> equipment from ADT ever again).
>
> We currently run 12 cameras, although we have the capability for 16.
>
> One frustration with our current time lapse VCR system is that our 12
> cameras cannot be recorded simultaneously, instead it records camera 1
> for a few seconds, then camera 2 for a few seconds until it cycles
> through to camera 12 and then back to camera 1.
>
> Can DVR systems record all cameras at once, or do most still cycle
> through each camera, one by one?
>
> If DVRs can record simultaneously, is this a feature that is typical,
> or is it only available on high end equipment.
>
> Thanks in advance for enlightening me!

Simultaneous recording on all cameras is "typical" for all but the very cheapest
DVRs.  HOW MANY frames can be simultaneously recorded will vary with cost - most
of the cheapest PC-based systems will do 60fps total, split across all cameras
in groups of two; so, for example, all the odd-numbered cameras are a "group"
that have up to 30fps available to them, and ditto the even-numbered cameras
(30fps is the framerate for standard full-motion video).  Systems that will do
up to 30fps *per cmaera* on up to 16 cameras exist, but get VERY expensive, not
only for the capture hardware itself, but for the massive storage and fast PC
needed to handle all that data.

For most instances, I find running 1 or 2fps per camera is just fine anyway
(depending on your exact needs - what kind of company, what kind of actions or
transactions you're monitoring, etc.)