DVR purchase considerations

A Digital Video Recorder (DVR), which is a digital video recorder, is a hard disk recorder and is also referred to as a DVR because it uses a hard disk video recording as opposed to a conventional analog video recorder. It is a set of computer systems that perform video recording at the image storage location. It has functions for long-term recording, recording, remote monitoring and control of images/voices. The DVR integrates video recorders, picture splitters, pan/tilt lens controls, and alarm controls. , network transmission and other five functions in one, with a device can replace the analog monitoring system a lot of equipment functions, but also gradually have an advantage in price. DVR adopts digital recording technology and is far superior to analog monitoring equipment in image processing, image storage, retrieval, backup, network transmission, and remote control. DVR represents the development direction of TV monitoring system and is currently on the market. The preferred product for television monitoring systems.

Xiaobian teach you how to choose a hard disk recorder

The main purpose of the DVR is to convert the image analog signal transmitted from the front-end device (such as a camera) into a digital signal, which is compressed and stored on the hard disk. Generally, it is divided into a PC type and an embedded type.

PC-type hard disk recorders can be further subdivided as follows:

(1), IPC PC DVR

Industrial PC PC DVR adopts industrial control chassis, which can resist the harsh environment and interference of industrial environment. The CPU industrial integrated card and industrial backplane can support more video and audio channels and more IDE hard disks. Of course, the price is two or three times that of a typical commercial PC. It is often used in various important situations and situations where there are many channels.

(2) Business PC DVR

Commercial PC DVRs generally use industrial control chassis to improve the stability and reliability of the system. There are also a few common audio and video channels for common commercial PC chassis. It uses a universal PC motherboard and various boards to meet the system's requirements. It is cheap and adaptable to the environment. It is often used in all kinds of general situations. The number of image channels is generally less than 24 channels.

(3) Server PC DVR

The server PC DVR adopts the chassis and main board of the server, and the stability and reliability of the system are greatly improved compared with the former two. It often has a UPS uninterruptible power supply and a massive disk storage array that supports hard disk hot-plugging. It can run continuously for 24 hours x 7 days. It is often used in special applications where the number of monitoring channels is large and the monitoring requirements are very high.

In the face of numerous digital video recorders (DVRs) on the market, how should people choose?

According to our many years of work experience in the security industry, we recommend that engineers and users should examine and purchase DVRs that meet their requirements from the following six aspects.

I. Excluding common misconceptions

Misunderstanding #1: Windows operating system is unstable and affects the stability of DVRs

The stability of the system depends on two aspects: hardware and software. The software has two parts: operating system and recording software. Whether it is Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, it is a very good software that is universally used worldwide, and it is used as a hard disk. Video recorders use only a small part of the operating system, and there is no reason to doubt the stability of any operating system.

But what caused the problems such as unstable work and crashes during use? It can be said that one hundred percent is due to improper hardware configuration or video software (application software) programming is not standardized and cause a crash.

Myth #2: One-machine multi-card causes hardware conflicts and affects system stability.

This problem is often caused by the use of a technically inexperienced video compression card or pirated card. Another reason is that there is a problem with the hardware system settings. One machine and multiple cards are widely used industry standards and there is no reason to doubt their stability.

Myth #3: The DVR will always "crash"

A new generation of digital hard disk recorders generally have a software or hardware watchdog protection system. When a hardware failure occurs, it will give an alarm; when a software failure occurs, it will automatically restart and recover automatically. Therefore, it can be used with ease in an unmanned surveillance room.

Myth 4: Embedded DVR won't "crash"

Although the embedded hard disk video recorder is out of the PC's software environment, on the surface it completely solves the problem of crash, but if the hard disk fails, it will die. In fact, hard disk failure is one of the major failures of hard disk video recorders.

Myth 5: PC-based hard disk video recorders are lagging behind and embedded disk recorders are the development direction.

PC-type hard disk recorders are always in sync with the IT industry. They are far superior to embedded systems in terms of network transmission, picture quality, and video processing speed. In addition, they are intuitive, flexible, and fast in operation and they are unmatched by embedded systems. However, its greatest weakness is that it is vulnerable to vandalism. This is precisely the advantage of embedded systems. So now these two types of hard disk recorders have their own strengths and there will be a period of coexistence.

Second, choose a brand machine with intellectual property protection

The purchase of a branded hard disk video recorder means that qualified hardware equipment is selected, genuine software is selected, and software upgrades can be obtained in the future. If the system needs to be changed or expanded, technical support can be sought from the developers without wasting previous investment and protecting their investment interests. .

Third, choose the qualified machine that passes the legal agency inspection and certification

The only legitimate DVR inspection organization in China is: * Department of Security and * Electronic Product Quality Testing Center

Truly effective inspection report its inspection category should be: type inspection

The only legitimate DVR production license issuing authority in China is: provincial offices

Fourth, choose the latest video compression technology era

Divided by video compression processing technology, the current hard disk recorder has entered the fourth generation of products:

The first generation adopted the Motion JPEG compression algorithm, which is characterized by a large amount of files and consumes system resources. Therefore, the network transmission speed is slow; the advantage is that the images are clear.

The second generation adopts MPEG-1 compression algorithm, video compression processing is completed by the video card (hardware compression), does not take up CPU resources, so the system performance is very stable, the characteristic is that the data volume is still too large, it is difficult to transmit on the currently widely used wide area network .

The third generation adopts MPEG-4 compression algorithm, which is characterized by smaller code stream and is very suitable for transmitting real-time audio and video images on the network; pure hardware compression has more stable performance, so it can integrate more powerful functions.

The fourth generation of products is our most popular H.264, and there are other non-mainstream compression algorithms, which are not described here.

Fifth, select a powerful and highly intelligent machine

6. Choose a hard disk recorder that is easy to use and manage