Digital Surveillance

Digital Video Recorders (DVR’s) allow continuous digital recording for days and weeks at a time. Unlike tape based systems the footage is always high quality no matter how many times you record over existing footage. DVR’s also have built in multiplexing allowing split screen monitoring/recording without having to add an additional unit.

What is a Digital Video Recorder

A digital video recorder (DVR) or personal video recorder (PVR) is a device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB keydrive, sd memory card or other memory medium within a device. The term includes stand-alone set-top boxes, portable media players (PMP) and recorders (as camcorders that record in memory card) and software for personal computers which enables video capture and playback to and from disk. When we talk about DVR’s, we are referring to a hard drive or sd memory recorder used for the purpose of surveillance.

What are the advantages of a DVR

Before DVR’s existed the most common way of recording CCTV video footage was through a multiplexer and time-lapse VCR’s. However, DVR’s have many advantages over the multiplexer and VCR Combo:

• DVR’s can have a huge storage capacity and so eliminate the need to frequently change tapes
• DVR’s don’t have problems with tape or VCR’s wearing out and so consistently produce higher quality recorded images
• Because DVR’s record digitally, you can retrieve recorded footage instantly rather than scanning through hours of video tape
• Some DVR’s have motion detection software built-in, removing the need for separate PIR’s (passive infra-red detectors)
• Some DVR’s can be viewed over a network or the Internet allowing them to be used for remote viewing
• DVR’s often work out cheaper than the combined price of a time-lapse VCR, video tapes and a multiplexer.

SURE have a great selection of DVR’s to suit a wide range of applications. Choose a sub-category above to see the full product range.

If you are unsure about specifics when buying a DVR, click here for our buyers guide.