SCE BLOG

With an ever expanding variety of ways to capture and store images, the considerations in choosing a recording device fall into two main categories, hardware and software.

Hardware:

Network – If the decision is to add a second network, the recording device will need to be capable of supporting two networks. This is usually accomplished by two network ports on the recording device, one for the “public” network and one for the camera network.
NVR with encoders vs HVR – One of the ways to reduce cost during the transition to IP is to go with a mix of analog and IP cameras. This can be accomplished by either choosing a Network Video Recorder (NVR) or adding IP encoders or a Hybrid Video Recorder (HVR). The NVR uses IP encoders to encode an analog signal into IP protocol and transmit it to an NVR for storage. An NVR typically has no analog inputs or outputs. The HVR has analog ports on the hardware and allows you to plug an analog camera directly into the recorder, just like a standard DVR.

Software:

Operating system – IP recorders typically fall into three operating system buckets. Windows based, Linux based, and embedded. Windows based devices come with all the features and challenges that your desktop computer have. IT departments may like the ability to remotely administrate the device. Linux based devices typically are more customized to doing just device operation. Embedded devices are usually the most stable of the three because the OS is stored on a ROM chip.

VMS – This is the most subjective and fluid component of all of the decisions. Single seat administration of privileges, health monitoring, firmware/software update, incident search and bandwidth impact are all controlled through the VMS. Because this is the most visible and interactive component of your decision, spending time with this in a proof of concept is critical.