subject: 10 Important Features Of A Dvr [print this page] 1.How many channels does the DVR support? The number of channels is the number of security cameras that can be attached to the DVR unit. That really depends on your requirements how many cameras are you looking to install at your location? Majority, if not, all of the current digital video recorders in the market support 8 channels, 16 channels, 32 channels and can go all the way up to 64 channels on one unit. Or you can start off with one 16 channel DVR and later add as you need them, that would not hurt and would probably be beneficial in case one goes down you would have other units up and running doing some video recording.
2.How many Audio Channels does the digital video recorder support? Audio channels are the number of audio microphones the systems can support.
3.Does it support remote access via internet explorer browser, client software or both? Client software is a small software application that majority of the time comes free with the DVR when installed at a remote pc it will let you stream video from the DVR, while it is easier to stream video by using a browser on any computer which has IE to connect to the DVR. That way you would not have to worry about installing client software where ever you would like to remotely access your security cameras.
4.How many hard drives does it support? The number of hard drives the digital video recorder support implies how many days of recording you would need. Hard drives nowadays can be as much as 2,000 GB so a typical install would require probably 1 hard drive support per unit, would be sufficient enough to get around 30 days of recording. That depends how many cameras are connected, what is the configuration of each camera, how are cameras being recorded on motion or round the clock, etc.
5.How are the system setting configured? Most commonly DVR settings are similar to configuring your TV at home, with a remote control or through the use of a computer mouse would you go through a list of menu"s to setup the proffered settings. However some DVRs only support IR remote control while others support both a remote and a mouse.
6.What is the warranty on the system? Most DVRs have a 1 year warranty however with more expensive equipment just like everything else in the market there are DVRs that have a 3 or a 5 year warranty.
7.What compression does it support? Typically there are 2 common types of video compression in the industry MPEG 4 and H.264, the chances of you requiring and MPEG 4 compression DVR are really slim, so it"s a good idea to just go ahead and buy a DVR that would support H.264 compression. H.264 compression is also a good compression if you are planning on using the DVR for remote access lots of times. H.264 compression is a new video compression scheme that has been developed to meet the technical factors and the latest development of evolving market. While MPEG4 is also a video compression scheme of audio and visual digital data.
8.How easy is the system to install? This is an important question if you are planning on doing the system setup yourself as some systems can be pretty complicated to configure, however if you have programmed a TV before or configured your home router you would not have any problems configuring a DVR.
9.How many monitors can be hooked up to the DVR? In most cases a DVR supports two monitors one that can be connected to a pc type computer monitor and another would be like your TV monitor through the composite input, however there are still lots out there in the market who only support one output. Do not buy those you can get a two output monitor without an extra dime if you are good at shopping.
10.How much is it? This question is very important because all the questions above other features would influence the price. Therefore, after shopping around and doing your research you should create a comparison chart or visit this site that compares DVR prices and features.
