9 - Video Recorders & Locations
Selecting a Recorder
Remember the Pro's Golden Rule: Leave room to grow. Surveillance recorders (also called NVRs or DVRs) are built to support four, eight, sixteen, thirty-two, and sixty-four cameras. It is wise to recommend a video recorder that is one size larger than the number of cameras needed. If the price exceeds the budget, you can always reduce the video recorder to the next smaller unit.
All our recorders support 4K so you don't have to worry about resolution. The only two variables you need to consider are number of video channels and hard drive bays needed.
POE Ports
Not all video recorders have built-in PoE. For example, the ProVue 32-channel NVR has 16 PoE ports. The other 16 camera channels are supported by adding a 16-channel PoE unit to the design. The 32-channel Cyber Secure NVR has no PoE ports. All the cameras are supported by adding a PoE units to the design.
The reason the NVRs do not have the same number of PoE ports as they do channels is simple. Few customers need 32 cameras within 300ft of the video recorder. Distributive design using PoE units adds the other PoE ports needed to support all the cameras.
It's standard in the industry that all 4, 8 and 16 channel NVRs have the same number of PoE ports. It's the bigger systems that require added PoE units.
Large Systems
The largest NVR we offer supports 64 video channels. There are 128-channel NVRs on the market, but they are not a good idea. First, if you have a hardware failure, all 128 cameras are down. Second, they do not equip these units with enough processing power to record all channels live in 4K. Instead, you are forced to drop resolution and frame rates, to as low as 7.5fps recording.
A much better solution is to use two 64-channel NVRs. This provides hardware redundancy so if one of the NVRs has a failure only half the cameras are down instead of all of them. Second, there is no data processing bottleneck, because our 64-channel systems can record all cameras live in 4K.
To provide the client a seamless management platform, we install our Video Management Software(VMS), also called Client Application, on their computers so they can view any combination of cameras from both NVRs on one screen. The app gives the experience of managing one singular large system even though your system consists of multiple NVRs in different locations.
Recorder Locations
The easy rule for selecting the location of the video recorder is "don't put it anywhere you would not put a computer." It is basically a computer; it has a case, a motherboard, memory chips, and hard drives. Heat will kill a video recorder. They cannot be located in attics or garages. The location must have a controlled environment with temperature ranges 50-82 degrees Fahrenheit. This is not the case with PoE units, they can be located in the attic or garage.
If the recorder is put into an elevated temperature environment (82 degrees plus), it will work for a while, but the heat will greatly reduce the life of the unit; client's can expect a complete failure within a year or less.
The location for the video recorder should be secure. In businesses, the NVR is usually located in an IT room or a manager's office. In residential applications the location varies. They can be located near the internet modem, or in an electronics cabinet, a bedroom, or even a furnace room. We have had clients locate their recorders hidden behind furniture, in closets, and even inside a safe, though a safe is not recommended.
If the you want to secure the recorder from tampering or theft, we recommend you use a lock box. They are made of metal, have venting, and can be secured to concrete floors, foundations, steel beams, or walls. The venting in a Lock Box makes it the viable version of a safe: similar safety measures without the added risk of overheating.