Security DVR Viewer Technology Allows People to Streamline Security Video Streaming
A closed-circuit television system is a step in the right direction, but a security DVR viewer device is necessary for anyone who wants to keep a record of suspicious activity. They fit the bill for anyone who wants to gather evidence and display it later. There’s an old phrase in computer science that refers to ‘write once, read never’ technology. This same statement applies for the security industry as well. If one has no way to look at information after it is recorded, it has essentially been sent off to the bit bucket. The bit bucket more or less refers to the waste cans that were used with paper tape based computers. This means that information that has no way of being recovered is completely useless, and we’re still stuck with that limitation in the modern day.
Everyone wants to be able to view his or her security films for obvious reasons. Just as there is more than one way to skin a cat, there is more than one way to record information in a format that is easily recovered. Technically, one could use a regular VCR or even a specialized VCR that can make the most out of a standard VHS tape. However, VHS tapes are prone to failure and take up a lot of space. DVR technology has become more widely accepted in the last few years because it doesn’t have these limitations. However, people should still familiarize themselves with the shortcomings of digital video recorders.
A DVR hard drive is generally not intended for long time storage, which might make DVD or VHS technology slightly more attractive in some situations. There is limited hard drive space, which means that eventually, footage will end up being rewritten. Just like the hard drive in a personal computer, a DVR’s hard drive could eventually crash into the disk platters and end the life of the machine.
Moreover, some people have expressed privacy or security concerns about digital video recorders. This is probably extremely startling to anyone who wants to use a security DVR viewer. Certain DVR models are designed to send back data about television viewer habits, which is where the source of this concern comes from. First of all, a DVR system that isn’t connected to a network cannot do this. This concern also has to do with the sorts of DVR units that are shipped to television customers from cable and satellite providers. It has nothing to do with security DVR viewer machines. No one should have to fear this trusted technology for use with CCTV systems.
On the other hand, there are plenty of advantages to security DVR viewer technology. There isn’t any external media involved with a DVR. Instead, the unit itself contains the hard drive that is recorded on. If people tend to misplace videotapes or DVDs, this could be great news. The machine could record in high definition, and while this usually isn’t a concern when working with security cameras, it might be nice for certain types of installations.
Security DVR viewer machines that are connected to the Internet or a private network should still not prove to be much of a security risk anyways. After all, these are not in any way connected with the type of DVR devices used for recording television programming. The only similarity that they share is from a pure technology standpoint. The implementation of the technology is very different. If one is sure that their digital video recorder is designed for use with CCTV cameras, then that have no reason to be afraid of any strange security leaks. The type of data that offending DVR devices collect wouldn’t have anything to do with security any ways, so those who have repurposed technology in the past probably haven’t even made something that could successfully interface with the data collection servers in question. While it’s good to keep an eye on privacy issues, some of the rumors that are going around in the security equipment supply industry today are slightly overblown. Nevertheless, people should always be vigilant when told that there is some type of weakness inherent in their equipment.
Networking can work in favor of surveillance specialists, however. Once people get over their fear of security on the World Wide Web, they might realize how many uses an IP camera and IP equipped digital video recorder unit has. One could theoretically capture footage from cameras that are located all over the country or even the world. Security companies that are charged with monitoring various clients could use this to ensure that an electronic eye always monitors each individual camera. Some DVR units are designed to work with 4, 8, 16 or even 32 channels. While these are often more expensive than regular units, their price tag is far lower than having to individually purchase DVR machines for each individual camera. Those systems could also be used to monitor multiple cameras at once through a networking system.
Once again, this would be very useful for those sorts of security firms that have to monitor a large number of different cameras. Pretend, for a moment that there were three different factories that had separate CCTV networks, and all three of them were contracted out to a single location. That single location could use a digital video recorder that was outfitted with Internet protocol networking, if each of the cameras at these factories had an IP module. As long as a solid Internet connection was always maintained, there wouldn’t be an interruption of service.
That being said, the fear of security that most people have is well placed. There are good reasons to care a great deal about plugging all the holes that a system like this has. A security DVR viewer system is generally pretty foolproof, but there are chances that the network might be hacked. It is usually a pretty good idea to have some sort of Firewall installed on the network that interfaces with the rest of the equipment. Regular virus and spyware checks are necessary to ensure that the network is safe enough to continue to stream video to the recording device.
A second concern involved in using an IP equipped security DVR viewer involves the stability of the Internet connection used. Needless to say, no one could use a dialup connection to network their video cameras, but just because a system is based on broadband technology doesn’t make it stable. Continuous outages won’t do anyone any favors. Weather and other concerns can actually influence connectivity. On the other hand, some people might trust the connection that they’ve previously been working with for their business. For those that have a local area network that seems stable, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get a system like this configured. A few basic computer skills can do away with the hard part of surveillance.
Then again, there are plenty of options with DVR software that runs on regular computers. For instance, JPEG surveillance DVR technology can take individual images and load them onto a computer server. These pictures are in a format that can be read by the majority of personal computers that are running industry standard system software. If a website was set up to request appropriate log in credentials, it could be used to display regular security DVR viewer images. JPEG files are often used on the World Wide Web as it is.
There’s another way this can benefit businesses as well. Pretend that a store has just, unfortunately, been stolen from. If a JPEG image of the suspect came out of the video feed, it can be extracted using security DVR viewer software. This image can then be posted on the store’s regular website, or even printed and distributed. This is not to say that criminal activity should be turned into something sensational, or even encouraged. Instead, these images can be used to try and find the perpetrator of a crime.
When people see the image, they might be able to provide some information about the individual’s identity or whereabouts. Numerous crimes have been solved because of anonymous tips or people leaving a bit of information with the authorities. There’s nothing that states that this sort of thing can’t be part of a real grass roots movement to ensure that justice is served. The fact that this sort of system is in place might also make would-be shoplifters think twice about swiping something from a store that has prepared itself to deal with criminals. Shoplifting can quickly add up and become extremely expensive.
Just like digital video recorder systems that can be connected to the Internet, it is easy to accept a video feed from over the Internet and stream it to a personal computer. In fact, this might be even easier. There are a few special devices that are necessary to turn a computer into a DVR machine, but they aren’t anything that is too difficult to work with. If a camera already has a USB interface, it could actually connect directly into a computer. Of course, IP modules that are present on Internet security cameras will interface with computer recording software just as easily.
There’s no reason that a creative set up involving digital video recorders, IP cameras, traditional CCTV technology and computers can’t be set up. Some vendors actually make a type of video interface that can be installed into a computer motherboard to accept RF video input from coaxial cable feeds. These cards plug straight into an expansion slot, and have a female BNC jack that accepts a traditional feed straight out of a regular security camera. This can be used to turn a computer into a combination DVR and security DVR viewer machine. It might save some money, depending on how much would have otherwise been spent on setting up external equipment.
There are numerous uses of this sort of technology outside of the surveillance market. Some people who are adventurous might want to use a security DVR viewer to record some sort of social networking footage and store it before posting it. This might seem silly, but Internet video market is quickly growing. Of course, a clip of video can easily be taken out of a computer interface and posted on a store’s website to work in much the same way that the previous JPEG example did. A bit of video can be very useful when trying to identify a suspect, and might even be handed over to investigators or a news service.
Some people have used surveillance systems to monitor construction projects. This can be used to make sure that no suspicious activity occurs at the construction site, and it also provides interesting footage for those who are having a house built for them. Naturally, security DVR viewer equipment that interfaces with the World Wide Web allows people to watch this sort of thing from anywhere. For that matter, there might be some interesting applications that involve mobile devices.
Smartphones and tablets are very popular, and many people have them. If a video link is provided via the Internet, even the most basic mobile phone web browser can be turned into a security DVR viewer. Even if a business owner has to travel across the country, they can still investigate suspicious activity and keep an eye on their business. If they have the right type of equipment, they should be able to check things out from anywhere in the world that has a cellular phone network capable of supporting such devices.
Keeping tabs on a business from the palm of one’s hand is pretty impressive, but it doesn’t mean that the innovations have to end there. There are numerous interesting things that can be done when setting up security DVR viewer technology. Some television sets have picture-in-picture, and this opens up an entirely new avenue for those working with traditional setups. One could watch yesterday’s happenings while keeping an eye on the premises. People are really only limited by the creativity of their engineers.
