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May 30, 2014
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I run a lab that's set up like a hospital patient unit for training, sort of like the way we train airline pilots in advanced flight simulators. We teach nurses things like resuscitation, team communication, and more basic stuff like how to operate equipment and give reports at shift changes. It's fun, mostly, but there's not a lot of literature out there to help with the technology. Mostly I figure it out as I go along.
My lab has a Mac-based video capture system that has never worked, because it was a poor design and nobody was in charge. I'm looking for a general-purpose DVR that I can integrate with our existing ceiling-mounted cameras and microphones to record simulations and play them back for debriefing and teaching afterward. My current white-elephant system has a separate Mac Pro with an AJA video capture card dedicated to EACH camera, but integrating them together has always been a challenge.
I found the HD04120 and I'm pretty impressed with its features, but I'm wondering if the video quality will be good enough to use clips in training videos and maybe even some web commercials. We watch the videos in a room down the hall, so I need to be able to access and start/stop them remotely from a PC or other device.
I'm also wondering about the remote viewing, playback, and smartphone control features. Can anyone tell me if this or another DVR has ever been used for anything like what I'm considering? Is there any place I can check out sample video clips to get a feel for the picture quality?
Many thanks in advance.
January 3, 2014
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Are you refering to the DVR-HD04120?
Are your current cameras SDI cameras?
Can you please post the Camera models?
This is an HD-SDI recorder and only allows the connection to an SDI camera.
Jose Malave - IT Director| Toll Free: 866-573-8878 | E-mail: support@securitycameraking.com
March 9, 2013
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Hello,
The HD Series DVRs are great units if you want to use your existing coaxial cable infrastructure and want 1080p recording resolution, but as Jose said, you will need to replace your cameras with HD-SDI cameras which are fairly expensive. You most likely have standard analog CCTV cameras up. I would recommend you use our Hybrid Federal Series DVR which will allow you to use your existing cameras (up to 16 of them connected to a single unit) and add up to 16 Megapixel IP cameras in the future. However, older analog cameras and DVRs will only record at D1 resolution (704x480) which is pretty low compared to todays technology.
If you want to step up the resolution of your cameras and recorder, the absolute best bang for the buck are our HD-CVI cameras and recorders. The technology is the same in all our units so we have the same app for them all. We have IPhone, Android apps and PC or MAC software. These HD-CVI cameras and recorders can record at either 720p or 1080p resolution but will use your existing coaxial cables so you won't have to run new cables. The 720p cameras are an amazing value and you will be very happy with the resolution. Here is a link to check out:
May 4, 2013
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If 4 channel video is enough and 4 channels of audio is a must as well, consider this one-
https://www.securitycameraking.....-prd1.html
Keep in mind that for best results your analog cable should preferably be true RG-59 coax, as opposed to thin premade plug and play cable. I've read about less than good results for HD-CVI with plug and play cable. I'm going to guess that audio is paramount with your situation too. If that is the case, you need to be mindful of what recorder you choose. Analog and the HD-CVI that has been mentioned can provide audio easily. But if you need a certain amount of video channels with accompanying audio for each of those channels, make sure the unit provides the proper audio capability too.
It will be nice for playback because it's all handled within the recorder itself. Four camera action playing back at once is a great thing. However, you will not hear all four channels of audio separated on playback. You'll need to click on a specific channel playback to hear that channels audio. Also, blending clips together outside of the recorder for a continuous multi camera training video will take some effort. It is not easy to blend multi channel video together as a continuous 'film'. CCTV files are more for isolated one-off exports for ID prosecution. In theory it could be used the way you want to, but it doesn't easily replace a traditional multi video camera setup, where it's all edited down in post production.
But the questions for you are really- how good does the resolution need to be, how many video channels must you have, and does every channel need it's own audio?
January 3, 2014
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Give me a call on Monday . My information is in my signature I can help you select the correct System for your Application.
Jose Malave - IT Director| Toll Free: 866-573-8878 | E-mail: support@securitycameraking.com
May 30, 2014
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Thanks for the detailed responses. I don't need more than one audio channel, as all the sound from the room goes through one mixer to a single channel anyway. Multi-channel audio would be nice for training films, but it's not something we'd be using regularly.
The cameras I'm using now are pretty high quality, Sony BRC-Z330 units with PTZ capability. They output in 720p and 1080i, and are equipped with BRBK-HD2 SDI output cards.
I'm aware that editing the clips together for videos will require some effort, but can the channels be teased out separately? Will I only be able to save files with all four channels included? Ideally I'd like the ability to save and export each HD video channel as a separate file for editing.
Most of the recordings we'll be making with this system will be viewed once or twice for debriefing with all four channels concurrently, and then deleted. For higher-quality training videos we'll be showing externally, I'll probably just keep using my DSLR and external tascam audio recorder.
I'm running in and out of meetings today so it's tough to get time for a call, but I'll try to reach you this afternoon. Thanks again for the help.
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