recommendations for remote security DVR?

[politics123]

Hi --

We have family in another country that would like a security DVR.

Thinking about the home-built route.... eg: a small (got to fit in a suitcase!) linux or XP computer with a card that accepts 4 (possible 8) camera inputs. Doesn't need a lot of "frames-per-second" as only one camera needs to be high-quality (one camera gets decent foot-traffic in front of it, the others are mostly static images)

What's the best option for a reliable DVR? How small of a form factor can I fit a capture card into?


Note: My family isn't technical, but can flip a power switch on and off. I will only have "access" to the box once per year, although I can work on it remotely. Ebay is filled with cheap-o DVRs., but I have no idea what's inside of them, or how reliable they'd be.

 

[electron]

IMO, you should stay away from home built devices for this specific scenario. You need something with an OS which was designed/configured for embedded operations, and 0 maintenance. The Vitek DVR I reviewed a while back should fit in a suitcase, and should meet your requirements. That said, if you really need it to be small, places like SuperCircuits.com sell mobile DVR systems, but you will pay a premium for this.

You probably should figure out how much you are willing to spend, and how important image quality is.

 

[russban]

The Techvision EL-M is small, easy to use and has excellent video quality and is reasonably priced.

 

[alarmguy]

FYI You might want to check out the Digimerge Blade series. It comes in 4-8-16 camera DVR's They are made to fit on the back of a flat screen monitor.So the size is small. We use alot of this model and have had great results with customers. We have installed several with multi PTZ camera's and works great.

 

[Quixote_1]

FYI You might want to check out the Digimerge Blade series. It comes in 4-8-16 camera DVR's They are made to fit on the back of a flat screen monitor.So the size is small. We use alot of this model and have had great results with customers. We have installed several with multi PTZ camera's and works great.

I can't seem to find pricing on these things. Looks like they have a nice feature set. Can you let me know what the approximate price is for the three models with a 500Gb drive for example?

Thanks!

 

[alarmguy]

FYI You might want to check out the Digimerge Blade series. It comes in 4-8-16 camera DVR's They are made to fit on the back of a flat screen monitor.So the size is small. We use alot of this model and have had great results with customers. We have installed several with multi PTZ camera's and works great.

I can't seem to find pricing on these things. Looks like they have a nice feature set. Can you let me know what the approximate price is for the three models with a 500Gb drive for example?

Thanks!

Approx prices with 500HDD 4CH $800.00 8CH $900.00 16CH $1050.00

 

[edge]

I can't seem to find pricing on these things. Looks like they have a nice feature set. Can you let me know what the approximate price is for the three models with a 500Gb drive for example?

Thanks!
[/quote]

Approx prices with 500HDD 4CH $800.00 8CH $900.00 16CH $1050.00
[/quote]


Alarmguy--- what cameras did you use with this?

 

[politics123]

I got lost on CCTV forums between all the self-hyped DVRs, etc. The Dimage blades look nice, but I think you're paying a premium for form factor. Most of the appliances are about the size of a VCR, which I can still fly safely.

AlarmGuy --> How does Dimage's slightly larger DVRs perform?

I found two no-name DVRs from what I believe are reputable companies, in the ~$500 range supporting 240fps @ CIF and H.264 compression.
http://www.cctvsecuritypros.com/onewesaisu8c.html
http://www.skywalker.com/itemdisplay.aspx?item=228879

Is there any advantage to getting a "name brand" DVR?

 

[alarmguy]

edge


Sorry for the delay in response on the camera question as I missed it. We use camera's that are designed for the specific applications. So we use a wide variety. We have no specific model to use. Some of our customers are very $ minded and some want the best.

 

[signal15]

edge


Sorry for the delay in response on the camera question as I missed it. We use camera's that are designed for the specific applications. So we use a wide variety. We have no specific model to use. Some of our customers are very $ minded and some want the best.

Here's a dirt cheap 4 channel h.264 unit with ethernet connectivity. No idea if it sucks or not, but I've had good luck with stuff from this site:
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.33491