Hybrid Security Camera DVR Systems Provide for Future Expansion

Hybrid Security Camera DVR Systems Provide for Future Expansion

People looking to install security cameras in their home or business have many options when selecting a camera system to install. Traditionally, most security cameras have been CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) style cameras which transmit video over an analog coaxial video cable. These cameras generally have a digital image sensor and then convert the video to an analog video signal to transmit over a coaxial RG59 video cable and plug into a Standalone DVR or PC-Based DVR with a BNC style connector. DVRs or PC-Based DVRs would then convert the video from an analog signal to a digital signal once again for storage onto a hard drive. In the last few years, a new style of security camera has become popular for many installations. These newer style IP security cameras have changed the way that many people look at the way security camera systems are planned and installed. IP security cameras contain a digital image sensor similar to the traditional CCTV cameras, however instead of converting the video immediately to an analog signal for transmission to a DVR, these new IP cameras compress the video using their embedded video processing chips and then transmit the cameras over a standard network cable back to a PC with NVR (Network Video Recorder) software. Many home and business owners are confused by conflicting stories about each type of system, making it difficult to choose a system that will work well for their instance.

Each type of system has benefits that should not be overlooked when selecting a system to suit your needs. Traditional CCTV cameras are much less expensive than most of the IP cameras on the market, and are completely interchangeable. Almost every traditional CCTV camera transmits the same format video, so cameras from one system, even an older VCR based system can even be plugged into a newer DVR. Despite many misconceptions, most recent traditional CCTV DVR systems also provide access over the internet, many even from PDA cell phones. When properly planned, these systems can deliver great picture quality and the ability to keep watch of your home or business over the internet with minimal impact to your budget. Newer IP camera NVR systems offer newer technology which can in many cases deliver higher quality video recording (sometimes higher than HDTV resolutions). These IP camera systems can allow home or business owners to achieve great views for the security of their business with fewer cameras in many cases. These cameras require only a single network cable to run to each camera, lowering the difficulty and cost of cabling in many cases however IP camera systems in general are usually not a lower cost, as the cameras are generally more expensive. Many of these systems even support the higher definition megapixel IP cameras, delivering 4-22 times the resolution of a traditional security camera. These NVR systems also usually offer remote viewing capabilities over the internet so that your IP cameras can be viewed from anywhere. Because IP camera NVR systems are still in their infancy in the industry, each camera communicates differently, so the NVR system that is chosen must be programmed to accept each brand, make and model of IP camera, otherwise it would not function with the NVR. These limitations can make it difficult to expand IP camera systems unless the added cameras match the list of supported cameras.

Many home and business owners have been led to believe that they need to purchase an IP camera system in order to view their cameras over the internet, however both types of systems are remotely viewable. Others may want the lower budget traditional systems, but do not want to limit their ability to expand their system in the future to include IP security cameras. That is why many PC-Based DVR systems like our Alnet Systems PC based systems can operate in a Hybrid DVR /NVR arrangement. These systems provide a compromise between budget and future expansion, allowing users to create a system with some traditional CCTV cameras and some IP security cameras. The Hybrid systems usually consist of a PC with a PCI or PCIe DVR card installed to provide inputs for the number of traditional CCTV cameras as well as a license for added IP security cameras. With this type of system, all of the cameras can be viewed on the PC screen and recorded together onto the hard drive. These analog CCTV and IP cameras can then also be viewed remotely together over the internet from a PC, Laptop, BlackBerry, Android PDA phone, iPhone, iPad and many other cell phones as well.

With hybrid capable security camera DVR systems like our Alnet Systems DVR cards, home and business owners can start out with analog security cameras alone, and simply add license later for added IP cameras or additional cards for more traditional CCTV cameras. The ability to expand the system slowly and use both newer and older technology together make hybrid systems a great choice to help meet budgetary requirements and still deliver desired features and picture quality. When building your next security camera system, consider finding a system that will allow both lower budget and higher definition IP cameras together.

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