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Dispelling the myths of IP video - Myth #6: DVRs are the latest, greatest CCTV security technology

In this series, Roy Alves, country manager of Axis Communications South Africa, examines 10 myths about IP video.

Roy Alves, Axis Communications Africa

Surveillance technology is much like a three-horse race, there is the old school of thought who defiantly will look no further than their trusted video cassette recorder (VCR), there is also a belief that digital video recorders (DVR) are the latest and greatest in closed circuit television (CCTV) technology. Many are also led to believe that the DVR is an all-digital networked technology. This – with utmost certainty – is not the case. Finally, there is digital technology in the form of IP-surveillance that breaks the barriers presented by analogue technology.

In all honesty, there are a number of advantages that DVR has over a VCR: such as the fact that there is no need to change tapes; it offers consistent image quality and quicker search capabilities. However, your DVR is still wired up with expensive analogue cabling, which can also be a culprit with any image distortion that you may be experiencing.

One cannot detract from the advantages IP-surveillance has over DVR. The advantages of using digital technology are endless, from costs and secure remote access to image quality. In essence, using DVRs can prove to be costly and cumbersome when compared to the swift, secure and dynamic functionality offered by IP-surveillance as an alternative.

There are some significant differences between the two technologies and the marketplace is only just beginning to understand this critical point. The five fundamental differences are scalability, cost efficient infrastructure, remote accessibility, camera intelligence and lower system cost.

Scalability

IP surveillance offers scalability, it allows your system to be expanded, meeting any future needs you may have, from one to thousands of cameras in increments of a single camera. Gone are the days of the DVR world’s 16 channel jumps. Not to mention that users of IP surveillance enjoy the limitless benefits of using any frame rate for any camera at any time.

Cost efficient infrastructure

DVR requires additional cabling which costs a small fortune. At almost double the cost of the cabling the IP alternative requires – this is often the major expense of any CCTV installation. Most facilities are already wired with twisted pair infrastructure, to which only one type of network – IP that is – connects instantly.

Secure remote accessibility

A digital system allows you to access your images remotely. Yes, this is true, when using IP-surveillance, remote connection to a video stream, live or recorded, can not only be securely accessed but also controlled from any location on the globe over a wired or wireless network.

Camera-level intelligence

In addition, your camera is equipped with intelligence that includes motion detection, time and date as well as a variety of other built-in capabilities. This will allow the camera to make intelligent decisions on when to send alarms and to whom, even when to send video and at which frame rate or resolution!

Lower system cost

For many installations IP has proven to be a lower cost alternative. Once the costly analogue cables have been eliminated from the budget, the rest of the equipment required, servers, storage and networks, enables market competition between choices, often not possible with the DVR vendor locked-in approach. With lower installation and maintenance costs, it is clear that IP surveillance can save you substantial sums.

It is important to remember that DVR is not an end-point solution, but is receiving increased acclaim as an outdated piece of technology which represents in-the-box security thinking. IP surveillance technology has quickly proven additional flexibility, functionality and cost-reduction far superior to what DVR technology can offer.

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