How can I record from my home surveillance (camera & receiver) on to a DVD-R with out using my computer?

1. fhotoace

   I am surprised that you purchased such an important security item with out all of its parts. My guess is it is a proprietary surveillance system and you are missing the recording portion of the system. Sort of like buying a custom race car without a drive-train.

   You are trying to bypass the heart of your surveillance system, the computer that records events, usually triggered by some kind of motion sensor.

   It is only the important sequences that need to be burned to a DVD.

   Is this an IP security system? You may have to ask the seller for all the information you need to make it work
2. Bamid

   You can use Leawo Free DVD Creator.It is easy to use, and it can convert videos to dvd in several steps.Download Leawo Free DVD Creator here:
   http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&newwindow=1&q=leawo+dvd+creator&aq=f&aqi=g2&oq= It must can help you, good luck!
3. Caoedhen

   The system will probably not output video through the USB port, other than you doing a manual backup.

   You have video/audio out… run them to a VCR, and through the VCR to a monitor/TV.

   Or you can purchase a simple video capture device and run the video out into that, then into your laptop. You can get a video capture device for less than $50, even the cheap USB type will handle surveillance video.
4. William

   Hello

   Is it a PC based DVR or a standalone
   PC (a card and software installed that uses your PC to store recorded video)
   Standalone looks like a DVD player non PC based (does not use PC to record images)

   unfortunately you either have low quality cameras, or low quality DVR and most likely both I bet you got a lorex or a Qsee DVR.

   Cheap CCTV products work great until you actually need to use the recorded video then you see them for what they really are a disappointment and a waste of money and time.

   Only way to get better images is to get better cameras and a better DVR you current DVR probably is recording on CIF 320×240 and uses an old codec like M-jpeg or Mpeg 4. And your cameras are probalbly 420TVL or less and 48DB signal to noise ratio, poor quality products render poor quality results,

   Not all CCTV equipment is created equal, in fact there are many options that offer varying performance much like the automobile industry. In the world of CCTV you can find the equivalent of a $2,000 golf cart and a $350,000 Ferrari and everything in between. Both have 4 wheels but that’s where the similarities end, it’s under the hood that counts.

   Just like any other consumer electronic in the end you get what you pay for. Most retailers and sellers make about a 40-80% profit margin, this is after costs like shipping and overhead. That means when you buy a product that costs $100.00 the manufacturer usually has only spent $30 to build it which simply means it’s not a good product and will probably have a working life of about 2 months. There is a reason these products are 1/10 of the price of good and reliable DVR brand names. The type of seller these products attract are online sellers (ebay) and will make profits margins as low as 2% which means they can’t afford to offer good service or allow for RMAs (returns). Cheap products are like disposable razors they are NOT designed to last for a long time and you will end up replacing them every 2 months.

   Now some products can be made cheaply like ipod cases, screen protectors, and other simple products with no moving parts or electronics. DVRs need to be good quality as they run 24/7 (20X more than the average electronic device) and process anywhere from 30-480 frames per second which in a year is over 15 billion images, and a good DVR should last 3-5 years.

   A true DVR and camera require years of research and development to facilitate the seamless integration of both the hardware and software. DVRs are highly complex systems that must run 24/7, processing millions of images per day and are one of the few products that can’t be made both well and cheaply. Cheap and inexpensive products like Q-see, X10, Swan, Lorex, and other low grade DVR’s and cameras sold by Tiger Direct, Target , Newegg, radio shack Sams Club, are not used by any security professional and should only be used by hobbyists.

   To be honest these retailers sells complete Garbage and is not used by anyone who has worked with CCTV or security products. They are poor quality especially for IR cameras, due to low quality material, low S/N ratio, and c grade CCD image chips.

   If you are only going to spend 70$ on cameras then you should buy 15 dummy cameras they will be just as effective and cheaper.

   Also as far as night vision or IR cameras go most do not give good images in the dark. Many companies claim good night vision but there are only a handful of brands who give night vision over 30 feet out doors. normally if a cameras is rated 150 feet of IR it will give you ok images at 30 feet at night and good images at about 20 if rated for 60 feet you might get 15 indoors and will be useless outdoors.

   Some good CCTV brands that I recommend are Bosch, Pelco, Honeywell and Ascendent.

   http://www.ascendentgroup.com (Great IR cameras)
   http://www.honeywell.com
   http://www.pelco.com/
   http://www.bosch.com

   Economical DVR’s
   Two good economical DVRs I would recommend are Ascendent’s AVP-4120 DVR or Pelco’s DX-4000. They will allow you to view all your cameras instantly from anywhere in the world using either IE, or a client software. The AVP-4120 uses the latest H.264 codec to improve streaming and recording time, and will allow PCs and Apple computers to remotely view cameras. These are the DVRs I would recommend that are good quality and affordable from companies who stand behind there products.

   Again if you are going to buy cheap CCTV products, save money and get dummy cameras they are just as affective and you will be less disappointed.

   Hope this Helps,

   If you need anything else feel free to email me at
   williammorales93@ymail.com

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