In recent years, the video surveillance industry has undergone a major revolution. These changes have made CCTV installation more important and necessary. Now, each of us is trying to monitor our surroundings with CCTV systems so that we can be more accurately informed about the details that are happening in the environment.
One key component of a video surveillance system is a DVR or NVR. In general, the selection and purchase of a DVR are based on certain factors, such as price. In this article, we will introduce the DVR price factors.
What to look for when buying a DVR?
DVR cost is one of the main indicators of buying a CCTV camera and storage device. Many factors affect the price of a DVR, including DVR brand, resolution, warranty, functionality, and technology. We will discover factors affecting DVR prices.
1. Brand
As we all know, the world of CCTV is full of different types of brands, each of which is sold at a different price. The more famous the brand, the higher the price of the product. Reputable DVR brands often spend a lot of money on designing and manufacturing their products. Therefore, brand is one of the most important DVR cost factors. DVRs of the best home alarm systems are usually more expensive DVRs.
2. Warranty
One of the main indicators of DVR price factors is the product warranty. Genuine products with warranty services are often sold at a higher price. So, when making a purchase, don’t take cheap DVRs as the sole evaluation criterion, and always make warranty the main factor in your buying process. Because many security camera companies provide counterfeit products or unsecured services to users.
If after purchase there is an error in the operation of these products, no company is responsible for fixing the problem, and users have to spend a lot of money to fix the problem. Therefore, it is advisable to purchase the desired product from the best CCTV suppliers UK that provide warranty services.
3. Technology
Another factor that affects the CCTV cameras and DVR price is technology. The video surveillance industry grows and evolves according to the expectations and needs of the users. The first video surveillance technology was analogue. There are lots of differences between IP vs. analog cameras. Images from analogue cameras do not have good image quality. Over time, AHD, CVI, TVI, and IP technologies have entered the field.
Technology is one of the most critical DVR price factors. As these new technologies are more capable and provide images with higher resolution and quality, therefore products with these 4 new technologies are sold at much higher prices than analogue products. AHD products also cost less than CVI, TVI, and IP, while IP technology costs more than others. You can make a better choice if you search more about XVR vs. DVR UK.
4. Functionality and DVR features
In the video surveillance industry, the more features a product has, the higher the price. Thus, we can include resolution, number of channels, number of hard discs, audio input and output support, alarms, support for smart capabilities, a facial recognition system, reading records, and more. So, another factor affecting DVR price is its ease of use.
DVRs are available in 4, 8, 16, 32, and sometimes 64 channels. The more channels there are, the higher the price of these products. Another feature that affects the price of DVR storage capacity is the ability to decode and export images in different resolutions and frames. Thus, when it comes to evaluating DVR price, its functionality and features are some of the most contributing DVR price factors.
5. Hardware
One of the most important parts of electronic equipment is very sturdy hardware. Engineers and experts when designing the hardware of professional products and brands always strive to adhere to the principles of the standard so that voltages and fluctuations in components cause minimal damage to the storage device or camera. Therefore, the design of the hardware is one of the vital DVR price factors.
6. Software
The software of the storage device plays an important role in providing its capabilities. CCTV companies are always trying to provide new features to users by releasing new updated versions, as well as making it easier for users to use the device menu. So, you can count this as one of the main DVR price factors.
7. Support for image outputs
As we know, a DVR device includes various video outputs, which can be referred to as AVI, VGA, and HDMI. Older devices only had AVI and VGA outputs, but with the advancement of technology and new designs, new devices with HDMI capability were designed, which affected their price.
HDMI output images have a higher quality and resolution than VGA, which has made them much more popular among users and consumers. So another factor influencing the DVR price is the image output.
How do you calculate how much storage you need for your DVR?
To calculate the storage of your DVR, you can either use the online DVR storage calculator or use the storage formula to reach a more precise answer.
There is a DIY formula to calculate the hard disc capacity of your security camera:
Storage space (GB) = Bitrate (Kbps)*1000/8*3600*24*cameras*Days/1000 000 000
1000/8= to covert kbps to bytes
*3600 = to convert from seconds to hour
*24 = To convert from hour to day
*cameras = Total number of cameras
*Day = Total number of days you want to record
This formula can be applied to the storage calculations of different brands, including Hikvision, Reolink IP camera storage calculators, and many other brands. However, the results from this formula may not be exact to your actual needs, as CCTV capacity storage can be affected by various factors.
What affects the CCTV storage capacity?
There are various factors affecting the calculation of CCTV camera storage, such as:
Number of cameras
The more cameras you use, the more storage you will need. For instance, when using multiple cameras simultaneously, the required space is much more.
Days
This factor means that the longer you keep CCTV recordings, the more you will need to have more storage capacity.
Resolution
The higher the resolution of a CCTV camera is, the more storage capacity is required during the day.
Bitrate
This factor is related to the video quality. It means the higher quality of videos will require more bitrates, which means more space is needed to be occupied.
Compression
By compressing the recorded files, less storage capacity will be required, which at the same time lowers the quality of the videos while occupying less storage space.
Conclusion
As mentioned, various factors like resolution, quality, warranty, brand, technology, and number of channels affect the DVR price. The more features a product has, the higher its price. Thus, it is essential to consider all mentioned factors as contributing to DVR price factors when you want to purchase your desired DVR security system.
