Frequently Asked Questions

What kind of warranties do you give on the cameras and recorders?
What about finance options?
Do you carry any equipment that has motion sensing for the cameras?
Does the DVR record even if I am playing back the video?
How many cameras can be connected to one DVR?
What are frames per second?
What features should I look for in a CCTV Digital Video Recorder (DVR)?
How big a hard drive do I need?
What comes with the DVR?
Why doesn't the computer monitor come with the PC-based Digital Video Recorders?
Should I purchase the card and software and build my own DVR or buy one pre-built?

What kind of warranties do you give on the cameras and recorders?
For our DVR’s (Digital Video Recorders) and CCTV Cameras we give a 1year limited warranty on parts and labor. Because we only use well know, branded, and reliable products (PELCO / Vestar / Sony) we also provide extended warranties over all our competitors’ recorders at no extra charge.

What about finance options?
We offer: Outright purchases, Lease to Own, and Rental. For details on leasing options click here

Do you carry any equipment that has motion sensing for the cameras?
Yes. All motion sensing is done in our Digital Video Recorders (DVR’s). The camera has nothing to do with motion sensing it just provides the video to the DVR. Because of this most any camera will work with our DVR's. You can pick and choose anywhere on the screen you want to detect motion for each camera. For instance; let’s say you have a camera that is on the side of a building looking down at the door. This camera is also catching the cars passing by on a busy street but you don’t want the activity from the cars to be recorded. You have the ability to go into the settings menu inside the DVR and block out all the activity happening on the street and only record the activity at the door. You can do this for each camera, certain days or hours, and even adjust the sensitivity levels

Does the DVR record even if I am playing back the video?
Yes no matter what you are doing on the DVR at anytime it will continue to record? The only way the cameras will not be recording is if you go into the system and physically turn them off.

How many cameras can be connected to one DVR?
DVRs generally come with 4, 8, 16, or 32 camera inputs. The DVR will allow you to view all of these images at once or one at a time and all of the video is saved to the hard drive. Additional switches, quads, or multiplexers are not required.

What are frames per second?
The frames per second (fps) relates to how many pictures the DVR will record in a second. Real time recording is about 30 fps on each camera. To calculate the fps per camera, take the total fps in the system and divide it by the number of video inputs. For example, a 60 fps digital video recorder with 4 video inputs would result in about 15 fps per camera. The technology has finally gotten to the point now where real time recording is affordable. If you are recording cash registers or something similar then you should definitely invest in real time recording

What features should I look for in a CCTV Digital Video Recorder (DVR)?
All DVRs are definitely not made equal! There are several factors that are critical to consider when purchasing a DVR, especially when comparing price. The most important factors to look at are the number of cameras supported, frames per second (fps), compression technology, hard drive space, network connection / remote viewing capability, motion detection, scheduling, and ability to save video and audio to a CD or flash drive. You should also look for easy and comprehensive search capabilities and audio support. The setup and user interface should be intuitive and easy to operate.

How big a hard drive do I need?
The amount of hard drive space is very important because it will limit how many days of recording you can store before the system has to start recording over the oldest day of video. Each DVR will have its storage capacity listed in the specifications.  This calculation is just a rough estimate as there are many factors that affect hard drive use with the most critical factor being the compression format used by the DVR. Also the types of cameras that are connected to the DVR make a difference (specifically the chip size and resolution) and the features that are selected on the DVR. If you use the scheduling or motion detection features or tune down the frame rate that will extend the storage capacity of the unit. Even the field of view (what you are recording) will affect the storage capacity - the more complex the image, the more hard drive space it will take to capture the complexity.

What comes with the DVR?
Most of our DVRs come standard with a 250 gig hard drive (unless otherwise noted). They also include the software (for setup, local, and remote viewing), power cord, and documentation. PC-based machines also come with the mouse and keyboard. You just need to add the cameras, whatever cable you need, and a computer monitor

Why doesn't the computer monitor come with the PC-based Digital Video Recorders?
We don't supply the computer monitor with the DVR because frankly you can get one cheaper and easier locally. Large computer stores such as Best Buy or CompUSA sell these monitors practically at cost. Also, we found that many of our customers have spare computer monitors available.

Should I purchase the card and software and build my own DVR or buy one pre-built?
It is much better to purchase a DVR system pre-built than to build one yourself. There are many compatibility issues with DVR cards and related software. They are very sensitive to the type of motherboard in the computer, the cpu, the memory, even the video card makes a difference! We had to test many different configurations to find one that worked reliably. You also don't want to be running any other software on the computer that your DVR is running on so you need a dedicated computer anyway. We have had so many customers call us that have had problems installing cards in their own systems that we won't even sell the cards separately anymore.

Should I use B&W or Color?
Here are a couple of facts that you should know before making this decision. B&W cameras on the whole have a better resolution while also having better low light capabilities over color cameras. B&W cameras are also infrared sensitive and can be used even at very low light levels.Color cameras have a much clearer picture in the day time and can be crucial for identifying criminals. All our CCTV cameras have a resolution of well over 400 TV Lines. Should lighting be an issue for your application finding a camera with a low lux rating will dramatically affect the way your camera sees at lower light levels. Light Sensitivity S ratings are generally given in "lux" (a light level measurement). The lower the lux number, the lower the light levels at which the CCTV camera will produce an acceptable image. In other words, the lower the lux level rating, the more light sensitive the camera. For actual photos click here.