Rearview Mirror DVR for Security Uses and Applications

The combination of the Internet and the DVR has resulted in devices that permit localized, home-based video content—including content recorded on DVRs—to be conveyed just about anywhere around the world for viewing from distant locations. On what is almost entirely the business side of DVR usage, DVRs are highly prized for their ability to efficiently and relatively cheaply store and manipulate content that can later be used to assess employees’, customers’, and others’ actions within a store, factory, or similar commercial environments. DVRs in these instances are utilized because they can do a lot to satisfy the needs of their users. For example, a DVR can be equipped with numerous tuning heads, allowing numerous video feeds from numerous camera locations to be recorded on the same DVR unit simultaneously for later playback and review. Rearview Mirror DVR can also be set-up inside moving vehicles, such as police cars and busses, to permit viewing and permanent recording of action in and around the vehicle.

Using just about any browser and typing in the acronym and words “DVR + mobile” delivers a long list of security-related applications. A similar search for the acronym and words “DVR + security” produces listings in the millions. Typically, a DVR in a security setting is part of a closed circuit TV (CCTV) system, meaning a TV system that is private and controlled by the owner/ operator. Although in older days a VCR tape would be used to track and document movement within a facility, modern-day DVRs are a step ahead of that technology. This is because the modern-day rearview monitor adds features, such as video searches by event, time, date, and camera. Quality and frame rates can also be adjusted on a DVR, permitting the hard drive’s disk space to be optimized. Further, when the disk approaches full capacity, the DVR can be set to automatically overwrite the oldest security footage. In some DVR security systems, remote access to security footage using a personal computer (PC) can also be achieved by connecting the DVR to a local area network or to the Internet.

On the technical side, security Smart DVR are categorized as either PC-based or embedded. A PC-based DVR’s architecture is that of a classical PC, with video capture cards that are created to capture video images. An embedded type DVR, on the other hand, is specifically designed as a DVR. The embedded DVR has its operating system and application software contained in firmware or read only memory (ROM). All this said, the combination of consumer and commercial uses (in the form of mostly security applications and uses) begs the question: what about combining the two? Actually, because the DVR is so adept at tracking and documenting movements, that capability can be featured in just about any space, including private homes. Thus, more in the future, in-home DVRs are expected to include security tracking and recording features as part of their core functionality. This trend represents a natural progression in the life cycle of DVRs.