Whether you’re wanting to secure your office building, cafe or restaurant, convenience store, retail shop, or even your own residence more owners are wisely electing to install their own multi-channel DVR security system. A quality 16 channel DVR security system is one of the more popular set ups due to its current pricing and flexibility to implement more security cameras in the future.
Buying your own DVR security system may cost a couple thousand up front and a few hours of install time but over the course of a few years it’s a considerable savings versus committing to a 3 to 5 year contract with a security company.
A well balanced and expandable stand alone or PC based 16 channel DVR system should consider the following:
How Much Storage Capacity for 16 Channel DVRs?
Currently DVRs are the most popular option for video management systems. And storage is one of the primary considerations. There’s no one quick answer here. Video takes up lots of space even when compressed. The amount of storage you need depends upon your unique application. Questions to consider are how long you will need to keep recorded video archived?
Typically businesses will archive video for 30 to 60 days. Of course if your a bank then you’ll need several months of footage. On the other hand with your home paying for more storage outside of a week may be over kill. That’s for you to decide.
Realize that the more storage you want to have the more cost you will incur. For a 16 channel DVR system with 500 to 750 GB of storage you’re looking at around $2,500 minimum. You can pay less if you don’t mind losing recorded video. If you figure you’ll only need to review a recorded video a few days earlier than (assuming your using a 16 channel DVR that uses H.264 compression) you can get by with less.
If you already own a 16 or multi-channel DVR you can always utilize existing technology to optimize your current storage capacity. One such measure is to select a video CODEC that offers the most efficient compression technology. Currently MJPEG, MPEG 1 or 2 are common but dated and inefficient at compression while MPEG-4 and H.264 represent the best CODEC technology has to offer and can free up over 50% more storage capacity compared MJPEG
