| Please help improve this article by adding citations to | | | | Increasing compression leads to the ability to store |
| reliable sources. Unsourced material may be | | | | longer periods on a disk, at the expense of sacrificing |
| challenged and removed. (February 2008) DVRs, or | | | | some of the detail in the images. This trade-off must |
| Digital Video Recorders, are devices which record | | | | be considered when attempting to balance image |
| video to a hard drive. The term Proprietary DVR | | | | quality and recording time in a DVR. As storage drives |
| refers to exclusive methodologies used to maintain | | | | become cheaper and larger, compression sacrifices |
| commercial control over the DVR format and prevent | | | | are improving. A problem inherent in Proprietary DVR |
| third party copying of a particular file. CCTV systems | | | | output is accuracy. There is a good chance that the |
| are used for the detection and recording of crime, but | | | | video image as viewed has an incorrect aspect ratio |
| the analysts and law enforcement personnel who are | | | | and/or color information. Color may be off simply due |
| required to obtain and process video recorded with | | | | to the calibration of the monitor being used, but often |
| proprietary DVRs may face problems using the | | | | color information is not recorded accurately. It is not |
| proprietary format. The opposite of proprietary DVR is | | | | very common to white balance security cameras |
| standard or PC based DVR. Currently there is no | | | | unless it is done at set up. Aspect ratios may also be |
| standard output for the security industry to follow. | | | | recorded improperly and could actually be quite |
| Because of this, analysts are forced to obtain a | | | | distorted. Aspect ratios on some players are |
| compatible "player" in order to view the video. Some | | | | sometimes user adjustable by dragging the viewer in |
| proprietary DVRs are delivered to the end user in an | | | | one direction or the other. Contrary to attempts made |
| executable player which allows for navigation. Some | | | | by Proprietary DVR developers, it is possible to |
| require the installation of the player. Others simply | | | | change virtually any DVR image into another format, |
| require a CODEC to be available on the system that is | | | | but it cannot be done through digital conversion, such |
| playing, then it will become viewable in a common | | | | as changing an MPG2 to AVI. Instead it is done by |
| player such as Windows Media. Some proprietary | | | | intercepting the pixels sent by the proprietary DVR to |
| DVR systems offer more than one output format, | | | | the users monitor. There are a number of software |
| such as the native format as well as a standard | | | | available that will capture an area of a screen and |
| format such as AVI. Some also offer an NTSC output. | | | | generate an uncompressed file in a common format. |
| Some security companies are reluctant to offer | | | | Gradually technology is improving and DVR systems |
| anything other than their proprietary format. Reasons | | | | are capable of having features that analog video could |
| cited for maintaining control over the file by making it | | | | never provide. One feature is the ability to store |
| conversion proof vary, but most companies will make | | | | metadata, such as point of sale information. Another |
| "tamperproof" a sellable feature, while disregarding the | | | | feature may be for an event (movement, panic button, |
| work required of an analyst or court in order to | | | | door/drawer opening) to trigger a system to record at |
| present the video. Another selling point of proprietary | | | | a higher resolution. Perhaps the greatest feature is the |
| DVR systems is compression. Video compression | | | | ability to navigate directly to an area of interest. |
| removes information in exchange for a smaller file size. | | | | |