Share    

Choosing the Right DVR System for Paranormal Investigation

   

(While Gene opens this article up with a “warning” about this boring you if you aren’t a tech head, this is all the more reason to read this if you are looking to expand your equipment and experiment with a DVR system. – Michigan’s Otherside)

Warning, Warning, Warning if you're not a 'tech head' stop reading now; you're going to hate this article. I often get asked for my suggestions on a particular piece of equipment.  In this newsletter, were going to discuss the DVR and the toys, err... equipment that goes along with selecting one.  Since I started writing this newsletter I have been asked by three groups for help selecting a DVR system.  With any luck this article will be helpful to others in the market for a new system. 

Also, at the end of the article, I am also going to tell you have you can save 10% on a new DVR and the related DVR toys.

I am often asked for my opinions (trust me, I have plenty) on a digital video recorder (DVR).  If you're not familiar, DVR's started out as theft prevention devices used by stores and companies.  They have since become popular with home owners and over the past five or six years are common place in the paranormal field. 

Why are video surveillance systems so popular?  There are several reasons such as to deter potential thieves, record evidence to prevent bogus accident claims, increase security, reduction in insurance costs and many others.  However, for our purpose we are going to focus (get it, 'focus') on the use of these systems in the paranormal field.

Let's start by looking at the heart and soul of a DVR setup; the DVR itself.

 

DVR 

Decide how much quality you need out of your recorder. Suppliers may be eager to throw compression settings, pixel counts, and other statistics at you– but those numbers are irrelevant if the picture itself does not offer the detail you need.  In the paranormal, you will always want to set your DVR to the highest resolution, the higher the resolution the better, and the highest frames per second.  This will allow you to zoom in on an area with out loosing all detail of the recorded image and to have more frames for fluid motion.

 

Regardless if you select a standalone, a dvr or usb port card for a computer, the basic functions are the same.  We are going to use a standalone unit for our discussion but these basic principals will apply to any type of dvr.

Channels:

Channels are basically the number of cameras and audio inputs a DVR can support.  As for video, the typical set ups are 1, 4, 8 and 16 channels.  Audio channels are a bit different.  Most DVR's will allow for at least one audio input while others allow for an audio input for every camera.  Personally, I don't suggest using the audio inputs on the DVR's.  Not only does it increase the file size it also opens up legal ramifications on any long term investigation.  The audio recording of people, without their knowledge, is illegal in most states and interesting enough, video recording is not. 

 

 

Since were talking about privacy.  It is true that if a person is "in public" they are fair game to be video taped and that tape used as you deem appropriate.   However, that might not be the case on a paranormal investigation- since people will often be inside and not 'expecting' to be recorded.  My suggestion is to place cameras where they are clearly seen and people will realize they are being recorded.

As far as channels, I personally find anything more than 4 channels too many.  Not only do the extra channels add a lot of weight and size to the DVR, more than 4 channels are almost impossible to review and monitor.

Frame Rate:

You need 'real time' video recording on all channels while recording on all channels.  Don't waste money on a cheap recorder that give you just a few frames per second, leaving you with poor video evidence and potentially missing a critical part of the action. To know for certain if a digital video recorder will record in real-time, divide the noted frame rate per second (i.e. 120 FPS) by the number of channels (i.e. 4). In this example, each channel is capable of recording 30 frames per second FPS: 120/4=30.  Thirty frames per second is considered to be real-time. In my opinion, anything less than 30 FPS should not be used. 

Be aware of advertisers trying to confuse you with "live viewed images" versus "recorded images".  As well, some manufactures list the DVR specifications in IPS (images per second), it requires 2 interlaced images to create a frame,  so a 4 channel DVR that does 120 IPS is only recording 15 FPS per channel.  Many manufacturers will offer a way to double the frame rate by quartering the resolution, so the DVR internally is processing half as much pixel data per frame and then doubling the number of frames per second.  You end up with more frames per seconds, but a very low quality images.  Vendors will take advantage of this for marketing purposes.  They will say a DVR offers real time recording and D1 resolution, but fail to mention that doesn’t mean real time recording at D1 resolution.  I know it's confusing and it can make your head spin.  This is just one reason why you need to deal with a company you trust, you can talk with and is knowledgeable on DVR systems.

Storage:

Over the past few years, hard drives have plummeted in price.  As noted above, you want at least 30 FPS and set to record in the highest resolution possible.   Therefore, you will be chewing up hard drive space.  I have found that a 500 gig hard drive will hold more than enough for five or six investigations.

I also treat the hard drive in my DVR in the same way that I do my digital voice recorders.  When it's full, reformat.  This will give you another level of confidence that any evidence found it not left over fragments of information from a previous recording.  I also know a couple of groups that once a hard drive is full, they replace it with a new hard drive and catalog the old one.  Hard drives are cheap, so this is an interesting approach that has merit.

Suggested Options:

The first option I would suggest is a VGA output port.  The VGA port will allow you to use any standard computer monitor (with a VGA input) with out the expense of a security monitor.  VGA monitors are very reasonably priced and are available from many sources such as Amazon.

This second option is often overlooked.  Have you ever wondered why it is that when your watching a ghost hunting show on TV they have to set up the entire DVR to show any captured evidence to a client?  That is because most DVR's do not have an easy way to convert the stored video into a format that can be viewed directory on a PC.  Look for a DVR that allows a converted AVI file to be backed up to a USB storage device or some other type of storage media that can be viewed on a pc.

Other Options:

• Remote control- makes evidence review much easier USB mouse- easier navigation Three or more USB ports- for mouse, keyboard, backup devices Internet accessible- The only purpose I see for this is if you are going to allow others in your organization to help with evidence review via an internet connection.  Normally this option will require a static IP address that many people do not have access too.
• Water marking- having the date and time marked on the video makes it easier to prove the video has not been altered

Security Cameras

There are many technical terms and specifications that dealers will refer to when discussing surveillance cameras.  The basic technology in most surveillance cameras is the charge coupled device (CCD). CCD's convert the images that come through the camera’s lens into electronic impulses.

Camera formats are measured in inches (most falls between 1/4" and 1”). This refers to the usable image size created inside the camera. The most popular sizes are 1/4" or 1/3” and these sizes dominate sales. Larger formats do not necessarily result in better images, but can be advantageous in dimly lit situations since they are able to gather more light. There are several manufactures of CCD's but personally I have always been pleased with the Sony sensors.

As you might have already guessed, there are different types of Sony CCD's.  The two main types are the Super HAD and the EX-View sensors.

Super HAD CCD- Super HAD provides 2 times of better sensitivity and 6 db better smear rejection ratios than the formal traditional type of CCD. Two micro lenses on top of each photo diode are able to collect more photon from incoming light than the old CCD made by SONY and any other maker. Compared to Super HAD, Sony Ex-view CCD Do have 4 times of better sensitivity on near infrared zone ( 800~ 900 nm).  However, if the users use it properly, it will be excellent for night vision. If not properly, it will became a draw back because the infrared will cause color distortion and blurred image due to basic physics that infrared focuses on deeper location and cause hologram image especially if the certain lenses are used.EX-View CCD- "EX-View" is a sensitivity-enhancement technology developed by SONY to improve light sensitivity of its CCD by a factor of two for visible light and a factor of four for near-infrared wavelengths.

EX-View is a proprietary SONY technology in which the P/N junction of each photodiode in the CCD matrix is specially fabricated to have much better photon-to-electron conversion efficiency. In addition, each photodiode (representing one pixel in an image) has a microscopic lens fabricated over it to better capture and focus light onto the active semiconductor junction. This results in an improvement in light sensitivity of 2 times for visible light and 4 times for near-infrared (800 ~ 900 nm) compared to the conventional CCD versions offered by SONY. The lux rating of the EX-View CCD is two times better than the premium SONY "Super HAD" CCD for both visible and near-infrared wavelengths.

Resolution:

Resolution refers to how detailed a picture the camera can take. The measurement to look for is horizontal TV lines (TVL). A normal surveillance camera picture is around 350 to 400 TVL, with high resolution above 500 TVL. At the initial purchase, upgrading a camera’s resolution can cost very little and I recommend staying at, or above, 450 TVL.

Note: do not be impressed by "pixel measurements" in the hundreds of thousands. TVL is a more consistent measurement.

Other specs:

Signal to noise ratio (s/n) indicates how much “signal,” or actual picture information, the camera transmits, as opposed to “noise,” which comes across as static. An s/n ratio of 40db indicates that the signal is 100 times the noise, which results in an acceptable picture with some fine grain or snow. 30db results in a poor picture, and 60db produces an excellent picture with no static visible. Keep in mind that noise can be introduced by other components in addition to the camera.

Sensitivity to light is measured in lux. A sensitivity of 2 lux means the camera can 'see' fairly well by the light of a 40W fluorescent bulb; 0.5 lux surveillance cameras can make out images outside on a dim night. Most paranormal investigations are conducted in the dark so you will want a camera with built in IR emitters.  As a standard rule the camera will be a 0 lux when in IR mode.  You will also notice that most IR cameras will list an IR range.  In my experience the actual effective 'advertised' distance is around 60% of the listed range.  Therefore, an advertised range of 100 feet is effective up to a maximum of 60 feet.  

The last, but not least, important feature you will want to consider in your cameras is the weather ratings.  I always recommend that you spend the little extra cash and opt for indoor/outdoor cameras.  These cameras are built to withstand the elements that we find ourselves exposed to.  After all, what is the use of spending money on equipment that is to fragile to actually use?  Lucky for us we can reference the IP Code (International Protection) rating for guidance.  If the manufacture does not list the IP code- do not purchase it.

The numbers indicate conformity with the conditions below. Where there is no protection rating with regard to one of the criteria, the digit is replaced with the letter X.

 As an example, a camera with a rating of IP-65 would be "dust tight" and "protected against low pressure jets".  This is sufficient for most of our environments.

Wireless Cameras:

I do not recommend using wireless cameras with your system.  While it seems that wireless would be a good option the noise, lack of signal, limited range, interference, etc outweighs the benefits of these types of cameras.  Stick with wired cameras, you will not be disappointed.

One last point, the most common type of cameras that we use is "Bullet" style cameras.  You will need to consider how you will mount these cameras in a manor that will make them useable and portable.  The best way I have found to do this it to remove the mounting bracket they come with and to attach them to a camera tripod.  Most of the cameras that I own have the correct size threads already on the cameras to allow them to be tripod mounted. If your camera does not have the correct thread size, an adaptor plate can be easily made.

Video and Power Cables

The last items you need to concern yourself about are video and power cables.  Let's look at the power cables first.

Power:

As a general rule, the longer IR range, the more power it takes to run the emitters.  On the long range IR cameras (200 feet or more) you could be looking at needing 2 AMP's or more to run each camera.  Most cameras are a 12 Volt DC, but be sure to select your transformer to match the camera requirements.

One relatively new product is a four end plug pig tail that allows one power supply unit to run four cameras.  If you decide this is a good option for your particular application, it is very important to make sure your power transformer has the rated amps to feed the power requirements for all four cameras.

Video:

Almost all security cameras use BNC connectors; hence, your cables need to be BNC.  For most applications you can safely run video cable up to 150 feet without much loss in video quality.  Between 150 and 200 feet, you are entering the 'danger zone' and anything over 200 feet is not recommended.   In my experiences, 150 feet cables generally provide ample reach for all but the largest locations while maintaining good video quality.It is true you can make your own cables.  However, pre-made cables are the only way to go.  These cables are manufactured with both BNC and power connectors on a common cable.  They are generally available ready made in 50, 100 and 150 feet and are very reasonably priced.  Another plus of these cables is that the better ones come with a 100% money back guarantee- you can't go wrong.

There you go.  Hopefully this information will help you make an educated decision on how to spend your hard earned money. Now how would you like to save 10%.  One of the companies that I have used for years is CMC Tech, Inc.  They sell to the public so you do not have to be a business to purchase from them. To save 10% give contact Ernest Olivares at (832) 327-8880 and tell him you read the article from BSPHI and he will work with you to select the best system to fit your needs... and of course get you the 10% discount. You can view their website at www.cctvfactory.com.  From there you can see the entire line of products, ask question and place your order.  These people have taken great care of me over the years and they take the people in the paranormal seriously.  We all know how rare and refreshing it is to deal with a company that takes our work in the paranormal as serious as we do. 

CMC TECH INC., DBA: CCTVFACTORY.COM

Physical business address: 10910 Stancliff Road, Houston, Texas 77099
Business Hours: 9:00am - 7:00pm CST, Monday - Friday
Phone: (832) 327-8880

Glossary:

BNC - Video connector used in CCTV installationsCamera Format - The approximate size of a camera image pickup device. This measurement is derived from the diagonal line of a chip. Common formats are 1/4”, 1/3”, 1/2", 2/3” and 1". See CCDCCD - Charge coupled device, a flat thin wafer that is light sensitive and forms the imaging device of modern cameras. Size is measured diagonally.D1 - is a resolution standard. In the NTSC system, "Full D1" means 720x480 pixels, and in the PAL system full D1 is 720x576IPS - Images per secondLux - International System (Sl) unit of illumination in which the meter is the unit of length. One lux equals one lumen per square meter.NTSC - The National Television Standards Committee. This committee defined the analog over-the-air television standard originally used in the United States. Since its inception there, its use has spread to the rest of North America, to parts of South America and to Japan. It has 480 horizontal lines of video data and 29.97 frames per second.FPS - Frames per secondFrame - Video systems work like film projectors: they show still pictures in rapid succession; if the frame rate is high enough, the small differences between each frame trick the mind into thinking it is seeing motion

PAL - Phase Alternating Line. This term describes the over-the-air video encoding used in Australia and most of Eurasia. It has 576 horizontal lines of video data and 25 frames per second. See also resolution.

 

---

Do you have a great article you think would fit well on our website? Send it to us for review!