Video monitoring and recording for the purpose of collecting information and reducing crime has expanded dramatically over the last several years. Many large metropolitan areas throughout the world are recording whatever moves in public places. In England for example, public buses are equipped with cameras pointed towards the sidewalks. Parking lots are being equipped with CCTV equipment to reduce liability and crime. Even office buildings are installing video recording equipment in the upper floor hallways. This is recording information on a macro level, requiring many cameras, multi-channel recording equipment, etc.
For this article, we will discuss video recording equipment for the purpose of personal proof and security. Enter the Home Guard Digital Video Capture Camera (DVCC) from Clinton Electronics. This Digital Video Capture Camera is an all-in-one unit, containing a pinhole camera and a two gigabyte capacity digital video recorder (DVR). The DVCC is compact, measuring 3.93” high by 2.76” inches wide by 1.41” inches deep. The unit weighs about four ounces without batteries.
This single channel mini DVR has a built-in C-MOS camera that offers high noise immunity (better image quality) with low power consumption.
The compact size DVR 480 TV Lines resolution camera can be operated continuously or using motion detection (adjustable sensitivity) recording.
There are two resolution choices for recording - VGA and QVGA. The VGA resolution is 640 x 480. The QVGA resolution is 320 x 240. As a reference, VGA resolution is 72 dpi, the resolution of many computer monitors. Image quality options are high, medium and low. The high quality will provide a better image, requiring more memory. Medium is the default image quality. Low quality will require less memory.
The two-gigabyte storage capacity within the DVR can produce up to 7.9 hours of video, recorded using 640 x 480 VGA resolution video at 12 frames per second (FPS). Up to 34.8 hours of video can be recorded using 320 x 240 QVGA resolution at 30 frames per second.
The VGA video at 12 frames per second will result in somewhat choppy movement. However, the resolution is sufficient to identify facial characteristics in normal room lighting.
QVGA (or Quarter VGA) produces an image one-fourth the size of VGA. However, the 30 frames per second will provide the appearance of smooth movements.
QVGA is also known as space-efficient mode. This is because the amount of recordable video is approximately four times greater using the QVGA resolution.
Recording options are manually recording, timed recording or motion detected recording. Either recording option includes stopping when memory is full or overwriting. Note: Like an airplane’s flight recorder, the DVCC can be set to continuously record, writing over previously recorded material until turned off.
This single channel mini DVR with built in camera outputs the video to NTSC (for North/South America, Japan, etc.) or PAL (for Europe, India, China, etc.). The unit is compatible with more than 90 percent of television sets that are equipped with a line in RCA jack. To connect the camera to a standard (analog) television requires an RCA video line that is included with the DVR. No specialized equipment is required. Note: Connecting the video output line enables live monitoring.
The Digital Video Capture Camera outputs composite video. The red, green and blue colors of composite video are decoded by the television.
The DVCC is housed in a beige plastic housing. An on-off switch is located on the side of the unit. A threaded sleeve can be used to wall mount the device. Also on the rear is the control panel, switches and plug sockets. There is the RCA jack for video out and the 12VDC power supply plug. One switch determines NTSC or PAL output. The second sets the recorder for full stop or overwrite. Four LEDs indicate the condition of the device. This includes power, record, play and menu. To operate the DVR, there are five pushbuttons. They are:
MENU/EXIT - There are three MENU layers
REC - Manual Record/ Motion Detection/ Continuous Record
PLAY - playback/pause
REVERSE - Reverse 2x/4x/8x/16x/32x
FORWARD - Forward 2x/4x/8x/16x/32x
The three MENU layers cover set-up, time/date, recording options format memory and system status. Video can be searched and viewed using date and time.
The Clinton Electronics Home Guard Digital Video Capture Camera, part number CE-DVR1-2GB, can be powered by either four AA batteries or a DC12V power supply. Recording using the four AA batteries will provide up to four hours and 45 minutes of video.
For more information, contact your locksmith wholesaler or Clinton Electronics Corporation, 6701 Clinton Road, Loves Park, IL 61111. Telephone: 815-633-1444. Web Site: www.clintonelectronics.com.
