Be aware, quality of the images displayed “LIVE” during a demo is less important the quality of recorded images. In video surveillance we look at what happened, not what happens, thus, the most important factors are:

Ease of use

When it is complicated, it will not be used!

  • The search mode should provide intelligent search parameters:
    • Smart search: in a specific portion in the image for a specific period
    • Smart search in POS text
    • Alerts log

Sufficient retention period of data

  • Data must be kept long enough to reflect typical length of time between an event and the time it is discovered.
  • It does not take long to realize that there was an intrusion, but it takes longer to discover a fraud by credit card.

Reliability

  • Because most users do not care about their recorder until they need to do a search, the DVR should be able to send alerts or be remotely monitored to prevent outages.