Digital Cable VS Satellite TV

Do you want to get more channels while saving money but not sure if you should go with digital cable or satellite TV? Then this article is meant directly for you! The commercials seen on TV and the ad’s displayed all over the internet can be overwhelming at best. Below we will hope to help make your choice simplified for you! Cost Difference between Digital Cable VS Satellite TV: Most cable companies include local franchise fees along with local broadcasting fees on your monthly bill. Digital cable varies starting at $30-$40 per month and up depending on the package you choose it can go up as high as $90 per month. While Satellite packages usually offer betters deals based on how much money is spent per channel. Some satellite companies offer a price point between of $25 for over fifty channels. With most satellite companies pricing may be a little higher per month unless committing to twelve months of programming up front. A twelve month satellite commitment will usually ensure lower cost up front and most even free installation of the satellite dish. Programming differences between Digital Cable VS Satellite TV: Most Satellite TV systems can support over 250 channels of programming. All channels are of digital quality. One downside is satellite offers less local channels and may not have local channels in some areas. Most satellite companies also offer HD TV services that are compatible to your satellite TV service. Digital cable on the other hand can support over 300 channels of programming of digital quality. Digital Cable has more local channels available in most major cities. Most cable companies now offer Video on Demand (a library of movies and TV shows that you can order at your leisure). HDTV services are becoming more popular amongst cable companies now and not just thru satellite TV as in the past. Difference of Equipment: Satellite equipment typically includes a satellite dish that is installed outside the home that is visible to everyone. A satellite receiver is also essential per TV. Most satellite receivers today also come with a PVR (Personal Video Recorder) which the cable company has not yet been able to offer as of now. Most satellite companies run specials on free installation and equipment when you agree to a 12 month contract. Digital cable also requires one receiver per TV but that is all the equipment needed. Should you disconnect your service the receivers will be turned into the cable company where as with Satellite TV you own the dish. In closing: In the end the prices are comparable but it depends on which system will best suit your television needs and what you are more comfortable with. Both Digital TV and Satellite TV both have their disadvantages and advantages, you make the call! Jim Teler is a avid budgeter who strongly believes that satellite TV is a savings over cable for most households in America. In addition to raising his two children with his wife, Jim also does freelance writing for websites, including those who sell Dish Network systems like http://www.bestsatellitetvsystem.com/. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_Teler

Digital Video Recorders - A Couch Potato Dream Realized

OK, let's all admit that we sometimes schedule things around our favorite TV shows. We try to get the laundry done before nine o'clock on Sunday so we can watch Desperate Housewives, or maybe we scramble to get the kids in bed before ten on Thursdays so we can watch ER. We all like to pretend that TV doesn't have some strange hold on us, but remember: the first warning sign is denial... I remember all too clearly back in the Nineties when I was first introduced to a certain two-member FBI team consisting of a guy named Fox Mulder and his feisty partner Dana Scully. Every Sunday night, no matter what, I simply had to be home by nine so I could watch The X-Files.
This past Saturday, I came home to my wife watching last week's Gilmore Girls. Later, we both watched last Thursday's ER. We then caught up on the last three episodes of Invasion. And, during that time, guess how many commercials we had to endure? None, zip, nada, zilcho. We also recently listened to some songs from our MP3 collection and looked at some pictures of the kids on our living room TV.
The amazing technology that makes all this possible, and very affordable, is called PVR, or Personal Video Recorders. These little devices will record your favorite TV shows and movies and store them until you are ready to watch. You can fast forward through those boring commercials, pause and rewind. Of course, you can also pause and rewind live TV, too, which can make for some very interesting sports watching. In our house, we have the TiVo service, but many people also like ReplayTV. I won't make any suggestion as to which is best as I have never used ReplayTV, but I can say that TiVo is phenomenal.
It's sort of like a VCR, but many, many times better and more powerful. For example, with a PVR all the shows are stored onto a computer hard drive so there aren't any tapes to mess with. Also, the PVR device is smart enough so you can tell it simply to record a show named 'Lost' and it will automatically record it for you when it comes on-- you don't even have to know when or even what channel to set it to. Further, TiVo allows you to network your PVR with your computer so that you can listen to MP3 files and view images. You can even transfer the shows to your computer and burn them to a DVD. How cool!
Aside from the commercial services of TiVo and ReplayTV, there are free versions of PVRs out there. You just need an old computer, some time and the ability to download and install free PVR software such as Freevo or MythTV. It is a dream come true for couch potatoes, it's fun, and you may never have to watch a commercial again.
Now, for the Cool Site of the Week... If you ever feel overwhelmed about how fast technology is moving, grab a cup of coffee and sit down to check out where this whole computer thing started by browsing the online museum at Old-Computers.com. This site has pictures, prices and specs for all kinds of computers ranging from the two-story tall Whirlwind computer built at MIT in 1951 (with a whopping 2K of memory) up to the handy 'little' laptops of the 80's.
As always, if you have any questions or suggestions for future articles, please email me at mike@mikebryant.com.
Mike Bryant has worked as a professional software developer for over ten years. A born entrepreneur, he currently owns Centrant, LLC, a software consulting firm specializing in custom software for small businesses. He currently resides in Jackson, Kentucky with his wife, two kids, and five computers. For more information, please visit MikeBryant.com.
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Direct TV Uses the Best Hardware

Direct TV must be doing something right considering it has over 16 million subscribers and is the number one provider of Satellite TV in America and Latin America. Direct TV was actually the first Direct Broadcast Satellite (DBS) in the entire world in 1994. Direct TV has expanded their services to now offer digital satellite television, XM radio, broadband satellite internet, and high definition.
Direct TV has also been awarded by J.D. Power and Associates of excellent customer satisfaction ratings. The only cost to customers is their programming package because professional installation and standard equipment are free with the package.
Direct TV has much higher quality picture signals than cable. It also has as many as 5 times the number of channels your local cable company can offer. Direct TV has a multiple of orbiting satellites that relay one hundred percent digital signals to all America.
Not only does Direct TV offer free equipment which includes a home-attached compact dish antenna, fully integrated receiver, and a universal remote, and certified professional installation, Direct TV gives every new subscriber the new Personal Video Recorder (PVR).
A PVR is a must have for anyone with multiple people sharing a TV or with a busy lifestyle. Programs or movies can be recorded for viewing at another time, even while watching and recording another show. Your own PVR can record up to seventy hours of commercial free music, movies, and shows. Store personalized libraries for later.
The universal remote also features a pause, stop, and rewind button that allows you to pause live games or shows if you have an unexpected interruption.
Direct TV has a deal that offers packages of 155 to 250 choice channels. There are three packages to choose from including Total Choice, Total Choice Plus, and Total Choice Premier. There are also high definition packages available to those who want HDTV."
Published by Direct Star. Find more information on Direct TV or find the latest Direct TV Deal.
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TiVo - A Revolution In Digital Video Recording

The latest advancement in the recording technology has transcended all boundaries and has brought convenience to your doorstep. The top American channels can be accessed and viewed at your leisure with the TIVO or the Digital Video Recorder.
A common term that is synonymous with TIVO is “personal video recorder” (PVR). The latter is a consumer video device which has the ability to capture television programming and store it on an internal hard drive to be viewed at anytime in the future.
No longer do you have to schedule your plans around your favorite television program. Let your favorite shows and programs be watched anytime and watched over and over again.
Having a TIVO gives you the option to select your preferred programs to record either by time, specific program title, or by amalgamation of genre, actors and directors etc. All programs will remain intact until it is manually deleted to give room for newly recorded items.
The capacity of the internal storage is enormous and can accommodate most of your favorite shows. The database of programs available is determined by the customer's location and their cable/satellite services and is updated daily over the phone or network connection to TIVO control center. The TIVO system is comprised of a non-removable hard drive as well as sophisticated software that allows users to easily program and record their selected shows. The software can even be set to record shows it thinks the viewer may be interested in based on their viewing habits!
You can even pause, rewind, and fast forward the recorded programs just as if you were viewing them on a VCR or DVD player, but there are no messy tapes or discs to keep track of. If you are recording a program, you can still watch it in real-time as well.
TIVO guarantees that the digitally recorded images are received, stored, and played without any weakening in the quality of the image. Videos that are digitally stored will retain the same quality as the day the image was recorded.
TIVO also offers a user rating system where viewers can score the television shows they watch on a scale which ranges from three "thumbs up" or three "thumbs down". These ratings are then used to further determine the user's preferences and recommendations are suggested based in part on these ratings.
"Season passes" instruct TiVo to record a show each time it is aired on television regardless of when the show begins, with the option of ignoring reruns. Award-winning features such as “Wish List” searches and TIVO “Online Scheduling” have made TIVO a necessity for every household. The home entertainment innovations provided by TIVO surpasses features of a television possessing digital music, snapshot, and picture in picture features. The inlcusion of 'TIVO To Go' allows for the transfer of shows to your laptop or DVD.
You can always be up to date with the current programming on your television as your TIVO routinely will keep you updated with the daily programming. The sophisticated technology combined with the user-friendly navigation allows you to search for programs just by using the remote.
The only drawback of the TIVO system is a minor one. It requires a land-based phone line to ensure successful activation and full functionality of the DVR service. This may be a problem for some customers as more and more people are canceling their land-line phone service and relying solely on their cell phone.
Your television set up is not an issue for you to make a TIVO acceptable to every household. It can be traditional cable, digital cable, satellite tv, or even combinations of these. TIVO is proving itself as a viable and efficient companion to your home theater system that pledges to be useful and economical.
Mitchell Medford is an author and product consultant for several consumer electronics manufacturers. Visit his website for more information on home theater, LCD TVs, and plasma tvs.
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Satellite TV and VOD: Putting Viewers in Control

Video on Demand (VOD) systems are revolutionizing home television viewing for consumers. Such systems personalize the viewing experience by allowing users to create their own schedule of their favorite movies and programming, freeing them from schedules created by networks and channels. The most recent JD Power & Associates survey however, indicates that consumer use of VOD has not yet reached its current capacity, as only 21% of viewers indicated that they had ordered a VOD service in 2005. Lack of awareness about the benefits and availability of Video on Demand and perhaps consumer comfort with the concept are possible factors in the limited use of this technology.
Video on Demand systems can be offered via "streaming" or download to a digital video recorder. Streaming takes up a tremendous amount of bandwidth and is most often used by cable companies. Downloading to DVR is more commonly offered via satellite television. Both systems allow users to choose when to watch selected programming so that a racing fan in Illinois for instance, doesn't have to get up at 4:00 a.m. to view a race being broadcast from Japan.
A digital video recorder (DVR) may also be referred to as personal video recorder (PVR). These devices encode video data in MPEG format and store the data on hard drive. A digital video recorder offers a number of advantages to the consumer giving them greater control over their television viewing. First and foremost, it allows users to record live TV shows to hard disk in digital format; no tapes required. The DVR offered by Dish Network, for instance has a 120 gigabyte hard drive capable of recording 100 hours of programming in digital quality. It allows users to tape shows/movies even while watching another pre-recorded show. Recorded content of course, can be copied onto videotape or DVD for archiving if desired. Other features include the ability to pause, rewind, and fast forward live TV programming. The Dish Network DVR allows the viewer to skip commercials by selecting a 30 second "skip" option or to instantly replay scenes by selecting a 10 second "skip back" option. In addition, the DVR gives viewers an on screen program guide complete with program descriptions, times, and titles. DVR equipment is approximately the size of a VHS recorder and prices average from $450-$750 although some cable and satellite companies offer the equipment at no additional charge when initiating services. The Dish Network service, for instance, offers their DVR free with their programming packages and offer the DVR/VOD type service free with their America's Everything Package. Other Dish Network packages offer the DVR/VOD service for $5.98 per month.
Clearly the necessary technology and equipment for video on demand is readily available in the US and the benefits for home viewers seem impressive, however, are all viewers ready for this service? Perhaps not quite yet for some but that is expected to change quickly. For younger consumers who grew up playing videogames and attaching mobile devices to their bodies, the concept of pushing buttons and taking control over their entertainment, their interactions, and so forth is an expectation not just an option. As all Americans become more technologically savvy VOD services will begin to realize their full potential.
Christine Peppler shares information about home electronics and home entertainment products, including satellite television, on her website at: http://www.homemedias.info.
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Satellite TV and Digital Video Recorders: DVR Or PVR

Why you need a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) with your satellite TV
The analog sattelite TV, cable TV and terrestrial TV signals that we have watched and loved for the last few decades will soon be switched off and if you want to continue watching TV when that happens then you will need to upgrade your system to digital. Your old VCR will still give you limited service but if you want to take advantage of all the features offered by the new digital TV services then you will want to upgrade to a digital video recorder (DVR) or a Personal Video Recorder (PVR)
Right now you might be watching digital TV from satellite or cable and also have a tried and trusted analog terrestrial TV system to allow you to watch more than one channel at a time. Unfortunately you won't be able to do this when the analog transmissions are turned off.
What will a PVR or DVR do for you?
Here are just some of the amazing things that can be done with a PVR and your old VCR could have performed only one of them. Use them with your digital satellite TV systems and they can be awesome features.
Time Shift viewing
Shifting the time at which you watch your favourite programs by recording a digital TV program and replaying it later. This is one of the few things that an analog VCR does well.
Tagging a series of digital programs
Some PVR services like the Sky+ digital satellite TV in the UK offer a feature to mark a series of programs and record them when they are transmitted rather than have to enter the information into the recorder for each episode. No longer do you need to remember when they are broadcast any more, just let your faithful PVR do all the work for you. For this feature to be available there must be an electronic program guide available, which means that not all services will support it.
Make your own digital TV channel
You can set your PVR to record many programs from many different channels and then watch these recordings back to back as if it were your own personal digital TV channel. You can even start watching your new channel while your PVR is still recording.
Record a whole series of one program
Capturing a whole series of your favourite program and then watching the whole lot in a mammoth session is so simple for a PVR. You can also then burn the whole lot to a DVD if your PVR has a DVD recorder, and keep it on your shelf.
Archive your recordings to DVD
If your DVR or PVR has a built in DVD recorder then you can make permanent copies of the programs that you've captured on the hard drive. You can also save programs to your old VCR using the analogue AV sockets on your PVR. Don't throw away your old VCR just yet.
Viewing the highlights
DVRs are much better at fast forward and rewind than your old VCR ever was which makes it easy to compress long sporting events into a shorter time. This can be very useful if you're in a hurry or you don't want to sit through all the boring parts.
Action replay of live transmissions
This is very useful for sporting events and films with complex plots. You can pause and rewind your PVR and then watch an action replay before you return to pick up the live program. This will extend the viewing time of course.
Pausing live TV as if it were a recording
You are interrupted by someone at the door or the phone while you're in the middle of watching your favourite program. This is no longer a problem, simply pause your personal video recorder and what's left of the program will be saved for you to watch later. You just press 'Play' and it picks up from where you paused it.
Read the full satellite TV article Personal Video Recorders: PVR and DVR
Why use a conventional satellite TV when you have a computer? Watch Satellite TV on your PC at http://www.sattelite-television.thegrandfatherclock.com
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Digital Video Recorder

A digital video recorder (DVR) (or personal video recorder (PVR)) is a device that records video without videotape to a hard drive-based digital storage medium. The term includes stand-alone set-top boxes and software for personal computers which enables video capture and playback to and from disk.
History
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The first DVR was tested on July 8, 1965, when CBS explored the possibilities of instant freeze-frame and rewind for sporting event broadcasts. Ampex released the first commercial hard disk video recorder in 1967. The HS-100 recorded analog video onto a digital hard disk and could store a maximum of only 30 seconds.
Hard disk-based DVRs The two early consumer DVRs, ReplayTV and TiVo, were launched at the 1999 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Although ReplayTV won the "Best of Show" award in the video category, it was TiVo that went on to much greater commercial success. The devices have steadily developed complementary abilities, such as recording onto DVDs, commercial skip, sharing of recordings over the Internet, and programming and remote control facilities using PDAs, networked PCs, or Web browsers.
This makes the "time shifting" feature (traditionally done by a VCR) much more convenient, and also allows for "trick modes" such as pausing live TV, instant replay of interesting scenes, and skipping advertising. Most DVRs use the MPEG format for encoding analog video signals.
The two consumer DVR brands in the United States are the TiVo and DNNA's ReplayTV. In the UK TiVo has a small presence; Thomson, Topfield, Fusion, Pace and Humax also supply digital terrestrial (DTT) DVRs. BSkyB markets a popular combined EPG and DVR as Sky+.South African based Africa Satellite TV beamer Multichoice recently launched their PVR which is available on their Dstv platform.
Many satellite and cable companies are incorporating DVR functions into their set-top box, such as with DirecTiVo, DishPlayer/DishDVR, Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8xxx, Motorola 6xxx from Comcast, Moxi Media Center by Digeo (available through Charter, Adelphia, Sunflower, Bend Broadband, and soon Comcast and other cable companies), or Sky+. In this case there is no encoding necessary in the DVR, as the satellite signal is already a digitally encoded MPEG stream. The DVR simply stores the digital stream directly to disk. Having the broadcaster involved with (subsidizing) the design of the DVR—and directly recording encrypted digital streams—can lead to features such as the ability to use interactive TV on recorded shows, pre-loading of programs. It can, however, also force the manufacturer to implement non-skippable advertisements and automatically-expiring recordings.
Software is available for transferring programs recorded on DVR hardware to or from PC's (e.g., TiVoToGo and DVArchive). PCs Software and hardware is available which can turn personal computers running Microsoft Windows, Linux and Macintosh into PVRs, and is a popular option for home-theater PC (HTPC) enthusiasts. Linux There are many open source and GPL-licensed DVR applications available for Linux:
MythTV
Freevo
DVR
VDR
KnoppMyth - provides an out of the box MythTV based PVR solution Commercial Linux version available from SageTV based on Gentoo Linux. Brightbox, a consumer electronics device, uses SageTV.
Macintosh Elgato makes a series of DVR devices called EyeTV (400 / 500 / DTT etc.). The software supplied with each device (but available separately) is also called EyeTV. Elgato have recently released version 2.3 of their EyeTV software, with a redesigned interface, better program guide (built into the program) and a 'One Click' to iPod video feature. Miglia also makes DVR hardware that runs the EyeTV software, as well as DVR devices that use other software.
Other DVR products include myTV.PVR from EskapeLabs and ConvertX PVR from Plextor. MythTV (see above) also runs under OS X, but most recording devices are currently only supported under Linux. Precompiled binaries are available for the MythTV front-end, allowing a Mac to watch video from (and control) a MythTV server running under Linux.
Apple provides applications in the FireWire software developer kit which allow any Macintosh with a FireWire port to record the MPEG2 transport stream from a FireWire equipped cable box (e.g., Motorola 62xx, including HD streams). Applications can also change channels on the cable box via the firewire interface. Only broadcast channels can be recorded as the rest of the channels are encrypted. iRecord is a free scheduled-recording program derived from this SDK. Windows Microsoft Windows has several free DVR applications including GB-PVR, Got All Media and MediaPortal. DScaler has also DVR support in works. There also are several proprietary applications including SageTV, SnapStream Beyond TV, ChrisTV, Showshifter, Meedio (now a dead product - Yahoo! bought most of the company's technology and discontinued the Meedio line, and rebranding the software Yahoo! Go - TV, which is now a free product), InterVideo WinDVR, Recordit Plus and the R5000-HD.
There is also a separate version of Microsoft Windows called Windows XP Media Center Edition which has DVR capabilities.
And Microsoft Windows Vista will include in its standard version the Media Center functionalities.
Source video Television and video are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably, but differ in their technical definitions. Video is the visual portion of television, whereas television is the combination of video and audio modulated onto a carrier frequency (i.e., a television channel), so that multiple frequencies (i.e., multiple channels) may be transmitted at the same time. Analog television Analog television in NTSC, PAL or SECAM formats, analog cable, or regular VHS tapes use a signal that is fed directly to the electron beam within the television set. There are a number of details on how this is done, but in essence each line in each frame corresponds to a specific fraction of time within the signal.
To record an analog signal a few steps are required. A TV tuner card tunes into a particular frequency and then functions as a frame grabber, breaking the lines into individual pixels and quantizing them into a format that a computer can comprehend. Then the series of frames along with the audio (also sampled and quantized) are compressed into a manageable format, like MPEG-2, or WMF, usually in software. Some TV tuner cards like the DVR-250/350 or the TiVo chip deliver an MPEG-2 or other compressed stream directly to the computer, performing both the frame grabbing and compression in silico. This greatly reduces the load on the CPU allowing an overall cheaper implementation.
Analog Broadcast Copy Protection Many mass-produced consumer DVRs implement a copy-protection system called CGMS-A (Copy Generation Management System--Analog). This encodes a pair of bits in the VBI of the analog video signal that specify one of the following settings:
Copying is freely allowed
Copying is prohibited
Only one copy of this material may be made
This is a copy of material for which only one copy was allowed to be made, so no further copies are allowed. CGMS-A information may be present in analog broadcast TV signals, and is preserved when the signal is recorded and played back by analog VCRs, which of course don't understand the meanings of the bits. But the restrictions still come into effect when you try to copy the tape onto a Player.
Digital television Digital television is audio/visual signals that are broadcast over the air in a digital rather than analog format. Recording digital TV is generally a straightforward capture of the binary MPEG-2 data being received. No expensive hardware is required to quantize and compress the signal (as the television broadcaster has already done this in the studio). The MythTV DVR supports both international DVB signals and American ATSC signals while the HDTV Tivo supports only the ATSC signals. In the U.S., the FCC attempted to place a road-block before digital DVRs with its "Broadcast flag" regulation. Digital video recorders which had not won prior approval from the FCC for implementing "effective" digital rights management would have been banned from interstate commerce as of July 2005. The regulation was struck down on May 6, 2005.
DVD-based PVRs available on the market as of 2006 are not capable of capturing the full range of the visual signal available with high definition television (HDTV). This is largely because HDTV standards were finalized at a later time than the standards for DVDs. However, DVD-based PVRs can still be used (albeit at reduced visual quality) with HDTV since currently available HDTV sets also have standard A/V connections.
Satellite or Digital Cable Recording satellite or digital cable signals on a digital video recorder is more complex than recording analog signals or broadcast digital signals. This is so because the MPEG-2 or MPEG-4 stream is usually encrypted to prevent people from viewing the content without paying for it (usually via subscription).
The satellite or cable set-top box does two things. First, it decrypts the signal. Second, it decodes the MPEG stream into an analog, DVI, or HDMI signal for viewing on the television. In order to record cable/satellite digital signals you must get the signal after it is decrypted, but before it is decoded (between steps one and two); this is how DVRs built into set-top boxes work.
An alternative is that some satellite or (more commonly) cable set-top boxes have a FireWire port that can be connected to a computer. The recorded MPEG stream can be relayed to the computer via this FireWire port; though it can be done live, this is more commonly used for transferring shows from a set-top box with built-in DVR. (For instructions on doing this on a popular set-top box with DVR, please see the Wikibook entry How to use a Motorola DVR; some of the ideas there may apply to other set-top boxes as well.)
DVD Many DVD-based DVRs are equipped with two DVD drives or an additional internal hard drive. This arrangement can be used to copy content from a source DVD, which is disallowed in the US under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act if the disc is encrypted. Most such DVRs will hence not allow recording of video streams from encrypted movie discs.
Digital camcorders Some DVD-based DVRs incorporate a Firewire connector which can be used to capture digital video from a MiniDV or Digital 8 camcorder, possibly recording a simple DVD as the camcorder is played back. Some editing of the resulting DVD is usually possible, such as adding chapter points.
Security applications Digital video recorders configured for physical security applications record video signals from closed circuit television cameras for detection and documentation purposes. Many are designed to record audio as well. DVRs have evolved into devices that are feature rich and provide services that exceed the simple recording of video images that was previously done through VCRs. A DVR CCTV system provides a multitude of advanced functions over VCR technology including video searches by event, time, date and camera. There is also much more control over quality and frame rate allowing disk space usage to be optimized and the DVR can also be set to overwrite the oldest security footage should the disk become full. In some DVR security systems remote access to security footage using a PC can also be achieved by connecting the DVR to a LAN network or the internet.
Security DVRs may be categorized as being either PC based or embedded. A PC based DVR’s architecture is a classical personal computer with video capture cards designed to capture video images. An embedded type DVR is specifically designed as a digital video recorder with its operating system and application software contained in firmware or read only memory.
Hardware Features Hardware features of security DVRs vary between manufacturers and may include but are not necessarily limited to:
Designed for rack mounting or desktop configurations.
Single or multiple video inputs with connector types consistent with the analogue or digital video provided such as coaxial cable, twisted pair or optical fiber cable. The most common number of inputs are 1, 4, 8, 16 and 32. Systems may be configured with a very large number of inputs by networking or bussing individual DVRs together.
Looping video outputs for each input which duplicates the corresponding input video signal and connector type. These output signals are used by other video equipment such as matrix switchers, multiplexers, and video monitors.
Controlled outputs to external video display monitors.
Front panel switches and indicators that allow the various features of the machine to be controlled.
Network connections consistent with the network type and utilized to control features of the recorder and to send and/or receive video signals.
Connections to external control devices such as keyboards.
A connection to external pan-tilt-zoom drives that position cameras.
Internal CD, DVD, VCR devices typically for archiving video.
Connections to external storage media.
Alarm event inputs from external security detection devices, usually one per video input.
Alarm event outputs from internal detection features such as motion detection or loss of video. Software Features Software features vary between manufacturers and may include but are not necessarily limited to:
User selectable image capture rates either on an all input basis or input by input basis. The capture rate feature may be programmed to automatically adjust the capture rate on the occurrence of an external alarm or an internal event
Selectable image resolution either on an all input basis or input by input basis. The image resolution feature may be programmed to automatically adjust the image resolution on the occurrence of an external alarm or an internal event.
Motion detection: Provided on an input by input basis, this feature detects motion detection in the total image or a user definable portion of the image and usually provides sensitivity settings. Detection causes an internal event that may be output to external equipment and/or be used to trigger changes in other internal features.
Lack of motion detection. Provided on an input by input basis, this feature detects the movement of an object into the field of view and remaining still for a user definable time. Detection causes an internal event that may be output to external equipment and/or used to trigger changes in other internal features.
Direction of motion detection. Provided on an input by input basis, this feature detects the direction of motion in the image that has been determined by the user as an unacceptable occurrence. Detection causes an internal event that may be output to external equipment and/or be used to trigger changes in other internal features.
Routing of input video to video monitors based on user inputs or automatically on alarms or events.
Input, time and date stamping.
Alarm and event logging on appropriate video inputs.
Alarm and event search.
One or more sound recording channels.
Archival.
Remote control.
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Digital video recorder
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Digital Video Recorder: What Is A PVR Or A DVR?

The Personal Video Recorder replaces your VCR
Don't things move quickly nowadays? It seems only yesterday that the first VCRs became available and changed the way that we used our TVs forever. Now it seems that you will soon have to replace all your old analog TV equipment including your VCR with digital TV receivers and digital video recorders (DVR) if you haven't done so already.
Analog satellite TV, cable and terrestrial TV transmissions will soon be turned off and when that happens you will need digital TV equipment if you plan to continue to watch TV.
If you don't want to change your VCR at this time you will still be able to record digital TV from the analog AV output of your digital receiver but you won't be able to take advantage of all the new features on offer. In fact you will have fewer options available to you than before unless you upgrade to a Personal Video Recorder (PVR) or a DVR.
Digital Video Recorder or DVR explained?
A DVR captures digital video or digital TV and records it onto a hard drive like the one in your computer. In fact a DVR is a computer dedicated to the task of recording and playing back digital video. All a computer needs to be able to do this over and above all the usual stuff is a digital TV tuner.
Your DVR tuner has to be able to receive and decode signals from your chosen provider so there are different types available depending on whether you use digital satellite TV, cable or terrestrial TV.
Some systems that provide premium pay for channels will insist that you use their own equipment to receive their programming and you may have to pay even more to use their PVR or DVR equipment
What does a DVR do for you?
With a DVR you can capture and record digital TV programs onto a hard drive that's inside the unit. You can typically record up to about 40 hours of video onto the internal hard drive.
A DVR makes it possible to record a live transmission while you are watching a recording and if you have a DVR with two digital tuners then you can watch one channel while you are recording another or record 2 programs from different channels while watching a recording made earlier.
Your DVR will also pause live TV if you want it to and restart it later. It turns live transmissions into recordings on the fly.
Personal Video Recorder or PVR explained?
A PVR or Personal Video Recorder is a DVR with some advanced features. For instance with a PVR you might find that it can learn what programs you watch and automatically record them for you if you forget to set the recorder. You can also use a PVR to create a recording playback list and have it record only the best programs and then watch them as if it were your own personal TV channel.
Read the full article at Personal Video Recorders: PVR and DVR
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