Swann H.264 DVR User Manual


 
Congratulations on your purchase of the DVR!
You’ve chosen a versatile, powerful and great value security monitoring and recording solution for your
home or business. Let’s just take a moment to talk about some of the great features that the DVR offers
and some of the things to think about before installing the system.
4 Channel Monitoring and Recording
The DVR can monitor and record four channels simultaneously. You can configure the recording modes
for each of the four channels independently. For example, you could have two channels recording on
a schedule, one recording constantly and one armed to record on motion. Or any other combination
you can think of!
Powerful H.264 Compression
The advanced video codec used by the DVR, called H.264, offers high quality video files at a fraction
of the size of older video codecs such as MPEG-2 or similar. Basically, this means you can store more
footage on the DVR’s hard drive, and that the quality of that footage can be significantly higher than
many older video formats. H.264 has been engineered to provide the highest level of data compression
possible (saving space on your hard drive) whilst maintaining a high image quality.
Powerful Networking and Remote Access Features
The DVR features an Ethernet port, which can be used to connect the DVR to your local area network
(LAN). With the addition of a high-speed Internet service, this allows you to remotely access the DVR
from any high-speed Internet terminal on Earth! If that isn’t convenient enough, the DVR also features
mobile device support, allowing you to connect to it from a device running Microsoft Windows Mobile
®,
Symbian S60 (3rd/5th editions), iPhone, Blackberry or the increasingly popular Android.
Multiple Monitor Connections
Not only does the DVR come with multiple video out ports (allowing you to connect it to two televisions
at once) it also comes with a VGA output, allowing you to connect the DVR to a computer monitor. The
VGA connection allows for a much higher quality picture than traditional composite video connections,
boasting resolutions of up to 1400 x 900 pixels.
Installation Tips & Tricks
One of the most important things to decide early on is where you’re going to install the DVR. There are
several considerations to make, and some of them conflict with one another.
• Your DVR needs to be located in a central location to allow you maximum options when placing
your cameras. This is true whether your cameras are connected via cables or wirelessly - one way,
you’ll have to physically install cabling, and wireless systems still have a limited range.
• On the other hand, your DVR should be installed somewhere secure. If the DVR is too accessible
it could be sabotaged or removed by an intruder.
• Ideally, assuming that you wish to use most features this DVR offers, it should be installed close
to a network access point. There is, however, no problem using a long network cable - a Cat
5e Ethernet cable up to approximately three hundred feet (about 90m) should work. Different
network cable standards will offer a longer or shorter range.
4
Overview