Installing a camera surveillance system with DVR in your home, office or shop often leaves us curious. But this depends on many factors like hard drive capacity, video quality settings and number of frames captured per second captured from mounted cameras, as well as hard drive capacity itself! Continuous recording takes more time, and motion-based recording can save storage space. Generally speaking, CCTV footage is stored on DVRs for several days up to several weeks or possibly even months. Once the memory is full, the DVR automatically erases the oldest footage in order to record new material. FDS Security Cameras Los Angeles is always ready to help you choose the best CCTV system and storage capacity.
What Determines CCTV Storage Time?
The main aspect responsible for the storage of CCTV footage is the capacity of your DVR’s hard disk. For example, a DVR with a 1 Terabytes disk can save footage only for a few days, while a 4 Terabytes or 8 Terabytes disk can keep recordings for a long time. The number of cameras also greatly influences the storage requirements. A DVR with four cameras running continuously takes much less storage than the DVR with sixteen cameras. Likewise, high resolution DVRs, such as 4MP, 5MP or 4K ones, take way more space than the lower-resolution ones. The last factor that affects storage capacity is the mode of recording. Continuous recording requires more storage and Motion detection mode only records video when something moves so, as a result, it can significantly increase the storage time of the DVR recordings when the area under video surveillance is usually quiet.
How Many Days Can a DVR Store CCTV Footage?
No one can answer this question, because each CCTV system has its own characteristics. A simple CCTV system made of four cameras and a conventional hard disk can keep videos for 7 to 15 days. However, some CCTV systems with bigger hard drives or motion sensors can keep videos for a period of up to 30 days or more. If a company requires footage to be retained for a longer period, they need to install an extended storage device for recordings.
When the DVR Storage Is Full?
Modern DVR systems often use overwrite recording. What happens in this process is that the oldest recordings are deleted from the hard drive once it runs out of space and newer recordings are saved instead. In this way, you will not need to delete any old recordings as your DVR will keep on recording as usual. Yet, in case the footage is important, make sure to save it somewhere before it gets erased by the DVR. Usually, this can be done through saving the important footage on some external hard disk drive or USB.
How Can You Increase CCTV Recording Time?
When your DVR is unable to save recording information for an adequate period of time, there are many different options available to you to enhance your CCTV storage capacity. One of them is installing more spacious hard drives that fit the needs of a CCTV recording system perfectly. Moreover, you can activate the motion detection feature, minimize the quality of recorded videos, and play around with the number of frames per second. Using the updated technologies of video compression like H.265 can help you reduce the amount of the required space significantly and make the videos available for you at great quality.
Top 3 DVR Systems Used in Los Angeles
In Los Angeles, DVR systems represent key components of security systems that allow homeowners and businesspeople to record and manage surveillance data. When selecting a DVR that meets your needs, you have to look at specific features such as video quality, storage capacity, compatibility with security cameras, remote access, and your budget because there are multiple choices available. The following three DVR systems that are reliable for safety measures and useful security features.
Lorex 4K DVR System: Delivering the capability to provide high quality recording and support for various cameras.
Hikvision TurboHD DVR/XVR: Offering great recording quality and innovative detection options.
Dahua XVR Series DVR: A multi-purpose and flexible security system that has many advanced features.
Final Thoughts
CCTV footage can stay on a DVR for different amounts of time, ranging from several days up to a few months, based on the equipment and configuration. Factors affecting the recording duration include the number of cameras, the capacity of the hard drive, as well as the video quality used, recording mode, and compression technology employed. If you wish to save recordings for a certain period, the calculation of your storage needs has to be done before you install the CCTV system. By knowing your DVR recording requirements, you can have everything you need. We recommend that all users consult with a professional installation team, such as FDS Security Camera in the city of Los Angeles, for proper guidance and system installation.