Advantages to purchasing a Standalone DVR CCTV system is simplicity and low cost. I have built many PC based CCTV systems and there is a great deal of technical understanding that goes into such. If you have time to study the available hardware for compatibility, software for features and reasonable cost, and all of the pitfalls of various incompatibilities then you might consider going with a PC solution. Looking at the standalone solution you can get a good H.264 4 camera DVR with network remote access for under $200 that is small, easy to conceal, and since the price is so low it is basically disposable if it ever craps out.
There are so many black box CCTV DVR Systems out there that range in quality and price. If you aren't careful you could easily end up with a piece of junk off of eBay that isn't worth the scrap metal making up the case. Alternatively, there are some really good deals out there, including eBay auctions, on systems that will give you most of what your PC system can do with a lot fewer headaches from configuration and maintenance.
This page is a research page with notes on the various units out there.
Many DVR's look the same, nameless black boxes sold by a manufacturer who may well go poof within a year. It can be very difficult to tell which ones are better than others. There is an absence of independent reviews on these units available online.
AverMedia DVR CCTV units are relatively well known and reliable. However, they will be priced higher than the black box systems on ebay.
The AverMedia 1304 SATA NET is a very good system. It has H.264 video encoding and 25fps on each camera. It offers full Internet with Smart Phone compatibility.
When looking at eBay auctions of DVR's be careful about how some information is presented. Be weary of stats such as 25fps per camera or 100fps recording. This means very little. What is important is to look at the number of frames per second and at what resolution. For example, the Avermedia is probably recording 25fps per channel but only at CIF. What is more important is what it will do at D1 resolution which is 4x the size and therefore 1/4 the frames per second.
Maximum recording resolution - D1 and also D1 advanced
There's no point in producing top quality images if the DVR is only going to record them at a low quality. There are 3 industry standard recording resolutions:
- D1 is best quality and comprises a frame size of 704 x 576 pixels
- Half D1, also known as "Field" comprises a frame size of 704 x 288 pixels
- CIF is the lowest quality used and comprises a frame size of 352 x 288 pixels