Divisions are becoming blurred in the recording market
There are two ways to go when it comes to digital video recording. There's the dedicated DVR approach with a device that's designed and built from the ground up for that single purpose. Then there's the PC route where a fast multimedia computer – usually built from off the shelf components and using a commercial operating system – is configured with proprietary software and interface cards, to the task of video surveillance recording.
In the early days the dividing line between these two approaches was fairly obvious but over the past year or so it has become blurred. We are seeing dedicated DVRs built using PC parts and designed to integrate with computer networks and PC-based digital video recorders that hide their PC origins so well that they behave like purpose-built digital video recorders.
The DTS Entry Line from Videte IT falls into the latter category. It's a cut-down version of Videte IT's high-end DTS system, tailored for the small business and domestic end of the market. From the outside it is clearly based on PC hardware but when it comes to using it, you would hardly know.
For those interested in such matters – and it will be of little consequence for the vast majority of end-users – it is based around a Celeron processor partnered with a Biostar P4TGV motherboard and 128Mb RAM. Our review sample was supplied with a 80Gb hard drive (120Gb optionally available). The system unit is fitted with floppy and CD-RW drives. The operating system is the 'Embedded' version of Windows XP (XPE) but it makes only the briefest of appearances during boot up, after which the user/operator screen is taken over by the Videte IT program.
For the record, XPE is very stable and effec-tively tamper-proof so that, unlike many rival PC-based systems based on a full-blown Windows OS, it is not possible for the average user or opera-tor to hack their way into Windows and have a crafty game of Solitaire when no one is looking.
So much for the technicalities but what really matters are the core features and performance claims and that begins with its video capabilities. Although it is not a video recorder in the strictest sense – for example, it cannot record continuously – it does record real-time video 'events' in response to internal or external triggers.
It's a triplex system providing simultaneous display, recording and playback of up to four cam-era inputs. We understand that data is overwritten on a 30-day cycle, though there is no information in the manual or on-screen indicators to let the user or operator know.
Video resolution is quoted at 720 x 288 pixels with pictures displayed at between one frame every three seconds and two frames per second, depending on scene activity and alarm status. Each camera has its own associated motion detection system and alarm inputs which, when activated, instigate real-time recording in industry-standard Motion-JPEG format.
Recordings are flagged, logged and time-stamped and can be accessed by time, date, camera number and from an alarm event list. The facility to record audio as well wasn't available on our sample but we understand this was due to be included from November. The system is network-ready and it can be directly connected to other DTS recorders or integrated into an existing Ethernet local area network (LAN). An ISDN option is also available.
Single recorded images may be exported to floppy disk or a standard USB printer and video sequences can be recorded on CD-R, along with a 'viewer' utility, so that recordings can be played back and analysed on almost any suitable PC.
Most operations are controlled by a mouse (no keyboard required) and displayed on a standard computer monitor. Additionally it has two analogue video outputs for monitor displays and 'loop throughs' for two of the four camera inputs.
Useful extras include a three-stage picture zoom facility and 'Rectangle Search' whereby only movement detected in an area, defined by drawing a rectangle with the mouse, will be displayed. The video display can be configured in a variety of ways, from full screen to 'square' multi-screen and '1 plus' which shows a selected camera image approximately 1/3 full screen with the other display and playback sub-screens clustered around it.
The system unit looks a lot like a conventional desktop PC (which it basically is), with floppy and CD-RW drives, power on button, power and hard disk activity indicator lights, a pair of USB sockets and audio jacks on the front panel. The rear panel is also familiar territory with the usual array of PC type connectors and ports for the mouse, monitor and network connection.
The only additions are a pair of D-Sub sockets occupying the expansion sockets slots. One is for the video inputs and outputs – a breakout cable terminated with 'flying' BNC sockets is supplied — the other is used for the alarm inputs and outputs. Set-up and all routine functions are directed from a small on-screen control panel that normally resides, in minimised form, in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.
Moving the mouse pointer over the panel maximises it and it can be moved to any convenient position on the screen. The control panel comprises an information/status window, a row of VCR-like transport keys for controlling playback, a set of arrowed cursor buttons and a numeric keypad. The keypad is used to select cameras and input numeric data and the cursor arrows control the simple menus, which provide two levels of access (operator and administrator) to the system. Both are PIN code protected.
The operator menu allows camera selection, display screen configuration, a display lock and a system information display. The first four items on the setup menu include adjustments for brightness, contrast and saturation for each camera, creating and editing camera titles (one line of 16 characters, using a tiny 'virtual' on-screen keyboard), setting camera timers and camera recording mode (activity detection or alarm/pre-alarm modes).
The next four set-up menus cover motion detector and alarm configuration, sequencer dwell times and image export. The last five menu options are for setting the two analogue video outputs (single camera, sequence or activity detection), network configuration (IP address, subnet mask etc), system date and time, menu language selection (English, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese) and change PIN codes.
Finally there is a motley collection of function switches, logs and status screens that come under the rather vague menu heading of Other System Options. These include the Alarm List, Audible Alarm on/off, Statistics, Software update, System Shut Down, Target Display on/off, Event Log, Import/Export System Settings and a mysterious function called Extension Code, which the manual fails to explain.
Target Display is part of the motion detection system, which superimposes a moving crosshair that tracks movement within the scene area. It's part of an unusually sophisticated system that has three levels of sensitivity and a highly configurable adaptive or permanent mask. The area of the image to be included or excluded is 'drawn' by moving the mouse pointer.
There's also a mask inversion facility that simplifies and speeds set-up. For example, if the target area is relatively small, simply use the draw facility to mask the area of interest then click the Invert button and the whole screen apart from the selected area is masked out. Live video displays are identified by a green coloured title bar in the top left hand corner of each image. This shows camera number, title and time. The title bar turns red – indicating that the camera input is being recorded – when there's movement in the picture or an alarm has been triggered. To display a recorded image the appropriate camera number is selected from the numeric keypad: click one of the transport keys, recordings made on that channel appear on the screen and are identified by a blue title bar.
The playback controls allow the image to be replayed in forward or reverse direction but at a somewhat disconcerting speed. Forward and reverse 'Play' works at something like 10x normal speed and rewind or fast forward shoots along at around 100x. There are single step/frame keys but the rapidity of playback does make it a little difficult to locate and examine short sequences without recourse to the more refined Search facilities.
During replay, normal display and recording functions continue and the screen does tend to get a little crowded. It is sometimes necessary to juggle the display, by right-clicking into an empty area of the screen, to ensure that the images are shown in the most convenient manner. The only significant omission is any means of managing the alarm log, which could be a problem as recordings will be automatically overwritten at the end of a 30-day cycle, and this happens without any warning or option to archive or backup potentially important data.
Exporting images to floppy and CD-R is completely painless and the facility has been well thought out. The use of Nero Burning software simplifies the whole process though you're not aware of it and it operates in the background. Towards the end of our time with the unit we received a software update. This included a number of relatively minor changes to the menu layouts, the most significant being the alarm log, which is shifted from the set-up to the user menu.
In digital recording terms, resolution on the DTS Entry Line rates as average to good. It's comparable with the best that analogue tape has to offer but with significantly lower noise levels, which shows up as a crisp, clean looking picture. Side by side comparisons between a recording and live display of images from a video test pattern generator revealed surprisingly few differences.
There is a very slight drop in resolution on the recording, a small reduction in colour fidelity and some fringing in highly saturated areas of the picture but these are really only apparent under test conditions. The only significant gripe concerns image stability, which on our sample showed up as a slight but noticeable jitter on static images. Recordings copied onto CD-R are for the most part almost indistinguishable from live and recorded images viewed on the DTS unit.
What the manufacturer says ...
Videte IT, a specialist provider of security surveillance equipment, has launched a mini version of its DTS plug-and-play digital recording system that will open up the domestic and small business market for the first time.
The DTS Entry Line has exactly the same functionality as the larger DTS but is desig-ned specifically for small to medium appli-cations supporting up to four cameras.
The product can display and record live images and play back archived images simultaneously.
Every image is stored onto the PC hard drive into digital format in real-time and the Motion Detect feature enables auto-matic recording of significant events. Images can be retrieved by cameras, date, time, alarm or frame and search results can sub-sequently be archived to CD or floppy disk.
International sales director Steve Shergold said: "The market for the DTS Entry Line is potentially massive, as it will appeal to any company or home user looking for an affordable yet sophisticated security solution.
"We recognised there was a gap in the market for smaller scale installations, so we designed a product which combines ease of use as well as low cost."
The DTS Entry Line will transmit images based on JPEG compression with a storage capacity of 80 Gb or 120 Gb IDE hard disk, with speeds up to four frames per camera per second.
Overall assessment
When is a PC not a PC? The DTS entry line certainly manages to muddy the waters and to all intents and pur-poses it can be regarded as a dedicated DVR with multiplexer and alarm functions, that just happens to use a mouse and a PC screen. However, we have a nagging suspicion that the designers may have gone just a little too far in their efforts to make it ‘idiot-proof’.While the basic day-to-day functions are all present and correct there’s an unusual lack of configuration options and status displays. For example, there is no way to change routine recording parameters, no picture quality adjustment or alarm recording times. There is also a disturbing lack of information about how the unit manages its storage space, how much recording time is available or has been used up and, most worryingly, the lack of any warning when recordings are erased. We would also have liked some manual control over what is recorded, stored or deleted.
For the most part the on-screen control panel works reasonably well but parts of the set-up menus look and feel as though they’ve been hastily cobbled together. The ‘Other System Options’ is a bit of a mess and needs tidying up, though the most recent software update does go some way to addressing this. Installation is reasonably straightforward but we’re not big fans of breakout cables, which look untidy, are easily damaged, difficult to troubleshoot and encourage cable tangling.
On the plus side, video performance is very good although the playback controls could have been better implemented with more replay speed options, but on the whole it is generally easy to use and reasonably intuitive.
The export to floppy and CD-R facilities work flawlessly and we definitely approve of the ability to play discs on any PC, neatly avoiding any problems with specialised image file formats or the need to use dedicated software.
All of the essential elements are there and the DTS Entry Line deserves to do well but we hope it’s a work in progress and that some of the rough edges are in the process of being ironed out, particularly the lack of management controls, and the very real possibility that important recordings could be erased.
Source
Security Installer
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