DVR Security System Review

The Defender Sentinel 9 is another addition to the Defender range of surveillance systems, although it has significant features that are clear improvements compared to previous models there are a couple of aspects that are inferior.  Firstly lets take a look at video compression, the Sentinel 9 uses MPEG-4 compression, this choice is definitely a step ahead considering that M-JPEG compression is used in previous models in the Defender range.

MPEG-4 compression enables you to record smooth video with the Sentinel 9, much more so when compared to any of their models below the Sentinel 5.  At maximum the DVR can record video at up to 120 frames per second, you can also record in both PAL and NTSC video modes.  In NTSC mode you can record video at a maximum resolution of 704*480 and PAL recording offers a slight improvement in resolution that being 704*576.

Video is stored on the DVR’s internal hard drive and this has a capacity of 160 gigabytes, models prior to the Sentinel 9 have larger hard drives, one can only assume that Defender chose to fit a 160GB to this model as its video compression method requires less storage space.

Still the hard drive space doesn’t cause an issue as the system can be set to record continuously for up to 240 days, in order to do this you would have to be recording using its lowest video quality setting.  If necessary you can swap out the systems internal Seagate hard drive for one that has a larger capacity.

There are four quality settings you can select when recording video with the security recorder and these range from low, standard, high and highest.  4 surveillance cameras are included with the system and these can be connected to either of its 4 BNC or DIN attachments.  The cameras are weather proof, suitable for indoor or outdoor use and they can record activities on your premises in the dark, the DVR has motion sensor capabilities but the included cameras don’t have motion sensors.

As with other DVR’s in the Defender range you can monitor activities recorded by the Sentinel 9 remotely, you can also configure the system to email you when specific events occur.  The DVR has four audio inputs and one audio output, this allows you to set up at least one two way audio system on your premises, very useful if you need communicate with people at entrances prior to their access.

Four alarm inputs are built into the recorder and these can be used to trigger recording (with the use of separate alarms), there is also one alarm output built into the DVR that can be used to notify anyone on site when it starts recording.  As with many models in the Defender range the Sentinel 9 includes a monitor, the one included here has a 17 inch color TFT screen.

Check the latest price on the Defender Sentinel 9 Security Recorder.