DVR Security System Review

The Lorex SG19LD804161 surveillance system consists of a 19-inch monitor, a hard drive for storing video footage and a number of surveillance cameras. The hard drive for the DVR built into the surveillance system has a capacity of 160 gigabytes, if you need more space the system can accommodate hard drives with up to a 500 GB capacity. The DVR uses MPEG-4 video compression and can record in both PAL and NTSC modes.

The DVR has a maximum recording resolution of 704*240 while recording in NTSC, by switching to PAL mode you can set the maximum recording resolution to 704*480. The maximum recording speed for the system is 120 frames per second and you can view one, four or eight attached cameras simultaneously on its monitor. The system is designed to function on its own or you can use it in conjunction with a standard PC. Networking the DVR with standard PC’s enables you to transfer the footage recorded by the system to the PC, the DVR can convert video footage into files recognised by Windows, i.e. AVI, JPEG and BMP files.

Lorex have made quite a few revisions with their ‘client software’, this is included with the system and it is now compatible with both Windows Vista and Windows XP. The client software enables you to monitor and control the surveillance system while you are miles away from your home or business. You don’t have to use the client software to control the DVR from miles away, the client software is also useful if you want to set up other monitoring stations within your home or business. The Lorex DVR has an Ethernet port so you can connect it to the Internet with a broadband router or to a local area network.

Each camera included has a ¼ inch Colour CCD image sensor, they have an effective pixel range of 512*492. The cameras have a built in synchronisation system and can pick up images in the dark with their infra red LED’s. The systems monitor is LCD based and has a maximum display resolution of 704*576, the back of the device has BNC and DIN ports for the surveillance cameras. The security DVR has 4 RCA inputs and 1 RCA output so you can set up audio for the surveillance cameras. With there being only 1 RCA output you can only set up two way audio on one camera attached to the system.

Recording is activated by various means, you can schedule recording to start and stop at specific times or you can use the systems motion sensor capabilities to trigger recording. Lorex have added 8 TTL programmable alarm inputs, attaching external alarms to these is another way to activate recording. You can attach cameras with PTZ functions to the DVR through its RS-485 port and the system will sound an alarm to alert you if there is a problem with an attached camera.

Check the latest price on the Lorex DVR SG19LD804161 8 Channel Surveillance System