DVR Security System Review

The Sarto Systems Security DVR includes a combination of 16 outdoor and indoor surveillance cameras. The DVR is the Sarto SSA-1630 stores video on interchangeable IDE hard drives and you can attach up to two of them, each one has to be at least 80GB. Hard drive installation is optional; you can choose a drive that has 250GB or up to 1TB of storage space or no hard drive at all. The DVR uses MPEG4 video compression and its triplex capabilities enable you to watch video with no interruption to recording.

If the DVR is recording on four security cameras simultaneously frame rate should not be an issue. If all cameras on the system are set to record at once then the frame rate can suffer so depending on your requirements you may want to keep that in mind. You can get past any frame rate issues by setting specific cameras to record continuously while others record only when motion is detected or when a system alarm is activated. The maximum recording frame rate for the DVR is 120 FPS in NTSC and 100 FPS when recording in PAL.

You can communicate with subjects in proximity of specific cameras attached to the security system as the DVR has two way audio. 4-Synchronized audio channels are integrated into the DVR and it uses G.711 audio compression. Controlling the functions of the Sarto security DVR is done through its embedded RTOS operating system. Networking the DVR is possible as it is compatible with LAN, DHCP and PPPoE network protocols. It’s also worth mentioning that the DVR has a USB port and a built in CD re-writer which can come in handy for saving and transferring video.

When it comes to cameras you again have a choice as you can opt to have 8 dome cameras and 8 bullet cameras. Alternatively you can choose to have 16 bullet cameras included with the security system. Both of the cameras you can choose to attach to the system have a Sony 1/3” Super HAD CCD image sensor but the bullet cameras are better suited for recording in the dark. The system comes with five hundred feet of coaxial cable for setting up your cameras and these are connected to the BNC ports of the DVR.

Playback of the DVR is possible on a standard PC monitor; the DVR has 1 channel composite, one VGA and one SVHS video output ports. The monitor for the system is also optional, you can choose not to have a monitor with the system or you can have a 17” flat screen LCD monitor added to the package.