DVR Security System Review

The Swann Alert SW242-ALC is certainly compact and low priced in comparison to other surveillance systems but what does the hardware have to offer?  Firstly lets take a look at the surveillance cameras included with the system, all of the cameras are identical and are suitable for outdoor use.  The security cameras are equipped with a 1/3 inch 8.5mm CMOS image sensor and are able to transmit images using either a PAL or NTSC video signal.  The cameras are fitted with a sun shield, this is not very large but with the correct positioning they can be used to prevent sun glare from having too much of an impact on your recordings.

In PAL mode they are capable of capturing images at a pixel resolution of 628*582, in NTSC mode image quality is slight lower, this being 510*492.  Low level light conditions are handled well by the cameras, when in color mode they can capture images in light levels as low as 3 lux.  The cameras can also be used in black and white mode and this helps with capturing images at even lower levels of illumination, in black and white mode the cameras can capture images at 0 lux.  The cameras also have a CDS light sensor and their outer casing is composed of aluminium.

The Alert DVR as mentioned is very compact so it may prove useful if you have limited space for setting up the hardware.  The front panel has a handful of buttons that allow you to playback, rewind or fast forward recorded surveillance camera footage.  The DVR is four channel so you can attach a maximum of four security cameras to the device, these are connected to the system through its four BNC ports.

The DVR can be set to record continuously or you can set a schedule that determines when the device starts and stops recording.  The Alert DVR is compatible with both PAL and NTSC video signals and it has a custom operating system built in.  The operating system does not have as many features as other security recorders that have RTOS or Linux based operating systems.  You will see the minimalist features available in the operating system as either a hindrance or a bonus depending on how important it is to you to configure the specific functions of the DVR.

One thing that can be said about the built in operating system is that it is straightforward to operate, the motion detection menu allows you to configure motion detection features, selecting the recording schedule menu takes you straight there so you can begin enter the recording schedule you want the device to follow.  The Alert DVR uses MJPEG compression, is capable of recording video at a maximum speed of 30 frames per second and contains an interchangeable 160 gigabyte hard drive for storing security camera footage.

Check the latest price on the Swann Alert DVR SW242-ALC Surveillance System