Thread: Low power consumption 24/7 video recorder?

Originally Posted by HiJackZX1

OMG, I actually like this unit. Most that I have seen have a screen which I did not need. This is a nice cheap solution, thanx so much!

Only thing is, its limited to 2GB of RAM. If I read correctly it records every 10 seconds.

This is the cheapest I've ever seen a DVR of any type that accepts external inputs! Quite a good deal! Never mind... forgot about the currency conversion. 24.99 GBP (41.3572 USD) for both the item and the shipping means this thing's about $82.72.

I assume the 2GB limit means that it only supports older SD cards, and not SDHC. The 10 second thing seems like it's a buffer issue... It probably records for 10 seconds every time there's motion, writes the video to the card, then waits for more motion. I suppose it might allow for unbroken video if one were to combine the clips later on. Assuming the 400 videos number is accurate for 10 second clips on a 128MB card, a 2GB card would hold about 17½ hours of video. I'd like to see what type of quality you'd be looking at with that much compression

^Yup, that is the DVR I used in my system. I think I paid about $50 canadian for mine. I uploaded a sample video a while back in the previous page of this thread. It's not the best, but considering how low the power consumption is with this unit, I cant complain much. I am using the video mode at 5 fps. Video is not 100% continuous, since it only records for 10 second intervals, then pauses and waits for motion to record again. So durign the brief 3 sec pause, it is possible it may miss some "action." But even with the 2GB card, that is about 1 week of stuff (for me atleast). Practically 100% maintenance free and worked just fine here in Alberta's -40C winters.

One other thing to pay attention to is to not run this off the straight unregulated power from your car. After a few months, an internal fuse within the DVR blew and I was worried I killed it. Definately invest in a votlage regulator. I paid $20 for a high efficiency switch mode one off eBay.

Originally Posted by nobb

^Yup, that is the DVR I used in my system.

o.O In that case, here's a picture of it for posterity. (Well, actually because I know I won't get around to purchasing one until loooong after the listing's expired.

For this kind of equipment, I personally wouldnt worry too much about price. Spending more for a better quality unit is defintely preferable. If you do end up buying the unit in your link, let us know how it goes.

My concerns would be that it does not automatically rewrite over old footage, but if you are ok with that, then this seems like a good unit for you. It probably wont be feasible to run off the internal battery, so if you wire it up to the main electrical system, I am curious as to what your power consumption numbers will be. I did a quick reverse calculation from the numbers listed in the ad, and the unit draws slightly above 2 watts from 5V, which is very good. Also, the included CMOS camera is crap, you might want to invest in a good CCD.

Hmm... does the camera get its power from the DVR? If so, that might make up for its poor quality. After all, what good is a DVR with battery backup if the good camera you've attached to it dies if the car's battery is unhooked?

Originally Posted by asplodzor

Hmm... does the camera get its power from the DVR? If so, that might make up for its poor quality. After all, what good is a DVR with battery backup if the good camera you've attached to it dies if the car's battery is unhooked?

yes those other models that were linked get power from the recorder(made for personal serveilance).

on the good side, most can be adapted to get power from the car, but, it must be regulated 12v.

I would like to do a project like this, but it needs to record at least 7 days, motion recording, at 15-30fps, min of 320x240 res., low power, non-hdd based unit, and auto recycles.

I found this dvr on ebay(link from another company), but the ebay seller seems shady(web address doesn't work, found mutiple listings under diff. companies, with simmilar contact info)
http://www.dvrwatchdog.com/dvst-gn-704jlc.html on this site--$223

though it doesn't include any memory, which would be another $80-389 for a 32gb or 48 gb models.