Thread: Low power consumption 24/7 video recorder?

Originally Posted by nobb

In regards to soundman98's link http://www.dvrwatchdog.com/dvst-gn-704jlc.html.
The power consumption seems to be a bit high (12V at 3.5amp max), but otherwise seems like a perfect unit. It seems that the more features you try to pack into these units, the more power they consume, such that it wont be feasible to run this in your car all day, so there are trade offs. I would say for the majority of people, keeping it under 5 watts is ideal. 10 watts may be pushing it a bit and you will probably kill your battery.

What would be the benefit of a 5v device? Wouldnt 12v be more efficient to regulate, and also it seems most cameras run on 12v.

No a 5V device is easier to regulate. Reason being is that when you convert something from unregulated to regulated, it has to be 1 volt higher. So say for example you want to convert to regulated 12V, your battery would have to put out 13V unregulated. I dont think anyones battery can put out 13V when the car is off and sustain it. Now if its 5V, then you would need 6V unregulated, thats much lower power draw. Also, yes cameras do need 12V, but most run on unregulated 12V, or at least the automotive cameras.

Originally Posted by nobb

Oh, that makes sense. That would be why my home made 12v linear regulator didnt work too well. But in terms of a linear regulator, going from ~12V to 5V would be horribly inefficient since the excess voltage (at a certain current) is basically dissipated as heat. Definately would have to go with a switch mode regulator for 5V.

On my setup I have a USB hub with alot of devices on it, and a echo cancel card. Both are connected to a OPUS 15W PSU thats set at 5V output. I was concerned about heat also, so I added a fan to the case. The fan drove me crazy (it was loud, but the size of a dime) and every so often I would check it for heat. It honestly wasnt even close to warm.

Originally Posted by nobb

So the current DVR I have now has started to crash since summer is here. I am considering buying a new Secumate DVR. It is more expensive, but I figure the extra piece of mind and quality is worth it.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/NY-P0122-Portable...3%3A1|294%3A50

I noticed this is appears to the be same one lacning74 is using in his setup. What I really like about this unit is that it has all the features of my old one, except this one supports continuous recording, up to a 32GB SD card, much better video quality, and very low power consumption at 5V. Does anyone have opinions? This appears to be the best DVR that is suited for automotive use at this point.

This is the unit I am eyeing also. Its not to big, just fat, but I love that it holds 32GB. If you do buy it, tell me how good it works. My only thing with it, is that it does not have a USB port to attach to a PC. In my case I have to transfer the recording to my HDD, I would have to take out the SD card and put it in my Card reader, not sure if its a big deal!

my old secumate has been rock solid so far. in fact, now that the prices are better, i'm going to get another one to hook up to me back-up cam separately. cheaper and more reliable than getting a multichannel dvr for the same quality.

here's a recent near miss of mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLWZU3uKLlE

Originally Posted by lacning74

my old secumate has been rock solid so far. in fact, now that the prices are better, i'm going to get another one to hook up to me back-up cam separately. cheaper and more reliable than getting a multichannel dvr for the same quality.

here's a recent near miss of mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLWZU3uKLlE

OMFG..... see you made me reconsider my Camera setup. I was breaking my head trying to figure out how to get it into 3 way mode and only cover the rear, but stupid $h!+ like that on your video now has me embracing the four way mode which is front, left, right and back. Was it an old person? They always drive big cars and swear they own the road.