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When people go shopping for a suitable DVR for their surveillance system, they often wonder about
various features and how they might be applicable to their situation. Sometimes they know what
features they're looking for, while other times they aren't always aware of the more common features
that are available to them. So to help set things on an even footing, this article will provide some
information about the more commonly used, wanted, and available features that most DVRS have.
Motion Detection
This feature is almost as old as the DVR itself, and it is one of, if not the most commonly requested
feature out there. Motion detection is simply the ability to have your DVR trigger its recording
functionality whenever there is apparent motion on the screen within the video feed. This feature is
extremely beneficial for a number of reasons, but the number one reason is to prevent having
erroneous video files that not only clog up your system, but also make it much harder to locate
particular video segments. This is especially true if you're unsure of the exact time an incident might
have occurred as you will then have to search the hours of constantly recorded footage.
Sub-Features that help regulate and add to this main feature often include motion sensitivity and image
masking.
Motion sensitivity is how much motion is required before it will trigger a motion activated recording
sequence. For example, the sensitivity may determine whether a leaf blowing will set it off, or if you'll
need something more substantial like a truck passing by.
Image masking on the other hand is used to determine zones in your video that you may not want
motion detection to be activated in. For example if you have a tree in the corner of your video that is
constantly being blown about, you can mask that part of the video and it will not activate the motion
detection. Furthermore even if you mask part of a video feed for no motion activation, it will still record
the entire video feed if the other areas do activate due to motion; so you don't need to worry about
having sections of your video cut off should it start to record.
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