In addition to various AI features that make today’s NVRs smart, reliability and data retention also matter amid regulations applied to various vertical markets. Also, how to properly protect the data stored in NVRs has gained importance amid rampant cyberattacks. The security of NVRs, then, becomes critical.
In addition to various AI features that make today’s NVRs smart, reliability and data retention also matter amid regulations applied to various vertical markets. Also, how to properly protect the data stored in NVRs has gained importance amid rampant cyberattacks. The security of NVRs, then, becomes critical.
Reliability, or the ability to keep the system going even upon system failure, is key in video surveillance. In certain verticals, a loss of even a few seconds of video is not acceptable. As a result NVR makers are making their products more reliable than ever.
“Our reliability features include internal backup batteries, an embedded Linux OS stripped of all unnecessary background services, dedicated hard-drives for video recording, mirrored storage, fans for hard-drives and CPU, and proactive system-wide health monitoring so potential issues can be addressed before they affect performance,” said Jeff Morton, IP Recorders Product Manager at
March Networks. “Keeping power consumption and heat to a minimum is of course very important to ensure the reliability of a smart NVR. At March Networks, we carefully design our purpose-built recorders so components are well-positioned for heat dissipation. Our NVRs also include internal fans to ensure internal heat is minimized.”
Recording with minimal frame drops and losses is also key. “
A-MTK has designed a ‘smart detection’ that works between our NVRs and IP cameras. Based on the IP camera’s packet latency, the NVR will define what’s the ask/answer interval, retry method and I frame/P frame numbers,” said Pauline Yen, Director of A-MTK. “A-MTK IP camera can send H.265 720P 5fps live video to the NR3368S NVR in a 200 kbps low bitrate environment without latency or video getting mosaicked.”
Keeping recorded video for an extended period of time is also demanded by users, who must meet regulatory compliance in certain vertical industries. The latest technologies in NVRs can also help in this regard. “For high channel NVR’s, A-MTK target market is banking and government projects. The focus market requires long recording hours, sometimes even more than 6 months,” Yen said. “Our products support H.265 and H.264 IP camera live view and recording. To connect with H.265 IP cams the NVR recording days can be doubled. Long recording days is important in banking and government.”
Importance of cybersecurity
Other things to look for when selecting a smart NVR include management and maintenance features. “Management features include scalable centralized management of hundreds or thousands of NVRs, centralized user management, mass configuration tools, automated mass firmware updates on a set schedule and proactive system health monitoring,” said Morton. “Maintenance features include secure front-access hard drives to simplify day-to-day system maintenance, front panel diagnostic LEDs to provide installers and technicians with an at-a-glance understanding of how the NVR is performing and field-replaceable parts such as fans, batteries and hard drives. At March Networks, we also add a unique QR code to each of our NVRs, which technicians can scan using our free GURU smartphone app to find product and serial numbers quickly and enable instant security audits, troubleshooting, warranty checks and more using their smartphone or tablet.”
And finally, with NVRs being networked devices on the Internet, their security becomes critical amid cyber threats and rampant cyberattacks of recent. “This is increasingly important when the value of data is very high. Protection of systems, user credentials, managing privileges, session integrity and data encryption are carefully deployed to protect the storage, access and transmission of data,” said Eason Rao, Product Manager at
Dahua Technology.
“With cybersecurity on top of mind, it’s important that smart NVRs are deployed and maintained properly to keep recorded video and data secure. An easy example of this is ensuring that technicians change system passwords on installation, so no default passwords remain in place. Manufacturers and system integrators can – and should – play a considerable role in helping end users keep their video surveillance systems cyber-secure,” Morton said. “At March Networks, we encourage partners and end user customers to subscribe to our Security Updates and Advisories program via our website to receive alerts about potential vulnerabilities and any steps necessary to address them. We have also included a security audit tool as part of our free GURU smartphone app and educate customers at every opportunity about the importance of keeping software and firmware up to date to help keep products secure.”