Greenwich, South East London · SE10
Dvr Versus Nvr: what they do, and what they do not, in Greenwich
The two main recorder types behind a CCTV system: a DVR processes analogue camera signals over coaxial cable, while an NVR receives already-digitised video from IP cameras over a network. Below: the parts involved, where it fits, where it stops being the right answer, and how it works out on a cycle shop.
- System type: DVR and NVR recording systems
- Service area: CCTV systems
- Applied example: cycle shops
Core part
Hard drives sized to camera count and retention
Best suited to
Mixed sites needing a considered choice between the two rather than a default
Key limitation
A DVR cannot record IP cameras and an NVR cannot record analogue cameras without a converter, so the choice is largely fixed by the cameras or cabling already in place.
What you are buying
The two main recorder types behind a CCTV system: a DVR processes analogue camera signals over coaxial cable, while an NVR receives already-digitised video from IP cameras over a network.
The situations it handles well
- Mixed sites needing a considered choice between the two rather than a default
- Upgrades to existing analogue coax cabling, which favours a DVR
What it will not do
Worth reading before a salesperson tells you otherwise.
- A DVR cannot record IP cameras and an NVR cannot record analogue cameras without a converter, so the choice is largely fixed by the cameras or cabling already in place.
- Recording retention is limited by hard drive size and camera resolution, and higher resolution shortens it.
The parts involved
- Hard drives sized to camera count and retention
- Determines how far back footage remains available.
- Camera connection method (coax or network)
- Defines which recorder type the cameras actually need.
In use at a cycle shop
High-value bicycles are compact, easy to carry and quick to resell, with premium stock often displayed prominently at the shop entrance to attract passing trade.
There the specification tends to start with till point camera and cash handling procedure alignment, small independent shops often handle both cash and card at a single counter with limited backup cover.
Fitting this in Greenwich
Greenwich work tends to cluster near Greenwich Park and the Cutty Sark, where the housing stock is mostly Victorian terraces and modern Greenwich Peninsula apartments, and that mix decides where cable can run and where detection earns its place.
How a Victorian villa changes it
- Original sash catches
- Many villas retain their original timber sashes, and the simple rotating catch fitted when the house was built offers little resistance to a blade slipped between the frames.
The alternatives, and when to pick them
- Cloud-recorded CCTV
- On-site theft of the recorder is a specific concern or off-site access is a priority.
Keeping it working
Hard drive health monitored and storage capacity reviewed against actual retention needs.
Greenwich questions we get asked
Dvr Versus Nvr: what they do, and what they do not, in Greenwich
Local detail for Greenwich
- Cabling, containment and making good carried out in-house
- Quotations itemised so each part can be questioned
- Remote assistance available for setting and app problems
Get the design settled first
Tell us what the site has to work with, power, network, mounting positions, and the shortlist narrows quickly.
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