Alright I am going crazy trying to research the thousands of DVR options out there. I thought I would get on some forums and do some research... after several days of reading forums and looking at tons of different DVRs I am LOST! Just when I think I have an idea what I need I read some topic that starts talking about FPS, or Bitrate, Compression, processor speed, manufacturer updates and support... I am having a hard time finding user reviews for most systems as well.

OK, I own a motorcycle shop and I have an outdated Speco (DVR-16TN) 16ch DVR that only does 120fps and CIF res (i think). I have some nice cameras installed (listed below) but am getting terrible image quality. Like most people I need to see tag numbers and vehicle details. We are located right off a major highway and once a month a semi truck tears up my property trying to turn around in my parking lot...

I am hoping some of the "pros" in here can help point me in the right direction. Let me know what features are most important, what brands/manufacturers are the most reliable. I see Avtech and Avermedia mentioned the most around this forum.


panasonic WV-cp484 (1-Focused on Exit)
10-44mm 1:1.4 - 1/3 cctv cs - aspherical
768x494 - 540 lines

Speco 648IRVF (quantity 11)
INSIDE DOMES / 420 lines

SPECO TECH HT-INTB1 (Quantity 3 Outside)
580 lines / 768x494 effective pixels

Many factors can affect your image quality. All of them need to be in-sync to get a nice quality picture. Simply changing the DVR might not do it.

What I tend to run into is that one DVR over the other is generally not that different. If you really want to see a jump then you need to get into megapixel cameras. If that is out of your budget then just about any Full D1 with 3TB or 4TB hard drive should do it.

Spending more dollars can result in better software, faster processed, better tech support, etc. Depends what you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend, but even with that being said is good tech support worth a few hundred dollars?

Good Luck!

I looked up your DVR you can only record in half D1. See page 31 in the manual.

http://www.specotech.com/DVR/TNfamily/S ... r_2121.pdf

If you want to know if your existing cameras are sufficient you can try this trick. Unplug a camera from the dvr and get a bnc to rca adapter, then plug that camera in a television with a external video input. The picture you see here will be the best the camera will put out. Can you read plates like you want, can you id people walking in the door, etc.

For a new DVR many people like the Dahua dvr as best bang for the buck. It is rebranded under many names like Q-see and also available on Ebay.

hi if your budget allows for a avermedia then go for that. full hybrid so you can add ip if needed.

http://surveillance.aver.com/model/embe ... 3216-Touch