Joeinamillion 0 Posted January 18, 2015 In designing a home CCTV system I've thought about the advantages and disadvantages of using one DVR with say 16 channels, or 2 DVRs with 8 channels each, or even 4 DVRs with 4 channels each. I'll list the pros and cons I have so far, and hope that others here can add to the list. Also, maybe they can add what/why customers what those different set-ups. A single DVR Pros: - simplicity [one controller (mouse), one power source, one password to remember] - one monitor, all channels can be viewed at once on one screen - lower cost - less space Muilti DVR Pros: - DVRs can be kept in multiple locations (this can be for security, or practical reason [ie: cable runs]) - upgrade and buy more systems as you need - use multiple monitors with fewer channels on each for better viewing. - if one DVR dies, they others may still live on - smaller DVR can often dedicate more hard drive space per channel - can use different DVRs with different features best suited for each camera setup I didn't list CONs as I feel the advantage of one set up is likely the dis-advantage of the other set up. I do encourage people to list cons of either option. In others words a disadvantage to one setup in which the alternative setup has no advantage/pro or a totally different pro (I have no example right now; related to CCTV or not). My lists also assumes DVR, NVR, or PC based system is the primary viewing, recording and playback device. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jeromephone 6 Posted January 19, 2015 have you considered IP? You could use onboard storage eliminate the dvr/nvr all together or look at storage in the cloud. with multiple dvrs you will probably pay more per channel than by going to a single DVR Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
