What is a Multi-Channel Digital Video Recorder (DVR)?
A multi-channel digital video recorder (DVR) is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD or other local or networked mass storage device.
The term includes set-top boxes with direct to disk recording (DDR), portable media players and TV gateways with recording capability. Personal computers are often connected to video capture devices and used as DVRs; in such cases the application software used to record video is an integral part of the DVR.
Many DVRs are classified as consumer electronic devices, such devices are sometimes referred to as personal video recorders (PVRs).
A typical DVR is what we call a “Black Box” that complies with very specific parameters in terms of storage capacity, video formats, expansions etc.
Professional Multi-Channel Digital Video Recorder
When referring to the broadcasters and networks’ needs, in the fast, dynamic and competitive video world, a more professional, scalable and flexible multi-channel digital video recorder is needed, and many more functionalities that create a complete workflow. It has to be a telco grade solution, recording 24×7 with no media loss, and allow the users a much larger set of functionalities they need, from an intuitive UI and an efficient workflow.
Server side:
From the broadcast recording server’s side, the solution has to be scalable, as new channels have to be added. The recording server has to be able and record from any video input, any format and any resolution as be able to store the media as much as needed, without any storage limitations. The server has to be able to live stream an unlimited number of channels at the same time to an unlimited number of users.
Client side:
The users’ set of available functions is a critical topic. Accessing the system has to be from either inside the organization or from remote. Therefore, the video recorder solution has to be fully web based, without any requirement to install any client. It has to work from any browser, from different devices such as PC, Mac, iPads and smartphones and allow different functionalities, not only for monitoring but also to be able and provide reports, provide a workflow for clips creation in any format, for multiple screens, with metadata and searching capabilities, and be able to integrate with external metadata such as EPG, As Run log files etc.
The Actus media platform for multi channels digital video recording integrates with a number of software modules that create the A-Z workflow for video recording and monitoring, for clips generation to OTT and social, for ads verification and video quality assurance.