Swann 4500 Series User manual

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Digital Video Recorder
EN INSTRUCTION MANUAL

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Important Informaon
FCC Verification
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for Class B digital device,
pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can
radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may
cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the
equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the
following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna
• Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is
connected
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help
These devices comply with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two
conditions:
• These devices may not cause harmful interference, and
• These devices must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause
undesired operation.
IMPORTANT NOTE
All jurisdictions have specific laws and regulations relating to the use of cameras. Before using
any camera for any purpose, it is the buyer’s responsibility to be aware of all applicable laws and
regulations that prohibit or limit the use of cameras and to comply with the applicable laws and
regulations.
FCC Regulation (for USA): Prohibition against eavesdropping
Except for the operations of law enforcement officers conducted under lawful authority, no person
shall use, either directly or indirectly, a device operated pursuant to the provisions of this Part for the
purpose of overhearing or recording the private conversations of others unless such use is authorized
by all of the parties engaging in the conversation.
WARNING
Modifications not approved by the party responsible for compliance could void user’s authority to
operate the equipment.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
• Make sure product is fixed correctly and stable if fastened in place
• Do not operate if wires and terminals are exposed
• Do not cover vents on the side or back of the DVR and allow adequate space for ventilation
DEFAULT PASSWORD INFORMATION
The default, all-access username is ‘admin’, the default password is ‘12345’.
To ensure your ongoing privacy, we strongly recommend setting a password as soon as possible
Choose something that you’ll remember, but that others would be unlikely to guess.
IMPORTANT NOTICE - Do NOT lose or forget your password. To ensure that your
DVR has the best security possible, password recovery has been designed to be a
complicated and time consuming process. Only a select number of staff at the Swann
Technical Support Telephone Helpdesk can assist. Password retrieval can take several
days, which means you will NOT be able to access your DVR during this time.
BATTERY INFORMATION
This product contains a removable battery. If you need to replace or dispose of the internal battery.
The battery is located on the mainboard of the DVR. It is a primary lithium CR2032 button cell.
To access, remove and/or replace the battery:
• Ensure the DVR is turned OFF. NEVER open the DVR’s case while power is connected.
• Remove the five screws holding the cover on the DVR.
• If replacing the battery, ensure that it is an exact match for size, type and capacity.
• Be sure to safely dispose of the battery. The process for battery disposal/recycling varies from
location to location, please check with the relevant local authority for method.
BATTERY SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
• Do NOT attempt to open, puncture, disassemble or modify the battery in any way.
• Do NOT subject it to sudden shock or heat.
• Do NOT dispose of battery in fire.
Important Information

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Contents
Important Information............................................................................................2
Contents..................................................................................................................3
1 Getting Started .............................................................................................. 5
Turning on the DVR.................................................................................................5
Shutting Down the DVR ..........................................................................................5
Using the Mouse.....................................................................................................5
2 The Live View Screen .................................................................................... 6
Status Icons ............................................................................................................6
Channel Toolbar .....................................................................................................7
Mouse Menu ...........................................................................................................7
3 The Main Menu............................................................................................... 8
4 The Playback Menu........................................................................................ 9
Overview of the Playback Interface.......................................................................9
Using the Video Playback Control Panel ...............................................................10
Smart Search .........................................................................................................11
5 The Export Menu ........................................................................................... 12
Normal....................................................................................................................12
How to export recordings to a USB storage device?..................................12
Event .......................................................................................................................13
How to export motion detection recordings to a USB storage device? .....13
6 The Manual Menu .......................................................................................... 14
Record.....................................................................................................................14
Manual Video Quality Diagnostics .........................................................................14
7 The HDD Menu ............................................................................................... 15
General ...................................................................................................................15
How to add a NAS device or IP SAN?..........................................................15
Advanced ................................................................................................................16
How to set a HDD quota for a camera?.......................................................16
8 The Record Menu........................................................................................... 17
Schedule .................................................................................................................17
How to change the camera’s recording schedule? ....................................17
Parameters.............................................................................................................18
Record Tab ...................................................................................................18
Substream Tab.............................................................................................19
Advanced ................................................................................................................20
Holiday ....................................................................................................................20
9 The Camera Menu.......................................................................................... 21
OSD .........................................................................................................................21
Image ......................................................................................................................22
Motion .....................................................................................................................23
How to set up the motion detection area? ..................................................23
Privacy Mask ..........................................................................................................24
Video Tampering.....................................................................................................24
Video Loss...............................................................................................................25
Video Quality Diagnostics.......................................................................................25
10 The Configuration Menu .............................................................................. 26
General ...................................................................................................................26
General Tab..................................................................................................26
DST Settings Tab..........................................................................................27
More Settings Tab........................................................................................27
Network ..................................................................................................................28
Extranet Access Tab ....................................................................................28
General Tab..................................................................................................29
PPOE Tab......................................................................................................30
NTP Tab .......................................................................................................30
Email Tab......................................................................................................31
SNMP Tab.....................................................................................................32
NAT Tab ........................................................................................................33
Other Settings Tab .......................................................................................34
Live View.................................................................................................................35
General Tab..................................................................................................35
View Tab .......................................................................................................35
Contents

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Contents
Exceptions ..............................................................................................................36
User.........................................................................................................................37
11 The Maintenance Menu ................................................................................ 38
System Information ................................................................................................38
Device Tab ....................................................................................................38
Camera Tab..................................................................................................38
Record Tab ...................................................................................................39
Network Tab.................................................................................................39
HDD Tab........................................................................................................40
Log Information ......................................................................................................40
Log Search Tab ............................................................................................40
How to search for specific system information logs? ................................40
How to export system information logs?....................................................41
Log Export Tab.............................................................................................41
Import/Export ........................................................................................................42
How to export your current configuration file? ..........................................42
How to import a configuration file?.............................................................42
Upgrade ..................................................................................................................43
Local Upgrade Tab.......................................................................................43
How to upgrade DVR firmware using a USB device? .................................43
FTP Tab ........................................................................................................43
How to upgrade DVR firmware by FTP? .....................................................43
Default ....................................................................................................................44
Net Detect...............................................................................................................44
HDD Detect .............................................................................................................45
S.M.A.R.T. Settings Tab................................................................................45
Bad Sector Detection Tab............................................................................45
12 Troubleshooting........................................................................................... 46
13 Warranty Information.................................................................................. 48
Contents

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Geng Started
Turning on the DVR
The DVR starts automatically whenever it is supplied power via the
connected power adapter.
Shutting Down the DVR
If you intend to turn off the DVR, we recommend doing it through the
Shutdown menu. This helps to ensure the integrity of the data on the hard
drive. You can also logout or restart the DVR via the Shutdown menu. Simply
right-click on the Live View Screen > select Menu > select Shutdown and
then select your desired option as shown below.
Using the Mouse
The easiest way to operate the DVR is to use the included USB optical mouse
- we put together the look and feel of the menu system specifically for
mouse-friendly navigation.
Description
Left Button Single-click to:
• Select an item or confirm a choice
• Select channel and show the Quick Camera Toolbar
Double-click to:
• Switch between single and multiviews in live view
Right
Button
Display mouse menu in live view
Exit current menu screen and return to main menu/live
view.
Scroll
Wheel
• Display previous/next video channel in live view
(single channel display only)
• Select previous/next item in mouse menu.
Note: Wireless mice and Bluetooth devices are NOT compatible with the DVR.
Use the USB optical mouse supplied.
Getting Started
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The Live View Screen
After you have completed the initial setup of your Digital Video Recorder (DVR)
through the Setup Wizard, whenever you power on your DVR, the first thing you’ll see
is the Live View screen. Live View is the default display mode of the DVR. It is where
you can watch live images from your cameras and do things on your DVR.
Read this chapter to learn about the Live View status icons and how to control and
manage your DVR using the channel toolbar and mouse menu.
Status Icons
Status icons appear when something is happening on the channel screen. At a
glance, you can quickly get useful information on your DVR and cameras’ status.
The following table describes what the icons represent:
Icon Description
Indicates that an alarm event such as motion detection, video loss or
tampering has occurred.
Indicates that the DVR is is currently recording video from this
camera. This icon will be the same whether the recording was
scheduled, initiated manually or triggered by motion (though the
Alarm Bell icon will also be present if there’s motion detected).
(Optional - Event Hint setting must be enabled in the “Exceptions”
screen in the Configuration menu.)
Indicates that an alarm event or exception has occurred. Click the
icon to access the Alarm/Exception Information log where you can
find specific details about the event.
Indicates that the channel displaying this has lost the feed from
the corresponding camera. This may be caused by a disconnected/
damaged cable, the camera may have lost power or the camera may
have been de-registered from the channel. This also appears if you
do not have a camera connected to the channel.
The Live View Screen
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The Live View Screen
Channel Toolbar
The Channel Toolbar is a ‘shortcut’ to commonly used DVR functions which you can
use to operate a particular channel. Whether you want to playback recordings, zoom
in on the image or just adjust the camera’s image settings, the Channel Toolbar is a
quick and convenient way to keep up with what’s happening on your cameras.
To open the Channel Toolbar, simply left-click on the channel you would like to
operate.
Button Description
Recording: Start or stop live recording.
Instant Playback: Playback the last 5 minutes of recorded video.
Audio On: Enable or disable live audio.
PTZ Control (This function is model-dependent): Display the control
panel to operate a PTZ camera that’s connected and configured
correctly with the DVR.
Digital Zoom: Enter Digital Zoom mode. Use the PIP (Picture-in-
Picture) screen at the bottom right corner to select a different area
to zoom in. You can also click and drag to draw a particular area to
zoom in.
Image Settings: Make adjustments such as brightness, contrast,
saturation, hue , sharpness and denoising, to how image coming
from your camera appears on the screen, or select from one of the
preset image modes.
Close the toolbar.
Mouse Menu
The Mouse Menu lets you adjust the channel display format, start recording
instantly, watch recorded videos from the current day, and more. It is also where
you can access the DVR’s Main Menu to configure and manage settings for many of
the DVR functionalities.
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1Open the Main Menu
2Open a single channel for viewing in full-screen mode. The slide-out menu
contains a list of channels to choose from.
3Select a multi-screen viewing option, where you’ll be able to see multiple video
feeds at once.
4Display the previous set of channel(s).
5Display the next set of channel(s).
6Turn on sequence mode to automatically switch view between channels at
specific intervals (also known as Dwell Time).
7Begin Normal or Motion Detection recording on all channels immediately,
regardless of the current recording schedule.
8Allows you to set the video output mode to one of the following - Standard,
Bright, Gentle or Vivid.
9Playback all recordings of the current day from the selected channel.
10 Display the “PTZ Control Panel” (this function is model-dependent.)
11 Stop the beeping of the current audible warning.
To display the Mouse Menu,
right-click on the Live View
screen.

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The Main Menu
The Main Menu
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The main menu lets you access many of the DVR’s great features. You can
customize camera names, keep track of recent events, create recording
schedules, configure advanced motion detection settings, check up on the
the hard drive’s condition and change other DVR settings.
Button Description
Playback: Search and watch all video recordings by channel, type of
recording, date or time period.
Export: Copy or backup footage from the DVR. You’ll need a
compatible USB Flash Drive to store the data (FAT32 file format only).
Button Description
Manual: Access manual controls for the recording function of the
DVR.
HDD: Check on the status of your DVR’s installed hard drive and
adjust the settings.
Record: Set up recording schedules for the cameras and customize
how the DVR records footage and “encodes” the files.
Camera: Configure various camera settings such as OSD information,
display, motion detection, privacy mask and more.
Configuration: Access general DVR system settings, including date
and time, network, live view display, exception handling and user
accounts.
Maintenance: Find general information about your DVR system. This
is also where you can perform various system maintenance tasks
including upgrading the DVR’s firmware, resetting the DVR to its
default settings, and running hard drive diagnostic tests.
Shutdown: Shut down or reboot the DVR, or simply log out of the user
account you’re logged in as. To ensure the integrity of your data and
recordings, always select Shutdown when powering off the DVR.

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The Playback Menu
The Playback Menu
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Overview of the Playback Interface
Playback Type
You can choose what video
recordings to playback.
Options are Normal (i.e.,
Manual and Scheduled),
Event (i.e., Motion), Tag,
Smart and External File.
Video Screen
Video recordings are played
here when you click Play
from the Playback toolbar
below, If you have selected
more than one camera, the
Video screen will appear
in a multiview format. You
can easily view a particular
camera in full-screen by
simply double-clicking on
the camera’s screen. To
return to the multiview
display, double-click on the
screen again.
Calendar
Appears when you
select Normal playback.
Highlighted dates indicate
recordings are available for
viewing on these days from
the selected cameras.
Video Playback Control Panel
You can perform various playback operations such
as pause, slow and reverse/forward. You can also clip
interesting parts of the video recording and save to
external USB storage media. For more details, see
“Using the Video Playback Control Panel” on page 10.
Camera Selection
You can search for
recordings from one or
more cameras.
Full Screen Display
Show the Video Screen only
and hide everything else..

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The Playback Menu
Using the Video Playback Control Panel
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3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
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Item Description
1 For Normal playback, this Indicates the start time of the first available video
recording and the end time of the last video recording made.
2 The video timeline. You can click any point of the video timeline to quickly scan
through video events.
3Mute: Turn off sound from the video.
4Start/Stop Clipping: Clip interesting parts of the recorded video by setting the
mark in and mark out points on the video recording. When a video file is playing,
click the Start Clipping button at the mark in point and click it again at the mark
out point. Multiple mark in and mark out points can be applied.
5Save Clip(s): Display the Clips Export screen where you can export your video
clips to a USB flash drive or USB hard drive.
6Add Default Tag: Tags are descriptive keywords you can add to your video
at certain time positions to record information such as people or activity. By
adding tags, you can easily find the video content that you want to view. Click this
button to add a default tag called TAG. To add a customized tag, click the Add
Customized Tag button on the right of this button. You can add up to 64 tags on a
single video.
7Add Customized Tag: Enter a name for the tag you are adding.
8Tag Management: Edit or delete tags that you have added to the current video.
9Zoom In: Enter Digital Zoom mode. Use the PIP (Picture-in-Picture) screen at the
bottom right corner to select a different area to zoom in. You can also click and
drag to draw a particular area to zoom in.
10 Playback the video in reverse.
Item Description
11 Stop playback.
12 Pause playback. Click again to resume playback.
13 Rewind video by 30 seconds.
14 Fast forward video by 30 seconds.
15 Slow down video playback (x1/2, x1/4, x1/8, Single Frame)
16 Speed up video playback (x2, x4, x8, xMAX)
17 For Normal playback, start playing the previous day’s recordings.
For Event playback, start playing the previous motion detection recording.
For Tag playback, start playing the previous tagged event.
18 For Normal playback, start playing the next day’s recordings.
For Event playback, start playing the next motion detection recording.
For Tag playback, start playing the next tagged event.
19 represent normal event recording (manual and schedule) segments on the
video timeline.
represents motion detection event recording segments on the video timeline.
20 Zoom in (to show shorter. detailed time period) or out of the video timeline.

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The Playback Menu
Smart Search
Smart Search allows you to select an area of the video that may have detected
motion. The DVR will then display these areas of motion with a green highlight on
the timeline (see above). This makes it very easy to navigate to the sections of video
that has motion recording related to that area.
How to use Smart Search?
1. From Playback Type at the top left of the Playback Interface, select Smart.
2. From Camera Selection, select a camera.
3. On the calendar, select a date. Highlighted dates indicate recordings are
available for viewing on these days from the selected camera.
4. Click Play to start video playback.
5. Click Smart. This displays the Smart Screen Interface. Read the next section
to learn how to set up smart search areas in the recording.
How to define Smart Search areas?
By default, all areas of the video screen are highlighted for smart motion detection.
To define your smart search areas:
1. On the toolbar, click Delete to clear the red grid boxes on the screen.
2. Click and drag to select the area you want to search for motion. You will see
a grid of red boxes over the selected area. Repeat this step to highlight more
areas of the screen.
3. On the toolbar, click Play to confirm your selection and start playback.
The DVR will fast-forward the video until it arrives at the section where there
is action on the defined smart search areas. After the DVR finishes playing the
smart motion event, it will fast forward the video again until the next smart
search segment, and so on. Alternatively, you can also click any green segments
on the video timeline to quickly skip ahead to any smart motion event .

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The Export Menu
Normal
When a video is recorded, it is stored as a file on the DVR’s hard drive. You can copy video
recordings on the DVR’s hard drive to an external storage device such as a USB flash drive.
How to export recordings to a USB storage device?
1. Connect a USB storage device to the USB port on the back of the DVR.
2. Specify the channel(s), record type, file type and time period to search for recordings.
3. Click Search. The DVR shows you all of your recordings matching your search criteria,
when they were recorded and what channel they were recorded (see screenshot on the
right).
4. Select the recordings you want to copy, and then click Export, or to select all recordings,
click Export All. The DVR displays the Export screen.
5. In the Device Name list, make sure your USB device is the current selection. You can
also create a new folder in your USB device to store your DVR recordings by clicking New
Folder.
6. Click Export.
7. Select Video and Log, and then click OK to begin copying the selected recordings to
your USB storage device. Wait until the “Export finished” message is displayed before
removing your USB storage device.
Note: If you require a media player to watch video files on your computer, repeat step 6, select
Player and then click OK to copy a media player application to your USB device.
The Export Menu
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The Export Menu
Event
You can copy only recordings that were triggered by the DVR detecting motion to an external
storage device such as a USB flash drive.
How to export motion detection recordings to a USB storage
device?
1. Connect your USB storage device to the USB port on the back of the DVR.
2. Specify the time period and channel(s) to search for motion detection recordings.
3. Click Search. The DVR shows you all motion detection recordings matching your search
criteria, when they were recorded and what channel they were recorded (see screenshot
on the right).
4. Select the recordings you want to copy. You can preview selected recordings and find
details such as file size by clicking Details.
5. Click Quick Export. The DVR displays the Export screen.
6. In the Device Name list, make sure your USB device is selected. You can also create a new
folder in your USB device to store your DVR recordings by clicking New Folder.
7. Click Export.
8. Select Video and Log, and then click OK to begin copying the selected recordings to your
USB storage device. Wait until the “Export finished” message is displayed before removing
your USB storage device.

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The Manual Menu
Record
You can override any default recording schedules in place. The recording schedule
for each connected camera can be changed. Clicking the OFF/ON button next to
Analog will manually start/stop recording on all cameras. You can also manually
control recording on each camera individually by clicking the OFF/ON button next to
the camera name.
Note: If you reboot your DVR, all manual recordings on the cameras will be
cancelled.
Manual Video Quality Diagnostics
You can check on the quality of the camera’s video signal. Simply select the cameras
you want to check, and then click Diagnose. If your camera is performing normally,
you should see the result as “Normal”; however if the result show up as “Blurred
Image”, “Abnormal Brightness” or “Colour Cast”, you should inspect the camera’s
video cable connection for signs of damage or any loose points.
The Manual Menu
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The HDD Menu
General
You can initialize the hard drive(s) in the DVR. Don’t initialize a drive that already has
data on it, as the initialization process will erase any information on the drive. You
also have the option of adding up to eight Network-attached storage (NAS) drives or
one IP based storage area network (IP SAN) disk that you can record to.
Option Description
Add Set up and configure details for your NAS drive / IP SAN.
Init If you install a new hard drive in the DVR, it must be initialized
before it can be used.
How to add a NAS device or IP SAN?
1. Click Add.
2. In the Type list, select the type of network storage: NAS or IP SAN
3. Configure the NAS or IP SAN settings.
For NAS:
a. In the NetHDD IP Address field, enter the IP address.
b. Click Search to search for available NAS drives based on the IP entered.
c. Select the NAS drive from the list of NAS drives found. For example,
d. Click OK to finish adding the configured NAS drive.
The HDD Menu
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The HDD Menu
For IP SAN:
a. In the NetHDD IP Address field, enter the IP address .
b. Click Search to search for available IP SAN drives based on the IP entered.
c. Select the IP SAN drive from the list of IP SAN drives found. For example,
d. Click OK to finish adding the configured IP SAN drive.
Advanced
You can configure a quota on the HDD for each camera that is connected to the DVR.
Each camera can be allocated a certain amount of space on the HDD.
How to set a HDD quota for a camera?
1. In the Camera list, select the camera you want to configure a HDD quota for.
2. In the Max. Record Capacity field, enter the maximum record capacity in
Gigabyte (GB) to be allocated for the selected camera. You can also copy the
current quota setting of the selected camera to other cameras. Simply click
Copy, select which cameras, and then click OK.
3. Click Apply.
Note: Default Max. Record Capacity is set to 0, which means there is no limit to the
amount of hard disk space each cameras can use.

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The Record Menu
Schedule
You can specify when the DVR records video and under what modes for each
channel. By default, all channels are armed to use Motion Detection as their
recording mode.
The schedule presented on-screen applies to one channel only over one whole week.
There is a 24-hour timeline for each day of the week. Each square in the timeline
represents an hour in the 24-hour period.
Be careful when programming your schedule. It’s one of the most important aspects of
setting up your DVR, and if it’s wrong in any way, it could lead to disastrous complications
later.
When defining a recording schedule, there are 3 types of recording to choose from:
Recording
Mode
Description
Continuous
(Blue)
The DVR will constantly record for any period. You won’t miss
anything, but constant recording will fill your hard drive very
quickly. Typically, we suggest Motion as a better recording mode
for most users.
Motion
(Green)
The default and recommended recording setting. The DVR
will only record when it detects something moving in front of a
camera, and will then only record footage from the camera(s) that
do detect motion.
It is recommended that Motion Detection is properly configured
for the channel(s) you want to associate with it. See for more
information about setting up and configuring Motion Detection.
None (Black) The DVR will not record anything.
How to change the camera’s recording schedule?
1. In the Camera list, select a channel.
2a. To set a recording mode for a specific time and day, first select the mode and
then click the corresponding square(s) in the timeline. The colour of the square
changes to the assigned recording mode. To quickly cover a large portion
of time squares, you can simply click and drag the mouse over the squares
corresponding to your desired days and times.
2b. You can also set up a daily recording schedule by clicking Edit. On the Edit
screen, select the day, and then specify up to 8 different time periods the
desired start/end time and the associated recording mode. Repeat this step for
the other days of the week. You can also easily copy the current daily recording
schedule to other days of the week by clicking Copy and then selecting number
corresponding to the days of the week. For example, 1 for Monday, 2 for Tuesday,
and so on. Remember to click OK to save your settings.
3. (Optional) Use the Copy button to quickly assign identical schedule layouts to
multiple channels at once. It copies the schedule from the channel you’re editing
to one or more other channels.
Note: To disable the recording schedule for a particular channel, simply uncheck the
Enable box.
The Record Menu
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The Record Menu
Parameters
You can customize how the DVR records footage and “encodes” the files. “Encoding”
is a term which refers to the compression algorithm used by the DVR.
Record Tab
Option Description
Camera Select the camera you want to configure.
Camera
Resolution
The video resolution and frame rate of the selected camera.
Encoding
Parameters
You can change Main Stream settings for both Continuous and Event
recordings, and it is recommended to select the same settings for
both recording types.
Stream Type What kind of data you want the stream to contain. The cameras
included with the DVR stream video only.
Resolution We recommend setting the resolution for the video recordings to be
the same as your camera’s resolution.
Option Description
Frame Rate The number of frames per second (fps) that the DVR will record.
The default (and maximum) is referred to as “Full Frame” and is
30fps (NTSC) or 25fps (PAL).
Reducing the number of frames per second will not save hard
drive space but potentially will improve the data-rate per frame
(depending how you set the bitrate - see the next option).
Video
Quality
The actual amount of data that the DVR uses to record video.
Options are low, medium and high quality. The higher the bitrate,
the more space each recording takes up on the hard disk. Generally
speaking, recordings encoded at higher bitrates will be of better
quality, especially when recording movement.
Pre-record The number of seconds the DVR will record before the scheduled
time or event occurs. For example, setting this to 30 seconds will
enable recording for a motion event that occurred at 12:00:00 to
actually contain footage from 11:59:30.
If you’re using Motion Detection (recommended) based recording as
your primary recording method, then it’s a really good idea to use
Pre-Record - sometimes, if an event is fast enough, it might have
left view before the DVR can trigger a recording. With Pre-Record,
there’s almost no chance you’ll miss it.
Post-record The number of seconds the DVR will continue recording after the
scheduled time or event occurs. For example, setting this to 30
seconds will enable recording for a motion event that occurred at
12:00:00 to stop recording at 12:00:30.
Expired
Time (day)
The number of days to keep a video recording on the hard drive
without it being overwritten. The default value 0, instructs the DVR
to auto overwrite.
Video
Stream
Select whether to use Main Stream or Sub Stream settings
to record video. Substream settings can be configured on the
Substream tab.
Note: You can easily copy the current main stream recording settings of the selected
to other cameras. Simply click Copy, select which cameras, and then click OK.

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The Record Menu
Substream Tab
Option Description
Camera Select the camera you want to configure.
Stream Type What kind of data you want the stream to contain. The cameras
included with the DVR stream video only.
Resolution A fraction of the Main Stream, and what you’ll see over the Internet
or via a mobile device. Typically, the Substream resolution will be of
significantly lower quality and bitrate than the main stream.
Frame Rate The number of frames per second (fps) that the DVR will record.
The default (and maximum) is referred to as “real-time” and is
30fps (NTSC) or 25fps (PAL).
Reducing the number of frames per second will not save hard
drive space but potentially will improve the data-rate per frame
(depending how you set the bitrate - see the next option).
Option Description
Video
Quality
The actual amount of data that the DVR uses to record video.
Options are low, medium and high quality. The higher the bitrate,
the more space each recording takes up on the hard disk. Generally
speaking, recordings encoded at higher bitrates will be of better
quality, especially when recording movement.
Note: You can easily copy the current substream recording settings of the selected
to other camera. Simply click Copy, select which cameras, and then click OK.

20
The Record Menu
Advanced
The Overwrite option is enabled by default. This allows the DVR to be able to record
events as they happen. If the hard drive is full, the DVR will record over recordings
already stored on the hard drive. The DVR will always record over the oldest files on
your hard drive first.
Note: We recommend exporting important recordings off the HDD regularly before
they’re overwritten. For details on exporting recordings, see “The Export Menu” on
page 12.
Holiday
There will be occasions when you don’t want the DVR to record using its normal
programming. Perhaps you require it to record more, or less, or just at different
times.
The Holiday Settings screen allows you to define periods of time where the DVR will
employ an alternate recording mode. You can define up to 32 holiday periods. These
periods can be categorized by date, week or month.
To set up a holiday recording schedule:
1. Double-click an unused holiday row.
2. In the Holiday Name field, enter a name.
3. Select the Enable checkbox.
4. Select the Mode (date, week or month)
5. Select the holiday’s start and end dates.
6. Click OK to save your holiday settings.