Swann DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDER User manual

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DIGITAL VIDEO RECORDER
EN INSTRUCTION MANUAL

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Important Information
FCC Verification
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for Class B digi-
tal 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 follow-
ing 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 follow-
ing two conditions:
• These devices may not cause harmful interference
• 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 camer-
as 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 author-
ity, 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 conver-
sations of others unless such use is authorized by all of the parties engaging in the
conversation.
Warning: Changes or modifications made to this device not approved expressly by the
party responsible for compliance could void the 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 back of the device and allow adequate space for venti-
lation
Default Password Information
To ensure your privacy, this device supports password protection.
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.

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Contents
Important Information ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Contents..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
What is 960H? ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4
Display: Camera......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Display: Output........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Recording: Encode..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Recording: Option ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Recording: Schedule.................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 9
Search: Playback ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Search: Playback Interface...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Search: Backup........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 12
Search: Event & Log Search.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Network: General .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Network: Advanced & Network Status.................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Alarm: Motion: Motion Detection & Sensitivity ....................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Alarm: Motion: Schedule & Action .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Motion Detection Tips.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 18
Alarm: Video Loss.................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 19
Alarm: Alarm Devices.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 20
Alarm: Exception...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 21
Device: HDD & S.M.A.R.T......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 22
Device: PTZ .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 23
System: General....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 24
System: User............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 25
System: System Information & Maintenance.......................................................................................................................................................................... 26
SwannView Link Windows Software........................................................................................................................................................................................ 27
Warranty Information .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 35
Helpdesk/Technical Support ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 36

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What is 960H?
720
480 (NTSC)
576 (PAL)
4:3 Aspect Ratio
960
480 (NTSC)
576 (PAL)
16:9 Aspect Ratio
“960H” is the term used for a composite video signal which utilises additional hori-
zontal lines of resolution. The additional horizontal space creates a significantly larger
and sharper image, and also allows for higher dynamic range.
If you connect traditional CCTV cameras to the DVR, it will automatically upscale the
image to make use of the entire screen. This will allow higher quality videos than
would otherwise be available, particularly for 700TVL+ cameras, but will warp the im-
age to appear a little wider than it should be.
If you do end up with a recording at the incorrect aspect ratio, this isn’t a disaster.
You’ll still be able to clearly see the details and identify individuals, up to the limits
imposed by the camera itself.
The correct aspect ratio can easily be applied using a media player such as VLC (www.
videolan.org). Just backup your footage that is located on the DVR and play it back on
a computer. Select the appropriate aspect ratio (16:9 for 960H cameras and 4:3 for
standard CCTV cameras).

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Display: Camera
The “Display: Camera” menu is where you can make adjustments to
how the DVR displays the feed coming from your cameras.
You can adjust aspects of each channel/camera, such as:
• the camera’s name
• what information will be displayed on-screen, and where this
information will be displayed
• whether information such as the date will be recorded directly
onto your videos
• any areas of the video you want “masked” - that is, left blank
Camera No: Choose the channel you want to edit here. The Camera No is the same
thing as the number written on the rear panel next to the BNC socket used to connect
the camera.
Camera Name: Enter a name for the camera you’ve selected. By default, all channels
are named as the Camera No. field, but this can be set to anything you’d like up to 16
characters.
Display Camera Name: When checked, the name you’ve entered for the camera/chan-
nel will be displayed on-screen as an overlay.
Record Date: When checked, the date (as displayed) will be recorded directly on to
your videos. This can be useful, as it creates an inseparable record of exactly when the
footage was captured.
OSD Display Position: Gives you access to a screen where you can easily set the exact
positions of any overlaid text, such as the camera name and the date and time.
Simply select any item you want to move (such as the Channel Name and/or the Date
and Time) and click and drag it to the position you’d like it to be.
To exit the OSD Display Position screen, press the right click button. A context menu
will appear with two options: Save and Exit. To exit without saving, simply choose Exit.
If you want to save your changes, choose Save first.
Image Settings: Gives you access to image adjustment tools, allowing you to adjust the
way the DVR interprets and displays video images. See opposite for more information.
Mask: When checked, allows you to create, place and shape a “privacy mask” which
obscures part of the image on the associated channel.
The Image Settings you choose will affect your recorded footage. Rather than
applying the changes after the video has been processed (like many older
DVRs) the Image Settings affect how the DVR decodes the video it is receiving
from the cameras.

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Display: Output
The “Display: Output” menu is where you can control how the DVR
is going to deliver an image to your television, screen or monitor.
You’ll be able to adjust items such as:
• screen resolution and position on your monitor
• the audio output
• the appearance of the menus
• the sensitivity of the USB mouse
Resolution: The number of “little dots” that make up an image. This should be set as
high as possible, but equal to or lower than the maximum resolution your screen/
monitor can display. Things change a little depending on what kind of monitor you’re
using, and how it’s connected.
Transparency: You can set the DVR’s menus to be partially transparent (see-through)
- in case you need to keep an eye on things while adjusting settings. The best way to
set this is to simply experiment over time and see what works for you.
Mouse Sensitivity: How sensitive the mouse will be. On lowest, large and dramatic
arm movements are required to move the mouse but a few inches onscreen. At the
other end of the spectrum, a tiny bump or knock can send the cursor from one side of
the screen to the other. Try somewhere around the lower end for starters, and then
increase it little by little if it’s moving too slowly.
Border Adjustment: Changes the size and position of the DVR’s images on the screen.
Altering the border size can be useful if you’ve got parts of the DVR’s image extending
beyond the part of the screen you can see.
The border adjustment is more likely to be required for older, CRT computer monitors
connected via the VGA output. HDMI should (in theory) automatically adjust the DVR’s
image to perfectly fit your screen.
Audio: Whether the DVR will output an audio signal. When checked, the DVR will output
audio to a compatible device (via the HDMI [see note on the right] or the RCA Audio
Output). When unchecked, the DVR will not output an audio signal at all.
Note: If you want to send audio via the HDMI, then you’ll need to use a standard HD
resolution. This is due to the way that HDMI embeds audio information around video
information. The two resolutions that will stream audio correctly are 720p (1280 x
720) and 1080p (1920 x 1080). Selecting any other resolution will prevent audio
being sent via HDMI.

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The “Recording: Encode” menu allows you to alter and customize
how the DVR records footage and encodes the files.
Encoding is a term which refers to the compression algorithm (a
fancy computer term for “make the file smaller while retaining
visual quality”) used by the DVR.
You can choose and alter -
• The frame rate (how many images per second the DVR records)
• The bit rate of each video stream. The higher the data rate,
the “better” your images will look, but the more space they’ll
require on your memory card
Camera No: The channel feed you want to alter the settings for.
Encoding Parameters: Whether you’re editing the parameters for the mainstream or
the substream.
Main-Stream: The main-stream is the video feed that the device will record and
display. This is the higher-quality stream.
Sub-Stream: The sub-stream is the video stream that the device will send to remote
devices via a network or the Internet. It is the lower-quality stream as a reduction in
video size makes it easier to send over a network.
Record Audio: Select this if you would like this particular channel to record audio. If
you don’t have any audio devices connected, leave this disabled.
Resolution: 960H is the default recording resolution (960 x 576 PAL, 960 x 480 NTSC).
As noted on page 4 - “What is 960H?” a standard CCTV camera’s horizontal image will
be slightly stretched when recorded.
Frame Rate: The number of frames per second (fps) that the device will record. The
default (and maximum) is referred to as “real-time” and is 15fps.
Max. BitRate(Kbps): The actual amount of data that the device will use to record video.
The higher the bitrate, the more space each recording will take. Generally speaking,
recordings encoded at higher bitrates will be of better quality, especially when
recording movement.
The main-stream uses a variable bitrate to record video - the more movement occurs
in the video, the higher the bitrate will have to be. When there’s little movement in
view, the device will automatically reduce the bitrate to conserve space.
The sub-stream uses a constant bit-rate. This makes the video easier to stream over
a network or the Internet.
Recording: Encode

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Overwrite: When enabled, the DVR will record over the files already stored on the hard
drive. The DVR will always record over the oldest files on your hard drive first. Using
the overwrite option is advisable, as the DVR will always be able to record events as
they happen. However, it does mean that you’ll need to get important events off the
hard drive before they’re overwritten.
Pre-Record: When enabled the DVR will record for a few seconds before an event
occurs. It is recommended to enable this when using motion detection as your primary
recording method.
Post-Record: How long the DVR will continue to record after events have taken place.
It can be very useful - for example, if an intruder or potential target triggers the motion
detection but pauses in view. Having this enabled will get a much better look at them.
Pack Duration: This is a measurement of how long the DVR will record for before
splitting the output file into discrete units. “Packs” are something like the chapter
numbers on a DVD - though the video is broken up into separate units, it will still
play through as one continuous movie (unless interrupted by the schedule or motion
detection turning the recording on or off). If you don’t want to worry about setting pack
durations, you can leave the default value as it will make little difference to the day-to-
day running of the DVR.
Recording: Option
The “Recording: Option” menu allows you to change aspects of how
the DVR will record footage such as -
• Whether the DVR will record a short video before events take
place
• How long the DVR will continue to record after events have taken
place
• How the DVR will store and divide long recordings into “packs”
• Whether the DVR will record over old footage to make room for
future events

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Recording: Schedule
The “Recording: Schedule” menu enables you to specify when the DVR records video
and under what modes for each channel.
The schedule presented on-screen applies to one channel only over one whole week.
Use the “Copy To” function to quickly assign identical schedule layouts to multiple
channels at once. 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.
Copy To: Located at the base of the screen, with “Default” on one side and “Apply” on
the other. This will allow you to copy the schedule from the channel you’re editing to
another channel or channels.
Note: The action options for motion detection will affect the way the schedule works.
By default, all channels are armed to use motion detection as their recording mode.
Any adjustments in the “Alarm” menu will change the device’s behaviour, even when it
is set to motion recording mode.
There are several modes of recording to choose from:
Normal: The device will constantly record for any period where Normal is selected.
You won’t miss anything, but constant recording will fill your memory card very quickly.
Typically, we suggest Motion as a better recording mode for most users.
Motion: The default and recommended recording setting. The device 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 unless you alter your Action settings.
Alarm: The DVR is armed to record if it detects an alarm event. This is the setting that
you will need to use if you have external sensors connected to the DVR’s alarm block
or configured wirelessly.
Alarm/MD: Will trigger the DVR to record either an alarm event or when motion is
being detected.
None: As the name suggests, the device will not record anything.
The image on the left shows a recording schedule defined for channel
1. If the DVR was started with this schedule, channel 1 would -
• Not record anything from midnight (00:00) to 6am (06:00)
• Record based on Motion from 6am (06:00) until 6pm (18:00)
• Record constantly from 6pm (18:00) until midnight (00:00)
By default, all channels are armed to use motion detection as their recording
mode. To disable the recording schedule for a particular channel, simply un-
check the “Enable” box.

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Search: Playback
To play your video recordings:
1. Select one or more channels you’d like to play back.
2. From the Video Type menu, select the type(s) of video you’d like to playback. The
options are “All”, “Manual”, “Schedule”, “Motion”, “Alarm” and “Motion or Alarm”.
3. Specify a Start Date/Time and an End Date/Time.
4. Click Search. The DVR displays a list of video events found based on your search
criteria.
5. Choose the recorded event that you want to watch, and then click Play.