As you can see by my email address, I am working for NASA at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt MD.  We purchased a 64 channel Digital DVR from DVR Systems in May of 2009 with 20TB of storage capacity.  Although my experience with Analog DVRs is limited, if the unit we purchased is any indication, you could not select a better product.  All of our cameras are network IP over Ethernet cameras, not analog. 

Background

Initially we had Siemens specify and install a Panasonic ND-300 ADIC to capture our network video.  This was a huge mistake as the NVR from Panasonic was ill equipped to handle the bandwidth constraints from network video cameras.  Once the system got beyond 10 cameras, it started to bog down and barely permitted for viewing or playback.

Demonstration

We contacted several vendors regarding a frontend head unit (i.e. network video server) replacement and saw 3 or 4 different demonstrations.  Robert Streeter from DVR solutions presented via the Internet.  All the products that we saw were feature rich with impressive capabilities, but DVR Systems asked us many questions regarding our existing infrastructure to ensure that there was high enough throughput to handle the network traffic.  Additionally, his understanding of digital video overhead and bandwidth constraints led him to design a system that provided data to stream via the network to multiple NICs at the server.  These are not problems that you will not have with analog traffic.  However, a problem that can be problematic with analog cameras is the tremendous amount of frontend overhead required to convert analog format to digital output (disk data) via capture cards.  This is an issue that I heard Robert speak to us about, and I know that DVR Systems has a solution.  The key is a network video server with an extremely fast bus to support the high throughput required at the IO.  Truly, DVR Systems gets it and demonstrated their knowledge of the issues by the questions they asked above and beyond the other vendors.

Proof in the pudding    

We were skeptical because we had not seen his software and wanted to see an operational system.  Rob was able to get us a demo at Charles County Detention Center, in Maryland, where their video is used to observe prisoners in real time as well as provide visual evidence in court cases.  Their system is largely comprised of 2 servers that support over 80 analog cameras.  They use 2 servers because of distance requirements as the cameras are located in several physical facilities.  We were truly impressed with the simplicity of operation, the ability to synchronize video playback between multiple cameras.  There are so many features of the system that the guards just weren’t utilizing them all, but they were extremely happy with the product and spoke very highly of the support.  Mind you these are prison guards operating the system, not IT brains.

Our Solution

DVR Systems was price competitive offering a better designed hardware solution and larger storage container than the other vendors at a better price.  Additionally, the maintenance over a 5 year period was included in the purchase price.  This was not indicative of the other vendors we received quotes from.  Also the other systems seemed to be a combination of separate hardware, software and integration vendors.  This worried me regarding the finger pointing game that can sometimes take place.  The only drawback  to the DVR Systems was that we were doing the implementation.  But Rob assured us that being trained IT engineers, we would easily get through installation, and he was right.  We currently support 26 cameras and will shortly be at 33 all via IP over Ethernet.  We support the environmental test and integration services contract and the cameras are used to view, record, and playback spacecraft integration and  support activities. 

Result

Our NASA government customer is ecstatic regarding this product’s performance.  The system works seamlessly and we have roughly 4 -5 months worth of video storage.  Video playback and offload is simplistic and a number of test engineers want access to the video , so we are setting up groups isolated to certain cameras for camera operation, real time viewing and playback.  This system is so feature rich that we have  barely scratched the surface regarding its capabilities.  As a NASA contractor, we are judged by are decisions regarding product selection, and because of DVR Systems, we look like heroes.  DVR Systems delivered the goods and has stood by their product.  We are happy that we made the choice to selct their Digital Video Recorder.

If your experience is anything like ours, in 6 months you will be telling another perspective customer about this product.  The least I can do for DVR Systems is to provide an accurate testimonial because they changed a bad situation to a complete success.  If you have additional questions or concerns, I would be happy to answer them.  Good luck with your project.

John F Hauprich III, CISSP & CEH

Principle Security Engineer / Contract IT Manager

Mission Systems Group

Code 549, ETIS Contract

NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center