Swann Communications DVR4 Business Surveillance Kit

For any kind of property owner, be it your own home or your place of business, theft is always a concern. A few years ago you'd need a hefty amount of money to install a complex CCTV monitoring system if you wanted some extra security, but these days thanks to companies like Swann, you can have extremely effective protection for a perfectly affordable cost.

The DVR4 Business package fits this mould perfectly. It comes complete with two cameras and a hard disk to record on, as well as a bucket load of features and options to tailor the system to your needs. It is ideal for small businesses or home owners just looking for a little extra peace of mind.

As stated, this system contains two cameras in the box, which will be adequate for monitoring a few key areas. However, it has the capacity to support a total of four, so more can be added if you so desire. Setup is a little tricky, with a multitude of cords and adapters required to get everything running, but once everything is plugged in to the main control box you're good to go.

From here you have a number of options. Either you can hook the system up via the component cable to a TV or equivalent monitoring device, or you can plug it in via USB and run it through a PC. This flexibility is great as it means the DVR4 will fit a variety of different existing setups. We would have liked to see remote monitoring via the PC connection, but the package is still extremely useful without.

When running via composite, the unit records directly to the included 160GB hard disk, while via USB you can write files to your PC's drive. PC connection also offers a few more options, letting you do things such as saving an individual frame and such. Video footage is typically displayed at 720x576 and recorded at 640x272 meaning it is clear enough to make out details such as facial features. At the normal quality setting you'll get approximately 332 hours of recording on the included drive, although turning it up to high quality will decrease this somewhat.

You can manipulate the footage a little depending on what you want to watch. All four cameras can be viewed at once in a square formation and you can open any one in full screen individually if you choose. You can even set it to scroll through each camera on a certain delay. All of this is controlled through the included remote although there are also controls on the face of the main unit.

In addition to this you can get a little more in-depth, setting only certain cameras to record. There is also motion detection which will only activate recording when it senses movement. This helps save hard disk space and is great for monitoring properties at night. You can set the motion sensitivity and the length of time recorded after being triggered. There is even an alarm that can alert you when movement is detected.

The cameras themselves are small and come with massive spools of cable which should be adequate for most properties. They can be bolted to the wall and angled any way you choose.