Information About DVR Resolution

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Our DVR’s for surveillance systems have the ability to record in different resolution. CIF resolution stands for Common Intermediate Format. It is the standard video format for DVR systems and videoconferencing. Normal CIF is known as FCIF but in the surveillance world CIF is not commonly referred as FCIF.

These are the standard CIF formats:

* CIF (called Full CIF or FCIF) has resolution of 352x288 or 360x240 and a bit rate of approximately 36.5 MBPS when recording at 30 FPS.
* 4CIF (called 4 x CIF) has resolution of 704 x 576 and a bit rate of approximately 146 MBPS when recording at 30FPS.
* 16CIF (called 16 x CIF or D1) has a resolution of 1408x1152 and a bit rate of approximately 583.9 MBPS when recording at 30FPS.


Once your DVR arrives:

After you receive your DVR for your surveillance system, you have to configure it for optimal recording based upon your needs. Keep in mind that most DVR’s display video in D1 or 4CIF(720x480) but they often are recording in a lower resolution. The better the recording resolution of your DVR the more expensive it will be. Most DVR’s have the ability to set what resolution you want to record at. If you are recording your driveway and want to see a car pull up you will be able to do so while recording in CIF(360x240). If you are interested in getting a good view of the persons face that is getting out of the car you will want your DVR to record at a higher resolution.