Surveillance video recorders are at the heart of every surveillance equipment. They record the images captured by a camera and are relied upon to produce images that will be used for review later. Unfortunately, surveillance equipment are not created equal. Learn what you can expect from today's surveillance video recorders and determine which one is right for you:

Types of surveillance video recorders
These gadgets generally come in two types: one that records analog images and another that records digital images. The analog type often uses VHS tapes and is one of the older types of surveillance video recorders. DVRs, on the other hand, record on disc or a memory card.

Differences
The main difference between these device that use VHS and those that use DVRs is the recording medium. Images on VHS are analog and tend to deteriorate over time. Reviewing images can also be a challenge because it requires manual rewinding and playback. Surveillance video recorders of this type also have a limited number of viewing hours, depending on tape capacity.

DVRs, on the other hand, can capture events and store them as digital images. DVRs usually rely on memory cards or hard disk drives to store the data. Digital recorders allow for easy access to events by freeze framing, so review is generally convenient. Events may also be indexed according to date, time, subject, users or events. Storage is also not an issue with digital recorders because images are stored electronically.

Which one is right for you? For most uses, an analog recorder will work very well. They are generally cheaper, although the tapes tend to be more expensive in the long run. A digital surveillance recorder may be the preferred choice in terms of convenience, storage and future archiving.

When choosing thiese gadgets, take into consideration the pros and cons of each type to see which one will be more useful to you. Consider your needs, the main purpose of the recorder, how long you expect or require the recording time to be and whether or not you will be recording over the tape or disc again and again.

Other features
Surveillance video recorders are now equipped with multiple channels, so it's possible to record captured images from several cameras at once. This is particularly helpful if you intend to monitor several sites. There are video recorders that can process feeds from two to four channels to as many as 12 channels. Feeds may be recorded simultaneously and viewed later for reference.