Digital video recorders are where a surveillance camera system's footage actually lives: recording appliances that take in multiple camera feeds and store them for later review, forming the archive an investigation or an audit relies on after the fact. A camera system without a working DVR is only ever showing what is happening right now, with nothing to look back on.
Size the DVR by camera count, resolution, and the retention period the site's policy requires - storage capacity has to be planned around all three together, since higher resolution and longer retention both consume storage faster than camera count alone suggests. Confirm the DVR's camera inputs and video format match the cameras already installed or planned, since recorder and camera compatibility is not universal across the surveillance market. For sites with compliance or evidentiary requirements, confirm the DVR's footage export and chain-of-custody features meet what the policy demands. COLAMCO supplies digital video recorders for the surveillance systems business, government, and education security programs operate.