Q. What is mobile DVR?
A. Mobile DVR solutions are RUGGED Digital Video Recorder systems that have been built SPECIFICALLY for TRANSIT / TRANSPORTATION based video surveillance. A mobile DVR (digital video recorder) has been specially designed for applications in buses, trucks, taxi, trams, metro, ambulance and other private vehicles.

Q. What is the difference between a regular DVR and mobile DVR? What is so special about the mobile DVR?
A. The main difference between a regular DVR and a mobile DVR lies in the environments in which they are meant to be used.

POWER SUPPLY – a regular DVR draws power from adaptor / indoor power supply And has steady voltage – DC 12V and constant power supply. Whereas, a mobile DVR is powered by the vehicle & supports wide voltage input/ unstable voltage during engine start-up or braking when voltage falls to 8V or less or spikes up to as high as 36V.

ANTI-VIBRATION MECHANISM – a mobile DVR is constructed keeping in mind the Vibration which is inevitable in vehicles as they are constantly in motion; which may lead to mechanical failure. The mobile DVR uses materials used for anti-vibration / shock-proof mechanisms.

DUST PREVENTION & HEAT DISSIPATION – a regular DVR is installed in open/well ventilated area and has simple design to dissipate heat working temperature range -10° ~50°C. A mobile DVR is made for installation in confined spaces and compartments where working temperature may range from -20° ~70°C and up to 95% humidity. The material & construct of the DVR allows heat dissipation and reduces dust from entering.

CONSTRUCT – a regular DVR utilizes BNC connector cable whereas the mobile DVR has aviation specification interface in place to combine devices- a rugged and solid Interface which ensures continuous transmission of power, signals and other data without failure.

DATA TRANSMISSION – regular DVR requires LAN connection / and recommended 4G/3G dongles for data transmission. Does not have GPS, or any secondary data storage option.
A Mobile DVR utilizes Wi-Fi, 4G & 3G networks, which enable real-time transmission of data collected from the vehicle in – video, location, speed and inertial measurements.

Q. What is the difference between a regular DVR and mobile DVR w.r.t remote monitoring?
A. A regular DVR for remote monitoring has the option of cloud and DDNS. A DVR can be directly viewed through the cloud, whereas in the case of mobile DVR a server needs to be created.

Q. What technology does the mobile DVR support? HD-SDI, HD-CVI, AHD, HD-TVI?
A. The mobile DVR supports AHD technology- supports only analog HD cameras. Analog High Definition

Q. Where does the mobile DVR draw its power from?
A. The mobile DVR is powered by the vehicle it is installed in – connected with the vehicle battery (“RUN” terminal of the ignition switch), and powers on only when the vehicle engine is turned on.

Starting Up the DVR
To start up the DVR with vehicle ignition-

DVR + Vehicle Battery Connection:
The ignition switch is connected to the positive pole of the vehicle batteries. Please make sure that the connection is correct, and then follow the procedure below:

1. Connect the “DC IN +” of DVR to the positive pole of vehicle batteries;
2. Connect the “DC IN -” to the negative pole of vehicle batteries;
3. Connect the “KEY +” of DVR to the vehicle ignition switch;
4. Lock the hard disk/ SD Card;
5. When the vehicle is switched on, the DVR will start up with the vehicle.

Q. How long does the DVR take to start/ switch off?
A. DVR starts along when the engine is turned on, the only time taken is for booting. When the engine is switched off the DVR shuts down within 12 seconds. (Thanks to a built-in super capacitor which works as backup power- in case of sudden outage, the super capacitor keeps the device power on, write all the recorded data into the SD card/HDD and then shutdown the system.)

Q. What is the power requirement for the mobile DVR? Ideal power supply
A. Power requirement range 8V DC ~ 36V DC.

Q. Does the mobile DVR come with standby mode in case of low battery voltage?
A. Yes, the mobile DVR comes with a smart power management system. If the DVR detects that the battery’s voltage is lower than the given value, the device will shut down automatically and switch to its ultralow standby consumption.