consantly recording dvr

hanketron · Post by **hanketron** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 7:14 pm

Does anyone know of a constantly recording dvr? I have had this idea for the past 4 to 5 years and can't find it implemented anywhere.

I wish to build a covert DVR, that will remain running indefinitely. The idea is, the recorder will cycle through the memory, writing over the earliest recorded data while maintaining the latest recordings(this is the hard to find characteristic). Imagine a full time recorder that you never have to view, until needed.
I also imagine wirelessly downloading the recordings with a laptop; this way no one will see you visiting the DVR and the device isn't transmitting any signals that could help others find it. I think the device can be powered by solar panels and decent size battery, but I don't know the power consumption of a solid state device such as I'm describing. I originally thought It would spin up a hard drive to store the data but with 16Gig chips the size of my thumb nail, a hard drive won't be needed. The components are easy to find and cheap. But, does anyone know how to put it together? It needs a programmable chip to pull it all together, I think.

General thoughts : Passively records until it receives unique signal to send data
Writes over it's earliest memory running indefinitely while maintaining latest recordings
Possibly archive video to maintain longer intervals of recordings.

I can see it sitting on top of light, telephone, or power pole, watching an area. It has a cylinder shape, looking just like the wood pole it's sitting on, with a solar panel on top and lithium battery hidden inside with 1 to 4 cameras recording all or just motion.

I hope someone finds this interesting. chris hanke

CiscoKid · Post by **CiscoKid** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:54 pm

you can build a PVR with parts from miniitx.com, from there it's just a matter of configuring your software or writing an app to do it yourself

hanketron · Post by **hanketron** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:42 pm

Thanks, but the motherboard has too much unnecessary "stuff" that would make it a power hog and harder to hide. The functions of the device are very simple. I was originally thinking of the BASIC Stamp micro controller but I'm sure there is something newer, bigger and better now. But I also thought this product would already exist.
any ideas or info is welcome, chris

CiscoKid · Post by **CiscoKid** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 9:48 pm

An ITX motherboard is only 170mm, it can you built to look like a car stereo amp or some other home theater equipment. they're also low power

hanketron · Post by **hanketron** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:03 pm

Thanks, I'll look at it closer

Gixxer · Post by **Gixxer** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:14 pm

hanketron wrote: and harder to hide.

what do you mean hide? as in out of sight out of mind? or hide as in your intentions for this device?

Gixxer · Post by **Gixxer** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 10:16 pm

" Imagine a full time recorder that you never have to view, until needed."

http://shopping.rediff.com/product/elec ... e/10351852

hanketron · Post by **hanketron** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:16 am

Hiding... With the device holding all recordings, it is a prime target for thieves. Steal it and eliminate the surveillance and then posses the recordings of themselves stealing it.
Imagine it looked like a chunk of wood that had been nailed to a pole, appearing to be there for some other purpose. Now imagine sneaking these into terrorist hot spots(Iraq/Afghanistan), nailing one to a pole at each intersection. There would be no reason to visit any of these until something happens. Then a person could pull up near the device, send their code and download images and see which house the IED planters came from. In the mean time, the locals don't know it's there, which would defeat it.
This is what I came up with: The chunk of wood could be a part of a street light assemble designed to remain attached even if the light fixture is torn down. They may tear down the light but wouldn't think much of the remaining piece of wood (the device). It was a child abduction case solved by a atm camera that made me think of this. The atm s images had to be sent to FBI to be enhanced to read the abductors name tag on his shirt. I thought, what if cameras kept 24hrs or more of high def video and a week of lower definition. If it recorded over itself, it could run 24/7

hanketron · Post by **hanketron** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 5:45 am

Now, if I could whittle it down to a small form, add wireless connectivity, run it without a hard drive, and make it programmable for password access, I'd be close to what I'm thinking about. It does sound like they have the recording scheme down but I'm not sure; they require a hard drive for unlimited recording. a hard drive would kill the device with it's power consumption and unnecessary with the size of today's memory chips.

Thanks for the link and the post,
"if our civilization where a machine, civility would be the lubricant" G Gordan Liddy

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consantly recording dvr

consantly recording dvr

don't want a pc