BlessingLink

Linux

There are many free DVR applications available for Linux, each released as free and open source software under the GNU General Public License:

• MythTV
• VDR
• LinuxMCE
• Freevo

A commercial and proprietary application called SageTV is available for most popular Linux distributions.

Mac OS

Elgato makes a series of digital video recording devices called EyeTV. The software supplied with each device is also called EyeTV, and is available separately for use on compatible third-party tuners from manufacturers such as Pinnacle, TerraTec, and Hauppauge.

SageTV provided DVR software for the Mac but no longer sells it.^[14] Previously sold devices support the Hauppauge HVR-950, myTV.PVR and HDHomeRun hardware with its DVR software. SageTV software also included the ability to watch YouTube and other online video with a remote control.

MythTV (see above) also runs under Mac OS X, but most recording devices are currently only supported under Linux. Precompiled binaries are available for the MythTV front-end, allowing a Mac to watch video from (and control) a MythTV server running under Linux.

Apple provides applications in the FireWire software developer kit which allow any Mac with a FireWire port to record the MPEG2 transport stream from a FireWire equipped cable box (for example: Motorola 62xx, including HD streams). Applications can also change channels on the cable box via the firewire interface. Only broadcast channels can be recorded as the rest of the channels are encrypted. FireRecord (formerly iRecord) is a free scheduled-recording program derived from this SDK.

Windows

There are several free digital video recording applications available for Microsoft Windows including GB-PVR, MediaPortal, and Orb (web-based remote interface).

There are also several commercial applications available including CyberLink, SageTV, Beyond TV, Showshifter, InterVideo WinDVR, the R5000-HD and Meedio (now a dead product - Yahoo! bought most of the company's technology and discontinued the Meedio line, and rebranded the software Yahoo! Go - TV, which is now a free product but only works in the U.S.^[15]). Most TV tuner cards come bundled with software which allows the PC to record television to hard disk.^[16] For example, Leadtek's WinFast DTV1000 digital TV card comes bundled with the WinFast PVR2 software, which can also record analog video from the card's composite video input socket.^[17]

Windows Media Center is a DVR software by Microsoft bundled with the Media Center edition of Windows XP, the Home Premium / Ultimate editions of Windows Vista, as well as most editions of Windows 7.

Security

Digital video recorders configured for physical security applications record video signals from closed circuit television cameras for detection and documentation purposes. Many are designed to record audio as well. DVRs have evolved into devices that are feature rich and provide services that exceed the simple recording of video images that was previously done through VCRs. A DVR CCTV system provides a multitude of advanced functions over VCR technology including video searches by event, time, date and camera. There is also much more control over quality and frame rate allowing disk space usage to be optimized and the DVR can also be set to overwrite the oldest security footage should the disk become full. In some DVR security systems remote access to security footage using a PC can also be achieved by connecting the DVR to a LAN network or the internet. videoNEXT also makes a NVR surveillance application for the Mac OS X. Some of the latest professional digital video recorders include video analytics firmware, to enable functionality such as 'virtual tripwire' or even the detection of abandoned objects on the scene.

Security DVRs may be categorized as being either PC based or embedded. A PC based DVR’s architecture is a classical personal computer with video capture cards designed to capture video images. An embedded type DVR is specifically designed as a digital video recorder with its operating system and application software contained in firmware or read only memory.

Hardware features

Hardware features of security DVRs vary between manufacturers and may include but are not necessarily limited to

• Designed for rack mounting or desktop configurations.
• Single or multiple video inputs with connector types consistent with the analogue or digital video provided such as coaxial cable, twisted pair or optical fiber cable. The most common number of inputs are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 32. Systems may be configured with a very large number of inputs by networking or bussing individual DVRs together.
• Looping video outputs for each input which duplicates the corresponding input video signal and connector type. These output signals are used by other video equipment such as matrix switchers, multiplexers, and video monitors.
• Controlled outputs to external video display monitors.
• Front panel switches and indicators that allow the various features of the machine to be controlled.
• Network connections consistent with the network type and utilized to control features of the recorder and to send and/or receive video signals.
• Connections to external control devices such as keyboards.
• A connection to external pan-tilt-zoom drives that position cameras.
• Internal CD, DVD, VCR devices typically for archiving video.
• Connections to external storage media.
• Alarm event inputs from external security detection devices, usually one per video input.
• Alarm event outputs from internal detection features such as motion detection or loss of video.

Software features

Software features vary between manufacturers and may include but are not necessarily limited to

• User selectable image capture rates either on an all input basis or input by input basis. The capture rate feature may be programmed to automatically adjust the capture rate on the occurrence of an external alarm or an internal event
• Selectable image resolution either on an all input basis or input by input basis. The image resolution feature may be programmed to automatically adjust the image resolution on the occurrence of an external alarm or an internal event.
• Compression methods determine quality of playback. H.264 hardware compression offers fast transfer rates over the internet with high quality video.
• Motion detection: Provided on an input by input basis, this feature detects motion in the total image or a user definable portion of the image and usually provides sensitivity settings. Detection causes an internal event that may be output to external equipment and/or be used to trigger changes in other internal features.
• Lack of motion detection. Provided on an input by input basis, this feature detects the movement of an object into the field of view and remaining still for a user definable time. Detection causes an internal event that may be output to external equipment and/or used to trigger changes in other internal features.
• Direction of motion detection. Provided on an input by input basis, this feature detects the direction of motion in the image that has been determined by the user as an unacceptable occurrence. Detection causes an internal event that may be output to external equipment and/or be used to trigger changes in other internal features.
• Routing of input video to video monitors based on user inputs or automatically on alarms or events.
• Input, time and date stamping^{[disambiguation needed ]}.
• Alarm and event logging on appropriate video inputs.
• Alarm and event search.
• One or more sound recording channels.
• Archival.
• Commercial hopping. Rather than fast-forwarding through commercials, an undocumented feature of the TiVo box is that the user can reprogram the tab-to-end button by entering a sequence of buttons on the remote: SELECT-PLAY-SELECT-3-0-SELECT and listening for the confirming chimes that signal the feature has been activated (or deactivated). The tab-to-end button no longer jumps to the end of a recording when so activated: It skips 30 seconds, which is the length of U.S. commercials. In combination with the 8-second rewind button, most viewers can completely miss commercial breaks in programming.