You check your smoke alarm batteries twice a year, but do you ever check your DVR (digital video recorder)? Keeping your camera surveillance system in good working order is a must. If you’ve put in the investment for a video surveillance system, you’ll want to make sure you do the following to keep it in tip-top shape.
1. Check the time twice a year
When we spring forward and fall back, you should check to make sure the time is set correctly on your DVR. Set a book or other item down in the camera’s view and come back an hour later to see if you can surf to the date and time to find when you set it down. Then, make sure it has the correct date and time. This will also let you verify if the focus of the camera is correct.
2. Keep your recorder clean
Periodically clean your recorder to keep it free of dust. Try not to stack equipment or items on top of the DVR so that it has the best heat dissipation.
3. See how many days of recording you’re getting
If you think you need more recording space than you currently have, contact us to learn about your options. There are different options for cameras in homes versus cameras in businesses.
4. Practice saving video on a USB drive
Should something happen, you will want to be able to save video for a police department. Having a thumb drive on hand is good practice. Many recorders watermark the video when you save it on a thumb drive, requiring special software from the manufacturer’s website to save or view the video.
It’s always good to make sure that your video surveillance system is recording properly. If, like many folks, you’ve “set it and forget it”, we urge you to take these 4 steps and make sure you know how to use your camera system and DVR.