CCTV Recorders

What is a CCTV Recorder?

A CCTV recorder, sometimes called a security camera recorder or simply a CCTV box, is the heart of your system. It stores the footage from all your cameras on a hard drive, so you can play it back, save clips and view everything live from your phone.

We stock two main types. Our HD over Coax (HDoC) recorders, also known as DVRs, work with analogue and HD-TVI cameras using traditional coax cable. Our IP CCTV recorders, also known as NVRs, work with IP cameras over network cable, often powering them too via PoE.

Not sure of the difference between DVR and NVR? In short, a DVR is the right choice if you're using or replacing a coax-based system, while an NVR is the better option for new installs and higher resolution cameras. If you're still unsure, give us a call on 01902 213 999 and we'll help you pick the right one.

Every recorder is available in 4, 8, 16 or 32 channel versions, with larger options available too, so there's a solution for homes and businesses of any size. You can also choose your hard drive to suit how much footage you need to keep, or buy the recorder on its own if you already have a drive.

We offer a range of CCTV recorders from some of the largest manufacturers in the world and all can be networked and viewed from your smartphone. This will require configuration on your router, so please feel free to ask our expert team for advice.

Our digital video recorders (DVRs) are available with different channels, namely the number of CCTV cameras that can be connected to the recorder. For example, a 4-channel CCTV digital video recorder can be connected to a maximum of 4 cameras and will work with wired and wireless CCTV system (if stated in specifications).

Most of our CCTV video recorders will have either a HDMI or VGA video output (some have both), so you can connect your CCTV DVR directly to a suitable monitor or HDMI TV. Once it is set up and configured on your network, you will also be able to log in to the DVR using the manufacturer’s CCTV recorder software (downloaded from their site) and view everything on your PC or use their mobile phone app to view on your smart phone remotely. This is particularly helpful if you have located the recorder in a secure place that is not easy to access.

To physically control your digital video recorder, we highly recommend using a USB mouse, which comes as standard with most CCTV DVRs. Some have a remote control, which is useful if trying to control the DVR from a distance, but for close-up control, a USB mouse navigates through the menu system much quicker. The on-screen display will often show important statistics like time, date and motion detection.

All of our DVRs record to the hard drive and will overwrite the oldest recordings once full. Recording times vary depending on hard drive size, number of cameras connected, resolution and frame rate. For more information about recording times, take a look at our CCTV Recorder buying guide.

A digital video recorder is a perfect solution if you are not able to actively monitor your CCTV feed. The CCTV DVR will save the video to a hard drive so that, if required, you can view the video recorded from your security cameras at your convenience. CCTV DVRs are the heart of your CCTV system and often come with at least one internal hard drive but some units also have the ability to add one additional hard drive externally. It can be a complicated process, deciding which CCTV DVR recorder is right for you which is why JMC Secure have a useful buying guide and also offer professional advice when you contact us.

By purchasing a CCTV DVR (Digital Video Recorder) through JMC secure you can be assured that you will receive not only a high quality product but also the support you need in order to get your security cameras and DVR recorder working perfectly together. We have wireless CCTV security cameras as well as more conventional options and many of these can also be linked up to a smart home system so that you can control the system using a mobile device.