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Affected Roles: Administrator
Complexity: Low
Last Edit: August 20, 2020
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When using the VMAX® IP Plus to capture and record camera video, the video recordings are archived and stored within the NVR’s hard drive. Unless otherwise specified, the VMAX® IP Plus will overwrite old stored footage once the hard drive reaches capacity. This is so that your VMAX® IP Plus can continue to archive video footage, rather than being forced to stop recording altogether.
There are different factors that determine how long video archives are stored on the hard drive before being overwritten. The estimated storage time for a hard drive is affected by the overall recording settings of the NVR, the number of cameras involved, and the total storage capacity of the hard drive.
This article will outline how to use the DW IP Storage Calculator to determine the estimated storage time of your VMAX® IP Plus.
Note: We do not recommend replacing your hard drive as the immediate response for increasing storage time. Digital Watchdog will not be liable for the loss of data or consequential damages resulting from replacing a hard drive.
Note: If you are experiencing recording issues with your VMAX® IP Plus and do not believe that it is due to the system recording settings, check out Troubleshooting Recording Errors For A VMAX IP Plus.
Depending on the overall storage capacity of the hard drive and recording parameters, storage time will vary. Recording quality settings, such as the resolution, bitrate, and compression, can be adjusted in the IP Camera Setup menu of the VMAX® IP Plus.
To find the IP Camera Setup menu:
Next, click on the Advanced toggle button, then click the Setup button of the desired camera channel.
The IP Camera Stream Setup window will display.
Repeat this process for any additional cameras to reduce the consumption of the NVR’s storage.
The following factors affect the NVR storage time:
The DW IP Storage Calculator is a free tool that may be used to determine the prospective storage requirements and data rates for the VMAX® IP Plus. This tool may be useful if you are considering installing a surveillance setup or if you are considering adding cameras to an existing setup.
To use the DW Spectrum IP Storage Calculator:
Note: Only one camera model may be selected for each camera row. If you will be adding more than one camera model to the VMAX® IP Plus, create additional camera rows as needed.
For Platform, select VMAX IP Plus.
Next, select the Model of the camera group. The remaining recording settings will automatically be set to the maximum quality to provide estimated Data Rate and Required Storage requirements.
Once satisfied with the settings, click the Next button.