Recorder Front Panel Controls: Do You Find Them Useful?

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Ethan Ace
•Sep 05, 2017

Looking at Hikvision and some OEMs lately, we noticed that almost no one includes front panel controls on the fronts of DVRs/NVRs these days. However, an Interlogix box has a full suite of controls, for switching views, starting/stopping sequence, live, menu, playback, etc., and arrow keys to navigate.

Question is: does anyone still use these? I could see instances where they're useful, where space is a premium and employees aren't at computers, such as small retail, automotive, etc. But otherwise it would seem more difficult to operate via these controls.

(3)
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Ahmed Elsayed
•Sep 05, 2017

In my experience, no one used them then and no one uses them now. 

Even manual (at the box) users used the provided remote instead. 

(1)
ML
Melvin Lee
•Sep 06, 2017

I never have used the front panel controls...

(1)
DS
David Shepherd
•Sep 06, 2017

I personally rarely use them, and when training customers generally train them to use the mouse. Makes things far far easier.

(1)
UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #1
•Sep 06, 2017

Historically Dahua and Hikvision had front panel control & IR Remote as the only method of controlling the devices so when they introduced USB mouse control (circa 2006) they left the front panel control as a secondary control method but as functions got more advanced the front panel controls never kept up, the same went for the IR remotes that they used to include as standard.

 

(1)
U
Undisclosed #2
•Sep 06, 2017
IPVMU Certified
In reply to Undisclosed Manufacturer #1

...so when they introduced USB mouse control (circa 2006)...

Yet 10 years later Dahua still lacked USB keyboard control.

UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #1
•Sep 06, 2017
In reply to Undisclosed #2

What standalone recorders support USB keyboard today?

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Ethan Ace
•Sep 06, 2017
In reply to Undisclosed #2

To be fair, the vast majority of recorders we've had through here don't support USB keyboards. I have no idea why, because point and click is horrible, but that's how it seems to work.

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John Bazyk
•Sep 06, 2017
Command Corporation • IPVMU Certified

We don't install many of these now. When we did we prefered to not have a front panel, mouse or remote. We didn't want people interacting with the recorder at all. Everyone uses their app to do everything these days. If it was a business they would typically use the browser interface or the client software. Trying to teach people how to use a Linux based recorder was just too cumbersome and often resulted in too many tech support calls to us. 

(1)
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