Axis Non-IP Camera / DVR Kit Is Here

I only bring up the F41 because of U1's assertion that multiple channels is one of the defining factors of a "DVR". From what the spec sheets show, the one major difference between the F41 and the F34/44 is the number of inputs/channels; all three record video internally, all three support DC or PoE power, all three support ACAP. There are other FEATURE differences, like WDR only in the F41, Zipstream only in the F34, audio and alarm I/O only in the F41/44, etc., but functionally they all do the same thing.

Most people are probably not recording/storing video on most egde-enabled cameras either, unless they're eschewing a central recorder entirely. I've only ever used edge and central recording together on ONE site, after that site had several analog cameras stolen or vandalized and the DVR stolen from a locked room; when we replaced the cameras with IP domes, we enabled edge recording on them in case the DVR was targetted again.

Like I say, TO ME, I don't see a FUNCTIONAL difference between these types of systems, and any other IP dome that has a sensor/lens unit connected by internal wires to a separate interface/edge-recording board... except these have a much longer interconneting wire. The edge recording in pretty much all these instances can be accessed either through the manufacturer's own VMS, or through the camera's web interface, so again... no real difference except the length of the wire (and the enclosure, of course).

I also find it funny that this becomes a debate now with the F-series, when the P12 line has done exactly the same thing (save the multiple sensor inputs) for at least a couple years now. The only PHYSICAL difference I can see so far (at least until the F44 is in my hands) is the "ruggedness" of the unit... beyond that, the the F-series does have better performance specs (on paper), and the P12 series were sold with sensor and interface as a complete unit, while the F-series sells the interface and sensor modules separately, allowing for more customizated systems... but functionally, they're based on the same concept.

Anyway, I'm not trying to say these things particularly are or aren't a DVR, or just a camera, or anything. That's really my whole point: what they ARE, depends on HOW you're using them.

Case in point, again, is using a cheap DVR as a multi-channel encoder for analog cameras: without a hard drive to record to, is it still technically a DVR? Or is it just an encoder because I'm using it as an encoder? I tend to go with the latter, as it describes what's actually happening, rather than what the unit was originally designed for.

So by that token, whether the F14/34/44 can be classified as a DVR, I think, depends on whether you're actually using it that way...

In the end, the lines aren't just blurred... they're pretty much obliterated. Is IP video still CCTV? Is an El Camino a car, or a truck? IHOP lets me have breakfast for lunch, or breakfast for dinner, but which is it, really? How long is a piece of string?

Too much energy is wasted arguing these semantics. I'd rather hear about how these things are actually being USED, not what they're being called.