USB Digital Video Recorder Review

If it hadn't been for digital video recorders, we would still be stuck with grainy video images on tape and distorted audio. Now, we get to enjoy the features and functions that only a USB digital video recorder can offer. But does it offer enough for you to actually need one? Here's a short review of this gadget:

Format

USB digital video recorders generally produce images using MPEG4 or AVI formats. These are quite helpful because these formats are not resource hungry and will help you save a lot in terms of memory -- excellent if you only have a few gigabytes to spare.

If overwriting older footage is not an option for you, you could also choose a USB DVR that has an SD card slot so you can expand its built-in data storage. This will allow you to make continuous recordings of one or multiple activities without worrying that you'll fill up your storage quickly.

Recording mode

The best brands of USB digital video recorders offer several recording modes. This is a feature that lets you change the image settings and quality for footage you are about to capture. You could, for example, set the frame capture at a lower number per second -- say, 18 fps -- for footage showing normal activities.

If the footage you are taking is quick-paced, such as of a person running or a car passing by or if you're trying to capture footage of an active football game, you could set the frame speed at a higher rate. This will help result to better quality recording, with less pixelation or distortion.

You could also adjust the resolution of the image prior to capture so the DVR will produce sharper and clearer footage.

Connectivity

The USB digital video recorder works seamlessly with a computer. This allows for easier and faster viewing of recorded photos and videos. Once the connection has been established with a computer, photos and other images may then be uploaded, viewed, edited or shared.

Some issues

While USB digital video recorders can produce good quality images and footage, they aren't perfect. At least, not yet. Recording images on high resolution can sometimes suffer in quality, particularly if they are being taken using high speeds. A recording mode using a resolution of 720x480, for example, will not produce the same imaging quality if taken at a higher speed of, say 30 fps. Making a few adjustments, however, will correct this. You could simply set the DVR at a lower fps for a higher resolution image capture.