[mythtv-users] DVR Capability

Thom Paine painethom at gmail.com
Tue Aug 26 11:04:58 UTC 2008


Getting a bit off topic now, but so many scenarios presented by the
different respondants. To answer a few:

The root issue is we're been quoted $5755 for a stand alone Windows
Unit that records to hard drive, but has no function to burn to DVD.
So then I have to train a Detective on how to master a DVD from a
video file. When I call around for quotes, and they hear 'Police
Service', I swear they add $5000 to the price just because they think
they can. When I had to send out an officers personal hard drive that
quit due to a power supply problem, he needed personal data from it, I
emailed a compant who will remain nameless for a cost estimate. The
quote I got back was $1975 and when they realized it was just for an
officers personal computer, they immediately knocked $500 off.

Second point to address is this is mostly internal, and is sometimes
presented in court. There is no problem with chain of evidence. The
Detective activates the recorder, the suspect is seen in the interview
room, the Detective walks in and introduces himself for the record,
indicates that it is a recorded session and we're good to go. A
transcriber views it later, and that is basically the process. We are
a small service, with only 30 officers and some civilian staff.

It doesn't much matter what we use to record the interview, they
aren't interested in time stamping every frame. The timestamps would
be for when the interview was taken, not to prove authenticity. The
officer swears to that and submits the evidence.

The other option we have is a $2800 stand alone recording 'appliance'
but the record to DVD function is very confusing (even to me, the IT
guy) especially the officers. Normally they task me with recording the
interviews to DVD for them.

I was thinking for $500 I could have a small myth box do the same job,
with an easier interface for recording to DVD. I thought the manual
record function would suffice for recording the interview. I realize
it's not designed for that function, but wondered if it would work in
that respect.

In the interim, while we are getting our damaged equipment replaced,
we are using a small video camera, on a tripod in the interview room,
and I am manually mastering the AVI files to DVD for the Detectives.
Our older system was only $600 when we got it, and would store about
50 hours of interviews. It is unfortunately no longer available.

Everything at our service is on a UPS, and we have a deisel generator
to run the station during longer outtages. The station itself was
struck directly, blew out one of our 911 phone lines, jumped from
phone wires in the electrical room to CAT5 wiring, blew random ports
out of the switches, knocked out my one Cisco router, then proceeded
to use the ethernet to take out 14 desktops, 2 laptops, knock out 6
external security cameras, the dvr that records the externals (luckily
the internal cameras for the cellblock were ok), the dvr for the
interview room, the satellite receivers, our two main radio termals
(we dispatch police, fire, and transfer ambulance 911 calls to a
larger centre). It was quite a strike, and we have insurance coverage
that will take care of most of this. The issue we have is that
insurance won't pay the $5k for a new recording unit when the original
bill of sale is $600. I thought of myth, but made no mention about it
until I got some feedback on here.

Thank you for everyone comment in this thread. It was most helpful.



-- 
-=/>Thom


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