Security systems are heavily computerized to enable easy recording.
Capturing images from a security DVR is necessary in situations including having to present pictures for insurance claims or as part of the discovery process of a criminal investigation. The DVR is essentially just an external hard drive with video inputs. By hooking your security DVR to your computer with a USB cable, your computer will be able to access the video files (after you input your password). Then, use a screen capture program to get the still images.
Instructions
1. Connect the security DVR to your computer (it can be a desktop or laptop) with a USB cable. The cable plugs into the back of the DVR just like in the back of an external hard drive. The USB cable plugs into a small trapezoidal slot on the DVR. The larger, rectangular plug end plugs into the USB port on the back, side or front of your computer (it does not matter which side you choose).
2. Double-click on the hard drive icon that automatically appears on your desktop. A password prompt appears. Enter your password (if any, though you are advised to always password-encrypt your security DVRs). Once the password is accepted, the hard drive opens and gives you the video file folders. Open the folder for the day's video that you wish to capture an image from.
3. Download VLC from the Video Lan website (see Resources). Install the program and follow the installation instructions as prompted. Open the video file that you want to capture from with the VLC program. The video will open and start playing on your desktop. Move the slide to the time that the image is to be captured from. You must be on the exact frame that you want to capture.
4. Click the "Video" button on the top menu. This brings up a drop-down menu. Click the "Snapshot" button. Move the video frame slide to all the other video frames that you wish to capture. Click the "Snapshot" button for each frame that you want to capture.
Tags: hard drive, your computer, plugs into, that want, that want capture