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DS-4016HCI 16 CH 480 FPS Real Time H.264 DVR Card

See the Difference for Yourself!

The difference is STUNNING - You'll see it immediately

Click Picture for Larger View

16 CHANNEL STACKABLE H.264 High Resolution Video & Audio HARDWARE Compression Board

NOW SUPPORTS 1920 X 1080 FULLY 1080P COMPLIANT!

Microsoft VISTA Ready
VISTA & Windows 7 READY (32 Bit ONLY)
Now Available w/ Blue Ray Backup
Now Available w/
50 GB Blue-Ray Backup!

SUPPORTS UP TO 96 CHANNELS OF AUDIO AND VIDEO (SIX CARDS - ONE PC)

YES - THAT'S RIGHT - SIX CARDS IN ONE PC - IT CAN BE DONE

CONFIGURATIONS: 16CH 480 FPS, 32CH 960 FPS, 48CH 1,440 FPS, 64 CH 1,920 FPS, 96 CH 2880 FPS

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VID-16 compression board is a professional digital security product, which adopts most advanced H.264 video compression algorithm and OggVorbis audio compression technology.

VID-16 board uses fully optimized algorithm based on DSP technology to implement video & audio real-time encoding, active video & audio preview and motion detection, etc. Video image is directly transmitted from board to display frame buffer and compressed stream is also directly sent to host’s memory. The whole transmit doesn’t need any intervention of host computer processor, saving resources of host computer’s processor greatly. One Personal computer can support up to 96 channels Video and audio input, parameters of each channel can be set independently and will not affect each other.

VID-16 compression board supports Windows 2000/XP/VISTA/Windows 7

VID-16 is NOW HYBRID Compatible. Run your IP Cameras and your Analog Cameras in the SAME software, including Linux Embedded Systems and H.264 IP Cameras.

Features & Functions :
        H.264 (MPEG-4/Part 10) video compression standard leads to high compression ratio and good video quality
        OggVorbis audio compression standard, with 16 kHz sampling rate and 16 kbps output bitrate
        Real-time Video and Audio compression, No frames lost
        Standard PCI Card, One PC can support up to 96 channels
        Support Windows2000/XP/VISTA/Windows 7
        Addressable I.B.P frame sequence
        Addressable video quality and bit rate
        Addressable brightness, contrast, saturation and hue of Video signal
        Supports motion detection
        Supports OSD, LOGO, and MASK overlay
        Supports double encoding

Merits of Adopting H.264 Compression Board
H.264 encoding has the advantage of high image quality , low bitrate and low storage requirement, especially suitable for digital video security. H.264 compression board is the state-of-the-art video / audio compression board, which adopts H.264 ACE (ADVANCED CODE EFFICIENCY).  Compared with other compression board, its advantage embodies the following aspects:

Save storage space
Board compression ratio is higher than those that adopt MPEG-1 or other standards. Given the same capacity of hard disk, Our H.264 board leads to longer recording time, thus reduces  storage costs and maintenance expenses and improves systematic reliability.

Excellent image quality
Board adopts variable bitrate coding. It assures constant image quality to different scene and motion picture. Even violent motion cannot bring the mosaic phenomenon. Our H.264 board supports real time preview without wobble or time delay.

Preeminent characters of network transmission
Board adjust parameter dynamically, which is suitable to assure excellent and fluent image quality in network transmission.  It supports CIF, QCIF coding, variable bitrate and variable frame rate.  This is more suitable for narrowband transmission, for instance, through PSTN,ISDN,DDN, etc.

Convenient control
Board’s parameter, such as image quality, frame rate, and sensitive tolerance of motion detection can be adjusted when encoding. It can capture original image. Actively setting parameter is significant in video security.

Flexible and reliable motion detection
Board adopts most advanced motion detecting technology whose analytical precision can be adjusted dynamically. It can not only detect micro-motion but also throw away misinformation. Reliable motion detection and video setting reduce storage requirement. The whole detecting procedure is completely done on board. Motion detection is completely independent from compression. It can detect both fast and slow motion.

Convenient video overlay function
Board supports flexible title overlay function. It can overlap time on active video with transparent processing. Its location can be adjusted conveniently.

Outstanding stability and sustainability
Board adopts encoding algorithm, SDK function and decoding software, which are specially designed for digital video security. 

Specifications:

Model

VID-16 HCI Series

Video Input

16 Channels (PAL/NTSC)

BNC (Vp-p = 1.0V, 75Ω)

Audio Input

BNC (Vp-p=2.0V,SNR > 83DB,Linear Electrical Level ,1000Ω)

 Encode DSP  number

3  

Resolution

Resolution: 704*576(PAL),704*480(NTSC)

QCIF, CIF, 2 CIF, 4 CIF

Video Compression

                                                    H.264, Support CBR, VBR; Frame rate: 25F/s(PAL), 30F/s(NTSC) Per Channel Output: 32kbps-1000kbps (CIF) Total Frame Rate 480 FPS per Board (NTSC) 400 FPS (PAL). Boards can be STACKED up to 6 units for total of 96 Channels of audio and video

Audio Compression

OggVorbis, Sample ratio is 16KHz, Output ratio is 16kbps

Alarm In/Out

16 alarm in,4 alarm out

WatchDog

            

Power Consumption

Less than 18W 

Working Temperature

-10°C--+50°C

Working Humidity

10%--90%

Dimension

210mm*108mm

Computer Configuration

(Recommend)

CPU :Virtually ANY motherboard w/ an INTEL Chipset and CPU.

Memory: 1.0 GB or above. Display Adapter: Nvidia is Preferred, ATI will work.

 

64 Channel Real Time DVR GUI

 

Efficiency

2x more efficient than MPEG-4 Part 2 (natural video) encoding

File SIze

3x smaller file size than comparable MPEG-2 encoders

Download Time

Faster download time
 

Higher Quality

Substantially higher quality video (SNR)

 

No Motion Blurring

No fast motion blurring inherent in MPEG-4 (advanced motion compensation)

Capability

Anticipates error-prone transport over mobile networks

Software Function :

The Digital video recorder adopts a high performance Windows XP real-time multi-tasking operating system, to perfectly implement all the functions needed to build a surveillance system. (Windows VISTA NOW)
 

Compression function:

Supports a maximum of 96 channels video in. Each channel can be compressed independently in 25F/S (PAL) or 30F/S (NTSC), using H.264 algorithm. Both variable bit-rate and variable frame rate are supported.
Support max 64 channels audio in. Each channel can be compressed independently, using an OggVorbis audio standard. The output bit-rate is 16 kbps.

The output video and audio streams are integrated to generate the synchronized H.264 stream. Video and audio coincide with each other from beginning to end when the stream is played back.

Supports following resolution on every channel:
PAL:4CIF (704*576), DCIF(528*384), 2CIF(704*288),CIF(352*288), QCIF(176*144);
NTSC: 4CIF (704*480), DCIF(528*320), 2CIF(704*240),CIF(352*240), QCIF(176*120)

Supports multi-zone motion detection & position configurable OSD & LOGO. Supports watermark.


Network Functions:
Supports TCP/IP (ARP, RARP, IP, ODP, TCP, PPP, PPPoE, DHCP, SNMP, etc).
Supports broad-band transmission (ADSL, etc).
Supports narrow-band transmission (PSTN, etc).
Streams of one or more channels, Net DVR's running state and alarm state can be accessed through network.
Net DVR's parameters can be set through the network.
Supports remote control of PTZ.
Streams can be recorded in a remote host PC .
Files in Net DVR can be downloaded to or remotely played in a remote host PC.
Supports Net DVR remote upgrading.
PC hosts can gain direct control of Net DVR's RS-232 or RS-485 port.
Supports voice talk between host in surveillance center (back end) and Net DVR (front end)
Supports embedded web server. Browser can be used to access Net DVR.
Storage Functions:
Supports 6 kinds of record trigger mode: Schedule mode, alarm mode, motion detection, motion detection & alarm, motion detection | alarm.
Won't lose frames when switch record files
Supports hard disk sleep mode.
Supports FAT32 file system.
Supports HDD smart
Supports cyclic and non-cyclic record mode.
Supports network access storage (NAS).
Supports USB flash disk, USB hard disk, USB CDRW for backup.
Preview & Playback Functions:
Supports Monitor; Supports VGA;
Switch quickly in preview mode;
Supports partial zone sheltering;
Supports local file Play and time play, support play fast, play slow, pause, play frame one by one, etc;
Supports OSD, LOGO
PTZ control:
Supports Pan-Tilt-Zoom control and Preset through front, keyboard and network;
Supports most popular PTZ protocol;
Ability to customize new PTZ protocol;
Alarm Functions:
Supports Motion detection alarm, switch alarm, signal lost alarm, exception alarm, etc;
Supports setup of alarm related with PTZ preset;

Additional Screen Shots (Click to Enlarge)

 
Screenshot showing the ADD IP Camera List Main Screen for Camera Setup Main Screen for LIVE View of Cameras Allows you to manage Matrix Output on Main DVR Screen
Setup Screen for Matrix Card Output Motion Detection Setup Screen Network View of Main DVR Screen Remote Notification Setup Screen
All Cameras in Playback Mode Main Playback Screen showing selections Main DVR Screen Allows for PTZ Control  Setup Screen for PTZ Cameras 
Setup Screen for DI/DIO Sensors  Main Setup Screen  System Log  Setup Screen for User Management 
DVR Utility Menu  Web Client Playback Web client Live View  
CAMERA SETUP

Selectable Camera Type : NTSC or PAL
Camera Enable
Camera Description - Type in the NAME of YOUR camera
Bitrate Adjust
Record Frame Rate
Remote Frame Rate
Remote Image Size
Recorded Image Quality
Remote Image Quality
Image Size
Remote Quality
On Screen Display (OSD) Display yes or no
Watermark Image
OSD Contrast
Copy setting to: Camera Name or All
Alarm Frame Rate Adjust - If the DVR see's an Alarm, it can jump to FULL Frame Ratec
Record Setup for Full Time Recording, Sensor Record, Motion Detection Recording, or NO Recording
Select PRE & POST Event Recording Time

SYSTEM SETUP

Number of Cameras (Channels)
Number of Sensor Inputs
Number of Sensor Outputs
Audio Monitoring enable/disable
Emap Setup
Camera Sequencing
Digital Input/Output Port setting
Overwrite Data Enable/Disable
Recording Disk Setup
Camera Alarm Popup Setup
Date Format
Time Format
4 CIF (D1) Recording Enable/Disable

NETWORK SETUP

Remote Connections enable/disable
Remote Connection Port
Remote Buffer Settings
PDA Enable/Disable
PDA Conneciton Port
Web Server Port
Maximum Video Connections
DNS Enable/Disable
DNS Connection Port
DNS Server IP
Interval connection Time - Auto DISconnects users after preselected time

UTILITY SETUP

Backup System Parameters - Allows you to SAVE and HOLD settings for upgrades
Import System Parameters - Restore Settings AFTER upgrades
DVD/CD Disc Backup Utility
Playback to TV
IP Camera Setup

OSD SETUP

Allows you to place OSD wherever you choose in the video on Individual Cameras

MOTION DETECTION SETUP

Allows you to set motion detection parameters wherever you choose in Individual Cameras

USER SETUP

Allows you to add/delete or Manage a Users rights and credentials

PTZ SETUP

Allows you to add/delete and Manage PTZ cameras, how they function, which protocols they use, which Ports the use, etc.

MATRIX SETUP

Allows you to spin cameras to analog monitors (up to four of them).

Why the buzz about H.264?

It's the bitrate!

H.264 is getting so much attention because it can encode video with approximately 3 times fewer bits than comparable MPEG-2 encoders.

Because H.264 is up to twice as efficient as MPEG-4 Part 2 (natural video) encoding, it has recently been welcomed into the MPEG-4 standard as Part 10 – Advanced Video Coding. Many established encoder and decoder vendors are moving directly to h.264 and skipping the intermediate step of MPEG-4 Part 2.

Goals & Approach of H.264

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) initiated the h.26L (for long term) effort in 1998 as a continuation of work following the MPEG-2 and h.263 standards. The overriding goal was to achieve a factor-of-2 reduction in bit rate compared to any competing standard.

Recall that MPEG-2 was optimized with specific focus on Standard and High Definition digital television services, which are delivered via circuit-switched head-end networks to dedicated satellite uplinks, cable infrastructure or terrestrial facilities. MPEG2's ability to cope is being strained as the range of delivery media expands to include heterogeneous mobile networks, packet-switched IP networks, and multiple storage formats, and as the variety of services grows to include multimedia messaging, security, increased use of HDTV, and others. Thus, a second goal for h.264 was to accommodate a wider variety of bandwidth requirements, picture formats, and unfriendly network environments that throw high jitter, packet loss, and bandwidth instability into the mix.

The h.264 approach is a strictly evolutionary extension of the block-based encoding approach so well established in the MPEG and ITU standards. Key steps include:

• Use of Motion Estimation to support Inter-picture prediction for eliminating temporal redundancies
• Use of spatial correlation of data to provide Intra-picture prediction.
• Construction of residuals as the difference between predicted images and source images.
• Use of a discrete spatial transform and filtering to eliminate spatial redundancies in the residuals.
• Entropy coding of the transformed residual coefficients and of the supporting data such as motion vectors.

Major Features of H.264

Improved Inter-Prediction and Motion Estimation

First recall the limitations of motion estimation in MPEG-2, which searches reference pictures for a 16x16 set of pixels that closely matches the current macro block. The matching set of pixels must be completely within the reference picture. In contrast, H.264 provides:

• Fine-grained motion estimation. Temporal search seeks matching sub-macro blocks of variable size as small as 4x4, and finds the motion vector to _ pel resolution. Searches may also identify motion vectors associated with matching sub-macro blocks of 4x8, 8x4, 8x8, 8x16, 16x8, or the full 16x16. [In future, even finer 1/8 pel resolution will be supported.]

• Multiple reference frames. H.264 provides additional flexibility for frames to point to more than multiple frames – which may be any combination of past and future frames. This capability provides opportunities for more precise inter-prediction, but also improved robustness to lost picture data.

• Unrestricted motion search . Motion search allows for reference frames that may be partly outside the picture; missing data can be spatially predicted from boundary data. Users may choose to disable this feature by specifying a Restricted Motion search.

• Motion vector prediction. Where sufficient temporal correlation exists, motion vectors may be accurately predicted and only their residuals transmitted explicitly in the bitstream.

Such techniques not only provide for more accurate inter-prediction, but also help to partition and scale the bitstream with priority given to data that is more globally applicable. Thus, they not only improve compression but also resilience to errors and network instabilities.

Improved Intra Spatial Prediction and Transform

Because "intra prediction" is concerned with only one picture at a time, it relies upon spatial rather than temporal correlations. As the algorithm works through a picture's macro blocks in raster scan order, earlier results may be used to "predict" the downstream calculations. Then we need only transmit residuals as refinements to the predicted results.

H.264 performs intra prediction in the spatial domain (prior to the transform, and it is a key part of the approach. Even for an intra-picture, every block of data is predicted from its neighbors before being transformed and coefficients generated for inclusion in the bitstream.

• Coarse versus fine intra prediction. Intra prediction may be performed either on 4x4 blocks, or 16x16 macro blocks. The latter is more efficient for uniform areas of a picture.

• Direction Dependent Intra Modes. By doing intra prediction in the spatial domain (rather than in the transform domain), h.264 can employ prediction that is direction dependent, and thus can focus on the most highly correlated neighbors. For Intra 16x16 coding and Intra 4 x 4 coding, there are 9 and 4 directional modes, respectively.

• 4x4 transform of Residual Data. For initially supported profiles, residual data transforms are always performed for 4x4 blocks of data, and coefficients transmitted on this fine-grained basis.

• Variable block sizes for spatial transform*. Future profiles will allow transform of variable size blocks (4x8, 8x8, etc.) with the same level of flexibility as motion estimation blocks. This will provide more flexibility and further reduction of bitrate.

• Integer transforms. Efficiency in both computation and bitrate is gained by implementing the traditional Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) as an integer transform that requires no multiplications, except for a single normalization. It can also be inverted exactly without mismatch.

• Deblocking filter. To eliminate fine structure blockiness that might be aggravated by the smaller transform blocks, a context-sensitive deblocking filter smoothes out the internal edges. Its filter strength depends upon the prediction modes and relationship between the neighboring blocks. In addition to increasing signal-to-noise ratio (S/N), this technique significantly improves the subjective quality of the image for a given S/N.

Improved Algorithms for Encoding

Two alternative methods improve efficiency of the entropy coding process by selecting variable length codes depending upon context of the data being encoded.

• Context-Adaptive Variable Length Coding (CAVLC) employs multiple variable length codeword tables to encode transform coefficients, which consume the bulk of bandwidth. Based upon a priori statistics of already processed data, the best table is selected adaptively. For non-coefficient data, a simpler scheme is used that relies upon only a single table.

• Context-Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding (CABAC*) provides an extremely efficient encoding scheme when it is known that certain symbols are much more likely than others. Such dominant symbols may be encoded with extremely small bit/symbol ratios. The CABAC method continually updates frequency statistics of the incoming data and adaptively adjusts the algorithm in real-time. This method is an advanced option available in profiles beyond the baseline profile.

Techniques for Mitigation of Errors, Packet Losses, and Network Variability

Error containment and scalability

H.264 includes several other features that are useful in containing the impact of errors, and in enabling the use of scalable or multiple bit streams:

• Slice coding. Each picture is subdivided into one or more slices. The slice is given increased importance in H.264 as the basic spatial segment that is independent from its neighbors. Thus, errors or missing data from one slice cannot propagate to any other slice within the picture. This also increases flexibility to extend picture types (I, P, B) down to the level of "slice types." Redundant slices are permitted.

• Data partitioning is supported to allow higher priority data (e.g., sequence headers) to be separated from lower priority data (e.g., B-picture transform coefficients).

• Flexible macro block ordering (FMO) can be used to scatter the bits associated with adjoining macro blocks more randomly throughout the bit stream. This reduces the chance that a packet loss will affect a large region and enables error concealment by ensuring that neighboring macro blocks will be available for prediction of a missing macro block.

• The Multiple Reference Frames that are used for improved motion estimation also allow for partial motion compensation for a P picture when one of its referenced frames is missing or corrupted.

SI and SP Pictures (or slices)*

MPEG-2 practice is to insert intra pictures (I) at regular intervals to contain errors that otherwise could propagate through the picture sequence indefinitely. In addition, intra-pictures provide a means for random access or fast-forward actions, because intra frames do not require any knowledge of other referenced frames. Similarly, regular I pictures would be necessary to switch promptly from between higher and lower bitrate streams – an important feature for accommodating the bandwidth variability in mobile networks. However, I pictures typically require far more bits than P pictures and thus are an inefficient means for addressing these two requirements.

H.264 introduces two new slice types , "Switching I Pictures" (SI) and "Switching P Pictures" (SP), which help address these needs with significantly reduced bit rate. Identical SP frames can be obtained even though different reference frames are used – thus, they can be substituted for I frames as temporal resynchronization points, but with significantly reduced bitrate. SP pictures rely upon the transformation and quantization of predicted inter blocks. Because SP pictures do not take full advantage of intra-prediction, at the cost of some bits they can be extended to SI pictures which do so.

Note that because slices are coded independently, switching slices (SI or SP) can be defined at that level.

Low Latency Feature

Arbitrary Slice Ordering (ASO) relaxes the constraint that all macro blocks must be sequenced in decoding order, and thus enhances flexibility for low-delay performance important in teleconferencing, surveillance and interactive Internet applications.

Simplified Profiles

H.264 is completely focused on efficient coding of natural video and does not directly address the object-oriented functionality, synthetic video, and other systems functionality in MPEG-4, which carries a very complex structure of over 50 profiles.

In contrast, H.264 is initially defined with only three profiles:

• Baseline Profile. A basic goal of H.264 was to provide a royalty-free baseline profile to encourage early application of the standard. The baseline profile consists most of the major features described above, with the exception of: B slices and weighted prediction; CABAC encoding; field coding; and SP & SI slices. Thus, the baseline profile is appropriate for many progressive scan applications such as video conferencing and video-over-IP, but not for interlaced television or multiple stream applications.

• Main Profile. Main profile contains all of the features in Baseline, except flexible macro block ordering (FMO), arbitrary slice order (ASO) and redundant slices. However, it adds field coding, B slices and weighted prediction, and CABAC entropy coding. This profile is appropriate for efficient coding of interlaced television applications where bit or packet error is not excessive, and where low latency is not a requirement.

• Extended Profile. This profile contains all features from the baseline profile and main profiles, except that CABAC is not supported. In addition, the Extended profile adds SP and SI for stream switching, and up to 8 slice groups. This profile is appropriate for server-based streaming applications where bit-rate scalability and error rate is very important. Security Applications and Mobile video services would be an example.

Where will H.264 have the biggest impact?

Any video application can benefit from a reduction in bandwidth requirements, but highest impact will involve applications where such reduction relieves a hard technical constraint, or which makes more cost-effective use of bandwidth as a limiting resource.

In addition, other h.264 features such error containment, error concealment, and efficient bitstream switching is especially useful for IP and wireless environments.

Squeeze More Services into a Broadcast Channel

Reduction in bandwidth requirements by factors of 2-3 provide cost savings for bandwidth-constrained services such as satellite and DVB-Terrestrial, or alternatively allow such providers to expand services at reduced incremental cost.

Facilitate High Quality Video Streaming over IP Networks
H.264 can produce very good quality, TV Quality streaming at less than 1Mbps (standard definition). This slips under 1 Mbps thresholds for xDSL and thus opens possibilities for new access methods for high quality, larger format video.

High Definition Transmission and Storage

Recall that MPEG-2 consumes 15-20 Mbps for High Definition video at suitable quality for broadcast or DVD. Use of h.264 will bring this down to about 8 Mbps, making it possible for bandwidth-strapped satellite service providers to fit 4 HD channels per QPSK channel.

Even more significant is that this reduction enables burning one HD movie onto a conventional DVD, thus avoiding the need for the industry to adapt a higher density ("blue laser") DVD format.

Mobile Video Applications

3G Mobile networks present an unusual array of technical challenges that have driven many features in h.264. Applications include video conferencing, streaming video on demand, multimedia-messaging services, and low resolution broadcast. Some key issues, and h.264 tools for dealing with them, include:

• Low bandwidth (50 – 300 kbps) is the key issue. The expected trend is for 3G deployment to start with h.263 and move up to h.264 as it matures. An industry analyst points out "… 3G networks are only likely to offer 57.6kbit/s initially. As those bit rates increase, mobiles and networks will move to the new H.264 codec, which offers twice the performance of H.263. This should result in the same picture quality being achieved at half the bit rate."

• Small devices with many formats ; variability of available bandwidth. For streaming applications, these two separate issues can be addressed by providing multiple streams with different formats and bandwidths, and selecting the appropriate stream at run-time. H.264's SP and SI pictures facilitate dynamic switching among multiple streams to accommodate bandwidth variability.

• High bit error rates, packet losses, and latenc y. For video applications, retransmissions are impractical for dropped or delayed packets, so h.264 provides several means (e.g., FMO, data partitioning, etc.) to contain error impacts and facilitate error concealment.

What is the relationship to MPEG-4 and MPEG-2?

Compared to MPEG-2

H.264 employs the same general approach as MPEG 1 & 2 as well as the h.261 and h.263 standards, but adds many incremental improvements to obtain coding efficiency improvement of about a factor-of-3.

MPEG-2 was optimized with specific focus on Standard and High Definition digital television services, which are delivered via circuit-switched head-end networks to dedicated satellite uplinks, cable infrastructure or terrestrial facilities. MPEG2's ability to cope is being strained as the range of delivery media expands to include heterogeneous mobile networks, packet-switched IP networks, and multiple storage formats, and as the variety of services grows to include multimedia messaging, increased use of HDTV, and others. Thus, a second goal for h.264 was to accommodate a wider variety of bandwidth requirements, picture formats, and unfriendly network environments that throw high jitter, packet loss, and bandwidth instability into the mix.

Compared to MPEG-4

During 2002, the h.264 Video Coding Experts Group combined forces with MPEG4 experts to form the Joint Video Team (JVT), so H.264 is being published as MPEG-4 Part 10 (Advanced Video Coding).

MPEG-4 is really a family of standards whose overall theme is object-oriented multimedia applications. It thus has much broader scope than H.264, which is strictly focused on more efficient and robust video coding. The comparable part of MPEG-4 is Part 2 Visual (sometimes called "Natural Video"). Other parts of MPEG address scene composition, object description and java representation of behavior, animation of human body and facial movements, audio and systems.