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Intelligence units and special operations forces were the first
'land users' of Digital Video Recorders (DVR). Miniature DVR cameras
developed for government intelligence agencies, law enforcement
agencies, and private investigators, have been utilized for covert
intelligence collection, and recording of data from covert, field
deployable surveillance systems. These users employed COTS based
systems.
Military applications began with similar uses, but, with the
proliferation of asymmetric warfare and the subsequent increases in
deployment of peacekeeping forces, recorders are assuming new roles,
including the monitoring of military operations in a manner similar to
the methods commonly used for fighter aircraft and helicopters. Like
airborne systems, additional applications include training and mission
debriefing. Portable DVRs are commonly used to record voice, images
and occasionally short videos. Portable systems are commonly used to
store image-based information (for example, pictures of suspects),
situational maps, digital reports etc.
Military video recorders use proprietary or commercially available DVR
software and support standard commercial video compression formats
(MPEG 2 or MPEG 4). High capacity, hard-disk drive based systems
provide for long duration recording, providing 20+ hours of
multi-channel recording, while the more compact flash-disk based
systems utilize proprietary systems to achieve maximum compression in
order to make the best use of the limited storage, and conserve power
for extended operation. Systems relying on Hard Disk Drives (HDD) must
be designed to survive the harsh conditions encountered during
military use, for which ruggedized equipment may not be sufficient.
When required to operate in extreme field conditions and in airborne
applications, systems usually use solid-state memory modules. This
type of recorder is usually more expensive than commercially available
ruggedized gear, and is used for special applications, such as
observation posts, and surveillance units.
Basic systems support single channel video or voice recording,
commonly augmented with a time-stamp for data synchronization during
playback. When systems are provided as "black boxes", without an
integral display, they do not support instant review of information
and are used primarily for post mission debriefing and analysis. More
sophisticated multi-channel systems are commonly used for intelligence
gathering, in command posts, or on-board vehicles. These systems can
record multiple feeds of video, voice communications, weapon's
position information, etc. They also provide an important 'instant
review' capability, which allows the observer to view a recorded event
while continuing to record real-time events, enabling on the spot
investigation, review, and analysis of online and stored information.
This capability becomes essential when a thorough examination of an
ongoing event is required, or when comparison with relevant past
events are performed.
Advanced 4 channel and 6 channel recorders have recently been
introduced as ruggedized and military qualified systems, supporting
intelligence gathering and combat elements. Video and voice loggers
have previously been used at the field level, usually employing
commercial off the shelf (COTS) equipment, and deployed primarily in
intelligence processing and recording centers.
Other issues covered in this feature:
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