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As digital recorders get smaller they become suitable for more
applications, such as integration into the soldier's combat suit or
weapon system. One such device is the
Guncam gun camera recorder,
developed by Macroswiss. This unit has been developed for use by
Police Forces and Armies that need to record firefights from the
user’s perspective, for accountability purposes. The miniature DVR
unit can be connected to a weapon, attached to the belt, or carried in
a pouch on the vest (in which case the camera on the weapon is
connected to the recorder by a spiral cable). The camera can be set to
record video only upon release of the safety, in user-switchable
recording mode where the user decides when to record, or in continuous
recording mode. The data is recorded on a compact flash card.
Miniature DVR devices are suitable for 'wearable' man-portable
applications. As a digital wallet, Micro-DVR can store up to 60,000
high-resolution digital photos (1024x768). The Micro-DVR also has a
built-in microphone for recording audio. The Enhanced Wavelet
algorithm, with high quality video capture and play back at 720 x 480
resolution, enables storage of compressed video in commercially
standard MPEG 4 format (320 x 240 pixels, 25~28 frames per second),
recorded on a built-in 20 GB 2.5" hard drive. The units can be
upgraded with a 40 GB drive. Micro DVR supports continuous recording
of a single video and audio channel for up to 40 hours. Recordings can
be archived to PC via a built-in USB 2.0 interface. It can also store
digital photo files and display them from its built-in 3.5" Full-Color
LCD screen, a TV monitor, or a projector.
The Israeli Army is currently using several different digital
recorders, both imported and locally made. Two new digital video
recorders were recently unveiled by Goldtech Technologies. The first
is the ultra compact VCAP, which connects to a video source such as a
video camera, ground sensor, weapon sight, etc. VCAP compresses video
to the MPEG-2 standard, which preserves details better than MPEG 4.
The data is recorded on either a hard disk or solid state memory.
A larger system is the RAV-2, a dual-channel digital recorder with a
storage capacity of 100GB, sufficient for 24 hours of operation. RAV2
has a built-in mini display enabling instant playback or monitoring.
It is equipped with a remote control unit for convenient field
operation. It can also play back a video stream to any
PC, TV or standard video monitor.
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