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Congratulations on your purchase of the DVR4-2500! 

You’ve chosen a versatile, powerful and great value security monitoring and 
recording solution for your home or business. Let’s just take a moment to talk 
about some of the great features that the DVR4-2500 offers and some of the 
things to think about before installing the system.

4 Channel Monitoring and Recording

The DVR4-2500 can monitor and record four channels simultaneously. You can 
confi gure the recording modes for the four channels quite independently – for 
example, you could have two channels recording on a schedule, one recording 
constantly and one armed to record on motion. Or any other combination you can 
think of!

Powerful H.264 Compression

The advanced video codec used by the DVR4-2500, called H.264, offers high 
quality video fi les at a fraction of the size of older video codecs such as MPEG-2 
or similar. Basically, this means you can get store more footage on the DVR’s hard 
drive, and that the quality of that footage can be signifi cantly higher than many 
older video formats. H.264 has been engineered to provide the highest level of 
data compression possible (saving space on your hard drive) whilst maintaining a 
high image quality.

Powerful Networking and Remote Access Features

The DVR4-2500 features an Ethernet port, which can be used to connect the 
DVR to your home network. With the addition of a high-speed Internet service, 
this allows you to remotely access the DVR from any high-speed Internet terminal 
on Earth! If that isn’t convenient enough, the DVR also features mobile device 
support, allowing you to connect to it from a device running 

Microsoft Windows 

Mobile

®

 or the increasingly popular 

iPhone

.

Multiple Monitor Connections

Not only does the DVR4-2500 come with multiple video out ports (allowing you 
to connect it to two televisions at once) it also comes with a VGA output, allowing 
you to connect the DVR to a computer monitor. The VGA connection allows for a 
much higher quality picture than traditional composite video connections, boasting 
resolutions of up to 1280 x1024 pixels. 

6

Overview

Remove

Back of DVR

Power Cable

SATA Cable

Note: 

the following instructions are 

for installing or changing the hard 
drive.  If your DVR already has a hard 
drive pre-installed, and you don’t want 
to change it, disregard these steps.

Ensure the DVR is switched off 

1. 

and unplugged from mains 
power.

Locate and remove the 3 screws 

2. 

on the rear of the DVR.

Pull up the top case of the DVR.       

3. 

   

Locate the 4 screws holding 

4. 

down the hard drive chassis. 
Remove these screws and 
remove the chassis from the 
DVR. 

Push the metal clip on the SATA 

5. 

cable (single 

red

 or 

orange

 cable) 

to unplug the cable from the 
hard drive. Unplug the power 
cable (2 black, 1 

yellow

, and 1 

red

 cable) from the back of the 

hard drive.

Four screws secure the hard drive 

6. 

to the drive chassis. Remove 
these.

If replacing the hard drive, put the 

7. 

new hard drive into the chassis. 

Screw in the hard drive to 

8. 

chassis as in step 5, and attach 
the chassis to the DVR case as 
in step 4.

Replace the top of the case.

9. 

Screw in the remaining screws 

10. 

to the sides and back of the DVR 
as in step 2.

Installing/Changing the HDD

Remove

Remove

2

3

4

6

5

63

Summary of Contents for DVR4-2500

Page 1: ...e USA toll free 1 800 627 2799 Su 2pm 10pm US PT M Th 6am 10pm US PT F 6am 2pm US PT USA Exchange Repairs 1 800 627 2799 Option 1 M F 9am 5pm US PT AUSTRALIA toll free 1300 138 324 M 9am 5pm AUS ET Tu F 1am 5pm AUS ET Sa 1am 9am AUS ET NEW ZEALAND toll free 0800 479 266 UK 0203 027 0979 DVR4 2500 4 Channel H 264 Digital Video Recorder plug playsecurity Advanced security made easy SW342 2DV www swa...

Page 2: ... SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS Make sure product is fixed correctly and stable if fastened in place Do not operate if wires and terminals are exposed Do not cover vents on the side or back of the DVR and allow adequate space for ventilation Before You Begin 2 Warranty Information Swann Communications warrants this product against defects in workmanship and material for a period of one 1 year from it s origi...

Page 3: ...___________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________...

Page 4: ... Audio Input Audio Output 2 x RCA Audio Output Recording Compression Format H 264 Recording Resolution NTSC D1 704x480 HD1 704x240 CIF 352x240 PAL D1 704 x 576 HD1 704 x 288 CIF 352 x 288 Recording Frame Rate NTSC 30fps D1 60fps HD1 120fps CIF PAL 25fps D1 50fps HD1 100fps CIF Recording Modes Manual Motion Schedule Sensor Multiplex Operation Triplex HDD Interface SATA Hard Drive Support Up to 1TB ...

Page 5: ...hannel to the questionable input Problem I cannot login to my DVR remotely using the NetViewer software or the Internet Explorer browser Solution Make sure you have configured the IP ActiveX and USER SETUP correctly Remember the USER PASSWORD may be different to the ADMIN PASSWORD The ADMIN PASSWORD is used to login to the DVR remotely Problem I cannot perform a backup Solution Make sure the DVR i...

Page 6: ...th If that isn t convenient enough the DVR also features mobile device support allowing you to connect to it from a device running Microsoft Windows Mobile or the increasingly popular iPhone Multiple Monitor Connections Not only does the DVR4 2500 come with multiple video out ports allowing you to connect it to two televisions at once it also comes with a VGA output allowing you to connect the DVR...

Page 7: ...r off Important Information 7 DEFAULT PASSWORD INFORMATION To ensure your privacy this DVR is password protected To unlock the DVR for the first time the default password is 123456 To ensure your ongoing privacy we strongly recommend changing the pass word as soon as possible Choose something that you ll remember but that others would be unlikely to guess If you do manage to lock yourself out of t...

Page 8: ...his will speed up the footage Press multiple times to increase the speed of the playback When navigating through menus this button will move the cursor to the right 13 Stop In playback mode pressing this button will stop playback 14 Record Press to immediately start recording This acts as a manual override to the schedule and motion recording modes For a channel to be recorded in this mode or any ...

Page 9: ...t of the Rear Panel 1 CH1 CH4 Video Inputs These are the four camera inputs labelled as per their channel in the DVR s interface Thus plug the camera you want to be associated with Channel 1 into the port marked CH1 and so on 2 Video Outputs This sends a composite video signal out of the DVR Each of the two ports can be connected to separate monitors However there is no requirement to use more tha...

Page 10: ...e this will take you directly into playback mode and begin playing the most recent recording In playback mode use it to resume playback after pausing or stopping a recording 4 Rewind During playback this will reverse the footage Press multiple times to increase the speed of the reversing 13 Fast Forward During playback this will increase the speed of playback Press multiple times to increase the s...

Page 11: ...Internet This will alter amongst other things the amount of data the DVR tries to send to your PC a local network can handle a much higher amount of data being transferred than the Internet Click on LOGIN to open communication with the DVR Once you ve logged in you will be taken directly to the main user interface of NetViewer To open NetViewer On your PC click on START ALL PROGRAMS Find the D9 VI...

Page 12: ...tion and operation of the menus In this capacity the mouse functions in a very similar manner to the mouse attached to a computer The left mouse button is used to select confirm choices and otherwise interact with the menu system The right mouse button opens the pop up menu when pressed in live viewing mode or exits a menu when pressed whilst in the menu system The pop up menu accessed by right cl...

Page 13: ...t a text field which allows you to enter a value If you want to change the type of characters being entered click the ABC button on the right of the keyboard this will cycle through the modes available You can enter letters numbers or symbols each with their own mini keyboard Getting Started If you ve just unpacked your DVR and are not sure where to begin setting up your system here s a quick rund...

Page 14: ...evice setup on the DVR Choose a channel from 1 through 4 as mobile devices have limited bandwidth the DVR4 2500 will only stream one channel at a time To choose another channel reconnect As the software is designed to function with multiple DVR systems it will display up to 16 channels only four of which will interface with the DVR4 2500 11 Then click Connect 12 Standard playback controls and PTZ ...

Page 15: ...ursor is currently highlighting the CAMERA icon Camera Display Setup The camera menu contains all the options for setting up how the DVR interfaces with and displays the images from the cameras connected to it This is where channels are enabled or disabled in live viewing and where the AUTOSEQ Automatic Sequence function can be configured Record Where you can configure the recording options for th...

Page 16: ...urn expanded to fill the entire screen In the AUTOSEQ drop down menu you can select how long you d like each channel to appear as well as the quad view mode Each can be configured individually so you can fine tune exactly how long you d like each channel to be visible for The DVR will skip channels which been disabled during the auto sequence Remember After making changes to the settings press cli...

Page 17: ...andard camera or a conspicuously colored object in the frame cause the display to be inconveniently tinted or over under exposed Basically this will help fix something that just doesn t look right Remember After making changes to the settings press click the APPLY button HUE Changes the color mix of the frame this can have very dramatic results BRIGHT Changes how light all tones in the image appea...

Page 18: ...f and amount of detail in your footage Remember After making changes to the settings press click the APPLY button 18 Static and Dynamic IP Addresses In much the same way as your home network can use static or dynamic IP addresses many Internet providers don t issue or charge more for a static IP address for users The easiest way to find out is to contact your Internet service provider Alternately ...

Page 19: ...your router to forward these ports to the DVR usually your router will have a drop down menu allowing you to select which devices on the network to forward ports to Finally to learn your networks public IP address you ll need a computer with Internet access connected via the same network as the DVR you re configuring Then open an Internet browser window In the address bar go to www whatismyip com ...

Page 20: ... IP address to use this must be unique and the subnet mask gateway address and DNS server address these must match the other devices on your network The most common way of discovering these values is to use a computer already connected to the network which can access the Internet Typically this is a matter of bringing up the Properties window for your local area connection LAN Depending on your op...

Page 21: ...ed to enter the IP address subnet mask or default gateway values into the DVR Rather the DVR will automatically request this information form your networks Dynamic Host usually your router 48 Setting the Schedule The first step in setting the schedule is choosing which channel you d like to set the schedule for From the CHANNEL drop down menu select the channel you d like to set the schedule for I...

Page 22: ... to Point Protocol Over Ethernet is an advanced protocol which allows the DVR to be connected directly to a DSL line without the need for a router or gateway This is recommended for advanced users only More information about networking the DVR as well as remote access from a PC or mobile device can be found in the Remote Access section See pages 50 55 for more Additionally we have some resources a...

Page 23: ... this port already If this is the case change this value to be unique That this port is forwarded from your router to the DVR this process is 2 called Port Forwarding Check out or website www swannsecurity com for supporting information and an online guide which covers port forwarding for various popular routers gateways Forwarding a port is something like opening up a fast lane for network traffi...

Page 24: ...tton 24 The System Maintenance Menu Remember After making changes to the settings press click the APPLY button 45 To maintain the operational integrity of the DVR it is suggested that it be rebooted periodically In much the same way that a computer can become unstable if left on for an extremely long time the DVR can become unstable It is strongly suggested that the DVR be rebooted at least once p...

Page 25: ...re you are running The File List USB Backup USB Backup Instructions First insert a USB flash drive into the USB port on the back of the DVR Note that inserting a flash drive into the mouse port will not work correctly Make sure there are no files on the USB flash drive that you wish to keep as data already on the drive may be lost Highlight the BAK check boxes which correspond to the recordings th...

Page 26: ...ug type not to the actual resolution The DVR can be set to three different resolutions SVGA 800 x 600 XGA 1024 x 728 or SXGA 1280 x 1024 Note that all these resolutions are intended for display on a standard 4 x 3 computer monitor i e not widescreen To select the right resolution for you check the documentation which came with your monitor Typically the highest resolution that both the monitor and...

Page 27: ... ll remember To protect against a mistake at this point which would lock you out of your DVR you ll need to enter the password again in the CONFIRM box immediately next to the USER or ADMIN PASSWORD field Remember After making changes to the settings press click the APPLY button 27 Playback Controls The playback controls work in a similar manner to those you ll find on a DVD player or VCR The play...

Page 28: ... click the APPLY button 41 By using the mouse or the arrow buttons navigate to the numeric time display 1 and left click or press select The first digit see example to the right will now be highlighted for editing 2 Using the pop up keypad use the mouse of the arrow buttons to select the 3 digit that you want Left click or press select to choose a digit Confirm your selection by highlighting and p...

Page 29: ...trol MAC address MAINTAIN Define and implement an automatic maintenance schedule for the DVR It is important that the DVR be rebooted on occasion to prevent errors this function lets you program an automatic schedule of rebooting which the DVR will follow The SYSTEM SETUP menu The SYSTEM SETUP menu is where most of the advanced settings for the DVR hide out The Playback Interface Assuming that you...

Page 30: ...ngle image taken approximately a 25th 30th of a second from the previous image with the next A certain amount of difference between these two frames is interpreted as motion As a result the DVR is able to detect when there is a change in the picture However this does not necessarily need to be something moving in the frame For example a light being turned on or off a lightning flash or even the su...

Page 31: ...hard drive and how much footage you can record to it Pictured with HDD FORMAT highlighted HDD STATUS If the hard drive is not installed properly you will see a message saying NO DISK FOUND The live view screen will display the icon on the bottom of Channel 1 s display if the hard drive is not being detected TOTAL SPACE Total size of the hard drive currently installed FREE SPACE Total amount of fre...

Page 32: ...e Motion Detection Menu Remember After making changes to the settings press click the APPLY button 37 The MOTION DETECTION menu Here you ll be able to choose which channel s you want to be sensitive to motion Additionally you ll be able to choose how sensitive each channel is The SETUP button will take you to the MOTION DETECTION CONFIGURATION screen How it Works Once motion detection has been ena...

Page 33: ... the settings press click the APPLY button 33 This is the ALARM SETUP menu If you have external sensors connected to the DVR or an alarm connected to the DVR this is where you set them up Additionally from this menu you can configure the DVR to emit an alarm tone from it s internal buzzer or configure the DVR to send an Auto Mail email alert when motion is detected or an alarm sensor is triggered ...

Page 34: ...etup Remember After making changes to the settings press click the APPLY button 34 Step 4 Once you ve entered all the required information the information in the fields should look something like the example shown below We stress that this is an example only the information you ll need to enter will vary depending on your email provider In this example the DVR has been configured to send email via...

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