I have a customer who wants to add a VCR to his DVR. There's no identifying marks on the unit apart from the rather obvoius Digital Video Recorder on the front of the thing. I looked at the back and found an I/O port along with the usual camera inputs, loops and monitor output. Should there be a dedicated video output and if it had one what would it look like.

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Paul.

Assuming your monitor output is not a PC type monitor, but IS a small round BNC plug (CLICKY LINK) then you should be able to get a 'BNC to Scart' lead from any decent electronics store.

Once you got that, get hold of a T-piece BNC connector and plug the monitor and the 'BNC to scart' lead onto either side of the T and plug the T onto the output from your dvr. Make sure your video's on the scart input channel (normally called auxillary, AV1, AU1, etc, etc) and just press record on your video, it'll record whatever appears on the monitor screen then so just browse to the incident you wanna save and play it back on the dvr.

So things, you'll need:

1x T-piece BNC connector

1x BNC to scart lead.

If you watch the tape back and get nothing then chances are the video's on the wrong channel.

^^ clear as mud??

If it's a pc monitor connection from the output of your dvr then you'll need to buy some different stuff which'll cost a few more pennies, but it can be done. Has the unit not got built in cdrw or anything??

Unless the VCR he wants to add is a time lapse machine, if so you can just put the vcr in line with the monitor out of the DVR feeding the monitor, as JB says if its BNC connections. This would be better as you are not then splitting the signal.

Its unlikely the DVR will have a dedicated video output for VCR's hence you would use the monitor out and record onto VCR what you see on the screen.

Alternitavely if the monitor is a CCTV CRT monitor then chances are it will have a video loop through connection, in which case connecting the VCR to that will give you the same outcome, if it has a termination switch on the back of the monitor set it to Hi or opposite to 75ohm if you do loop out back to a VCR.