The recorder is always writing in a loop; therefore, the first thing to consider is how much time will be available for what you are looking for prior to it being overwritten. This arithmetic is simple and should be done immediately; then the disk needs to be removed from service. As the disk continues to record, each additional hour of data means one hour of previous footage will disappear.
This category is the most time-sensitive type of case we manage, and its urgency is based upon structure (the design of the product) rather than circumstance (accident).
Surveillance recorders are built to operate continuously until they fill their disks, at which point they will delete the oldest footage. This continuous operation with eventual deletion of the oldest footage is the reason for using the device and provides a fixed “end” date for all of your requested video based upon both the retention period and the number of cameras.
For example, if there were four cameras and a 1TB disk was used, it might retain approximately 21 days. Conversely, if there were sixteen cameras using the exact same 1TB disk, it might retain approximately four days. Therefore, if an incident occurred last Tuesday and the recorder is currently operating and capturing video, the window for obtaining the desired footage is decreasing while a decision is being made regarding preservation.
Therefore, the first course of action is not to call anyone. It is to stop the recorder from deleting old footage. This may be accomplished by removing the disk from the unit or shutting off the power completely. All other decisions may be delayed; however, this cannot.
Power it down now, then decide. If footage matters and you have not already exported it, pull the recorder offline before you do anything else. A DVR system will continue to delete what was being recorded (the footage they wanted) while someone is arranging a quote.
A DVR disk attached to a computer will usually show up as “unformatted” and this causes people to think that the drive has failed. The disk has not. Most manufacturers develop their own file systems rather than using NTFS or ext4, in order to improve performance while operating on a constant write basis and also in order to keep all recordings within their own proprietary software package.
There are dozens of proprietary file systems developed by the major manufacturers, including Hikvision, Dahua, Swann, Samsung, Bosch and those who resell them under other brand names. None of them have common standards. In order to read a proprietary file system, we must identify the proprietary format used by the manufacturer, locate the frame index and rebuild the video stream from the pieces (fragments) that were written continuously instead of as individual files.
That is why a typical data recovery program will recover absolutely nothing from a CCTV DVR disk even though all of the original recording may still be intact. Data recovery programs look for files, and since there are no files, just a circular buffer with an index, there is nothing for them to recover.
The content resides on the disk; therefore, remove the disk and ship the disk alone. We cannot accept the recording device itself. Any local PC shop will be able to remove it for you within a few minutes if you are unsure.
Narrow down your date and time frames. Going from a timeframe of two weeks to an extremely narrow window of only two hours reduces the amount of time required to complete the reconstruction (from several days to only hours), and increases the amount of data recoverable.
Identifies the video format and the structure of each frame. Because rebadged units are common, the labelling of the unit provides greater insight into how to recover data than does the description provided by the vendor at the time of purchase.
A sixteen-channel system will interleave all of its channels onto one disk. If we know which cameras matter, we can prioritise those channels instead of having to recreate everything.
CCTV/DVR recovery is £400 +VAT flat, agreed upon in writing once we have completed the complimentary diagnostic. The reason we can quote a flat rate is due to the fact that regardless of what type of DVR/recorder is used, the same three steps are involved in recovering video: identifying the manufacturer's file system, locating the frame index and then rebuilding video from a circular buffer where the video was never saved as individual files.
Where video evidence is required for a police matter or insurance claim, this includes written details regarding the items that were recovered and how they were recovered, as standard (rather than as an extra).
Turn power off immediately. Each hour that it continues to record will cause older footage to be overwritten, and last week's footage could currently be within the overwrite window based upon the number of cameras and disk capacity.
Expected, not faulty. DVRs create their own unique file system(s) which cannot be accessed by Microsoft operating systems. When asked if you would like to format the disk, do not accept. Footage remains intact; however, it is unreadable only to your computer.
In part, sometimes. Due to overwrite processes that are not always sequential or complete, remnants of older footage frequently remain present between newer recordings. Worth trying before assuming.
And then we can almost certainly recover it. Footage exists on the disk, not in the recorder, and the format can be identified from the disk itself.
Useful though not required. The make/model on the label indicates the format of the footage; therefore, please note the make and model (or take a photo of the label), and send the drive alone. We cannot accept the recorder itself.
We provide it in a normal video format along with a written description of what we have recovered and where it has been recovered from. Whether it can be admitted in court will depend on the person dealing with the case.
Free diagnostic, footage recovered by camera and time from DVR / NVR / SD card (even a failed recorder), exported into normal files for your insurer or the police. Contact us.