MAC input for cctv dvr

gary996

gary996

gary996

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Gillingham Kent
Someone has asked me if he can use his Mac as the screen for his cctv (which I need to install).
The DVR has 1x BNC, 1x HDMI, 1x VGA outputs
The back of the Mac has 2 thunderbolt ports.
Is there a converter to I can get to plug the dvr into the mac screen?

Many thanks
 
GeX said:
Yes, VGA / HDMI to USB capture card will be the cheapest way of doing it.
Click to expand...

Any suggestions?
So an external capture card that sits in between the Mac and the DVR. So DVI cable out the DVR into the Capture card then usb cable out and into the Mac?
 
gary996 said:
I have been told by Apple (telephoned a moment ago) that what I need is this adapter.
http://store.apple.com/uk/product/HA824ZM/A/belkin-mini-displayport-to-hdmi-adapter Is it ok to link to this?

Can any Apple user please confirm this is what I need to be sure?

Thank you
Click to expand...

Thats a cable to allow you to connect a MacBook up to a TV/Monitor and extend or use it as a primary display.

What you describe you want is to use a CCTV/DVR device to output the feed from the camera to the Mac screen. The only way you can do that is by using something that will capture/playback the footage with software. If the DVI can't output over something like USB, you will therefore need a capture card or breakout box that can input VGA or HDMI back into the computer. The fact that its what sounds like a recent MacBook or iMac with only thunderbolt ports means you need items specific to thunderbolt.

So in summary, you can't just use the monitor of the Mac as an external CCTV monitor. You need hardware and software, something like a Blackmagic box:
http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/ultrastudiothunderbolt

I would imagine its probably cheaper for a small CCTV monitor though, unless your customer really needs to have it on their laptop.
 
Yes Nexus I do want to output the picture from the CCTV cameras to the Apple screen.
So the only way to do it is with a capture card?
If we go down the capture card route would this work just like any other monitor? where you can switch input and the screen will show the 3 live pictures from the cameras and if searching the DVR hard drive it will be displayed on the said monitor?
 
Why don't you go for something like a Swann DVR system which has a standalone HD recorder and then you can tap in using a web browser? (which is then universal... i think....)
 
Was going to be using Alien dvr. It connects to the internet so you can see your cameras any where in the world if you log in. The dvr does all the software stuff all I want is to be able to see the picture. Set it up etc
 
gary996 said:
Yes Nexus I do want to output the picture from the CCTV cameras to the Apple screen.
So the only way to do it is with a capture card?
If we go down the capture card route would this work just like any other monitor? where you can switch input and the screen will show the 3 live pictures from the cameras and if searching the DVR hard drive it will be displayed on the said monitor?
Click to expand...

The only way you can get a MacBook or iMac screen to display an image from the DVR is with a capture card.

But no, you can't just switch inputs, as the displays in the Mac are proprietary and can't just be 'taken over' so to speak, you would need an external monitor or television to do that, as I previously highlighted and I'm sure you must know as somebody who installs CCTV systems.

The capture card will allow data to be streamed from the DVR to the Mac, but then its all down to software you use to actually be able to see it on the screen. Effectively think of it as a webcam, which you could also choose to capture from.

What some of the other users are suggesting with systems that can broadcast to the web sound like a far better solution and likely have properly tailored software.
 
Our CCTV system at work has a web interface where I just enter the URL of the server and view it via browser. Each box (we have multiple site) has its one IP address so I log into each box itself but they all can be linked together.

Recording is done by the box, there's a built in DVD-rw to burn of footage directly, and if/when needed I can pull of footage. All recording are encrypted with a key based on a password as they use a special codec for security reasons.

This may be a bit overkill for what your after but I can dig up the name of the system tomorrow if needed. Luckily we don't need to recall footage too much and I leave it to security when that happens.
 
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