Why Is There No Option for Continuous Recording
Tags: continuous recording, battery-powered cameras, powered add-on cameras, internal HDD, NVW-600CMB, NVW-AS4KCAM, NVW-MR4KCAM, battery conservation, idle mode, sleep mode, Swann Security app, live view, solar panel, DVR, NVR, NVW, record schedule, motion detection, normal recording, recording mode, storage capacity
Continuous recording is a feature where it will record non-stop regardless if there are movements, persons, or sounds detected. It is only possible for recorders with:
- Powered add-on camera (not battery-powered)
- Internal HDD
Why Can't Battery-Powered Cameras Record Continuously
Battery-powered add-on cameras like the NVW-600CMB, NVW-AS4KCAM, and NVW-MR4KCAM need to conserve their battery when nothing is moving or triggering it to record. They will go on idle or sleep which is essential for these types of cameras to save you time in recharging them more often than you like.
In addition, these cameras will only stream when you open the Swann Security app or click Play on the recorder's live view, and will go on idle again after a few seconds to save battery.
Adding a solar panel is designed to charge the battery; not to make it have continuous power. The unit is classified as a 'battery-powered' unit however it is getting its power.
What System Can Record Continuously
Below are different kinds of systems that you may have. Check each to learn what they do or select the system that you have to see if it is capable of recording continuously:
A Recorder is a small box that has the HDD where recordings are stored. It can be a DVR, NVR, or NVW. These are at the beginning of the model number of your recorder.
Powered add-on camera use a power adapter that is connected to your camera and plugs into a power outlet so it can operate continuously.
On a system like this, 24-hour 7 days a week of motion detection is enabled for each camera
connected by default. For example:
Normal (continuous) recording (green boxes) can be enabled at the same time as motion detection (yellow boxes).
- To set up the camera for continuous recording, login to Menu > Setup.
- Go to Record > Record Schedule.
- Select the camera you want to enable continuous recording by channel number.
- Select the desired recording mode via the radio button (which is Normal).
- Then click on a particular black square on the grid to change the color from black to green. To select all, click and drag the mouse over the squares corresponding to your desired period.
- Click “Apply” to save settings.
- Use the “Copy” function to apply all settings to the other cameras you want to record continuously.
NOTE: Setting one or more cameras to continuous recording will decrease the days of storage for recordings in your hard drive. To know how many days of recordings, your DVR/NVR can currently store, go to Menu> Search > General (tab). Click on the Date calendar. The number of days in red is the number of days the oldest recordings are stored. Here's an example:
A Recorder is a small box that has a space inside for an HDD where recordings can be stored. However, some units are also capable of using a microSD card; they are also mostly sold with an microSD for an affordable price. At the moment, all NVW units (including the MaxRanger4K™) and some DVRs has a microSD card slot.
Here's what the back of a MaxRanger4K™ looks like and also showing the microSD card slot.
Powered add-on camera use a power adapter that is connected to your camera and plugs into a power outlet so it can operate continuously. All DVR cameras are powered, but for NVW units, there are only a couple of options for now; none are compatible with MaxRanger4K™.
On a system like, a microSD card to store recordings will not be enough for the requirement needed for Normal or Continuous recording to work.
The recorder must have an internal hard drive with more than 1TB storage capacity.
Stand-alone Cameras are designed to start recording when triggered (e.g. detect motion, person, sound) regardless of whether it is battery-powered or not, then stop recording when there are no more events.
Once the camera is triggered, the camera can record for up to 60 seconds. If it needs to continue its recording, it will be saved as another file.