The only habit of CCTV recorders that other devices do not have is that they deliberately erase their footage forever at a predetermined time. As a result, with each passing day, the oldest footage will continue to be recorded over, which means that after an incident, the recorder doing its job is the biggest threat to the evidence. Therefore, if you want to capture evidence from your recorder as soon as possible, the single most important action you need to take immediately is to stop the recording.
Each system of recorders can store footage for a certain amount of time (a fortnight, thirty days, ninety days) based on the number of cameras and the capacity of the hard drive(s). In addition, since each piece of footage is stored using "loop" recording, once the retention period expires, the oldest portion of this continuous stream of footage is deleted in order to make way for new recording. Once an incident occurs, turn off the recorder or remove the recording media (hard drives); note the incident date and identify all involved cameras; and keep people away from the monitoring equipment so that no one inadvertently deletes useful data while trying to determine whether the system is operational.
If you miss the retention window, then don't assume you're out of luck, because some degree of fragmentation results from deleting old portions of looping recordings, and in many cases remnants of what was previously expired remain intact. It is worth an honest look before anyone concludes anything.
When a DVR drive is pulled from a DVR and plugged into a computer and appears "blank" (or "unformatted"), this is because DVRs from HikVision, Dahua, Swann and the rest use their own custom data formats to store the video footage. These data formats are not based on Windows file systems, which is what most computers use to read and write files. As such, the computer can't "talk" to the DVR and access the video footage, even though the footage is there in full. It can be accessed, however, by using special software designed specifically to decode these custom data formats. This software parses the raw data directly from an image of the DVR drive and then extracts the individual streams (one for each camera) and then breaks down those streams into smaller time frames. Once all of that is done, the extracted streams are saved out as standard playable video files, not an export the dead recorder can no longer make. In other words, the PC doesn't have the ability to read the DVR's native storage format, but we do!
In this case too, when the recorder itself has died or been damaged, the box is optional: the hard drive is your evidence.
In most CCTV cases, you'll ultimately be presenting your findings to someone, whether it be police, insurers or even tribunals. Therefore, delivery of CCTV evidence is typically tailored towards presentation before one of these entities. For example, we export requested windows of footage per camera, while maintaining timestamps and on write-once media (as required), along with a simple description of how the footage was recovered from the DVR. If specific evidentiary requirements need to be met or if a hash-verified copy needs to be created, please advise us at the beginning of our engagement so that we may include this in our scope of work rather than consider it an add-on service.
The cost for CCTV, DVR and NVR recovery is a fixed £400 + VAT regardless of how bad the fault ends up being. Only rare chip-level repairs are quoted for separately, in writing first. All of our work begins with a free online diagnostic. The costs go into writing before we begin work. Most of the time you owe us nothing unless the data comes back. There is no clock on an hour, no evaluation fees, no percentages of file values.
Turn off the recorders either by pulling the plug or taking the drives. Take note of the time of the incident, and the camera(s) that captured the event. The longer the recorders run the closer the loop gets to overwriting your clip. Once you have done this, send the drive(s) or the entire recorder to us. Exporting data is a secondary concern; preserving data is urgent.
Rarely. Generally the recorder is simply the tool used to record onto the hard drive. We recover directly from the hard drive, reading its native format on the bench, then deliver the recovered footage as a series of playable files. Before sending, remove the hard drive from the recorder (most times there is a slide-out tray/caddy that takes seconds to do) and after receiving a quote, post the hard drive.
Frequently, yes. Most cases of deleted data on digital systems such as DVRs delete the indexes but leave the video data until it is reclaimed by a loop. So, speed matters. As soon as possible, pull the hard drive and take note of roughly when the deletion occurred. Deleted data for evidence purposes is often requested, and we provide the paperwork to match.
Yes, that is usually how we do it. Give us the date, window and camera number(s) you want to export and we will cut your footage exactly as specified with all timestamps intact. Each file will be per camera and they will play anywhere. For investigations where everything needs to be dumped, of course we can provide a whole system backup, but most cases require a scalpel, not a skip.
Before you drop your device off or post it, please get a quote from us by phone or using the form first. Then there are two honest routes for dropping off and delivery. No vans. Hand in the device at Tay House, 300 Bath Street (right at Charing Cross, two minutes off the M8) Monday to Friday, 9am–5:30pm, without need of an appointment. Or wrap the device well and send by insured, tracked post from anywhere in the UK. All work is done in-house by our own engineers. We have documentation of the complete chain of custody and your data never leaves the UK.
The loop doesn't know it's holding evidence. You do. CCTV footage recovery for Glasgow: drive or entire recorder, HikVision to Dahua, delivered playable, paperwork ready. Get a quote, then Charing Cross or insured post, today rather than tomorrow.