Welcome to our Digital Video Recorder Frequently Asked Question page. If you haven't been able to find the answers from our support pages or the rest of our website, then we can offer more help here in our FAQ section. If you are having trouble finding a solution then please contact your dealer who will be happy to assist you.
This page focuses on FAQ's regarding the Stack Digital Video recorder. For other product specific FAQ's, or for more general FAQ's about Stack, please return to our main FAQ page.
Click on a question, to jump to that section:
What do the front panel light (LED) flashes mean?
A green LED flash generally indicates that the unit is functioning correctly, whereas a red LED flash generally indicates a fault or a reset condition. A full explanation of the DVR panel light flashes can be found by downloading this table.
What do the on screen display messages mean?
A full explanation of the DVR's on screen display messages can be found by downloading this table.
Can I get better quality video by manually setting the bit rate?
We can offer a variable bit rate version of the DVR. (8Mbs max) Call your nearest Stack Technical Agent for pricing and for more information.
Our experience so far with Variable Bit Rate (VBR) is:
- The VBR version needs very fast memory cards.
- Sometimes even the recommended cards have a small % of sectors that don't work & these will cause pixellation in the video picture.
- Unfortunately you can't even be sure that once you have found a good one it will remain OK.
- This is because some manufacturers have a wear levelling scheme which moves (re-allocates) file locations each time a new file is made.
Do you recommend a CF card or a PCMCIA card for use with the DVR?
Both types of media has its good & bad points. Generally the following is true:
PCMCIA for: Ruggedness = Best temperature & Vibration spec.
CF for: Read speed & low price.
What causes the picture to Pixellate (Pixellation)?
This can be caused if the memory card write speed is insufficient. Memory card speed is related to the byte locations, hence pixelation will tend to be at the same location on the card. E.g. Pixellation occurs 5mins from the start of the card.
Notes: Static pictures are less likely to pixellate than a full action video picture, especially if recorded in Variable Bit Rate (VBR) mode. Memory cards that have a wear-levelling scheme will pixellate at a different location each time a new file is created.
How can I speed up the video file transfer into my PC?
PCMCIA ports on PCs tend to be slower than a USB2 based reader or a dedicated CF slot. All PCs are different so try the available Optionsto find out which is best on your PC.
What can I do if my memory card media is not recognised by the DVR?
- With the card in the PC check that the card is Formatted with ‘FAT-32' & the sector size is set to ‘Default'. If the card is not FAT-32, then Re-Format.
- The DVR should not be switched off, or the memory card removed from the DVR, when recording is active as this can create corrupted files. Use the PC, ScanDisk utility, set to 'Fix errors automatically', to check for errors on the memory card. Note: May succeed on the original file but will not work on a copy of the file. If this does not recover the file then re-format the media with FAT-32 and try another recording. Make sure that the recording is stopped at least 2 sec. before the DVR is switched of and the card removed.
- Check that the memory card is at least 512Mbytes, Smaller cards are formatted with a sector size that is too small for the DVR.
- Set the DVR back to 'factory defaults', & then re-program with your required configuration.
Now see if the DVR will recognise your media & records successfully.
- Sometimes the video file format is not recognised by the media player.
i. Try downloading a new ‘Codec' from the Internet. Or use a different media player.
ii. Use different settings on the DVR for video picture size and quality.
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