A DVR is short for Digital Video Recorder. I won’t bore you with the technical definition, but rather here is a simple explanation of the definition of a DVR as it applies to the security industry. A DVR is an electronic component that is used to record the video from a security camera. Each security camera is connected to the DVR using coax cable and BNC connectors. The video transmission is then compressed and stored on a hard drive. A DVR is different from the older time lapse VCR’s because it stores the data digitally on a hard drive rather than on a VHS tape. In most cases a DVR will be able to store day, weeks, months or even years of video before it begins to record over itself. This avoids the necessity of switching out tapes.