There seems to be confusion over what to call network video components.  There are a number industry terms and lots of jargon in this area.  It’s a relatively new field and is to be expected. As the market figures out which technologies get used where, names will come and go.  But there are a few terms that are used pretty consistently, but are really not all documented in one place.

Here are the basic network video component technology terms that I think most people in the industry would agree on.

DVR: A digital video recorder with analog cameras attached to it.

Hybrid DVR: A DVR which also implements the NVR function.

IP Camera: A video capture device that can transmit video images over an IP network.

IP Video Decoder: A rare device, this component receives IP video and converts it to analog video.

IP Video Encoder: Often called a video server, the IP Video Encoder receives analog video and converts it to an IP video stream.

IP Video Server:  See IP Video Encoder

NVR: The Network Video Recorder (NVR) uses IP protocols to stream video from IP Cameras and store it to disk.

Video Analytics: Algorithms to analyze video and produce data. These algorithms may be run on any number of components and might be implemented on specialized hardware or software.

Video Management Software: Software which allows one to view video and control the configuration of network video components.  This is sometimes also called Video Command and Control software. This software could reside on any of the above components or on a separate component, such as a PC based server.

There are very terse definitions on purpose so we are just covering the basics.  Any major components that I missed?

I linked to the Wikipedia pages I could find for these.  Some are well written,  others are not so good.  Maybe I’ll spend a bit of time trying to help make them a bit better.