Storage costs money. With the growing attraction of megapixel cameras coupled with expanding security video uses ranging from forensics to marketing, the storage price tag can go up and up. Then, depending on the devices and their closeness to the IT operation, there is the cost of running and cooling the gear as well as the investment in backup and redundant storage systems.
Still, storing and retrieving security video has come a long way from the days of videocassettes. Today, there is in-the-camera storage, more just-in-case than primary. There are digital video recorders (DVRs) and network video recorders (NVRs). As security increasingly depends and works with IT, its infrastructure, servers and virtual storage techniques have come into play. Then there is the trend to off-site storage, whether in the cloud, third-party managed video or analysis of video for business purposes beyond security.