ESP : A DVR File Format for Enhanced Recording and Searching

DVR(Digital Video Recorder) system stores video inputs in compressed digital formats and retrieve them. DVR system has several advantages over traditional analog tape recorder system which are (1) improved real-time monitoring, recording and searching capability, and (2) other capabilities such as watermarking and remote monitoring through network. AVI format is the most popular format used for DVR systems. However, AVI format has drawbacks in recording and searching due to structural problem. Some vendors develop and use their own format, do not open the format to the public. In this paper, ESP format is proposed. ESP format solves the drawbacks of AVI format, and the advantages of AVI format apply to ESP format. Moreover, ESP format provides multistream recording/replay and event-recording. In result, ESP format enchances functionality of recording and searching in DVR system.