FMI DIGITAL BUS VIDEO SYSTEMS
FMI-CF Digital Bus Video Solution
 "Extreme Series" 1 & 2 Camera CF Systems
FMI-HD Digital Bus Video Solution
Basic 2 Camera SSD System For School Buses
FMI-HDP Digital Bus Video Solution
Professional 4 Camera SSD System For School Buses

Dealer Pricing Available
E-mail: admin@DigitalBusVDO.com

“The worlds most precious cargo deserves the most dependable
digital bus video system available”

Best Selling USA Made School Bus Solid State CF, 2-Channel, GPS, DVR with
Free On Screen Mapping

"EXTREME SERIES" 100% SOLID STATE
OR
OR
Your Choice of Cameras :
STC Turret Cameras, VR, IR LEDs, Built in microphone,
OR
PD Hi-resolution VR, IR LEDs, Built in microphone


FMI-CF DIGITAL BUS VIDEO SYSTEMS

These "Extreme Series" mobile vehicle DVRs incorporate American Made DVRs designed specifically for mobile vehicle surveillance applications like school bus digital cameras where archiving of the data off of the digital bus video system is critical and reliability in harsh environments is essential.

The FMI-CF mobile vehicle DVR has no moving parts making it our number 1 school bus video system choice for reliable, and dependable mobile vehicle surveillance on the market today.

When it comes to tough, durable and long lasting data storage, it is hard to beat the 100% Solid State digital storage of the CF card based "Extreme Series" school bus video systems, uniquely suited for mobile vehicle surveillance. CF cards can withstand 50Gs of shock during operation, without damage, while a standard hard drive can only handle a couple Gs during operation before they crash. CF cards can be frozen solid, slammed with 50 Gs of shock, and have no moving parts to wear out so for the first time a school bus digital camera system can be expected to outlive the bus .
CF card are far superior to the hard drive in virtually every area relating to bus cameras, except price and capacity, but now with the release of the 32GB CF card at a very reasonable price, it seems the hard drives days are numbered in on bus cameras. Digital bus video camera systems with CF DVRs DO NOT come with the CF card. We offer them as an option on quotes but schools can also provide their own from GSA vendors.

*Note: Free On Screen Mapping feature requires program access to the Internet for Google provided map & zoom features. This feature is disabled if Internet access not permitted.
Rear view of the FMI-CF DVR showing the "Industry standard" power and camera connections that for more than a decade were offered on the most common VCR based bus video systems. This is what makes this system the #1 choice for "VCR to digital conversions

Features Include:

  • 100% Solid State mobile vehicle DVR, no Hard Drive to crash
  • 3-Year Warranty on entire bus video system
  • Dual Channel DVRs available for 2 digital bus camera systems
  • Vandal resistant Infra-Red night vision school bus cameras
  • Digital bus cameras are adjustable on 3 axis
  • Audio enhancement circuitry for exceptional audio on bus camera
  • Unmatched Data Reliability from CF based solid state data storage
  • Free Reader unit with first bus camera system purchase
  • No more hard drive crashes on these solid state bus video systems
  • CF cards with Limited Lifetime Warranty
  • 10B-T Ethernet web browser interface
  • Event button to mark events on mobile video DVR
  • GPS optional with position and speed meta-data recording.
  • On Screen Mapping available with GPS equipped DVRs
  • Wireless download, archival program optional for bus video
  • GPS systems are “passive” and have no monthly charges
  • American DVR are the heart of these bus camera systems
Record Storage Time;
1 camera, "MH" resolution, from a 32 Gig CF card
30 FPS provides 34 Hours
20 FPS provides 52 Hours
15 FPS provides 68 Hours
10 FPS provides 96 Hours
Record Storage Time;
2 camera, "MH" resolution, from a 32 Gig CF card
30 FPS provides 17 Hours
20 FPS provides 26 Hours
15 FPS provides 34 Hours
10 FPS provides 48 Hours

Technical Specifications

* Integrated GPS position, speed tracking and recording.
* Recording of the GPS speed and position attached to a video frame.
* Synchronization of the units time with the GPS satellite system.
* Recording to Compact Flash Card media for unmatched reliability.
* Selectable record resolution: 640 x 240 or 320 x 240.
* Standard MJPEG compression with user selectable video compression rate and frame rate.
* Two video input ports supports 2 cameras (FMI-CF2)
* Dual audio input.
* Both channels simultaneously recorded.
* Independent 12V audio event trigger to start recording.
* 12V power supply output for the audio subsystem.
* 12V tolerant seven channel multi-event trigger recording and system control.
* Triggers can control record start, record stop, and camera selection.
* Triggers can record an event label attached to a video frame.
* Configurable event labels.
* 10B-T Ethernet port for web browser interface.
* Two 12 Volt camera or accessory power supplies.
* Mobile power supply protection to allow direct connection to a vehicles 12V power supply.
* Embedded Operating System for unmatched reliability, security and fast power up.
* Video authentication support via the Graphical User Interface (GUI).
* Selectable pre-event recording time up to 60 seconds.
* RS232 Radar interface data support.
* Simple VCR-type button controls. (Can be locked out)
*Rugged Aluminum Extrusion construction designed for standard 1 DIN automotive installation.

All specifications and features listed subject to change by the manufacturer without notice.

FMI-CF Drop-in-VCR-Conversion $665
FMI-CF-1 1-Channel DVR System w/ 1 camera $850
FMI-CF2-1 2-Channel DVR System w/ 1 camera $1,060
FMI-CF2-2 2-Channel DVR System w/ 2 cameras $1,230
GPS GPS upgrade w/ On screen Mapping $200
8-GB-CF 8 Gig CF card High Speed Transfer $80
16-GB-CF 16 Gig CF card High Speed Transfer $130
32-GB-CF 32 Gig CF card High Speed Transfer $250
E-mail quantities for detailed quote

Free On screen Mapping Feature with GPS Equipped DVRs

Verify or disprove parent claims that;
* The bus was too early and my child missed it.
* The bus was too late, and my child missed it.
* The bus did not stop at our stop,
* My child got on the bus at school, but never got off.”
* The bus was speeding past our house.
*These parent claims can now be verified or proven false

Document driver actions & performance such as;
* Did the driver stop at the 4 way stop signs,
* Did the driver stay on route or wander all over the place?
* Did the driver make personal trips in the bus?
* Does the driver speed on certain roads?
* Does the driver stop at a railroad crossing or just slow down?
* Was the bus used on weekends for unauthorized trips?
* Where the bus is parked during the day and nights.
These driver concerns can now be verified or proven false with On Screen Mapping
This system requires no service connection or monthly fees from GPS satellite or cellular service provider. It is passive and provided the information of vehicle location and speed at no additional cost during video playback. This feature only on GPS equipped DVRs from FMI

On Screen Mapping image shows the bus on Goggle street level maps and is a simple derivative of feeding the meta info for Longitude vs Latitude.
FREE on FMI GPS equipped DVRs ;
FMI-CF-GPS, FMI-HD-GPS, FMI-HDP-GPS
*Note: Free On Screen Mapping feature requires program access to the Internet for Google provided map & zoom features. This feature is disabled if Internet access not permitted.


"SOLID STATE DRIVE"(SSD)IS THE FUTURE OF BUS VIDEO



The mobile digital data market is rapidly migrating to 100% Solid State Drive (SSD), in order to achieve the highest levels of data integrity, reliability and durability inherent in the Solid State Drive flash memory devices (CF cards & RAM drives).
It is reasonable to surmise as Solid State Drive (SSD) memory capacity increases and cost decreases they will soon replace the fragile hard drives of the digital bus video systems and offer the school districts a system capable of outlasting the expected 20 year bus life.

Within the next 5 years we will see the sun set on hard drive technology in digital bus video systems, and a new dawn of 100% Solid State Drive (SSD) will provide the school bus video market the extreme durability and uncompromising data integrity those districts deserve for their tax dollars. When that sun sets on hard drives and the new dawn brings a sunrise on the Solid State Drives will your district be "in the dark" or "enjoying the sunrise" of true data integrity and reliability?


100% Solid State Drive Memory (SSD)
Hard drive disk failure is a common occurrence in this age of desktop computers but when you move the same technology to a mobile application the incidence of failure and damage to the fragile drive mechanism of a conventional hard drive can increase exponentially.
The frequency of drive failure, crashed drives and lost data are well known in the PC markets. Entire industries and sub markets have arisen to help safeguard business entities from the all too common problems with hard drives offering back up, archival, off site storage and data recovery services.
Risking your districts bus video liability protection to a fragile recording mechanism that could fail when you need it most, does not make sense when the most dependable, 100% Solid State Drive (SSD) is now available.

Once the decision is made to move forward to limit risk and enhance child safety on the bus by investing in a digital bus video system, accept nothing less than a 100% Solid State Drive (SSD)


Hard Drive Problems & Life Span
The main problem with hard drives is they are fragile mechanical mechanism with moving parts susceptible to wear and tear. Even under the best of circumstances within an ideal operation environment of an air conditioned office, they are wearing themselves out over time simply from normal wear and tear on the moving recording mechanism each time it is turned on, and required to read from the disk or write to the disk.

HDDs mechanism will deteriorate over time. HDDs consist of rotating, magnetically coated disks, known as platters, which are used to store data. This rotating motion of the mechanical arms results in considerable wear and tear after long periods of use. The operational life span of a computer HDD is typically over three years under controlled conditions, but your bus lifespan can be up to 20 years and it does not spend that time sitting still in an air conditioned office.
No matter how much cushioning a manufacturer provides the conventional hard drive, no matter how buffered the case is from shock and vibration, none of that addresses the primary flaw in the design of the system; that the unit begins wearing out the day it is first turned on and with each hour of video it records it gets that much closer to failure due to natural wear and tear.


100% Solid State Drive (SSD) Life Span
“CF” Compact Flash-based SSD are uniquely suited for mobile applications like school buses. They have no moving parts to wear out, no fragile mechanism to be damaged by pot holes, hitting curbs, impacting other vehicles plus their temperature operating range far exceeds what conventional PC hard drives.

“CF” Compact Flash cards are rated at around 300,000 write cycles, the best Flash chips are rated at 1,000,000 write cycles per block. This is the only rating I can find to determine the expected life of the CF card.
As the only measure I can find for expected life of a SSD is “Write Cycles”, if you multiple the number of days a year most buses operate (180) by the number of trips per day (2) you will get an average trips per year of 360, then double that for good measure and you have 720 trips per year per bus on average. Divide the expected life (write cycles) 300,000 by the number of trips expected each year and you get about 4,166 years worth of write cycles. This is not meant to imply they will work that long, but it does seem to indicate the are capable of lasting the life of the bus or longer. This 100% Solid State Disk (SDD) is the only memory device I am aware of that seems capable of lasting the life of the bus in a digital bus video application.


Hidden Costs Of Hard Drives
The trade off of massive storage capacity in a hard drive, is a poor substitute for dependable data integrity when everything that can go wrong in the mobile video environment is calculated into the equation.
Assuming your bus lasts 20 years, it could require up to 6 hard drive replacements over the life of the bus costing your district to bleed budget funds far into the future. This 3 year life expectancy of the hard drives is based on the longest warranty coverage of a hard drive by the manufacturer of a bus video system I am aware of, currently at 3 years. The fact they will warranty its function for 3 years leads one to believe it will last 3 years.
Given this same deductive reasoning of the expected life of the drive, many CF Flash cards manufacturers (CF Flash cards are 100% Solid State Drives SDD) offer Limited lifetime warranties based on their belief that with no moving parts and extreme durability the CF flash cards (SSD) will outlast their user. For the first time in school bus video, the system memory storage is capable of outlasting the bus life of 20 years of daily use.


Reliability
In terms of reliability, the conventional HDDs pale when compared to SSDs. The absence of mechanical arms and spinning platters to wear out or crash is the reason behind its reliability. In demanding environments, SSDs provide the type of ruggedness required for mobile applications. Unlike the HDD, SSD's can withstand extreme shock and vibration with data integrity and without any danger of data loss.
This feature is very important in school bus applications as there may come a time when the district is facing a $40,000,000.00 liability lawsuit resulting from a school bus related incident and the only thing standing between your district and a damaging court ruling or costly damages settlement may be the bus video system you invested in to protect yourself from this very situation.
That is not the time to remember reading about the extreme durability and dependability of a SSD based system while you try to explain why you chose the fragile hard drive based system that failed, because it offered more storage capacity or saved a few bucks.
The US Armed Forces are the best equipped fighting force in history. They demand the highest quality standards from their equipment and set extreme specifications that can survive the most abuse, in every extreme environment and situation they can anticipate.
The SSDs ability to deliver unnerving performance in extreme conditions also makes SSD play a vital role in military operations, be it in defense, aerospace or aviation applications. Military applications require, in most cases, an operating temperature range of -60°C to +95°C (Fahrenheit -76 to +194).


Heat Dissipation
Along with the lower power consumption, there is also much lesser heat dissipation for systems using Flash-based SSDs as their data storage solution. This is due to the absence of heat generated from the rotating/disk and mechanism. This proves to be the one of the main advantages of Flash-based SSDs relative to that of a traditional HDD. With less heat dissipation, it serves as the ideal data storage solution for mobile bus video systems along with PDAs, notebooks, etc. Users can do away with large cooling fans, internal power supply and batteries for large storage arrays in storage area networks.

Bus video systems with SSD memory do not need cooling fans or heaters.
Spec American DVRs
Buy American DVRs


“The worlds most precious cargo deserves the most dependable digital bus video system available”


Best Value USA Made School Bus
2-Channel DVR w/dual SSD tray, FTP
Server, GPS & Free On Screen Mapping
OR
OR
Your Choice of Cameras :
STC Turret Cameras, VR, IR LEDs, Built in microphone,
OR
PD Hi-resolution VR, IR LEDs, Built in microphone

"FMI-HD-SSD" Solid State Driver (SSD)
The FMI-HD are American Made DVRs, with basic 2 channel mobile vehicle surveillance systems designed as the most versatile and rugged digital bus video system on the market.
This small and compact school bus video system unit is designed to store from weeks to months worth of data on the vehicle while allowing archiving of the school bus digital camera data by removing the hard drive or the transfer of the data to a server via wired or wireless connection.

This school bus camera system recorder is designed specifically for mobile vehicle surveillance applications in harsh temperature and high-vibration environments where reliability of the recorded data is critical. It features a lockable removable rugged 2.5” mobile 64 Gig Solid State Drive (SSD) with flash based operating system for unsurpassed bus camera systems reliability.
*Note: Free On Screen Mapping feature requires program access to the Internet for Google provided map & zoom features. This feature is disabled if Internet access not permitted.
Rear view of the FMI-HD DVR showing the "Industry standard" power and camera connections that for more than a decade were offered on the most common VCR based bus video systems. This is what makes this system the #1 choice for "VCR to digital conversions

Features Include:

    • Full digital 2- audio/video channel recording
    • 3-Year Warranty
    • Removable Solid State 64 Gig (SS) for 64+ hours
    • Multiple trigger inputs / outputs
    • 2.5” mobile rated removable Solid State 64 Gig (SS)
    • Built-in Ethernet port with integrated web-server & FTP
    • Backend software to support automatic downloading events
    • Backend GUI software to support playback and meta-data
    • extraction, single frame snapshots and video authentication.
    • Panic button to mark events for easy searching
    • Unparalleled search capability 98x fast forward & review.
    • GPS ready with position and speed meta-data recording.
    • VCR-to-Digital conversion on most brands
    • Wireleless automated download, archivall program optional
    • Cameras adjustable on 3 axis
    • Propriety audio enhancement circuitry for exceptional audio
    • On Screen Mapping available with GPS equipped DVRs
    • GPS systems are “passive” and have no monthly charges
    • American Designed & Manufactured

Technical Features

  • Recording Capabilities Dual standard NTSC video camera input up to a total of 30 fps with synchronized audio and meta-data
  • Meta-Data Capture Per Frame Input voltage, unit temperature, 14 character unit name, panic button events, all triggers status and names, operating mode & version numbers, time & date, optional GPS lat/long/speed
  • Compression: Motion JPEG compression w/ 5 selectable compression ratios
  • Resolution: Dual camera 320 x 240 or single 640 x 240 square pixel
  • Frame Rate: Selectable 30 FPS to 1/8 FPS
  • Video File Format: Standard AVI playable in Windows Media Player. (320 x 480 format for dual camera)
  • Archive Media Type: Removable 2.5” mobile rated hard drive from 40GB to 120GB.Record until full or continuous video loop.
  • Typical Record Time: 80GB Removable Hard Drive w/ 2 cameras: 80 hrs
  • Power Supply Input Rating: Standard automotive power range; 8 - 24 Volts DC On Power Consumption w/o Cameras: < 270 mA Off Power Consumption: < 10 mA
  • 12V Camera Power Output Max: 12V @ 1 Amp regulated switched power outputs.
  • External Trigger inputs: 6 input triggers plus the ignition trigger
  • External signal outputs: 1 LED driver, 1 Open Collector output
  • Transient Protection: 2,500 Watts for 10ms
  • Operating Temperature: 0 C ~ 50 C (-32 F ~ 122 F) ambient temperature
  • Operating Vibration: 1G @ 5-500 Hz
  • Unit Weight: 1.8kg (4.0 lbs)
  • Unit Size: 7 in (178 mm) x 2 in (51 mm) x 8 in (203 mm); 1DIN Mountable

Information in this specification sheet is subject to change without notice.
All rights reserved. Actual performance may vary due to operating conditions.

FMI-HD-1-SSD 64 Gig SSD System w/ 1 camera $1,600
FMI-HD-2-SSD 64 Gig SSD System w/ 2 cameras $1,800
FMI-HD-1--GPS-SSD 64 Gig SSD System w/ 1 camera $1,800
FMI-HD-2-GPS-SSD 64 Gig SSD System w/ 2 cameras $2,000
128U 128 Gig Upgrade Per DVR $200
E-mail quantities for detailed quote

Free On screen Mapping Feature with GPS Equipped DVRs

Verify or disprove parent claims that;
* The bus was too early and my child missed it.
* The bus was too late, and my child missed it.
* The bus did not stop at our stop,
* My child got on the bus at school, but never got off.”
* The bus was speeding past our house.
*These parent claims can now be verified or proven false

Document driver actions & performance such as;
* Did the driver stop at the 4 way stop signs,
* Did the driver stay on route or wander all over the place?
* Did the driver make personal trips in the bus?
* Does the driver speed on certain roads?
* Does the driver stop at a railroad crossing or just slow down?
* Was the bus used on weekends for unauthorized trips?
* Where the bus is parked during the day and nights.
These driver concerns can now be verified or proven false with On Screen Mapping
This system requires no service connection or monthly fees from GPS satellite or cellular service provider. It is passive and provided the information of vehicle location and speed at no additional cost during video playback. This feature only on GPS equipped DVRs from EE

On Screen Mapping image shows the bus on Goggle street level maps and is a simple derivative of feeding the meta info for Longitude vs Latitude.
FREE on FMI GPS equipped DVRs ;
FMI-CF-GPS, FMI-HD-GPS, FMI-HDP-GPS

*Note: Free On Screen Mapping feature requires program access to the Internet for Google provided map & zoom features. This feature is disabled if Internet access not permitted.

Spec American DVRs
Buy American DVRs

“The worlds most precious cargo deserves the most dependable digital bus video system available”



Best Choice USA Made School Bus
Quad-DVR with 4 Cameras, Dual SSD tray,
H.264 Architecture & Free On Screen Mapping

Features:
4-channel real time audio & video
Built in GPS speed & Location
Free On Screen Mapping feature during playback
Dual slot SSD tray for double stacked SSD drives
Upgradable H.264 compression for massive compression
OR
OR
Your Choice of Cameras :
STC Turret Cameras, VR, IR LEDs, Built in microphone,
OR
PD Hi-resolution VR, IR LEDs, Built in microphone

"FMI-HDP-SSD" Solid State Driver (SSD)
 The FMI-HDP is a professional 4 channel mobile digital system designed as the most versatile and rugged mobile video recorder on the market. This small and compact unit is designed to store from weeks to months worth of data on the vehicle while allowing archiving of the data by removing the hard drive or the transfer of the data to a server via wired or wireless connection. This recorder is designed specifically for mobile applications in harsh temperature and high-vibration environments where reliability of the recorded data is critical. It features a lockable removable rugged 2.5” mobile hard drive with flash based operating system for unsurpassed reliability.

*Note: Free On Screen Mapping feature requires program access to the Internet for Google provided map & zoom features. This feature is disabled if Internet access not permitted.

Rear view of the "FMI-HDP" or Pro series of mobile based DVRs. Unlike most manufacturers who reliable Asian products, this system was designed, developed and manufactured in the USA

Features Include:

    • Full digital 2- audio/video channel recording
    • 3-Year Warranty
    • Removable Hard Drive 80GB for 80+ hours
    • Multiple trigger inputs / outputs
    • 2.5” mobile rated removable 64 Gig SSD
    • Built-in Ethernet port with integrated web-server & FTP
    • Backend software to support automatic downloading events
    • Backend GUI software to support playback and meta-data
    • extraction, single frame snapshots and video authentication.
    • Panic button to mark events for easy searching
    • Unparalleled search capability 98x fast forward & review.
    • GPS ready with position and speed meta-data recording.
    • VCR-to-Digital conversion on most brands
    • Wireleless automated download, archivall program optional
    • Cameras adjustable on 3 axis
    • Propriety audio enhancement circuitry for exceptional audio
    • On Screen Mapping available with GPS equipped DVRs
    • GPS systems are “passive” and have no monthly charges
    • American Designed & Manufactured

The FMI-HDP is a professional 4 channel mobile digital system designed as the most versatile and rugged mobile video recorder on the market. This small and compact unit is designed to store from weeks to months worth of data on the vehicle while allowing archiving of the data by removing the hard drive or the transfer of the data to a server via wired or wireless connection. This recorder is designed specifically for mobile applications in harsh temperature and high-vibration environments where reliability of the recorded data is critical. It features a lockable removable rugged 2.5” mobile 64 Gig SSD with flash based operating system for unsurpassed reliability.

Technical Specifications

  • Recording Capabilities
    4 standard NTSC video camera input at 720 x 480 resolution each with 60 fields per second each (D1) including synchronized audio and meta-data.
  • Meta-Data Capture for Each Frame
    Input voltage, unit temperature, 14 character unit name, panic button events, all triggers status and names, operating mode & version numbers, time & date, GPS lat/long/speed, 3-axis accelerometer data
  • Compression
    MJPEG w/ 32 selectable compression ratios
  • Resolution
    MJPEG D1, VGA, 1/4 D1 or 1/4 VGA; Selectable per camera
  • Frame Rate
    Selectable 60 fields per sec to 1/8 fps.
  • Video File Format
    Standard AVI file encapsulation including all video, audio meta data streams
  • Archive Media Type
    Dual removable 2.5” IDE mobile rated hard drive from 40GB to 120GB each or 4 SD / SDHC Flash Cards
  • Real Time Clock
    Battery backup real time clock with DST adjustment GPS time synchronization
  • Locked/Secure Design
    The unit features password protection with a barrel style removable hard drive lock and SD card lock.
  • Power Supply Input Rating
    Standard automotive power range; 8 - 24 Volts DC
  • Off Power Consumption
    < 12 mA
  • 12V Camera Power Output
    Max Four 12V @ 1/2 Amp regulated switched power outputs for camera supplies
  • GPS Features
  • L1, 12-channel continuous tracking receiver.
    GPS Acquisition
    <50 sec (50%), <84 sec (90%)
  • GPS Antenna
    Compact Magnetic-Mount Antenna with 5-meter length cable.
  • External Trigger Inputs
    7 input triggers plus the ignition trigger
  • External Signal Outputs
    2 Open Collector output
  • External Interface
    RJ-45 10/100 Ethernet, 3 RS-232 Serial Ports
  • Unit Weight
    1.8kg (4.0 lbs.) SD Version
  • Unit Size
    U7 in (178 mm) x 2 in (51 mm) x 8 in (203 mm)

Information in this specification sheet is subject to change without notice.
All rights reserved. Actual performance may vary due to operating conditions.

FMI-HDP-1-GPS-SSD DVR GPS System 1 camera On Screen Mapping $2,175
FMI-HDP-2-GPS-SSD DVR GPS System 2 camera On Screen Mapping $2,375
FMI-HDP-3-GPS-SSD DVR GPS System 3 camera On Screen Mapping $2,575
FMI-HDP-4-GPS-SSD DVR GPS System 4 camera On Screen Mapping $2,775
128U 128 Gig Upgrade Per DVR $200
E-mail quantities for detailed quote
Free On screen Mapping Feature with GPS Equipped DVRs

Verify or disprove parent claims that;
* The bus was too early and my child missed it.
* The bus was too late, and my child missed it.
* The bus did not stop at our stop,
* My child got on the bus at school, but never got off.”
* The bus was speeding past our house.
*These parent claims can now be verified or proven false

Document driver actions & performance such as;
* Did the driver stop at the 4 way stop signs,
* Did the driver stay on route or wander all over the place?
* Did the driver make personal trips in the bus?
* Does the driver speed on certain roads?
* Does the driver stop at a railroad crossing or just slow down?
* Was the bus used on weekends for unauthorized trips?
* Where the bus is parked during the day and nights.
These driver concerns can now be verified or proven false with On Screen Mapping
This system requires no service connection or monthly fees from GPS satellite or cellular service provider. It is passive and provided the information of vehicle location and speed at no additional cost during video playback. This feature only on GPS equipped DVRs from EE

On Screen Mapping image shows the bus on Goggle street level maps and is a simple derivative of feeding the meta info for Longitude vs Latitude.
FREE on FMI GPS equipped DVRs ;
FMI-CF-GPS, FMI-HD-GPS, FMI-HDP-GPS

*Note: Free On Screen Mapping feature requires program access to the Internet for Google provided map & zoom features. This feature is disabled if Internet access not permitted.

Spec American DVRs
Buy American DVRs

DROP-IN-VCR-TO-DIGITAL CONVERSIONS

"EXTREME SERIES" 100% SOLID STATE
DIGITAL BUS VIDEO
FMI-CF & FMI-CF2
The FMI-CF is a complete solid-state digital recording solution with no moving parts or hard drive. It provides high quality mobile digital DVR, with a convenient removable compact flash card (CF) for easy data retrieval.

Rear view of the FMI-CF DVR showing the "Industry standard" power and camera connections that for more than a decade were offered on the most common VCR based bus video systems.
FMI-CF Drop-in-VCR-conversion $665
(E-mail quantities for detailed quote)


"FMI-HD"
The "FMI-HD" is a compact digital video recording solution that supports 2 cameras recording (MDRV) uses a removable 80GB hard drive for data storage.

Rear view of the FMI-HD DVR showing the "Industry standard" power and camera connections that for more than a decade were offered on the most common VCR based bus video systems.

FMI-HD Drop-in-VCR-conversion 80GB HDD $1,100
(E-mail quantities for detailed quote)

SOME BASICS OF DIGITAL BUS VIDEO SYSTEMS TO BE AWARE OF:

MULTIPLE CAMERAS:
With digital systems you can now get true hi-resolution images from multiple cameras all operating at the same time.
Most professional platform systems will support up to 4 cameras internally multiplexed, meaning they do not have to share the frame rate.

FRAME RATES:
If you see a specification of 30 FPS (frames per second) this is great, until you purchase it and then later find you have 4 cameras sharing 30 FPS, so your state of the art recording system looks more like a 1930's movie camera with stop frame playback!
To prevent this from happening make sure the system has "30 FPS per camera" and they are not sharing the frame rate.

EXTERIOR CAMERAS:
STOP ARM cameras to catch those drivers with the "I will get there on time even if it kills you" attitude, are getting more and more common to catch and document for law enforcement those who violate Stop Arms, flashing light and child safety by passing school busses while they are loading or unloading.

NIGHT VISION CAMERAS:
Camera with night vision capability via Infra Red Illumination LEDs or image intensification are available at the same prices from some manufacturers now to school systems. There are times when the bus may be operated in low light such as early morning, evening or on field trips. Early trips in the winter months are in almost total darkness, so this feature permits limited use when the sunlight is not enough to light up the bus, or if field trips or sports events are taken in this bus, as they are often after sunlight hours.

FREE ON SCREEN MAPPING
FMI currently offers Free On screen Mapping during playback with all our GPS equipped American Made DVRs sold, such as the FMI-CF-GPS, FMI-CF2-GPS, FMI-HD-GPS & FMI-HDP-GPS all of which are priced on our sites.
While a reseller of Republic of China DVRs first introduced this mapping feature it was available via a hardware mechanism that consumed one of your DVRs video channels, crippling their Republic of China DVR by limiting the 4 channel DVR to 3 full time cameras only with mapping at a considerable additional cost,
It is the American manufacturer who deserves recognition for providing this free of charge to all customers of their GPS equipped DVR systems As their path to the same goal was via software not hardware, not only can they deliver this to their GPS customers free of cost, they also do not clog up a video channel with mapping, so their 4 channel DVRs actually record 4 cameras full time even with mapping, and that mapping will not requie any manual updates for mapping or any hidden charges for those updated maps after the sale.
*Note: Free On Screen Mapping feature requires program access to the Internet for Google provided map & zoom features. This feature is disabled if Internet access not permitted.

SYSTEM WARRANTY:
3 Year Warranty is now offered on American made DVR systems, and this should be a clue to who really stands behind their products. Why get a 1 year product warranty and get screwed for the next two years when you can get 3 year DVR protection free?
I am confident all reputable manufacturers will soon adopt this same 3 year DVR warranty, so even it takes foreign made manufacturers just might take them some time to see that the customers want this added protection.
All manufacturers who claim to offer your district a quality system should back up their claims of quality with a full 3year DVR warranty on the complete digital system! Get it in writing before you talk any further. Should they balk that this is not needed, tell them that their competition offers a full 3 year DVR warranty, and put it in your bid specs, as only then will reputable manufacturers step up to the plate and do the right thing for their customers.

SOLID STATE CF MEMORY WARRANTY:
Limited Lifetime Warranty is now offered on solid state CF memory cards and this should be a clue to who really stands behind their products.
I am confident all reputable manufacturers will soon adopt this same Limited Lifetime Warranty on solid state CF memory. All manufacturers who claim to offer your district a quality system should back up their claims of quality with a Limited Lifetime Warranty on the solid state CF memory. Get it in writing before you talk any further. Should they balk that this is not needed, tell them that their competition offers a Limited Lifetime Warranty, and put it in your bid specs, as only then will reputable manufacturers step up to the plate and do the right thing for their customers.

FREE GPS SPEED & PASSIVE TRACKING:
Free GPS Speed & Passive Tracking Information is available on some systems.
(With the advent of "multiplexed buses" it is now more difficult then ever to attach any electronic device to a new bus without interfering with the bus electronics. The old days of tapping into the speed signal for the bus video systems to display speed are long gone. The best way to provide speed to those who wish to show that in the video record, is via a small GPS antenna kit. This will in no way interfere with any bus function as it is not connected to any bus electrical connection.

PROPRIETARY HARD DRIVES
American school districts have been getting ripped off for years now with this "propriety hard drive" scam from some foreign manufacturers who will remain unnamed. It is time to send a clear message that American school districts have had enough of this raw deal and start exercising our freedom of choice by choosing to spec a system we will not be forced to pay up to 10 times the cost for a hard drive when they fail from some foreign predator. By only accepting a non-propriety SATA hard drive DVR system, your district will never be tied to any product manufacturer for future hard drive replacements.

PANIC BUTTON:
Event / Panic button or marker or driver input terminal with event lock is a good idea.
(Unlike a VCR, a digital system can hold several months of data in it. If an important event is not "marked" it is not only possible it will eventually be recorded over, but that event may be really hard to find in hundreds of hours of video in the hard drive. When an incident occurs, the driver is to press the event marker or event button. This locks in time 5 minutes in the past to show what started the event, and 5 minutes in the future to show how it was resolved. This is the most important aspect of data marking for digital systems.)

LAPTOP HARD DRIVES ONLY:
"2.5" SSD" (Solid State) Laptop hard drive, providing the most durable shock resistant DVR possible is a good way to insure you are not spending money on hard drives when they crash. Police departments cannot afford to rely on fragile hard drive based systems, when they have SSD (Solid State Drive) available. The toughest lap tops in the market now use SSD (Solid State Drives) to protect valuable data, and nothing is more valuable than video evidence in the event of a crime on your bus.

INSTALLATION
The digital bus video manufacturers "Factory Authorized" distributor service team will complete all installations (should the school systems mechanics not do the work themselves), 3rd party contractors in the past have made some very expensive mistakes and we continue to be contracted to clean up their messes by customers after the fact. (Anyone can visit the photo galleries on this site to see the reckless, thoughtless, incompetence, sheer stupidity and damage done to customer equipment and buses themselves when a non involved person is paid peanuts to install a highly sophisticated, valuable and delicate system of recording instruments in the bus. The cost of installation is a direct representation of the installers skill level and experience. This is one area "Low Bid" can be a costly mistake.

STORAGE CAPACITY & IMAGE QUALITY:
There is a inverse relationship between storage and resolution of images. The longer the system will store the images before recording over then, the poorer the image quality will be with other factors remaining constant.
This means that the salesman pushing his 6-month+ storage ability feature on you, is likely to be pushing the most fragile hard drive based systems or the poorest quality images you can get, as it is a simple trade off. It is possible to make image files so small and compressed, manufacturers can now store 3-18 months on a recorder before it starts to rerecord over older images.
Should you have questions, suggestions, wish to receive literature feel free to E-mail, or call.

DBV provides school bus camera or digital bus camera combined with mobile DVR, in a mobile vehicle surveillance solution as expert witness in case of accident or incident. Bus camera and digital video cameras with mobile DVRs complete a high quality mobile vehicle surveillance product for protection of children on school buses. Vehicle-Watch products with Active GPS, vehicle location systems VentureGPS. MVS rear view camera systems, rear observation camera systems and backup camera systems

Digital Eye Eco-Driver Safety device, Journey Management video recorder
Eco-driver alert active eco-conservation Limited Lifetime Warranty: As of 2-18-09, all of our flash memory cards include a limited lifetime warranty provided. Send self-addressed envelope via US Mail for full details. All specifications on this site, features and pricing based on manufacturers information or event pricing and subject to change without notice. Due to the rapid changes, variations in equipment and features & web master imperfection, FMI is not responsible for typos; incorrect features listed, incorrect pricing on this or any of our sites. Call or E-mail for official quotes or for bid submission.
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DIGITAL BUS VDO
Div. of FMI
Tel 770-263-8118
Fax 770-887-5944
sales@DigitalBusVDO.com