NVR/POE Recommendations(?) - How many / Where / What models? Mid-tier budget

One question solved.
This NVR

Buy it from the forums favorite distributor

Cameras are a whole other thing. Each location/scene needs to be looked at for distance, overview vs ID, white lights/ambient light vs IR, etc. LPR is another thing unto itself. You need a clear shot at the road less than 30 degree angle, ideally under 150ft and it won’t see anything but plates.

You’ll need more than you think.

A diagram with distances and major ground level obstructions will help first.

First stab on cameras. Lots of room for changes depending on a number of things

Each Entry door needs one of these 6'-7' high within 8ft of the door for facial ID
Total 3

Rear of house Overview 2X of the Variable focus 5442's (theres a bullet version as well which I prefer but many like the turret) Plus+ two of same on the North side, 1X more on the South side, and minimum 2X more for the front.
So total 7

That takes care of the entry points and general overview of the property

The Hard Part Then it becomes looking at specific choke point locations for tighter zoom/focus for facial ID at distance with specialty cameras, and the LPR camera(s)

On LPR, I can't tell by your photo but I can say its not gonna happen mounting them at the house.
You're going to need to run a line out to the end of the driveway, and you'll need two, one looking each way
These are what many/most of us use.
Total 2X

LPR is tricky and requires settings on a camera and zoom that make it all but useless for anything other than seeing license plates, especially at night
OH, ideally you'll need another camera with enough light to run color to be able to ID the vehicle and match it to the plate capture at night

Examples



And when I talk about defining choke points for higher zoom cameras, this example may help.

I can see them


I can Identify them


At the end of the day LE mostly only care about two things:
1- Facial ID (along with color clothing etc is helpful
2- License plates and vehicle ID

One other thing to think about is ambient light/floodlights/camera mounted lights.

The assumptions above are with no good ambient light and cameras (except for the 3 entry cameras) all running in IR at night

You're welcome

bigredfish said:

You're welcome

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Decent advice and great recommendations. I'm very grateful.

Lcardoni said:

My home sits on a one acre lot and I am looking to improve surveillance for peace of mind and evidence capture for any incidents that may occur.

Layout: The lot is approx 150’ wide along the road access, and 300’ long. Densely wooded stewardship forest to the south, neighbors to the west, north, and east across the street. 4 main points of access, two of which are sliding doors. Two car garage, and a covered carport where I house my mower and generator. There is a 6ft privacy fence on 3(ish) sides. Currently there is a nest doorbell cam and motion flood lights over the garage and backyard.
View attachment 219131

Inciting incident: Recently our neighbor (2 lots down), whose actions and antics in the neighborhood have been fairly harmless, has escalated to blatant trespassing, property damage, and theft. There seems to be no reasoning with him and while we are moving forward with protection orders, I think now is a good time to pull the trigger on building out the system. The area at the front of the property (and site of the damage) is along the road and has no direct

Initially thinking of having cameras that cover (1) the back entry, (2) the basement entry / carport, (3) a frontal view of the home/ vehicle license plates capture, and (4) a camera(s) that monitor the approach to the property.
Lots of room to improve and open to alternative placements / recommendations.
View attachment 219132

Def new to this so I appreciate and welcome your opinions and expertise - Thank you!

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Hi @Lcardoni

@bigredfish has some solid recommendations ( see above ).

I'd jump on them if you are in need as it looks like the Tariffs will hit imports soon.

Normally I would recommend a slower approach and buy one good 4MP 1/1.8" varifocal IP PoE camera and test it out before buying more.

At this point, I would jump on a system asap if I wanted to save $.

Probably good to spend money on more varifocal cameras right now vs fixed lens.

Plan to need more cameras than you imaged.

I would add 2 more cameras to watch the road, for License Plate Capture in low light conditions. ( these cameras need to be tuned to capture license plates in low light, thus why you need dedicated cameras here )
( thus 4 cameras watching the street )

Not really. Just a top down pencil outline with distances between corners, doors, major obstructions.

Or better photos at ground level looking out from proposed camera locations.

It would take an hour or two on site to know precisely. We can only get you in the ballpark

bigredfish said:

One question solved.
This NVR

NVR5216-16P-EI - Dahua International

NVR5216-16P-EI

www.dahuasecurity.com

Buy it from the forums favorite distributor

EmpireTech NVR16CH-16P-2AI 16 Channels 1U 16PoE 2HDD Network Video Rec

Multiple decoding formats Support AcuPick with Max. 16-Channel Support N+M cluster AI by recorder AI by camera Security baseline 2.3

empiretech01.com

Cameras are a whole other thing. Each location/scene needs to be looked at for distance, overview vs ID, white lights/ambient light vs IR, etc. LPR is another thing unto itself. You need a clear shot at the road less than 30 degree angle, ideally under 150ft and it won’t see anything but plates.

You’ll need more than you think.

A diagram with distances and major ground level obstructions will help first.

Click to expand...

Would there be any reason not to go for the 8 port version?
Thinking of doing a 4 cam (5442) max setup for in-laws.

Only that

1- cameras tend to multiply and you always need more than you initially think
2- it’s only like $35 difference