Anyone tried Security Camera Warehouse (SCW) NVRs and Cameras?

cosmo

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I have HikVision and Dahua systems.

I have generally found the HikVision systems reliable and the software reasonably put together.

I have found the Dahua Starlight turret cameras to have great night vision (Why I decided to try them on recommendation from Nayr), easy to install and the remote adjustable zoom and focus was also nice to have over the HikVision dome cameras.

But the Dahua software is absolute crap. And over time, parts of the system (Like line crossing or emailing a photo) that used to work, have stopped working. And one of my 5 cameras died. Documentation is worse than the software. I will never buy this brand again.

As much as I have no major complaints about the HikVision hardware or software, the track record and practice of Chinese spying bothers me.

So I have begun to look for alternatives. Cost is not really an issue. What is an issue is quality, as the lack of is has cost me a lot of time.

SCW's systems seem to be well documented, come with good support and they focus on quality. Yes, they are Chinese made, but it seems they have influence over the software.

Has anyone bought them or know of a review comparison to HikVision?
 

fenderman

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I have HikVision and Dahua systems.

I have generally found the HikVision systems reliable and the software reasonably put together.

I have found the Dahua Starlight turret cameras to have great night vision (Why I decided to try them on recommendation from Nayr), easy to install and the remote adjustable zoom and focus was also nice to have over the HikVision dome cameras.

But the Dahua software is absolute crap. And over time, parts of the system (Like line crossing or emailing a photo) that used to work, have stopped working. And one of my 5 cameras died. Documentation is worse than the software. I will never buy this brand again.

As much as I have no major complaints about the HikVision hardware or software, the track record and practice of Chinese spying bothers me.

So I have begun to look for alternatives. Cost is not really an issue. What is an issue is quality, as the lack of is has cost me a lot of time.

SCW's systems seem to be well documented, come with good support and they focus on quality. Yes, they are Chinese made, but it seems they have influence over the software.

Has anyone bought them or know of a review comparison to HikVision?
They are uniview cameras (also chinese). They have their own viewing software but it does not record. If you want a better software experience look a pc based vms like blue iris.
 

cosmo

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What do you mean by "It does not record"?

I read elsewhere that they were HikVision based, although I have no idea whether that is true.
 

cosmo

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Ah. I don't really know anything about Uniview. Do you? How are their cameras & NVRs in terms of quality and functionality?
 

fenderman

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Ah. I don't really know anything about Uniview. Do you? How are their cameras & NVRs in terms of quality and functionality?
The cameras are good. I dont know about NVR's but likely similar to dahua/hik. I have never seen an acceptable standalone NVR and dont use them for that reason. Their camera selection is limited compared to dahua/hik. You will pay more than a similar camera from hik/dahua.
 

cosmo

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Yes, I know I will pay more than a grey market Hik. SCW cameras are $150-250 and the 8 channel NVR without a hard drive is $400. Authorized Hik through B&H is probably similar.

I'd go Hik again but the ET Phone Home thing is a little discomforting. I may have a US consulate as a tenant in one of the houses and this might bother them.

What do you use in place of an NVR? A headless PC with Blue Iris on Linux?
 

fenderman

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Yes, I know I will pay more than a grey market Hik. SCW cameras are $150-250 and the 8 channel NVR without a hard drive is $400. Authorized Hik through B&H is probably similar.

I'd go Hik again but the ET Phone Home thing is a little discomforting. I may have a US consulate as a tenant in one of the houses and this might bother them.

What do you use in place of an NVR? A headless PC with Blue Iris on Linux?
Authorized hik/dahua via some place like adi is cheaper when comparing apples to apples. Uniview has a limited selection of designs and sensors. You are assuming the uniview does not try to phone home. You can and should simply block any camera from internet access. Done.
I use blue iris on over 20pc's running w10pro. BI does not run on linux. They are not headless, the live view via a monitor. Price is 60 bux total.
There are linux based vms like DW spectrum ipvms (NA version of nxwitness). Cost is 70 per channel with lifetime updates.
 

cosmo

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BI probably won't work for me as all my access is remote. My systems are installed in Australia, but I live in California.

I guess I could VPN in, then use Windows remote access to view, but I would need to do so under a VM as my laptop runs Linux. A bit kludgy.

I already need to run a VM for web access to Hik and Dahua as their browser plugins only run under Windows. This is still a a bit kludgy, but it works.

At the moment the main way I use my systems is to monitor who's coming and going to the properties. I use infraRED beam sensors, which I have found far more accurate to cameras in avoiding false positives generated outside. This triggers an alarm, takes a snapshot and emails it to me. If I see anything untoward, I then go into web access if I am at my desk or the the app if mobile to check what's happening or what happened.
 

fenderman

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BI probably won't work for me as all my access is remote. My systems are installed in Australia, but I live in California.

I guess I could VPN in, then use Windows remote access to view, but I would need to do so under a VM as my laptop runs Linux. A bit kludgy.

I already need to run a VM for web access to Hik and Dahua as their browser plugins only run under Windows. This is still a a bit kludgy, but it works.

At the moment the main way I use my systems is to monitor who's coming and going to the properties. I use infraRED beam sensors, which I have found far more accurate to cameras in avoiding false positives generated outside. This triggers an alarm, takes a snapshot and emails it to me. If I see anything untoward, I then go into web access if I am at my desk or the the app if mobile to check what's happening or what happened.
BI works well remotely with a great webserver page and in v5 coming soon full remote control from a second interface.
You would not want to run blue iris on a laptop and certainly not on a vm on a laptop. For most setups all you need is a 100 dollar pc. See wiki.
 

cosmo

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I didn't mean BI on a laptop. I meant I run a VM on my personal laptop, because it running Linux, so I have to run a VM to run Windows to run Hik or Dahua's web plugin.

Honestly I haven't looked too much into BI, having so far gone the plug and play route with NVR's. With mixed results. So a little BI research may be on the cards.

Oh, and yeah, I don't assume any camera /NVR vendor won't phone home. Even MS does it with Win 10. Naturally, VPN'ing is the solution to that one.
 

fenderman

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I didn't mean BI on a laptop. I meant I run a VM on my personal laptop, because it running Linux, so I have to run a VM to run Windows to run Hik or Dahua's web plugin.

Honestly I haven't looked too much into BI, having so far gone the plug and play route with NVR's. With mixed results. So a little BI research may be on the cards.

Oh, and yeah, I don't assume any camera /NVR vendor won't phone home. Even MS does it with Win 10. Naturally, VPN'ing is the solution to that one.
You can remotely view blue iris on chrome using the webserver. So linux will not be an issue.
 

mnederlanden

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Just curiously, fenderman, what do you like about Blue Iris?

Disclosure: My name is Matthew Nederlanden, I'm the CEO of SCW.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about SCW, as well.
 
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fenderman

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Just curiously, fenderman, what do you like about Blue Iris?

Disclosure: My name is Matthew Nederlanden, I'm the CEO of SCW.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about SCW, as well.
Blue iris is an exceptional vms with lots of configurable functions that are simply not available on standalone NVR's. Many of these features of blue iris are not available on VMS that charge 50-150 per camera in licensing fees (they do have some functions not available in BI).
This includes complex profile/schedule/alert options. It also has its own motion detection capabilities that allow for custom zone crossing on a schedule that can be set relative to sunrise sunset so you have different settings for day night based on actual sunrise sunset. You can easily disable your indoor cams when you get home. You can send custom audio alerts to cameras. The blue iris mobile app is and webserver are significantly faster to operate than nvr mobile apps. Blue iris allows integration with both hardwired and zwave motion sensors. It allows other home automation integrations. This is just scratching the surface. All for 50 bux. Blue iris is developed by a single person. He pushes new features every few weeks and is very responsive to feature requests. Sentry AI is now integrated (for a yearly fee) and more AI/LPR is coming in version 5.
There is literally nothing like it on the market. There is very good reason it has a huge following here. For the home and small business user there is nothing that comes close.

Note blue iris version 5 is scheduled for release on June 1.
 

fenderman

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Interesting. I've tried and really, really do not like it.
Then you really have not tried it. Your NVR's are a joke compared to blue iris. What did you not like? You also need to be clear on what version you tried. There is a big difference between v4 2016 and v4 2019.
 

mnederlanden

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It runs on Windows; I use Mac and Linux.

It doesn't self heal if Windows crashes or if my PC loses power or if Windows wants to install an update.

It is pretty creative how it uses MJPEG for browse compatibility, but this makes it use a crazy amount of CPU to do what it does. This is impressive and frustrating at the same time.

Everything else you can just do more easily with an NVR and have a bunch more options like intrusion zones, face detection, or line crossing. The only feature our NVRs don't have is turning off your indoor cameras when you are home, but I wouldn't advise most people to even have indoor cameras in their homes. I wouldn't want a camera in my home, unless I had sick relative or something. Outside my property, sure, but in my home, no thanks.

P.S. Our cameras work on Blue Iris, so if that's you thing - go for it. Not trying to discourage anyone from doing what they want. You won't be able to use H.265, unless version 5.0 supports that now.

The next version of our Cirrus app will have some recording and backup options and a later release will include our alarm + home automation hub integration. Most of those features will still be free.
 
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fenderman

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It runs on Windows. It doesn't self heal if Windows crashes or if my PC loses power or if Windows wants to install an update.

It is pretty creative how it uses MJPEG for browse compatibility, but this makes it use a crazy amount of CPU to do what it does.

Everything else you can just do more easily with an NVR and have a bunch more options like intrusion zones or line crossing. The only feature our NVRs don't have is turning off your indoor cameras when you are home, but I wouldn't advise most people to even have indoor cameras in their homes. I wouldn't want a camera in my home, unless I had sick relative or something. Outside my property, sure, but in my home, no thanks.

P.S. Our cameras work on Blue Iris, so if that's you thing - go for it. Not trying to discourage anyone from doing what they want.

The next version of our Cirrus app will have some recording and backup options and a later release will include our alarm + home automation hub integration. Most of those features will still be free.
Yes it runs on windows. Avigilon runs on windows too. Perhaps you give them a call and provide your expertise on proper OS selection. Windows is super stable. I run over 20 blue iris servers with no issues. Want to know the trick? You need to perform a CLEAN install using MS media creation tool with no crap on it.
IT DOES NOT USE MJPEG for browser viewing by default. This is USER ERROR on your part. Silly.
You obviously did not actually use the software. All windows updates can be disabled. Blue iris can run as a service and boot with windows or you can boot the entire interface on startup. Every modern pc allows for boot on power on. NVR's crash and have random reboots - dont believe me, see the forum.
You cannot do what I stated with an NVR yours included. You simply dont understand what I mean with blue iris profiles and alerts. You should actually try the software instead of making false representations and claims. For example, you cannot have your NVR change your line or intrutions zones based on time of day and more importantly relative to sunrise sunset. You cannot by simply selecting a profile change alert status or recording/view status on only SOME of the cameras - like when you come home. Your NVR relies on the limited capabilites of the cameras motion/line detection, which is crap. You cannot have your NVR send any audio file to a camera with audio. Your mobile app is slow to playback and cannot playback 64x because the nvr cannot reencode the video like blue iris can - with your choice of 3 preset profiles with respect to bitrate which you can choose depending on your connection.
Thousands of users here have indoor cams, your advice not withstanding. They are not your cameras, you slap your name on uniview. Uniview is available for less than you charge.
It is obvious to me that you have not used blue iris. Once again your NVR is a toy.
 
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