Best Camera Settings for Hilook NVR

[kgangulw]

Hey all,

I Just got my CCTV setup done but I'm new to the subject and want to check if the settings I have setup are correct.
Objective is to have the best recording quality.
I have 1 x 8MP HikVision ColorVu Camera and the others are 6MP HiLook Cameras. I have listed the settings from my NVR. Does this look ok, or do I need to tweak anything to ensure I have the best image quality.
The NVR has a 2TB drive, so as long as I have a few days worth of recordings before it overrides, I'm fine with that.


6MP Camera Settings on NVR

Main Stream (Continuous)


Main Stream (Event)





8MP Camera Settings on NVR


Main Stream (Continuous)



Main Stream (Event)



Thanks.

 

[Revo2Maxx]

Welcome to the Forum,
Alot of unknown in your question.. Is your area High traffic area? Personally if I was setting what you have and high traffic area I would set to CBR 8mp with 8 to 10k and 6mp would use CBR 6 to 8k and if the area is low traffic areas like Hallways, backyard static low traffic then could use VBR and 5100 or higher but with VBR that will be lower as the scene is static a lot.. But yeah if your traffic area is high with loads of things going on CBR would be the way to go for me.. I use CBR for all my camera anyway but going off what you have and if setting up something new as I said above..

 

[kgangulw]

Welcome to the Forum,
Alot of unknown in your question.. Is your area High traffic area? Personally if I was setting what you have and high traffic area I would set to CBR 8mp with 8 to 10k and 6mp would use CBR 6 to 8k and if the area is low traffic areas like Hallways, backyard static low traffic then could use VBR and 5100 or higher but with VBR that will be lower as the scene is static a lot.. But yeah if your traffic area is high with loads of things going on CBR would be the way to go for me.. I use CBR for all my camera anyway but going off what you have and if setting up something new as I said above..

Hi thanks for that. Assume CBR means Constant Bit Rate?
The 8MP camera is at the front of my house. it's not heavy traffic, but I want to capture the best image if/when there's activity. So given that scenario would you say to set up the 8MP camera to something like 10K or since it's fairly static would you go with variable but similar bit rate. thanks

 

[Revo2Maxx]

So I am not sure what Full Frame is for your cameras is that 20fps or 30fps? as some are even less? 15 or 12.. So if 20 or 30fps then yeah VBR and 9 to 10k. Just keep in mind if there is any issues once there is action you might want to look into changing to CBR.. I personally don't like the static look of VBR my self that is why I have all mine set for CBR and I just deal with the bandwidth and storage..

 

[kgangulw]

So I am not sure what Full Frame is for your cameras is that 20fps or 30fps? as some are even less? 15 or 12.. So if 20 or 30fps then yeah VBR and 9 to 10k. Just keep in mind if there is any issues once there is action you might want to look into changing to CBR.. I personally don't like the static look of VBR my self that is why I have all mine set for CBR and I just deal with the bandwidth and storage..

so as per the specs here DS-2CD2387G2H-LISU/SL

I have it at Full Frame which I believe is at 25 fps for the resolution I'm running , i.e. 3840 × 2160.
Thanks a lot for the comments, I'll play around with those settings and see if I prefer CBR or VBR.

 

[bigredfish]

At least double your bitrate, go CBR, turn off h.265 and use h.264 or h.264h even better if available.

That said, if you’re making your camera settings on the NVR instead of the directly on the camera GUI itself, you’re likely to be disappointed and miss settings you don’t even know you have.

Night and day will be very different settings, as will numerous settings based on the amount of light available at night.

Nobody can give you good advice without seeing a video sample of the scene. Without it you might as well as be throwing darts blindfolded

 

[kgangulw]

At least double your bitrate, go CBR, turn off h.265 and use h.264 or h.264h even better if available.

That said, if you’re making your camera settings on the NVR instead of the directly on the camera GUI itself, you’re likely to be disappointed and miss settings you don’t even know you have.

Night and day will be very different settings, as will numerous settings based on the amount of light available at night.

Nobody can give you good advice without seeing a video sample of the scene. Without it you might as well as be throwing darts blindfolded

When you say double the bit rate, assume it's double from what I have posted in the images above right?

I don't have h.264h, but I do have h.264. I thought h.265 had better compression. anyway thanks for the pointers.

I didn't realize there were more settings for the camera if accessed directly via it's IP. Is this correct even for new NVRs? I have seen old videos (around 2022) on YT where they configure settings not shown on the NVR, but when I check on mine all those settings are available. eg. WDR, White balance, contrast settings, Day/Night settings etc.

Still new to this whole setup, I'll try to get a video sample once I figure out how to do that.

 

[bigredfish]

Yes and Yes.

NVR manufacturers are doing a disservice by trying to make things “easy” and allowing people to think they don’t need to access the cameras gui.

Most new users don’t even know it exists.

Think about it. Dahua alone has hundreds of camera models, with at least 3 GUIs in current models. Of those, I have various settings on at least 3 types of current model Dahua cameras that are unique to that model or series just at my house.
In addition, over the past 5 years there are at least 3 major FW/UI changes.
Hell, just one setting, IR, has at least 4 versions of different controls on CURRENT model cameras.

Are those available in the NVR or mobile app? Uh no. Of course not. They’d have to update FW on NVRs every 3 months and still wouldn’t keep up.

It’s related to the whole “ease of use” that retail consumers have come to expect from their Ring, Arlo, etc wireless cams that they control from a phone app.

It’s almost impossible to put the level of control, and features, into a phone app that fit in a current 5442 series camera. So they don’t! They lead the unknowing into believing the handful of controls in the app are all there is and all that’s needed. The fact that the video is crap takes a backseat to “easy” and lower support/call center costs.