Best NVR to use, open to all brands?

[figge4]

Hi!

What would you guys say about preferable NVRs?

What brand is best, when it comes to being open to other camera brands? Through Onvif is ok, but it must then be 100% compliant.
At the same time, be able to handle at least 32 channels - at minimum 4k resolution. Playback of at least 8 cameras simultanously and have a user-friendly playback interface.

What would your go-to brand be?

(I know Dahua, Hikvision etc work well with their own cameras, but our clients often have special cameras for different solutions. Like heat-detection, advanced PTZ models and others. Therefor it is very important it is a stable NVR system that won't crash and will be Onvif compliant workable with any brand)

Best regards, Fredrik

 

[wittaj]

It is best to match brand of NVR with camera to ensure full operability and functionality that the camera has.

While ONVIF should mean that the NVR can accept the video feed, it rarely means the special features of the camera will work when you mix brands. Even simple things like AI detection may not work mixing brands.

A VMS like Blue Iris is the best bet if you want different brands.

 

[figge4]

Of course. But that was not the question, or the solution, for the cases I ask about!

 

[wittaj]

What you are looking for doesn't exist LOL and that is the best answer to your question...match brands or go with Blue Iris lol...

Dahua and Hikvision would be better choices over say a Reolink LOL, but you are aware functionality is lost once you mix brands and no vendor will provide support for 3rd party cameras....

 

[figge4]

We've already tried a few, and YES they work (some chinese brands also help if there is an Onvif compliance issue) so that's not quite correct.

What we've found, however, is that compliant NVRs usually have a very low quality (non user-friendly) playback interface. They are not quite as good as Hikvision etc (that also are not the very best when it comes to noob handling, user friendlyness).

If you compare todays NVRs with for example Logitechs old WiLife systems (PC-based I know) or Zavio:s systems - they are much more user friendly.

So what we're looking for is the most user friendly playback system that still is Onvif compliant.

 

[wittaj]

Maybe you tried brands that were OEM of the same manufacturer so in that case yes more functionality would work...

And if the quality was low and non user-friendly interface....well then you still haven't found what doesn't exist LOL....

You will find in many instances ONVIF doesn't mean much.

Even as a standard, there is no "standard" that every manufacturer follows.

Audio rarely follows a standard. Things like AI triggers, heat mapping, people counting, etc. rarely follow a standard.

In reality, ONVIF is a paid designation, so a camera can set up their protocol however they want, but if they belong to ONVIF, they can slap ONVIF on their stuff. Some manufacturers are better than others at providing a standard that can be used with other devices.

https://www.onvif.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/onvif-brand-standards-20220315.pdf

 

[looktall]

Onvif compliant workable with any brand

I have an onvif compatible NVR (uniarch) that I use with 3 different brands of onvif compatible cameras.
The cameras that are the same brand as the NVR work perfectly.
My one dahua camera works but only with standard motion detection, no IVS.
The two other cameras (tiandy) will only work via rtsp so no motion detection at all just video feed.

If you're looking for fully functional compatibility between brands you're not guaranteed to get it.

 

[Flintstone61]

The Preferable NVR is yet to be manufactured.
Until then Blue Iris is what your " clients" with their "special needs" could use.

 

[Pete6]

I used various brands of DVR since 2009 until, a few weeks ago I decided to buy an Amcrest NV4116E-A2 16 channel NVR. It had (note the tense) 8 PoE ports. It worked weel enough and I bought a majority of Amcrest cameras to work with it. I also had 3 generic ONVIF cameras. I got them all working with the help folk in this forum.

I found the NVR to be limiting in what it would allow me to do. I ended up sending it back to Amazon for a refund. I now run Blue Iris which I find to be a much nicer and more open environment.

I agree with @wittaj, "It is best to match brand of NVR with camera to ensure full operability and functionality that the camera has." Some third party cameras will work fine with NVRs.. Others notably Reolink are a nightmare to make work with other makes. This was one of the main reasons I sent my Amcrest back. It would just not play nice with a single Reolink camera that was already mounted high up on my house. In truth it was the Reolink camera that was causing the problem, not the NVR. However it was easier to remove the NVR than the camera. Running Blue Iris ($54.99 from this forum) and all works well. Yes, you need a decent PC running all the time.

 

[TechBill]

I am a Dahua fanboy so I am going to say Dahua NVR ...

 

[Pete6]

I am a Dahua fanboy so I am going to say Dahua NVR ...

Dahua is a good choice. They are a major manufacturer of cameras and NVRs. Many other branded cameras are made by Dahua and rebadged and/or have modified functionality. Going homogenously Dahua is one of the safe ways to go. Had I stayed entirely with Amcrest I would have been buying slightly modified Dahua gear for the most part.

 

[fenderman]

We've already tried a few, and YES they work (some chinese brands also help if there is an Onvif compliance issue) so that's not quite correct.

What we've found, however, is that compliant NVRs usually have a very low quality (non user-friendly) playback interface. They are not quite as good as Hikvision etc (that also are not the very best when it comes to noob handling, user friendlyness).

If you compare todays NVRs with for example Logitechs old WiLife systems (PC-based I know) or Zavio:s systems - they are much more user friendly.

So what we're looking for is the most user friendly playback system that still is Onvif compliant.

NXwitness. You will pay a premium price.

 

[ludshed]

Dahua is a good choice. They are a major manufacturer of cameras and NVRs. Many other branded cameras are made by Dahua and rebadged and/or have modified functionality. Going homogenously Dahua is one of the safe ways to go. Had I stayed entirely with Amcrest I would have been buying slightly modified Dahua gear for the most part.

Dahua is mostly all I sell for use ability, features and most importantly, the 5 year warranty.

 

[Gargoile]

I use 3 types of NVR's. I have Blue Iris, Synology and Andy's DVR. Now you may be asking why so many? First, I link to tinker with technology and to keep learning new things. Secondly, I have these for continuous resiliency. I apply a lot of technology from what I use at my work over in my home.

If one NVR fails, I still have the others recording the video so there is continuous recording.

I use Synology Surveillance Station for years and to me it is the simplest interface. Synology is a multifunction device. They list thousands of cameras and ONVIF support. I also use it for my data backup so it's a 2 for 1 device. And I have the ability to send the motion videos and other data to another offsite Synology for my own private cloud. The only downside with Synology is the licenses per camera if you go over two cameras. But once you buy them you can transfer them to newer units if you upgrade in the future.

I also like the ease of integration with Andy's NVR5216. I can install this anywhere in the house to hide and it runs quietly. The only issue I have with this is it the largest capacity drive I can use is a 10TB drive.

I am learning the Blue Iris system and I haven't started to use all the bells and whistles with this. I know I'm underutilizing this system, but I am learning and will expand in the future. Plus, with the knowledge and help from the members on this forum I can use BI to its fullest potential.