Camera placement, models
- Thread starter ktiz81
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mat200
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Hi @Evroul
I try to share my knowledge as I can here .. some in the past wanted too much private assistance, which I couldn't allocate enough time to for free.
Thus, I try not to DM here ..
Do ask Andy for quotes, I know he's setup in the EU somehow, as he has many clients there.
Dahua branded goods bought in country ( like in the USA ) often are significantly more expensive and offer less choices.
In the USA Andy ( EmpireTecAndy ) has an Amazon store - and Amazon takes care of all the taxes .. for a cut. ( thus for those looking for even better deals, in the USA contacting Andy directly is imho the way to go .. )
Appreciate your answer and I fully understand
So Im looking into this camera
I take it "normal" Dahua software, iPhone app etc. is usable for OEM models?
Secondly can you enlighten me on NVR vs. Blue Iris pros and cons?
For me NVR is set and forget but with sort of limited settings compared to BI. However BI might require more maintanance with Win updates etc.
And last question are there 3rd party apps usable for iPhone / PC to liveview when we talk BI
Thx in advance.
So Im looking into this camera
I take it "normal" Dahua software, iPhone app etc. is usable for OEM models?
Secondly can you enlighten me on NVR vs. Blue Iris pros and cons?
For me NVR is set and forget but with sort of limited settings compared to BI. However BI might require more maintanance with Win updates etc.
And last question are there 3rd party apps usable for iPhone / PC to liveview when we talk BI
Thx in advance.
Yes all of the Dahua stuff will work with Andy's OEM cameras.
NVRs are not set it and forget it. You can put more effort into an NVR than one does with BI.
But you will notice more of us tinker with BI because it has so many options. But you can certainly dumb it down.
I had NVRs for many years. It was a frustrating experience.
There is a big debate here on which is better. Personally I found the NVRs to be too clunky and not very user friendly and got to the point that I was reactive instead of proactive. I literally tested BI and knew within a few minutes it was better than any NVR I ever had.
Like literally I would go months on end not even looking at the NVR videos because the interface was too clunky and would take forever to pull up any motion from the night before. And ended up turning off the alerts because there were so many false triggers. I would only look at it if I could tell someone messed with something on my property or a neighbor asked me if my cameras caught anything.
With BI, in addition to being able to configure it such that I get notifications whenever someone gets too close to my house, I can literally in less than 30 seconds every morning do a quick review to see if there was any suspicious activity or people walking down the sidewalk at 2am. I could never do it that fast with an NVR.
Here is the search tool of all the NVR versus BI comparisons:
blue iris vs nvr ip cam site:ipcamtalk.com - Google Search
I have had whatever the NVR operating system is running on go out. TWICE. Got to buy a whole new NVR - TWICE
I have had the ethernet port go out on an NVR. Got to buy a whole new NVR.
i had the HDMI port go out on an NVR. Got to buy a whole new NVR.
Most I ever got was 2.5 years. The only working part was the HDD that I simply moved from the old NVR to the new one. I got to the point of realizing that an NVR is simply a stripped down computer, so I went to BI and never looked back. I got tired of buying a whole new unit.
So in my BI Computer, at least if the SSD goes out, I can just replace it. If the ethernet card goes out, I can just replace it. If the HDMI port goes out, I can just replace it. etc.
Personally I gave up on NVRs because I have found them to be clunky and a struggle to review clips and if a component goes out like the internet port, then you are stuck buying a new NVR whereas a computer part goes out and you replace just that component. I went to BI on a dedicated machine and haven't looked back.
Keep in mind an NVR is simply a watered down computer....
You can use the camera AI to trigger events in BI.
An NVR is way less secure on the internet than a BI computer. NVRs are rarely provided with updates to fix vulnerabilities. Your BI computer can get constant antivirus updates or Windows updates if you want to (though most of us disable them and it is still more secure than an NVR).
But I assure you that running an older version of Windows on a computer only used for BI is safer from security vulnerabilities than an NVR. The NVR doesn't have virus protection and are known to have backdoor exploits.
One of many areas where I think BI does a better job is how it displays the alerts/timeline, and I believe it is still the same as when I last ran SmartPSS and DMSS.
As we can see from this screenshot, it gives a green timeline with lines at various times to show when it triggered. Over to the right is a graphic/text representation of each trigger, but no image of the trigger.
So when I wanted to find or look at something, I needed to click each one until I found what I was looking for.
Wanna know when UPS came by in an NVR....well just start clicking on the timeline triggers till you see the UPS truck. May take awhile depending on the amount of traffic that goes by.
With BI, it gives alert thumbnails, so I can quickly scroll and find UPS way quicker than I ever could with an NVR playback timeline.
Or if you want to be notified when UPS, or FEDEX, or USPS comes by, with BI AI, you can set up an alert just for those vehicles. Good luck doing that with an NVR.
But to me, the thumbnails are invaluable. I can quickly scroll it at night and look for any activity instead of having to click each one and be like "oh that is John coming home" If I recognize the vehicle or person in the image, no need to investigate further.
NVRs are not set it and forget it. You can put more effort into an NVR than one does with BI.
But you will notice more of us tinker with BI because it has so many options. But you can certainly dumb it down.
I had NVRs for many years. It was a frustrating experience.
There is a big debate here on which is better. Personally I found the NVRs to be too clunky and not very user friendly and got to the point that I was reactive instead of proactive. I literally tested BI and knew within a few minutes it was better than any NVR I ever had.
Like literally I would go months on end not even looking at the NVR videos because the interface was too clunky and would take forever to pull up any motion from the night before. And ended up turning off the alerts because there were so many false triggers. I would only look at it if I could tell someone messed with something on my property or a neighbor asked me if my cameras caught anything.
With BI, in addition to being able to configure it such that I get notifications whenever someone gets too close to my house, I can literally in less than 30 seconds every morning do a quick review to see if there was any suspicious activity or people walking down the sidewalk at 2am. I could never do it that fast with an NVR.
Here is the search tool of all the NVR versus BI comparisons:
blue iris vs nvr ip cam site:ipcamtalk.com - Google Search
I have had whatever the NVR operating system is running on go out. TWICE. Got to buy a whole new NVR - TWICE
I have had the ethernet port go out on an NVR. Got to buy a whole new NVR.
i had the HDMI port go out on an NVR. Got to buy a whole new NVR.
Most I ever got was 2.5 years. The only working part was the HDD that I simply moved from the old NVR to the new one. I got to the point of realizing that an NVR is simply a stripped down computer, so I went to BI and never looked back. I got tired of buying a whole new unit.
So in my BI Computer, at least if the SSD goes out, I can just replace it. If the ethernet card goes out, I can just replace it. If the HDMI port goes out, I can just replace it. etc.
Personally I gave up on NVRs because I have found them to be clunky and a struggle to review clips and if a component goes out like the internet port, then you are stuck buying a new NVR whereas a computer part goes out and you replace just that component. I went to BI on a dedicated machine and haven't looked back.
Keep in mind an NVR is simply a watered down computer....
You can use the camera AI to trigger events in BI.
An NVR is way less secure on the internet than a BI computer. NVRs are rarely provided with updates to fix vulnerabilities. Your BI computer can get constant antivirus updates or Windows updates if you want to (though most of us disable them and it is still more secure than an NVR).
But I assure you that running an older version of Windows on a computer only used for BI is safer from security vulnerabilities than an NVR. The NVR doesn't have virus protection and are known to have backdoor exploits.
One of many areas where I think BI does a better job is how it displays the alerts/timeline, and I believe it is still the same as when I last ran SmartPSS and DMSS.
As we can see from this screenshot, it gives a green timeline with lines at various times to show when it triggered. Over to the right is a graphic/text representation of each trigger, but no image of the trigger.
So when I wanted to find or look at something, I needed to click each one until I found what I was looking for.
Wanna know when UPS came by in an NVR....well just start clicking on the timeline triggers till you see the UPS truck. May take awhile depending on the amount of traffic that goes by.
With BI, it gives alert thumbnails, so I can quickly scroll and find UPS way quicker than I ever could with an NVR playback timeline.
Or if you want to be notified when UPS, or FEDEX, or USPS comes by, with BI AI, you can set up an alert just for those vehicles. Good luck doing that with an NVR.
But to me, the thumbnails are invaluable. I can quickly scroll it at night and look for any activity instead of having to click each one and be like "oh that is John coming home" If I recognize the vehicle or person in the image, no need to investigate further.
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
Message Andy directly, that is the best way to find out costs.
mat200
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Hi @Evroul
@wittaj is giving some solid advice ..
Blue Iris on a windows PC .. vs NVR .. executive summary : members over all prefer Blue Iris
( based on the threads I read .. so perhaps not a solid poll there .. )
The IT guy in me wants to keep windows up to date with security patches if the PC will be connected to the internet. So I understand your concerns on that.
NVRs, I've used it .. and honestly I'm ok with using either option.
I do think NVRs have issues also .. as people want to connect those to the internet also .. and sooner or later that can mean trouble .. ideally you want all your IT / IoT properly protected and isolated.
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Yes I actually work with IT on a daily basis and use a MikroTik router with unifi ap’s. MikroTik is not for the faint of heart and cameras will be placed on own VLAN with no internet access. I was just a little concerned on the live viewing part on eg my phone. From which I will WireGuard vpn home to router when outside my LAN in eg my summerhouse. I hope the Blue Iris stuff play nice
Sounds great, will give it a spin Sunday. I just ordered 3 x 5442-ZE-S3.
bigredfish
Known around here
No "agony" associated with using modern day good NVR's. They work just fine, are easy to configure and maintain. Like anything, there are cheap ones and better ones.Dahua NVR AI search for events (multiple ways)
By thumbnail
By Timeline with color coded hash marks for various types
By Time
By recorded clip
I scan all of my cameras over coffee in the same time it takes to do so with BI
My current 5216 NVR has been in service for 5 years
NVRs can actually be MORE secure than PCs running a VMS as they can use built in PoE switches running a network (10.1.1.X by default) that cant be accessed from outside the LAN or even within the LAN depending on how you configure it.
Of the 153,000 members here, I can assure you there are FAR more NVR users
For remote Viewing, alerts, push notifications, you can use a VPN into your LAN as you would with BI or use Dahua's free P2P cloud solution and their DMSS app
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Most of us running BI do a dual NIC in the computer, which isolates the cameras to not be accessible from the internet or be able to talk to the internet, so basically the same feature as an NVR isolating the cameras from the internet.