Dahua NVR Purchase

[Inigo]

I have been wanting to install surveillance cameras for years and am finally ready to dive in (and already pulled some Cat 6 while working other projects). After reading these forums, I have decided on a Dahua NVR and Dahua cameras, with an 8 camera system being adequate, and I currently plan on a mix of cameras from 2 to 4 MP. I already have an extensive home security system (Honeywell Ademco 15p with lots of sensors and interfacing with an Evisalink EVL-3, an Adafruit Audio FX, and a WeMo maker) and want an NVR with alarm in/out. Trying to sort out the Dahua NVRs and figuring out where to source one has been rather frustrating. I saw a NVR4208-8P-4K that looked good, but when I searched dahuasecurity.com, it didn't return any results, and the NVR had different descriptions and pictures on different sites:
DHI-NVR4208-8P-4K H.265 / controls on front (Amazon seller)
DHI-NVR4208-8P-4K H.265 in title, but H264 in description / blank front (New Egg)

The two NVRs currently on the dahuasecurity.com site that look appropriate are:
DHI-NVR42A08-8P H.264+ / 200Mbps / 5MP / plain front
DHI-NVR52A08-8P-4KS2 H.265 / 320Mbps / 12MP / plain front (more than I need, but shouldn't need upgrading for a long time)

Of course the price for one is all over the place, the other hard to find, and to make matters more curious, cctv-mall has a DHI-NVR5208-8P-4KS2 (not 52A08) for an incredibly low $254
Is there significance to the A in the designation. For the right price, I can wait a month, but not sure what I would actually get from cctv-mall.

Any advice from the more experienced would be greatly appreciated.

 

[CaliGirl]

Read my build thread. I went through the same ordeal. I don't recommend H.265. Google the difference. Most Dahua encode in both.

Higher the mbs the better. Mine plays back 4 (4mp) cameras at once.

I ended up with the 8ch 4K from newegg. Photos are often incorrect. best advice I can give, call and make sure anything you buy is actually in stock no matter what the Internet says! You will also need a Purple hard drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA7FY4GK6191&cm_re=DHI-NVR4208-8P-4K-_-81-182-041-_-Product

if you are going to want to view the cameras remotely, be sure to save money to set up a simple VPN server. Don't do port forwarding if you want security in who sees your cameras. Vpn is cheap and works great

 

[Inigo]

Read my build thread. I went through the same ordeal. I don't recommend H.265. Google the difference. Most Dahua encode in both.

I ended up with the 8ch 4K from newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA7FY4GK6191&cm_re=DHI-NVR4208-8P-4K-_-81-182-041-_-Product

Thanks for the input; I had skimmed your thread and have now read all 19 pages. I see that while you got your NVR from Newegg, it doesn't sound like you recommend them, which has me trying to pick an Alexi seller again.

 

[Inigo]

I ended up with the 8ch 4K from newegg. Photos are often incorrect.

What do you mean by photos are often incorrect?
The Alexi dealer that you liked (https://www.aliexpress.com/store/1200032) has a new model NVR5208-8P-4KS, but again it is missing the A in the DHI-NVR52A08-8P-4KS2 on the dahuasecurity site but otherwise appears to be the same. It appears to be PoE and based upon the power specification, it has multiple PoE ports, but the specification says that it only has one, and there isn't a user manual or photo of the back (of either model) to be found anywhere :-(