Hardware Suggestions?

[gregm]

What hardware would you guys suggest for a landscaping & nursery small business setup?

Like for example, (PC + Blue Iris + X number of cams) or (a kit or package with some recording device plus X number of cams)?

I'm in the process of "doing my homework", but thought you all would have some insight as to why I would go with one path versus the other.

Some details:

• landscaping nursery, farm-like environment
  • need to monitor the exterior of a 40x50 building,
  • and parking area of similar size
  • mostly evening/night
• maybe 8-10 cams total ish, wired POE
• currently they have no internet, but they will likely in the near future

if it helps, my home setup is

• PC (with plenty of RAM, memory, etc) with Blue Iris
• 3 cams
• the PC and BI work fine for my needs, but I'm not sure if it's appropriate for the small bus setup

If there is another forum more appropriate for this question, please let me know.

Thanks in advance,

 

[sebastiantombs]

Stick with BI on a used business class machine, i5 or i7 in the 6th generation or newer range and 16GB of RAM. Disk space as required for your needed retention time. A PC like that can be had off of eBay or directly from Dell or HP for under $400 or even $300 complete with Win10/Pro on it.

For cameras, stick with 1/1.8" 4MP or 1/2.8" 2MP cameras. Those are the "sweet spot" for night performance. Plan on adding some external IR illuminators though just to improve night vision even more. Only you can determine where and how many cameras will be needed. Posting a sketch of the location might help to refine things as well.

BI will handle up to 64 cameras per license. Since the addition of sub streams to BI it will easily handle 20-30 cameras without overloading the CPU. The advantage of BI is that it is far more versatile than an NVR both in terms of motion detection and being able to handle cameras from just about any manufacturer. The disadvantage is that versatility comes at a price of tinkering to fine tune everything. Even an NVR needs tinkering in that respect though.

 

[gregm]

Stick with BI on a used business class machine, i5 or i7 in the 6th generation or newer range and 16GB of RAM. Disk space as required for your needed retention time. A PC like that can be had off of eBay or directly from Dell or HP for under $400 or even $300 complete with Win10/Pro on it.

For cameras, stick with 1/1.8" 4MP or 1/2.8" 2MP cameras. Those are the "sweet spot" for night performance. Plan on adding some external IR illuminators though just to improve night vision even more. Only you can determine where and how many cameras will be needed. Posting a sketch of the location might help to refine things as well.

BI will handle up to 64 cameras per license. Since the addition of sub streams to BI it will easily handle 20-30 cameras without overloading the CPU. The advantage of BI is that it is far more versatile than an NVR both in terms of motion detection and being able to handle cameras from just about any manufacturer. The disadvantage is that versatility comes at a price of tinkering to fine tune everything. Even an NVR needs tinkering in that respect though.

Great answer. That's the direction in which i was leaning (PC + BI + cams). Your insight on cameras was especially helpful. Thank you.

 

[sebastiantombs]

Here's some links. Andy, EpireTech Andy, is an excellent source.

Review - Loryata (Dahua OEM) IPC-T5442T-ZE varifocal Turret

Review-OEM Loryta IPC-T5442T-ZE Varifocal 4mp camera (Dahua)

IPC-T5442T-ZE Varifocal from @EMPIRETECANDY 4MP WDR Turret Varifocal Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk store: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price Approximately US $200.00...

ipcamtalk.com

Review - OEM IPC-B5442E-ZE 4MP AI Varifocal Bullet Camera With Starlight+

Review - OEM IPC-B5442E-ZE 4MP AI Varifocal Bullet Camera With Starlight+

All, thanks to Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY ) we have a new 4MP AI camera for testing. This camera has been provided by Andy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This camera is using the OEM model number of IPC-B5442-ZE which is the equivalent of the Dahua IPC-HFW5442-ZE for reference. The IPC-B...

ipcamtalk.com

Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+ Turret

Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+

Dahua OEM IPC-T5442TM-AS from EMPIRETECANDY 4MP WDR Turret AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk store: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price Approximately US $160 Link to camera...

ipcamtalk.com

Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Turret, Full Color, Starlight+)

Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Full Color, Starlight+)

Dahua OEM IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED from EMPIRETECANDY 4MP WDR Turret AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Andy's Email: kingsecurity2014...

ipcamtalk.com

Review: IPC-HDBW5442R-ASE-NI - Dahua Technology Pro AI Bullet Network Camera

Review: OEM IPC-B5442T-ASE-NI 4MP Pro AI Starlight Full-color Fixed Bullet

Many thanks once again to Andy @EMPIRETECANDY we have for testing the OEM IPC-B5442T-ASE-NI 4MP Starlight+ Full Color bullet. This camera has been provided by Andy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This is a fixed 3.6mm bullet (Pro AI) series with the 1/1.8” sensor. It has no built in...

ipcamtalk.com

2231 Review
Review-OEM IPC-T2231RP-ZS 2mp Varifocal Turret Starlight Camera

Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal

Again courtesy of @EMPIRETECANDY EmpireTech Andy we have a new cam to look over. Its a new model in Dahua's new Lite H265 Series of cam's. Available for purchase here: Aliexpress.com - Online Shopping for Electronics, Fashion, Home & Garden, Toys & Sports, Automobiles and more Price is approx...

ipcamtalk.com

3241T-ZAS Review

Review-OEM IPC-T3241-ZAS 2mp AI Lite series Varifocal

IPC-T3241-ZAS from EMPIRETECANDY 2MP WDR Turret Varifocal AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Purchase in the IPCT Store Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price...

ipcamtalk.com