Looking into Blue Iris...

[digdoug]

Hi all,

I'm on my second Lorex system from Costco. I returned the first one and I purchased this: Lorex 8-Channel 4K NVR Security System with 2TB HDD and 8 4K Cameras. I currently have 6 of the cameras setup outside and will soon be running more ethernet to install a few more outdoor cameras. I also have a few indoor Amcrest cameras and I just purchased the Hikvision wifi doorbell camera (EZVIZ DB1).

I used my 2 unused channels to store video from 2 of my indoor cameras. This was an aha moment for me. I realized I wanted an additional NVR.... then after doing some reading here, I think I want to take the plunge into Blue Iris. When I have my home completely setup, I'll have at least 16+ cameras. I want something better than what Lorex has provided.

I have 6 Surveillance Station camera licenses available to me through 2 QNAP NAS boxes I have running. I don't want to use my NAS servers for recording video. I want a dedicated solution.

I just wanted to ask for some general direction on where to start? How do I use Blue Iris and POE cameras? Is it as simple as purchasing a POE switch and connecting that to the computer running Blue Iris? I assume the Lorex NVR will be pointless after having a Blue Iris computer?

 

[TonyR]

I just wanted to ask for some general direction on where to start? How do I use Blue Iris and POE cameras? Is it as simple as purchasing a POE switch and connecting that to the computer running Blue Iris? I assume the Lorex NVR will be pointless after having a Blue Iris computer?

If you have not already done so, do some reading in the Blue Iris forum and in the Wiki regarding BI server PC hardware selection and optimizing and configuring BI.
IMO, BI is superior to any NVR but you need to follow the recommendations regarding hardware and BI setup to get the best performance.
There will be a period of fine tuning the motion zones and related settings so do NOT expect to set and forget right off the bat...and that could be said even of the best NVRs.

I would not say the NVR would be pointless as some like redundancy if your NVR can also stream to BI (most can) but personally I feel it is one more thing to maintain, one more thing to draw power. You first need to determine if one of your cams can stream directly to BI with no NVR if you're thinking about using them without the NVR.

If the NVR is powering your cams now, then yes, you'll need 1 or more POE switches to power your cams.

 

[mat200]

Hi all,
.. I assume the Lorex NVR will be pointless after having a Blue Iris computer?

Hi @digdoug,

There are typically ways to setup a NVR as a redundant storage unit, so not too bad - especially as you probably do not want to sell the unit until you're certain you want to keep the kit.

Do feel free to share your experiences going from the Lorex kit to Blue Iris.

 

[JET]

I am just building a dedicated BI computer also (it will also serve as a NAS for movies). I ended up going with an AMD 2700x, 8 core and it is quite fast while still being a good price. I had BI on an I5-3570 that was overclocked and it was taking about 60% CPU with 3 4k cameras installed. Extra cameras did not add a lot of CPU usage, 3-4% I believe it was. I am hoping I can keep cpu usage under 40% with 8 4k cameras installed.

 

[bam2413]

If you're referring to using the same computer to serve as something like a home theater NAS for movies, I'd be careful with that. Blue Iris is CPU intensive and if your running something like Plex or something that requires realtime re-encoding for movies your CPU may melt a hole right through your motherboard trying to do that.

 

[JET]

If you're referring to using the same computer to serve as something like a home theater NAS for movies, I'd be careful with that. Blue Iris is CPU intensive and if your running something like Plex or something that requires realtime re-encoding for movies your CPU may melt a hole right through your motherboard trying to do that.

Yeah, that is why I got an 8 core Ryzen 2700X. 16 hyperthreads should be able to handle it.

 

[samplenhold]

I have 6 Surveillance Station camera licenses available to me through 2 QNAP NAS boxes I have running

When I first started with security cameras at my house, I started out using Surveillance Station on my QNAP NAS and found it was lacking. I ended up with BI on a dedicated WIN10 box. BI is far better.

Consider what happens when you have your Lorex NVR stream to your BI computer. If the NAS goes down/offline, your BI feed is gone. How many UPS units do you want to use?

If you are not too sure what direction to go, you can install the trial version of BI and test it out. Most everything works in the trial version.