New setup - 2 computers, 6 cameras

[escusemay]

Hi everyone,

I need your help! I just joined the forum because of the wealth of knowledge with cameras, Blue Iris and computers amongst the members. Please forgive my ignorance and noobness, but I have no idea when it comes to cameras and computers.

I'm in the process of starting up a business which has 6 standard rooms, with one camera in each room.

Requirements:
- 70 degree (or more) viewing angle on each camera
- resolution not too important (maybe say 720p at around 15fps?)
- 2 computers will each need to be able to access camera feeds from all 6 cameras
- We may add a couple of extra higher resolution security cameras in future

At the moment, I'm sourcing some PC parts. Already purchase the Asus Gryphon-Z87 motherboard because it was on special last week. So my questions for you:

1. What wireless IP cameras would you recommend? I've heard the Dahua's are pretty good in terms of price/quality
2. What kind of computer specs would you recommend for my needs (please recommend CPU, RAM, HDD, GPU, Case+PSU)?

Please note, this is for a business so I don't need the quietest, fastest computer that will be overkill for my needs. I'm on a pretty tight budget, but may justify spending a little extra for a stress free setup if required. For the processor, I'm deciding between the Intel i3-4150 vs i5-4460. I'm leaning towards the i3 as it's around $75 cheaper than the i5 in Australia, but the last thing I want is a choppy system because of that. I won't be running any other software other than BI. I heard that usually IP cameras rely more on the processor than a dedicated graphics card, hence would it be possible to get away with just using the onboard GPU as opposed to forking out for a dedicated unit?

3. Is a Synology Surveillance system required? I believe this is just an NAS but I'm still a little unsure of whether we'll need that. I'm guessing I do as we'll need to record some footage and being able to access it from both computers.


Thanks in advance!

 

[fenderman]

Welcome to the forum. With blue iris, if you are only using 720p cameras an i3 will suffice but you should get the i5 for some headroom...you could also just run an NVR. You might consider a refurbished business system, i dont know about down under but here, you can pick up a refurb haswell i5 for 300. To view on another system, the best way is just to duplicate the display and run a cable to another monitor this way you dont waste a pc on it. You can use hdmi over cat5.
You dont want wireless cameras, you will have problems. Run ethernet to each camera and use power over ethernet. Look at the hikvision bullet 2032. Use integrated graphics, low power, low heat and less chance of failure.
You dont need a nas.

 

[icerabbit]

Welcome to the forum.

You don't know about computers but already bought a motherboard??? /couldn't resist

Most people here run Dahua or Hikvision cams. Agreeing with Cat 6 ethernet to the cams. Hikvision 2032 in 3mp can be sourced inexpensively, best bang for the buck, you can run them at lower resolution, and still be cheaper and better quality then no-name brands or box kits. Probably could do minidomes too, but then you're dealing with a dome, need to be careful about fingerprints and ghosting during install for night vision. Obviously you'll have some wiring to do, with some luck you have dropped ceilings to snake some wires. Do not look at foscam or other cheap brands. And I'd skip wifi cameras.

If you need less power and less features than blue iris, you can for instance run Hikvision iVMS (only for hikvision cameras) well on small core i3 or core i5 computer like an intel nuc, they can even have two drives, the unit can hang discretely off the back of a monitor on a vesa mount, or be stowed somewhere. To view it in a second location, you don't need a second computer per se, because you can run one computer with its display signal duplicated to a second location. Provided of course that the second viewer doesn't need to interact with the system. What I'm envisioning here is the two owners or managers of the company having a screen on the wall, or their desk that just shows the same multi camera overview. Don't need two computers for that. Would help simplify the install, help the budget and electric bill.

I'm just throwing that out there as a variation / alternate idea.

 

[escusemay]

Thanks for the suggestions!

I ended up purchasing the i5-4460 processor for extra headroom. It's quite hard to find a decent haswell i5 system for around $300 in Australia. Most are at least $800...talk about inflation!

I know that PoE is the best way to go with regards to go but I don't think we will be able to achieve this. If this is the case, it looks like we may have to go the wireless solution. I understand there are significant issues that may arise with dropouts etc, but I just want to see what options I have for this.

With regards to duplicating the display, I know it's best to just have the one computer with multiple monitors and I have proposed that idea to my partner, but the nature of our business requires 2 separate computers, each computer mainly allocated 3 cameras each. Basically our business is an indoor recreation centre with with 6 rooms. Each computer predominantly can monitor their allocated 3 rooms, but have the flexibility to monitor the other 3 rooms on the rare occasion. I know it's a unique and different (and troublesome too!) design, but hopefully you guys can help recommend me something that will fit our needs.

Thanks again!