badgenes
n3wb
I plan to use one for overview and one for LPR but may expand up to 4 cameras in the near future. What NVRs do ya'll recommend for feature support and quality?
Thanks
Thanks
NVR Recommendations for use with 2 (for now) IPC-HFW5241E-Z12E
- Thread starter badgenes
- Start date
SouthernYankee
IPCT Contributor
It is strongly recommend that with an NVR and cameras, that they all come form a single manufactures. Do not mix and match. You will loose camera functionality if a camera is not matched to the NVR.
One other thing to keep in mind is that some manufactures limit the ability for NVRs to support there own cameras from different regions. So Chinese hacked cameras may not work with an International NVR. Even from the same manufacture.
Get an NVR that is bigger than you think you will need. So if you need 4 cameras get an 8 camera NVR. NVRs are limited in there processing power, Incoming Bandwidth rating.
Not sure about the NVR supporting LPR.
=======================
if you are interested in International Dahua cameras, and NVR a forum member sells dahua (and some Hikvision) and ships world wide. You can read some of the members recommendations on his service. He also provides cameras to other forum member for evaluation and reviews.
You can email him for a quote, or purchase from his Aliexpress store or his Amazon store. The cameras are fully upgradable, he posts upgrade software when available.
I recommend emailing Andy for a quote
Andy
@EMPIRETECANDY
kingsecurity2014@163.com
Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: EmpireTech Andy
Andy's AliExpress store: Empire Technology Co., Ltd - Amazing prodcuts with exclusive discounts on AliExpress
Andy's Amazon store: Amazon.com
One other thing to keep in mind is that some manufactures limit the ability for NVRs to support there own cameras from different regions. So Chinese hacked cameras may not work with an International NVR. Even from the same manufacture.
Get an NVR that is bigger than you think you will need. So if you need 4 cameras get an 8 camera NVR. NVRs are limited in there processing power, Incoming Bandwidth rating.
Not sure about the NVR supporting LPR.
=======================
if you are interested in International Dahua cameras, and NVR a forum member sells dahua (and some Hikvision) and ships world wide. You can read some of the members recommendations on his service. He also provides cameras to other forum member for evaluation and reviews.
You can email him for a quote, or purchase from his Aliexpress store or his Amazon store. The cameras are fully upgradable, he posts upgrade software when available.
I recommend emailing Andy for a quote
Andy
@EMPIRETECANDY
kingsecurity2014@163.com
Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: EmpireTech Andy
Andy's AliExpress store: Empire Technology Co., Ltd - Amazing prodcuts with exclusive discounts on AliExpress
Andy's Amazon store: Amazon.com
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.
The Automation Guy
Known around here
You really have two options - hardware based and software based.
Many of us on this forum use BlueIris which is a software based NVR program. It runs on a computer running Windows OS. It is inexpensive, but fully featured. You are generally limited to the number of cameras only by the processing power of the CPU (which isn't very high per camera). The feature set is full and keeps growing, You can set different profiles based on time or days or events. You can set motion detection up for each camera and they can all be different. You can set different notifications for events (for example I have a SMS with a picture sent to all of my family member's phones anytime the doorbell camera has a person approach it). It even now allows integration with AI software so the system can detect the differences between a car and a person (as an example). Another advantage is you are able to add more hard drives and/or larger hard drives as needed.
A hardware based NVR system is self-contained. Arguably it is more stable than running software on a Windows machine (but honestly I haven't had a Windows crash in years, so I don't necessarily agree with that statement). It usually also comes with limits to the number of cameras you can connect as well as limits on the storage available. I am not the right person to give advice on what would be a good choice because I have only looked at the software options however.
Many of us on this forum use BlueIris which is a software based NVR program. It runs on a computer running Windows OS. It is inexpensive, but fully featured. You are generally limited to the number of cameras only by the processing power of the CPU (which isn't very high per camera). The feature set is full and keeps growing, You can set different profiles based on time or days or events. You can set motion detection up for each camera and they can all be different. You can set different notifications for events (for example I have a SMS with a picture sent to all of my family member's phones anytime the doorbell camera has a person approach it). It even now allows integration with AI software so the system can detect the differences between a car and a person (as an example). Another advantage is you are able to add more hard drives and/or larger hard drives as needed.
A hardware based NVR system is self-contained. Arguably it is more stable than running software on a Windows machine (but honestly I haven't had a Windows crash in years, so I don't necessarily agree with that statement). It usually also comes with limits to the number of cameras you can connect as well as limits on the storage available. I am not the right person to give advice on what would be a good choice because I have only looked at the software options however.
badgenes
n3wb
Thanks for the replies! I've been looking at BI and am open to that type of solution as well. I'll go take a look at the recommended PC specs and email Andy for a quote as well for an NVR. Thanks!
SouthernYankee
IPCT Contributor
I use BI. You can go with an inexpensive used business PC add a120 GB SSD and a 4 TB WD Purple drive. For those few cameras you do not need to get a high end CPU, BI is a better solution for running LPR. I would stick with a business Dell OptiPlex or HP Elitedesk
+1 or 2 LOL on Blue Iris!
Keep in mind an NVR is a stripped down computer after all....and isn't true plug-n-play like people believe. You still have to dial the cameras into your setting. Once you do that, might as well go with something that has the best chance of working with many different camera brands. And I have found Blue Iris to be more robust and easier than an NVR. As always, YMMV...
When I was looking at replacing an existing NVR, once I realized that not all NVRs are created equal, and once I priced out a good one, it was cheaper to buy a refurbished computer than an NVR. You don't need to buy components and build one.
Many of these refurbished computers are business class computers that have come off lease. The one I bought I kid you not I could not tell that it was a refurbished unit - not a speck of dust or dents or scratches on it. It appeared to me like everything was replaced and I would assume just the motherboard with the intel processor is what was from the original unit. I went with the lowest end processor on the WIKI list as it was the cheapest and it runs my system fine. Could probably get going for $200 or so. A real NVR will cost more than that.
A member here just last month found a refurbished 4th generation for less than $150USD that came with Win10 PRO, 16GB RAM, and a 1TB drive. Blue Iris has a demo, so try it out on an existing computer and see if you like it.
As you price out NVRs, look at available bandwidth. NVRs from the box units like a Amcrest and Lorex cap out incoming bandwidth (which impacts the resolution and FPS of the cameras). The Lorex and Amcrest NVR maxes out at 80Mbps and truly only one or a couple cameras that will display 4K. My neighbors was limited to that and he is all upset it isn't 4K for all eight channels and he was capped out at 4096 bitrate on each camera so it was a pixelated mess.
There is a big Blue Iris or NVR debate here LOL. Some people love Blue Iris and think NVRs are clunky and hard to use and others think Blue Iris is clunky and hard to use. I have done both and prefer Blue Iris. As with everything YMMV...
Keep in mind an NVR is a stripped down computer after all....and isn't true plug-n-play like people believe. You still have to dial the cameras into your setting. Once you do that, might as well go with something that has the best chance of working with many different camera brands. And I have found Blue Iris to be more robust and easier than an NVR. As always, YMMV...
When I was looking at replacing an existing NVR, once I realized that not all NVRs are created equal, and once I priced out a good one, it was cheaper to buy a refurbished computer than an NVR. You don't need to buy components and build one.
Many of these refurbished computers are business class computers that have come off lease. The one I bought I kid you not I could not tell that it was a refurbished unit - not a speck of dust or dents or scratches on it. It appeared to me like everything was replaced and I would assume just the motherboard with the intel processor is what was from the original unit. I went with the lowest end processor on the WIKI list as it was the cheapest and it runs my system fine. Could probably get going for $200 or so. A real NVR will cost more than that.
A member here just last month found a refurbished 4th generation for less than $150USD that came with Win10 PRO, 16GB RAM, and a 1TB drive. Blue Iris has a demo, so try it out on an existing computer and see if you like it.
As you price out NVRs, look at available bandwidth. NVRs from the box units like a Amcrest and Lorex cap out incoming bandwidth (which impacts the resolution and FPS of the cameras). The Lorex and Amcrest NVR maxes out at 80Mbps and truly only one or a couple cameras that will display 4K. My neighbors was limited to that and he is all upset it isn't 4K for all eight channels and he was capped out at 4096 bitrate on each camera so it was a pixelated mess.
There is a big Blue Iris or NVR debate here LOL. Some people love Blue Iris and think NVRs are clunky and hard to use and others think Blue Iris is clunky and hard to use. I have done both and prefer Blue Iris. As with everything YMMV...
bigredfish
Known around here
I'm running 24 4MP Dahua cameras at 8192 bitrate and 30FPS on a 5232 series. They work fine if you get the right one for the job.
Recommend the 5000 series
Pro Series
If 8 channels is all you think you'll need:
NVR5208/5216/5232-8P-4KS2
8/16/32 Channel 1U 2HDDs 8PoE 4K & H.265 Pro Network Video Recorder
Recommend the 5000 series
Pro Series
If 8 channels is all you think you'll need:
NVR5208/5216/5232-8P-4KS2
8/16/32 Channel 1U 2HDDs 8PoE 4K & H.265 Pro Network Video Recorder