NVR or not NVR, that is the question?

[Nick70068]

A friend in the planning stage asked me this question.

What is the benefit of going with 4-2MP cameras (IPC-T2231T-ZS-S2) attached to an NVR system that is connected to a cable modem/router? Instead of going with 4-4MP Cameras (Amcrest IP8M-T2499EW-28MM) connected straight to a cable modem/router?

Other than cost, I see increase storage available with the NVR system.

Are there any pros or cons to going one or the other.

 

[SouthernYankee]

the Amcrest is an 8MP (4K) camera not a 4MP camera. If you want night video then do not use an 8MP camera or you will need a lot of IR or white light.

The general rule is a sensor size of 1/2.8 is for a 2MP camera, A sensor size of 1/1.8 is for a 4MP camera. An 8MP camera only during the day.

1.Start with ONE good variable focus camera, so you test for the correct lens, lighting, camera placement.
2.Camera Sensor size, bigger is general better Sensor Size Chart
3.Camera lens size the bigger number the more range the less FOV. . Which Security Camera Lens Size Should I Buy?
4.More megapixel is not necessarily better.
5.verify your camera placement, have a friend wearing a hoodie, ball cap and sunglasses looking down approach the house, can you identify them at night ?
6. (Looney2ns)If you want to be able to ID faces, don't mount cams higher than 7ft. You want to know who did it, not jusFt what happened.

Cameras to look at
IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED . Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Full Color, Starlight+) - 4MP starlight
.................... Dahua IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED review
IPC-T5442TM-AS ..... Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+ - 4MP starlight+
IPC-HDW5442t-ZE .... Dahua IPC-HDW5442T-ZE 4MP Varifocal Turret - Night Perfomance testing -- variable focus 2.7 mm-12mm 4 MP Starlight
IPC-B5442E-ZE ...... Review - OEM IPC-B5442E-ZE 4MP AI Varifocal Bullet Camera With Starlight+ -- variable 2.7mm-12mm bullet
IPC-B5442E-Z4E .... bullet 8mm-32mm variable focus zoom 4MP
IPC-HFW7442H-Z ..... Review - Dahua IPC-HFW7442H-Z 4MP Ultra AI Varifocal Bullet Camera -- 4 MP variable focus AI


Read,study,plan before spending money ..... plan plan plan
To save money do it right the first time.
Test do not guess

 

[TonyR]

Are there any pros or cons to going one or the other.

If no NVR or PC with VMS software running, then each cam will have to be able to record to an internal SD card.
That's OK as a backup but if the only way to record and no NVR you would have to log into each camera 1 at a time over the network to view motion clips OR go pull the card out of the cam which is even more of a PITA.

Go with a NVR or consider Blue Iris installed on a PC that is dedicated to Blue Iris and meets or exceeds the minimum hardware requirements AND has been optimized for the best performance.

Many here like NVR's but yours truly moved to BI 8 years ago and haven't looked back.

 

[Flintstone61]

The NVR will save more days than a SD card. The NVR will let you offload video to pass along to the authorities if an event occurs. The Sd card: I dont have any. So i'm not sure how you get the data back to a USB thumb drive. Hopefully not by opening the Camera and removing it. The Nvr will let you replay 2-3 cameras in time sync to show how an event unravels across cameras. The 2 Megapixel cams you list have a varifocal lens and have been out for quite awhile. There are some newer varifocals out but yes, they cost more.
You could try 2 and 2. You'll end up using them either way. Because once you have 4 cams, you'll see the need for 2 more. It's like 2 foot disease with boats. 16 footer is nice, but an 18 footer, now that's living! Oh but look the 20 footer has a cutty cabin.....

 

[Nick70068]

Guys, thanks for the great information.

BTW, the reason I am asking is that the location is at a remote entrance to a subdivision. I personally have an NVR and 8 IPC-WDW2231R-ZS varifocal cameras around the perimeter of my house, and I favor this setup. I spec'd out a similar setup with 4 new models of the camera which are great cameras for greet nighttime video. But one of the residents wants to go less expensive with the stand-alone Amcrest cameras. I am not sure if he plans on accessing the cameras remotely using Amcrest PC applications, Blue Iris, or other software?

 

[looney2ns]

Guys, thanks for the great information.

BTW, the reason I am asking is that the location is at a remote entrance to a subdivision. I personally have an NVR and 8 IPC-WDW2231R-ZS varifocal cameras around the perimeter of my house, and I favor this setup. I spec'd out a similar setup with 4 new models of the camera which are great cameras for greet nighttime video. But one of the residents wants to go less expensive with the stand-alone Amcrest cameras. I am not sure if he plans on accessing the cameras remotely using Amcrest PC applications, Blue Iris, or other software?

Buy once, cry once.
Best to NOT cheap out on the equipment.
It will come back to bite you, right when you need it most.

 

[looney2ns]

The NVR will save more days than a SD card. The NVR will let you offload video to pass along to the authorities if an event occurs. The Sd card: I dont have any. So i'm not sure how you get the data back to a USB thumb drive. Hopefully not by opening the Camera and removing it. The Nvr will let you replay 2-3 cameras in time sync to show how an event unravels across cameras. The 2 Megapixel cams you list have a varifocal lens and have been out for quite awhile. There are some newer varifocals out but yes, they cost more.
You could try 2 and 2. You'll end up using them either way. Because once you have 4 cams, you'll see the need for 2 more. It's like 2 foot disease with boats. 16 footer is nice, but an 18 footer, now that's living! Oh but look the 20 footer has a cutty cabin.....

SD card video can be viewed, and downloaded with a compatible browser.