Dahua NVR limits number of cameras. How to overcome?

voidtemp7

voidtemp7

n3wb
Sep 15, 2020
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Hello!

I have Dahua NVR NVR4104-P-4KS2

NVR4104/4108-P-4KS2

NVR4104/4108, 4/8 Channel Smart 1U 4PoE 4K&H.265 Lite Network Video Recorder
www.dahuasecurity.com www.dahuasecurity.com

I always thought that "4 Channel" means 4 ports on a back panel (built-in switch). And that I can add any other number of cameras on a network. Until I had tried to add 5th camera.
And got the error "No free digital channel",
What??!

That's so frustrating. It has 70Mbps of "Residual bandwidth" but I can't add anything. Am I getting it wrong?
This sounds to me as marketing bullshit.
Please tell me I'm wrong. Or how can I hack it to add more cameras?
 
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Your wrong in your thinking. Although you have the available bandwith, it can only be processed through the available4 channels. You can hack it up with a sawzall and buy a new NVR to fit your needs. Based on a response you made in a thread about a ripped out connection i find it hard to believe something this simple would challenge you.
 
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Thanks for replies..

OICU2,
but I remember there are NVRs with only WAN input and don't have built-in switch. They should be able to process any amount of cameras until their processing resources are depleted, shouldn't they?

Ckb3,
wait are you comparing fixing connector to buying new NVR?
Are you affiliated or something?
 
voidtemp7 said:
Thanks for replies..
Ckb3,
wait are you comparing fixing connector to buying new NVR?
Are you affiliated or something?
Click to expand...

No, you were clear in your statement on the other thread that it was obvious fix. However, camera wiring is different from camera to camera and manufactuer to manufactuer. This too is obvious. 4 channels means 4 channels. I am affiliated with myself and live life on the high line.

I would recommend like many others on here that you review the WIKI from a computer to get a better understanding of the cameras and how things work. Good Luck.
 
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voidtemp7 said:
Hello!

I have Dahua NVR NVR4104-P-4KS2

NVR4104/4108-P-4KS2

NVR4104/4108, 4/8 Channel Smart 1U 4PoE 4K&H.265 Lite Network Video Recorder
www.dahuasecurity.com www.dahuasecurity.com

I always thought that "4 Channel" means 4 ports on a back panel (built-in switch). And that I can add any other number of cameras on a network. Until I had tried to add 5th camera.
And got the error "No free digital channel",
What??!

That's so frustrating. It has 70Mbps of "Residual bandwidth" but I can't add anything. Am I getting it wrong?
This sounds to me as marketing bullshit.
Please tell me I'm wrong. Or how can I hack it to add more cameras?
Click to expand...

Hi @voidtemp7

Unless you have access to the source code, and have the knowledge to edit, and compile that code:

NVR #channels = number of cameras feeds it accepts. ( some cameras which have multiple lenses - actually will present 2 camera feeds one for each lens ). [ note update, italics ]
NVR #ports = number of PoE ports

and NVR also has +1 wan/lan port

Thus - this is why I highly recommend getting the next level up for NVRs.
That is:
if you feel you need 1-4 cameras -> get a 8 channel / port NVR
if you feel you need 4-8 cameras -> get a 16 channel / port NVR

Also, get a higher CPU / processor version.. thus I like more bandwidth NVRs vs "lite" versions.

Remember, NVRs are designed to be the most cost effective possible given the specs - thus less channels, less CPU / RAM ..
 
Last edited:
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Guys, I really appreciate all you replies.
I'm feeling like a newbie right now: specs clearly state " IP Camera Input: 4/8 Channel"

Same time I still think I'm a bit ripped off by Dahua: device is capable of processing of 16 Mpixels of input data (2ch@4K) and I'm using much less than this.
 
voidtemp7 said:
Guys, I really appreciate all you replies.
I'm feeling like a newbie right now: specs clearly state " IP Camera Input: 4/8 Channel"

Same time I still think I'm a bit ripped off by Dahua: device is capable of processing of 16 Mpixels of input data (2ch@4K) and I'm using much less than this.
Click to expand...
Specs talk about both the 4 channels NVR and the 8 channels NVR, therefore IP camera input is 4/8 cameras based on your model.
The 2ch@4k only refers to the decoding capacity of the NVR graphic card, meaning you can only watch two 4K channels on a monitor directly linked to the NVR, but for example when watching on a computer you can still be able to get all 4 channels at 4K.
In the end there's not much debate here, each model states the number of cameras you can add, no tricks.
 
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He guys just on this subject, the Dahua NVR52084KS2-E, and the NVR52164KS2E are identical hardware correct? so is it firmware that determines the amount of cameras connected?
 
chipper said:
He guys just on this subject, the Dahua NVR52084KS2-E, and the NVR52164KS2E are identical hardware correct? so is it firmware that determines the amount of cameras connected?
Click to expand...
Yes, it's firmware/Operating System. It's all about licensing and the difference between handling 8 versus 16 cameras is about $20/US dollars. Always go for more camera capacity in an NVR even though you don't think you will need more capacity. This hobby/passion is addictive.
 
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chipper said:
He guys just on this subject, the Dahua NVR52084KS2-E, and the NVR52164KS2E are identical hardware correct? so is it firmware that determines the amount of cameras connected?
Click to expand...
I'm buying NVR4116-8P-4KS2 next week and will compare hardware with my current NVR4104-P-4KS2.
My best guess is they share the same CPU/SoC and maybe one or two RAM chips will be missing.
 
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voidtemp7 said:
I'm buying NVR4116-8P-4KS2 next week and will compare hardware with my current NVR4104-P-4KS2.
My best guess is they share the same CPU/SoC and maybe one or two RAM chips will be missing.
Click to expand...

Looking forward to a good comparison between the 2!

Definitely post a thread on it.
 
voidtemp7 said:
I'm buying NVR4116-8P-4KS2 next week and will compare hardware with my current NVR4104-P-4KS2.
My best guess is they share the same CPU/SoC and maybe one or two RAM chips will be missing.
Click to expand...
Yeah i have the NVR5208-8P-4KS2-E, looking at the specs its identical to the 16 channel except mine has 8 POE ports so there must be away i would have thought
 
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