Advantages of a NVR Vs. Blue Iris and a PC?

1st gen i5's are ancient. There's a reason they were practically giving them away.

FWIW, I just picked up a Dell Optiplex i5-6500 for BI that's nearly as fast as my main PC's i7-2600 on Passmark. i5/i7 are meaningless with referring to specific chips. Otherwise its like saying 6 cylinder cars are faster than 4 cylinder cars.
 
I built a PC specifically to run BI and nothing else. It;s based on a Supermicro Mini ITX MB, an Intel i7 4790 and 16GB of ram. A 1TB SSD and Windows 2016 Server Standard. This system runs 11 cams without breaking a sweat. Only attention it requires is I occasionally remote into it to update BI and config the cams when needed. System has been running 24/7 for over a year with zero problems. I admit that a big part of reliability is due to the fact that nobody monkeys with this system and there are no other programs loaded on it. In the past I tried running BI on a multi purpose computer but always ran into glitches and problems not related to BI. A dedicated PC of decent quality is the way to go.
 
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Hello, friends, I am a new member here. Thank you for adding me. I am late in this game and have a question between Hikvision NVR's and Blue Iris. Can you connect WiFI cameras with Hikvision NVR or Blue Iris? I have 2
Amcrest UltraHD 2K WiFi Camera 3MP (2304TVL) Security Wireless IP IP3M-941B. Also is Hikvision NVRs better then Amcrest NVRs if so in which way? Thanks for your input.
 
sonypany said:
Hello, friends, I am a new member here. Thank you for adding me. I am late in this game and have a question between Hikvision NVR's and Blue Iris. Can you connect WiFI cameras with Hikvision NVR or Blue Iris? I have 2
Amcrest UltraHD 2K WiFi Camera 3MP (2304TVL) Security Wireless IP IP3M-941B. Also is Hikvision NVRs better then Amcrest NVRs if so in which way? Thanks for your input.
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Please click at the top of the page on Wiki, and read the cliff notes.
Wifi cams should be avoided.
 
sonypany said:
That really does not answer my question. I would still like to know a more relevant answer.
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Did you read what @looney2ns suggested...or must we type the same answers to the same questions for the 1,000th time? crazy.gif
 
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sonypany said:
Wow, Thank you for being so Polite!
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Is that sarcasm Sheldon?
Do you want polite or do you want good advice? You will get good advice here, but you need to follow the advice they give you.
To answer a little bit of your question, an Amcrest nvr will work best with Amcrest cameras, and a Hikvision nvr will work best with Hikvision cameras.
If you are going to mix cameras of different makes, then a computer running BlueIris is your best choice.
BlueIris does work with wireless cameras, but as Q pointed out, avoid wireless, it will let you down right when you need it.
 
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gordo said:
Is that sarcasm Sheldon?
Do you want polite or do you want good advice? You will get good advice here, but you need to follow the advice they give you.
To answer a little bit of your question, an Amcrest nvr will work best with Amcrest cameras, and a Hikvision nvr will work best with Hikvision cameras.
If you are going to mix cameras of different makes, then a computer running BlueIris is your best choice.
BlueIris does work with wireless cameras, but as Q pointed out, avoid wireless, it will let you down right when you need it.
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gordo. Thank you very much, I really appreciate and respect the way you answered my question. By the way, good advice can be given politely just like you did. Thanks Once again
 
sonypany said:
Wow, Thank you for being so Polite!
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Let's figure this out together shall we @sonypany? @looney2ns answered your question. Then you told @looney2ns that his answer wasn't good enough and that -- rather then doing the suggested legwork to learn the answer for yourself -- you wanted @looney2ns to take the time to type out an answer which has been provided on this forum hundreds of times before. How "polite" is that @sonypany? Soon afterwards, when I point out that which should be rather obvious to you, you apparently get offended and tell me I am not being "polite." As a result, I'm wondering if you're stupid, or simply selfish...or perhaps you lack the common sense which should make any reasonable person understand that they are a guest at this forum and that they should do as they are told before they start complaining about the free advice they've been given which has been offered by other forum members at their own considerable personal expense.
 
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sonypany said:
That really does not answer my question. I would still like to know a more relevant answer.
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HI @sonypany , and welcome to the forum

Recall the term: RTFM - you will find your relevant answer there, and in other sections of the forum.

In general, many of us enjoy sharing what we're learning with others here.

As this is a hobby / passion for us - that is we as forum members do not get paid for our efforts here on ipcamtalk - no one should expect levels of assistance to meet their needs, but expect participation levels to meet the needs of those contributing to responses.

That said, the collective works in the wiki represent BETTER documentation for ip cameras in general than many others and are a result of all of the members here participating to share their knowledge and experience to help each other.

It is the primary section everyone who is starting should go to, as it does get rather fatiguing to reply to the same / same type of questions repeatedly.

1) Those who understand and appreciate this will find this to be more of a helpful forum.

2) Those who insist on a customized relevant answer w/o reading the documents and forum threads which we have invested a GREAT DEAL OF our resources to, will find this forum to be less welcoming.

It is up to each participant to decide which path to take.
 
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mat200 said:
HI @sonypany , and welcome to the forum

Recall the term: RTFM - you will find your relevant answer there, and in other sections of the forum.

In general, many of us enjoy sharing what we're learning with others here.

As this is a hobby / passion for us - that is we as forum members do not get paid for our efforts here on ipcamtalk - no one should expect levels of assistance to meet their needs, but expect participation levels to meet the needs of those contributing to responses.

That said, the collective works in the wiki represent BETTER documentation for ip cameras in general than many others and are a result of all of the members here participating to share their knowledge and experience to help each other.

It is the primary section everyone who is starting should go to, as it does get rather fatiguing to reply to the same / same type of questions repeatedly.

1) Those who understand and appreciate this will find this to be more of a helpful forum.

2) Those who insist on a customized relevant answer w/o reading the documents and forum threads which we have invested a GREAT DEAL OF our resources to, will find this forum to be less welcoming.

It is up to each participant to decide which path to take.
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This is much better way to explain then to be a granpa.
 
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If you have ever been very active on many forums in the past one would already know that coming in and your first couple of posts are just short questions demanding answers generally is not the best way to start. One tip on sonypany's question though - Amcrest is most likely OEM Dahua. On this topic, I'd agree that both BI PC's and NVR's are excellent options for different scenarios. Many are messing with and learning lots about IP camera tech because they are in the business of selling and installing them. For many commercial users I can only agree with those on the NVR side for for resellers for the majority of business customers. Once setup "most" businesses rarely ever touch the system again. Tell them its a PC running Windows and that is close to for them to screw around with things. Granted, if it is clearly pointed out to them to just leave it alone unless they want potential issues they might actually listen. I also have to admit that some of the newer micro size PC's are darn capable machines. Both have their place and uses in my opinion. For the geekier type who wants more control and ability to tweak things, BI for sure.
 
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MixManSC said:
If you have ever been very active on many forums in the past one would already know that coming in and your first couple of posts are just short questions demanding answers generally is not the best way to start. One tip on sonypany's question though - Amcrest is most likely OEM Dahua. On this topic, I'd agree that both BI PC's and NVR's are excellent options for different scenarios. Many are messing with and learning lots about IP camera tech because they are in the business of selling and installing them. For many commercial users I can only agree with those on the NVR side for for resellers for the majority of business customers. Once setup "most" businesses rarely ever touch the system again. Tell them its a PC running Windows and that is close to for them to screw around with things. Granted, if it is clearly pointed out to them to just leave it alone unless they want potential issues they might actually listen. I also have to admit that some of the newer micro size PC's are darn capable machines. Both have their place and uses in my opinion. For the geekier type who wants more control and ability to tweak things, BI for sure.
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With any business pc you can lockout the USB ports to prevent tampering...you can also physically lock it down... Dont see why someone would more likely touch a pc vs an NVR. If someone wants to tinker, they will tinker.
 
I cannot really argue with that.... Is true that is someone is so inclined they will mess around with either one and its easy enough to disable things in the BIOS on a PC (as well as password protecting the BIOS). I guess from my point of view and prior IT background at a major hospital, if it is familiar (PC with Windows) the odds of someone messing around will it be far higher than if it is something unfamiliar (NVR). I wonder, has anyone tried making BI the actual Windows shell? I think that would be an excellent setup as you can configure autoadminlogon in the registry, set the alternate shell, and the PC when booted will just go directly into BI with no way to even get to any Windows functions since explorer is not even running. You can still reboot into safe mode, disable autologin, then login with the admin account that does not have the alternate shell enabled. Windows 10 makes it even easier with built in kiosk mode tools like Shell Launcher. Just thinking out loud on ways to make a BI PC even more like a purpose made NVR is all.
 
MixManSC said:
I cannot really argue with that.... Is true that is someone is so inclined they will mess around with either one and its easy enough to disable things in the BIOS on a PC (as well as password protecting the BIOS). I guess from my point of view and prior IT background at a major hospital, if it is familiar (PC with Windows) the odds of someone messing around will it be far higher than if it is something unfamiliar (NVR). I wonder, has anyone tried making BI the actual Windows shell? I think that would be an excellent setup as you can configure autoadminlogon in the registry, set the alternate shell, and the PC when booted will just go directly into BI with no way to even get to any Windows functions since explorer is not even running. You can still reboot into safe mode, disable autologin, then login with the admin account that does not have the alternate shell enabled. Windows 10 makes it even easier with built in kiosk mode tools like Shell Launcher. Just thinking out loud on ways to make a BI PC even more like a purpose made NVR is all.
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I have a bunch if these in businesses...they are not touched..no need to go nuts...it's set to boot into BI full screen mode after a restart..
 
Bumping and old thread. Other than the cost of the NVR (which seems almost free with some of the bundled systems when compared to buying everything separately) is there any disadvantage to running BI and an NVR. There are a few reasons I'm considering this.

1. I think my pc is lacking for the cameras I want to use. I'm running 3 4k cameras and BI is running about 60% cpu usage (after optimization)
I don't want the expense of building another PC right now, and I am planning on adding more cameras. I'm running an HP I5 4570 with 16gb ram. and 1TB SSD. My thoughts are not to plan on monitoring all my cameras with BI until I can upgrade my PC

2. I have not found a good solution for viewing my cameras on the television. I think an NVR might work well for this.

3. An NVR would be another backup of my recordings, and would be easier to hide. It would also reside in a completely different part of the house,
therefore increasing the odds of still having my recordings should someone steal my BI computer.

4. Assuming I could use the NVR as a POE switch it would simplify some of my wiring back to my main router / poe switch (not sure it works this way.
would the rest of the network see what's connected to the POE ports on the NVR?. I would think so)

TIA
 
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