Amcrest NVR with other brands

[Jb2644]

I wish I’d discovered this site before building my security system. Thank you to everyone for sharing their knowledge. I was wondering if anyone has experience with using non-Amcrest cameras on their Amcrest NVR.
I have 3 Amcrest POE cameras, 2 smart home Amcrest + the Amcrest doorbell, and Amcrest NVR (nv4108e-hs). I’m ready to add exterior cameras and need to clearly see 30-100’ away. However, the Amcrest outdoor cameras that can actually do it are very expensive.

If I purchased other Dahua made cameras with strong zoom features, would I be able to utilize the zoom feature with my Amcrest NVR and View Pro app? I’m in it for about $350 so far. I’d hate to think I need to scrap and start over...

 

[SouthernYankee]

Amcrest equipment is mostly rebranded Dahua.

Most reasonable outside cameras that can be used to identify the bad guy cost more than $120.0 each.

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

 

[wittaj]

What he said^. For 30-100 feet away, do not get fixed lens cameras. The 2.8mm. 3.6mm, and 4mm lens will only allow you to see that something happened, but not be able to identify them.

I would suggest try one varifocal camera first to get your feet wet and understand how these cameras work. The 5442 series has several varifocals available - a turret style up to 12mm and a bullet style up to 32mm.

The biggest mistake people make is trying to make a camera do too much. A 2.8mm or 4mm camera is a great overview camera to be able to tell that something happened, but anybody more than 10 feet away and realistically you will not be able to ID them.

Take a look at this chart - to identify someone with the 2.8mm lens popular someone would have to be within 13 feet of the camera.

My neighbor was bragging to me how he only needed his 4 cams to see his entire property and the street and his whole backyard. His car was sitting in the driveway practically touching the garage door and his video quality was useless to ID the perp not even 10 feet away.

When we had a thief come thru here and get into a lot of cars, the police couldn't use one video or photo from anyone's system that had fixed 2.8mm or 3.6mm 4K cams - those cams sure looks nice and gives a great wide angle view, but you cannot identify anyone at 15 feet out. At night you cannot even ID someone from 10 feet. Meanwhile, the perp didn't come to my house but walked past on the sidewalk at 80 feet from my house and my 2MP varifocal zoomed in to a point at the sidewalk was the money shot for the police. Also do not chase MP - you do not need 4K outside at night - it will need way too much light to be effective.

I would suggest the ZE version for the 30 foot range and the Z4E for up to 100 feet. A member here @EMPIRETECANDY sells these cameras on his Amazon store.

You could use any Amcrest, Lorex, Dahua and Dahua OEM with your NVR without too much problem.

 

[mat200]

I wish I’d discovered this site before building my security system. Thank you to everyone for sharing their knowledge. I was wondering if anyone has experience with using non-Amcrest cameras on their Amcrest NVR.
I have 3 Amcrest POE cameras, 2 smart home Amcrest + the Amcrest doorbell, and Amcrest NVR (nv4108e-hs). I’m ready to add exterior cameras and need to clearly see 30-100’ away. However, the Amcrest outdoor cameras that can actually do it are very expensive.

If I purchased other Dahua made cameras with strong zoom features, would I be able to utilize the zoom feature with my Amcrest NVR and View Pro app? I’m in it for about $350 so far. I’d hate to think I need to scrap and start over...

Welcome @Jb2644

Amcrest NVR NV4108E-HS .. looks like a "lite" version based on the specs

Max 80Mbps Incoming Bandwidth, records 7 cameras @ 4K using H.264. Records 8 cameras @ 4K by changing default settings from H.264 to H.265 and adjusting bit rate to 1792 on each camera for maximum optimization.

Thus it may not support the more advanced Dahua OEM IVS features.. just an fyi for you to double check it that makes a difference.

 

[fergenheimer]

I have a mixture of amcrest and dahua cameras tied to an amcrest 4108 nvr. One is a dahua SD29204UE which is a ptz camera. Operation through the amcrest view pro app is less than adequate. The picture is spectacular though it is updated sporadically. The controls are hit and miss. The zoom and presets only work when the camera is updating. The amcrest cameras are tied into the nvr directly and the dahua is connected through the network. The amcrest cameras seem to refresh regularly. If I recall, both the amcrest and dahua cameras are configured as "other" in the nvr.

 

[Jb2644]

Thanks everyone! This is very helpful and good to hear I can feed a Dahua into my system. I’ll continue reviewing/comparing and let y’all know how it works out.
On a side-note for future Amcrest consumers, never change configurations on the Amcrest Doorbell (or any ‘SmartHome’ cam) through the View Pro app. I almost completely bricked it day 1, but was able to cycle the factory reset.