Another Hardware Question...

[unlcebeej2]

After reading MANY threads on this forum, I'm going to post my setup for your opinions since I feel like I'm right on the edge of performance vs requirements on my NVR build. Any recommendations/opinions will be very helpful! I currently cannot do any testing since this is at the proposal stage.

Cameras:

10 Hikvision H Series 204 4MP cameras
13 Hikvision H Series 214 4MP cameras
1 Hikvision H Series 264 4MP camera
24 Total cameras

Camera Settings:

10-15 fps
5 fps substream (or less)
24-hr recording (but willing to do only motion if its reliable)
Minimum 15 days of saved recordings

Proposed NVR Build:

Core i5-4430 Quad Core @ 3.0 GHz (includes QuickSync)
16 GB RAM
ASUS H97M-E Motherboard (Intel H97 Chipset)
Windows 10 Pro
AMD HD 5450 GPU
(4) 4TB WD Purple HDD in RAID 10 (8TB of storage total for cameras)
256 GB M.2 SSD (for OS & Apps)
Gigabit Ethernet (Entire network is gigabit)

Please...any and all opinions/recommendations will help greatly! If Blue Iris is out of the question...please say so! I will gladly provide more info if needed.

 

[nayr]

24x 4MP cameras @ High Quality.. i think this is too much for BlueIris, or at least an i5. and if you did get it to work I think it'd be with most BI-Specific features disabled..

Usually when your at that scale, looking for continuous non-stop recording.. a hardware solution is cheaper and less power consumption.. have you compared a high end Hik NVR?

another option is 2 smaller hardware nvr's, ie, 2x12 camera nvr's splitting storage.. that way all your eggs are not in one basket.

 

[unlcebeej2]

I've gone through 3 **cheap** DVRs in the past and really don't like the idea of another box that I can't upgrade or work on. BUT...do you have a specific recommendation for a high end Hik NVR? I would definitely rather do that than build 2 smaller NVRs.

How does a Hik NVR compare to other higher-end software solutions on a home-built NVR?

 

[nayr]

well thats the thing, with a video surveillance network this large.. screw upgrading it or working on it, get it working and then leave it be.. id say the same if your running a windows server, look around the BI forums and see how many ppl are asking for previous versions because they need to downgrade and get everything working again.. once you have it running in production the worst thing you can do is start upgrading things and working on stuff, thats surely to burn up a few weekends a year trying to repair everything.

a hardware NVR is primarily gong to save the streams to a hdd, and proxy/playback streams to remove displays/clients.. thats basically it, wont have all the nifty features of a software NVR.. but it'll operate reliably while sipping on power and not worrying about windows updates.. I hear great things about Hik's mobile clients, and it'll work better directly with a NVR.

I dont use Hik personally, so I can make no recommendations on that front.. its going to depend on how few disks you can get away with, I have a feeling your going to need one that can hold at least 4 disks, if not more.. and built in PoE would not be worthwhile for 24cameras, buy a big ass midspan.

Usually the biggest downside to a hardware NVR over software NVR is hardware compatibility.. but your pairing only Hik cameras with a Hik NVR, life will be good and you dont need a massive list of compatible cameras.. if you were mixing and matching, I would be trying to sell you on a Software NVR.

 

[unlcebeej2]

This is awesome info! Thanks so much! Couple more questions:

1. what do you mean by "midspan"?
2. You don't use Hik...are they a good brand? What is your favorite?

 

[nayr]

I prefer Dahua, if only because they dont do any region locking crap, and actually try to keep people from bricking there cameras with the wrong firmware.. where as a hacked hik has no way of stoping you from mis applying firmware. They have slightly better mac osx support than hik and they set the bar for PTZ's by which all others are currently measured, in both cost and quality.

This is a midspan, sorta like the one I have (I have a newer high power model): http://www.ebay.com/itm/POWERDSINE-PD-6024-AC-24-Port-Power-Over-LAN-Power-Injector-Switch/131804063687

 

[unlcebeej2]

Thanks nayr...really helps. Just talked to the guy at Nelly's again and I think I will end up going with a Hik NVR. Thanks again!