Blue Iris and NVR questions

[mack100]

I've put together a Hikvision system of 5 IP cameras and a Hikvision NVR with 2x3TB WD Purple drives. The network is all set up using POE switches in 2 locations and the Hikvision software sees all cameras.
I then came across Blue Iris and after reading reviews I bought a licence. I am using a SandyBridge based i7 pc at the moment and as expected the cpu load is at 100% so Ive tried direct to disk recording which works fine in reducing load.

Of course ATM I'm not recording to the NVR only to the pc hdd so the NVR is somewhat redundant! My question is, can I use the nvr's recording properties while using BI on the pc and access all the BI functions?
My other options would be:
Abandon BI and forget using the pc, this means using Hikvision software which I don't particularly like,or:
Abandon the NVR and sell it while spending money on building a more powerful i7 pc

You've probably gathered I'm a complete newbie at cctv but thanks for looking anyway.

 

[tensoneu]

The short answer is yes, but it would be redundant. All the features of your NVR will just be on the NVR. Same with BI on the PC. If you like BI then I would personally get rid of the NVR.

As for your current PC, it sounds like you don't really need to upgrade but optimize your settings for your cameras and BI (direct to disc recording, adjusting fps).

 

[JMartin]

I've got four IP cameras on an intel i5 system that is also my Plex Media Server, and I'm only using 25% of CPU.
I also think some optimization settings might be in order.
I'm still learning about IP Cameras and Blue Iris, but I seem to have things under control.
First thing I did was drop my frame rates to 20 on the main feed, and 15 on the sub.
Made a huge difference in Network Resources.

Just my $.02.

 

[mack100]

Thank you both for your answers. I've got the BI running quite well on the Win7 pc, the cpu load as I'm looking at it now is 25%. I quite like the idea of keeping a dedicated machine for cctv purposes although I'm having signal problems from some cameras.
Looks as though the NVR is going up for sale!

 

[RobbieH]

I have found that 6 frames per second is plenty, and maybe even overkill. I have seen many that use 3-4 fps in the corporate world and it's just fine.

 

[JMartin]

My problem seems to be getting 5-7 seconds of freeze... then video (recorded) continues. Not fluid at all.
Not sure what is causing this.