Blue Iris Multiple Camera Brands working together

[IpCamEnthusiast]

Hi,

I am a happy user of blue iris with my 24 Lorex cameras. I am considering getting some new cameras of a different brand. I have not decided yet but probably either Wyze or Arlo.

I am wondering if these new camera brands will work side by side my current setup or if there are issues I should be considering. I use Blue Iris to view all my cameras in one spot and also to record directly to my hard drive.

 

[Edcfish]

I have several brands and models of cameras (a generic no-name 2MP fixed, a generic 4MP fixed, a 5MP wide angle fixed, a couple of Dahua models, a Hikvision fixed, and a pair of PTZ mdels) all working well with a single install of Blue Iris.
ONVIF compatibility is key.

 

[looney2ns]

Hi,

I am a happy user of blue iris with my 24 Lorex cameras. I am considering getting some new cameras of a different brand. I have not decided yet but probably either Wyze or Arlo.

I am wondering if these new camera brands will work side by side my current setup or if there are issues I should be considering. I use Blue Iris to view all my cameras in one spot and also to record directly to my hard drive.

Avoid: Arlo, Nest, Wyze, Ring, and the like.
Avoid anything cloud based, which the above are.
Avoid WiFi cams.
Study this: Cliff Notes

 

[aristobrat]

@IpCamEnthusiast, a lot of the popular consumer cloud-based cameras (like Arlo, Nest, etc) don't provide a way for any NVR/VMS (like Blue Iris) to get a video stream directly from the camera. That's on those folks for designing their cameras that way, which pretty much ensures the consumer has to keep a monthly subscription active to use them (or to get access to all of the features).

IIRC, some folks have gotten Wyze cameras to work with BI with some success, but it took some work and IMO didn't always seem reliable. There are a few threads around here if you search around.

If you stick with the pro-grade cameras from Dahua/Hikvision, you should have zero problems adding them to BI.

 

[Edcfish]

100% agree with everything looney2ns and aristobrat said.
I use only wired/POE cameras.
The biggest differences I have noticed between my generic and my Dahua cameras are: on similarly spec'd cameras (ie: both 2MP or both 4MP) the clarity of the image is better on the Dahua's and the options available within the web interface for the Dahua camera (which I only really used during initial setup) are much more complete and easier to use.
As a side note, at the firewall i deny my cameras any access to any IP outside of my network, maybe paranoia on my part, but with OpenVPN on the firewall I can connect to the Blue Iris PC (using UI3 web interface) and i have all the access to the cameras I need from anywhere away from home.