BlueIris is amazing! Why bother with NVR today?

[ZeeCam]

I have been a hardcore user of the Hikvision NVR (7616ni-i2/16p model) for 7 years, and while it wasn't perfect, I stuck with it. Also around same time I had tried BI, but I wasn't impressed with the solution at that time for several reasons. Recently I finally reached a point where I grew tired of NVRs limited control capabilities and decided to explore other options. I finally took the plunge and decided to give BI another shot after friend demoed usage of it. I downloaded the demo and installed it on my laptop. The initial setup was overwhelming, and it took me several days to fine-tune everything, including setting up AI motion alerts and Telegram notifications. But as time went on, I realized that BI was exactly what I needed, so I purchased the license and began searching for the perfect PC to run it on.

In my quest for the ideal PC, I had a few criteria in mind: compactness, value, power, and efficiency which is what I was getting with NVR. After careful consideration, I settled on the minisforum mini PC, and it has been absolutely perfect for my needs. I've been using this setup for a couple of weeks now, and both BI and the hardware have exceeded my expectations. My only regret is not ditching the NVR sooner.

With BI and my new hardware setup, I finally have the control and capabilities I've been needing. Browser interface and features are amazing which negates needs for any other apps actually. It has been a game-changer, and while I still have a few things to solve and configure but it's just matter of time.

So why would anyone choose NVR these days? The only real advantage is it maybe easier to set it up but only because it has much less configurability, but aside from that...

 

[FLGator]

I have been a hardcore user of the Hikvision NVR (7616ni-i2/16p model) for 7 years, and while it wasn't perfect, I stuck with it. Also around same time I had tried BI, but I wasn't impressed with the solution at that time for several reasons. Recently I finally reached a point where I grew tired of NVRs limited control capabilities and decided to explore other options. I finally took the plunge and decided to give BI another shot after friend demoed usage of it. I downloaded the demo and installed it on my laptop. The initial setup was overwhelming, and it took me several days to fine-tune everything, including setting up AI motion alerts and Telegram notifications. But as time went on, I realized that BI was exactly what I needed, so I purchased the license and began searching for the perfect PC to run it on.

In my quest for the ideal PC, I had a few criteria in mind: compactness, value, power, and efficiency which is what I was getting with NVR. After careful consideration, I settled on the minisforum mini PC, and it has been absolutely perfect for my needs. I've been using this setup for a couple of weeks now, and both BI and the hardware have exceeded my expectations. My only regret is not ditching the NVR sooner.

With BI and my new hardware setup, I finally have the control and capabilities I've been needing. Browser interface and features are amazing which negates needs for any other apps actually. It has been a game-changer, and while I still have a few things to solve and configure but it's just matter of time.

So why would anyone choose NVR these days? The only real advantage is it maybe easier to set it up but only because it has much less configurability, but aside from that...

What model of the pc did you buy and what are the specs? How many cameras are you running and what about storage?

 

[ZeeCam]

Minisforum Nad9, I have 10 cams mostly 4k Hikvision & Dahua. With NVR I had 8 TB of space because motion recording wasn't great so I used continuous recording but with BI setup I found 1 TB is enough because all my cams are recording on motion and just 2 uses motion+continuous.

 

[fenderman]

What model of the pc did you buy and what are the specs? How many cameras are you running and what about storage?

The number of cameras are irrelevant to Blue Iris... You have to understand how various resolutions and frame rates will affect CPU usage... 50 megapixel cameras running it 10 frames per second will obviously be different than 50 4k cameras running at 30 frames per second...
If you going to use AI on the same PC you're also going to need more power... Finally you don't want a tiny mini micro PC... Rather you want the storage to be local inside the PC. There are plenty of threads discussing proper setup

 

[ZeeCam]

I bought it to try it. There are plenty of options with mini PCs and you can add enough of storage as well. It has i9 cpu + 32 gb ram. Blue Iris runs excellent with AI for all cams. CPU usage is under 5%.

 

[fenderman]

I bought it to try it. There are plenty of options with mini PCs and you can add enough of storage as well. It has i9 cpu + 32 gb ram. Blue Iris runs excellent with AI for all cams. CPU usage is under 5%.

You cannot add any significant storage to a mini pc. There is no room for a single large 3.5 drive, let alone 2. Its a terrible idea for blue iris. You save a negligible amount on power, if any. i9 is a meaningless term...there are may i9 variants and generations - this is the problem when details are not provided.

 

[ZeeCam]

You cannot add any significant storage to a mini pc. There is no room for a single large 3.5 drive, let alone 2. Its a terrible idea for blue iris. You save a negligible amount on power, if any. i9 is a meaningless term...there are may i9 variants and generations - this is the problem when details are not provided.

CPU i9-12900H
Storage is 1x 1TB m.2 ssd that comes with and I can add 2x SSD 2.5. 4TB SSD is a bit expensive at about $200 but maybe some day I will add it if need arises. Based on my experience 1TB is plenty for motion recording

 

[fenderman]

CPU i9-12900H
Storage is 1x 1TB m.2 ssd that comes with and I can add 2x SSD 2.5. 4TB SSD is a bit expensive at about $200 but maybe some day I will add it if need arises. Based on my experience 1TB is plenty for motion recording

Thats the problem...1tb is not sufficient for most folks... Your experience is limited. You have limited retention and ssd storage is expensive. For less than you paid for the mini pc you can buy a small form factor pc where you have more space. You are not saving anything by using an mini pc...if only making it easier to walk away with.

 

[ZeeCam]

Agree, you can certainly spend much less and get some good old midsize tower and stuff it with plenty of cheap 3.5 drives. I wanted more space saving solution though and I came from using 8TB of storage for full recording to 1TB motion primarily. Didn't think 1TB would be plenty but so far so good, just need 2 weeks of motion storage anyway.

 

[FLGator]

Great points you both make. I will stick to my Dell desktop for now. Thank you for the information.

 

[Mark_M]

So why would anyone choose NVR these days? The only real advantage is it maybe easier to set it up but only because it has much less configurability, but aside from that...

Exactly the thoughts I have towards VMS's VS embedded NVRs.
Surely there's a 1U case with built in POE switch that could have a PC built into it...?

I'm amazed by what Frigate can do and with the cheap Google Coral AI thing.

 

[ZeeCam]

Surely there's a 1U case with built in POE switch that could have a PC built into it...?

I would rather have it separate anyway. NVR had 16 POE but I didn't use them they weren't plus and had some bandwidth/power constraints. Also one poe stopped working so you would have to replace entire thing.

 

[ZeeCam]

Great points you both make. I will stick to my Dell desktop for now. Thank you for the information.

Didn't expect my post would switch to hardware discussion, I was just praising BI software really but you won't be gaining anything with mini PC besides space. Personally I was looking to spend ~$600 on a updated 7616nix-i2/16p but decided to try BI + mini PC combo and was blown away. I already have 24 poe+ switch, so the cost was NVR ($600) vs mini PC+BI ($700). For sure I could've saved $300 or so with some used dell options but it's a personal choice as I have other plans for mini PC eventually.

 

[fenderman]

Didn't expect my post would switch to hardware discussion, I was just praising BI software really but you won't be gaining anything with mini PC besides space. Personally I was looking to spend ~$600 on a updated 7616nix-i2/16p but decided to try BI + mini PC combo and was blown away. I already have 24 poe+ switch, so the cost was NVR ($600) vs mini PC+BI ($700). For sure I could've saved $300 or so with some used dell options but it's a personal choice as I have other plans for mini PC eventually.

You could buy a new dell and still save money.

 

[Audioadam]

I have been a hardcore user of the Hikvision NVR (7616ni-i2/16p model) for 7 years, and while it wasn't perfect, I stuck with it. Also around same time I had tried BI, but I wasn't impressed with the solution at that time for several reasons. Recently I finally reached a point where I grew tired of NVRs limited control capabilities and decided to explore other options. I finally took the plunge and decided to give BI another shot after friend demoed usage of it. I downloaded the demo and installed it on my laptop. The initial setup was overwhelming, and it took me several days to fine-tune everything, including setting up AI motion alerts and Telegram notifications. But as time went on, I realized that BI was exactly what I needed, so I purchased the license and began searching for the perfect PC to run it on.

In my quest for the ideal PC, I had a few criteria in mind: compactness, value, power, and efficiency which is what I was getting with NVR. After careful consideration, I settled on the minisforum mini PC, and it has been absolutely perfect for my needs. I've been using this setup for a couple of weeks now, and both BI and the hardware have exceeded my expectations. My only regret is not ditching the NVR sooner.

With BI and my new hardware setup, I finally have the control and capabilities I've been needing. Browser interface and features are amazing which negates needs for any other apps actually. It has been a game-changer, and while I still have a few things to solve and configure but it's just matter of time.

So why would anyone choose NVR these days? The only real advantage is it maybe easier to set it up but only because it has much less configurability, but aside from that...

The reason for an embedded DVR or NVR is simple... reliability.

I actually use both with my installs and have end users use the Blue Iris app, but I have been embarrassed too many times when clients call me for footage and I find out the pc was hung up.

 

[wittaj]

The reason for an embedded DVR or NVR is simple... reliability.

I actually use both with my installs and have end users use the Blue Iris app, but I have been embarrassed too many times when clients call me for footage and I find out the pc was hung up.

That is user error on the setup. If we had those problems, we would be using something else.

A BI/PC can be a very reliable system. Turn off auto updates and have the computer autostart on a shutdown and run BI as a service and you have a more powerful NVR and not a system where the PC was hung up....

BI allows for anonymous update of performance data. People have had it running nonstop for over 1900 days, or 5+ years... And I suspect that the last time it rebooted was when they manually did it...I was an NVR user before I made the switch and I never had an NVR last 5 years LOL

 

[wpiman]

I also ran Blue Iris on a VM for years before I made the switch to a dedicated PC. Depending on the hardware you have and number of cameras... it might be the way to start or even run long term depending on your needs.

Moving from one machine (virtual or physical) to another is pretty simple. I think it was either just one file or a restore.

 

[fenderman]

The reason for an embedded DVR or NVR is simple... reliability.

I actually use both with my installs and have end users use the Blue Iris app, but I have been embarrassed too many times when clients call me for footage and I find out the pc was hung up.

It is unfortunate that you have many installs that hang up. As noted, this is 100% user error on your part. You should not be selling the solution if you are not capable of properly implementing it. You can check the NVR sub forums and see countless posts about them failing or in a bootloop.

 

[Perimeter]

Recently I finally reached a point where I grew tired of NVRs limited control capabilities and decided to explore other options. I finally took the plunge and decided to give BI another shot after friend demoed usage of it. I downloaded the demo and installed it on my laptop. The initial setup was overwhelming, and it took me several days to fine-tune everything, including setting up AI motion alerts and Telegram notifications. But as time went on, I realized that BI was exactly what I needed, so I purchased the license and began searching for the perfect PC to run it on.

In my quest for the ideal PC, I had a few criteria in mind: compactness, value, power, and efficiency which is what I was getting with NVR. After careful consideration, I settled on the minisforum mini PC, and it has been absolutely perfect for my needs. I've been using this setup for a couple of weeks now, and both BI and the hardware have exceeded my expectations. My only regret is not ditching the NVR sooner.

With BI and my new hardware setup, I finally have the control and capabilities I've been needing. Browser interface and features are amazing which negates needs for any other apps actually. It has been a game-changer, and while I still have a few things to solve and configure but it's just matter of time.

So why would anyone choose NVR these days?

You answered the question yourself. To some people, cameras are an exciting game they ENJOY. To others they are a burden of life forced upon them by need.

 

[ZeeCam]

You answered the question yourself. To some people, cameras are an exciting game they ENJOY. To others they are a burden of life forced upon them by need.

If you venture yourself into NVR configurations for the first time you will be overwhelmed too and I've been constantly fine tuning it as well and never was satisfied with the results really. I wouldn't say it's an exciting game for me, maybe years back, now I just want to set it and forget it. Get reliable alerts and review clips and not bother with anything else beyond initial configuration. I am still green with BI, just under a month of usage, time will tell, but I've been impressed so much that I had to put positive feedback here about it. I honestly don't have anything negative to say about it. Sure, UI isn't amazing looking, but it's fast and functional and I just love web interface functionality which works great in mobile and desktop.