I really like BI but i have found that it does not cost effectively scale up to larger systems especially when the customer wants 20 FPS rather than 10 FPS. The issue is the hardware cost a LTS NVR for a 32 camera system is $500-600 while a PC or server that can handle the load is $1000-$2000. I recently went through this with a system i am installing late today and i could not get comfortable with knowing what hardware would support a 32 camera 4MP 20 FPS BI system. I contacted BI for help with this because i wanted to stay with BI but i was pointed to the forums which we all know have good and bad info. When selling a client on a ~$10,000 (hardware cost) system i have to know the hardware will support the load and have someone to go to if and when the hardware does not. It killed me to step away from BI but had to.
Thanks for your post, Owen. I’m just the noob who started this thread, but I thought I’d share my experience, since it’s the opposite of yours in certain ways.
I have an off-the-shelf NVR (16 camera, 2MP) that I used for the past few years. The NVR worked passably for a while, though it lacked certain functionality that I really wanted (fairly basic stuff). When this functionality became available via firmware upgrade, I immediately upgraded. Unfortunately, after upgrading the firmware, the NVR had unacceptable (to me) latency: it took much longer to switch between live cams, search/view recorded footage. So, then what? I’ve got a 16-cam NVR that doesn’t REALLY handle 16 cams, at least to the performance level that I require. I can’t return the 3-year-old unit to the manufacturer, and I don’t really have another use for the NVR.
I’m thinking that, if I had instead gone with a PC/Blue Iris package from the outset, I could have more easily upgraded my PC hardware when required. Even if I had to upgrade the CPU (buy a new PC), at least I’d have an “old” PC with some remaining life/utility (I could repurpose it as a web browsing client, give to the kids, etc.)
On top of this, I was always a little bit uncomfortable with the fact the NVR is really a “black box” and I can’t readily ascertain or control what it does. For example, certain cams and NVRs are known to “phone the mothership” (as DWW0311 says in an above post), and I just feel like there is lower risk of this sort of thing happening with
Blue Iris on a PC.
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On the cost issue….
it seems to me that one could certainly configure a PC to specs that are technologically superior to what is available in an off-the-shelf NVR. However, you said PCs do not “cost effectively” scale (at least for your application), compared with off-the-shelf NVR. The cost comparison issue confuses me.
For example, let’s consider Dell (PC) vs Hikvision (NVR). As a business, Dell has massive scale relative to Hikvision, and Dell competes in a very, very highly competitive marketplace. In the cutthroat world of selling PCs, Dell thrives by using its scale to purchase components (CPUs, etc) from its suppliers at very low cost, and then passing some of this savings to its customers. If Dell doesn’t sell cheap, it loses market share to HP etc., because PCs are a highly commoditized product. So, I can’t fathom how Hikvision can be materially cheaper than Dell for two boxes with the same hardware inside. Possibly Hikvision is willing to accept lower margins than Dell, but Dell makes practically nothing on PCs (single-digit gross margins), so it’s hard to imagine Hikvision could survive long-term by undercutting Dell on price. Maybe this issue is more complicated, or maybe I’m missing an important factor. I welcome any thoughts. Certainly, your real-world experience (pricing out comparable NVR/PC systems) seems to suggest that I am missing something.
