Confused about wifi cams and NVR. Do they use my router wifi? How does notification work?

[Jimbob]

Hello,

I am considering to get around 7 or 8 of the ADC2W cameras for my home exterior security surveillance system.

Ideally, I would like to have full-time video recording. I also want some motion detected events sent to my phone.

Since these cameras are wifi, do they to use my home wifi network? (Will I have enough "bandwidth" to work with so many cameras?)

I understand for full-time video recording I will need an NVR (NV4108E-HS) . Do the camera's wifi connect to the NVR's own wifi network? Or how does that work?

Thanks for any help.

PS - I will probably add a doorbell camera and some interior cameras later. Should I get a different NVR?

 

[sebastiantombs]

WIFi and security are mutually exclusive terms. WiFi is prone to dropouts, even with just one or two cameras on it. Go past that and dropouts become a real headache especially in a 24/7 environment. To answer your question, that style camera/NVR system, consumer level at best, has its' own WiFi built into the NVR. Video surveillance, in the real world, is not what you see in movies, on TV, or portrayed in marketing videos masquerading as "expert" advice on YouTube.

Avoid Reolink, Foscam, SV3C, Nest, Wise, Hello Kitty, and all the other consumer grade cameras. They all struggle mightily at night and never get anything useful on video. Here's a link to a whole thread debunking Reolink in particular.

Compiled by mat200 -

Reolink: Deconstruction of a dangerous misleading youtube review "Finding the BEST 4K Security Camera NVR Package (Reolink vs Amcrest vs Swann)"

Executive Summary: DO NOT be a sheep. Ask what a reviewer can be missing, ask if a reviewer is using hype words to sell the cheapest product. Test your cameras and kits right away. Just do a bench test. Test real world conditions. Test moving suspects. Test at night, test at day. Use a test rig...

ipcamtalk.com

Read the Wiki, in the blue bar, at the top of the page.

 

[Jimbob]

I understand that wifi cameras are inferior to PoE hard-wired cameras.

Unfortunately, I am not able to run PoE wires in this home (it's a rental, and owner won't allow it), so wifi is the only option.

 

[IAmATeaf]

They will need to connect to a Wi-Fi access point at minimum and the NVR will also need to be on the same network. I say at minimum as I’ve seen statements here that beyond 2 Wi-Fi cams the access point can get overloaded and if this the one that is used by your home then be prepared for issues.

You could add extra access points to get around this issue and even setup a CCTV network with Wi-Fi access points used solely for the cams but that’s for another discussion I think as you’ll need to have the required skills and hardware to do this.

Wi-Fi is generally frowned upon due to the issues that may arise, how good it works entirely depends on your house, the build and layout of your house, the make/model of the access points and where they are located. It’s better and more reliable to hardwire the cams in which is what most here do.

Have a read around the forums and the general advice posted to get a better understanding of the potential issues with Wi-Fi cams etc.

 

[wittaj]

I understand that wifi cameras are inferior to PoE hard-wired cameras.

Unfortunately, I am not able to run PoE wires in this home (it's a rental, and owner won't allow it), so wifi is the only option.

How do you plan them to be powered? You need a wire there anyway, so get a powerline adapter than runs data through your electrical wire....much better than wifi for a camera.

Wifi routers are problematic for surveillance cameras because they are always streaming and passing data. And the data demands go up with motion and then you lose signal. A lost packet and it has to resend. It can bring the whole network down if trying to send cameras through a wifi router. At the very least it can slow down your system.

Unlike Netflix and other streaming services that buffer a movie, these cameras do not buffer up part of the video, so drop outs are frequent. You would be amazed how much streaming services buffer - don't believe me, start watching something and unplug your router and watch how much longer you can watch NetFlix before it freezes - mine goes 45 seconds. Now do the same with a wifi camera and it is fairly instantaneous (within the latency of the stream itself)...

The same issue applies even with the hard-wired cameras trying to send all this non-buffer video stream through a router. Most consumer grade wifi routers are not designed to pass the constant video stream data of cameras, and since they do not buffer, you get these issues. The consumer routers are just not designed for this kind of traffic, even a GB speed router.

 

[Shaggy D]

If you're really serious about performance/connectivity, consider multiple wifi channels, like a 2.4Ghz MiMo, or even a few cheap access points, each running its own SSID and channel.

But to address part of your question; from a 'networking logic' perspective, once a wifi client has joined your lan, all other devices on the lan don't know or care if it's connected via wifi or cable.

But also, my setup is somewhat the opposite. I have a few wired cameras but each is connected to a nearby tp-link 'Deco' wifi mesh/extender. I've been happy with the 4 cameras streaming 1920x1080 @ 15fps. The mesh extenders are better at doing wifi than wifi cameras .

 

[Teken]

I’ll second the use of PLE (Power Line Ethernet) over WiFi for video security so a hardwired solution can be used. The problem arises when the camera on hand is only capable of a wireless connection. Both Dahua / Hikvision offer small form factor dual connectivity hardware.

You only have Wifi - no problem. You only have a hardline - no problem. As both connections are present for use now or later.

 

[mat200]

Hello,

I am considering to get around 7 or 8 of the ADC2W cameras for my home exterior security surveillance system.

Ideally, I would like to have full-time video recording. I also want some motion detected events sent to my phone.

Since these cameras are wifi, do they to use my home wifi network? (Will I have enough "bandwidth" to work with so many cameras?)

I understand for full-time video recording I will need an NVR (NV4108E-HS) . Do the camera's wifi connect to the NVR's own wifi network? Or how does that work?

Thanks for any help.

PS - I will probably add a doorbell camera and some interior cameras later. Should I get a different NVR?

FYI - Cameras and NVRs discussed:

Note: NVR is not a wifi enabled product, so the cameras would need to use a WiFi LAN and connect to the NVR via the LAN side ( not PoE ports ). Typically you do with a Dahua OEM NVR by manually adding cameras which are available on the LAN side of the NVR.

 

[Gargoile]

Also you need to do a wireless scan to see how much 2.4g interferences are around your home. If you are in an overcrowded WiFi area you will have issues.

 

[iwanttosee]

Yes, all your wifi cameras will have to be in your wifi network. If you plan to use wifi for 7-8 cameras, you'll have nothing but disappointment. High drop out rate, high disconnect, high latency, etc. I had two access points serving 8 cameras, still not enough bandwidth and I had to run wires to the cameras.