Did I buy junk? How to recover......

[Nocturn]

hey guys, I bought this set a few years ago and it’s always had pretty sketchy interface controls and random issues with connections to its cameras. However I finally got around to trying to add a few more cams and now the problems have just multiplied (cameras regularly dropping, notifications almost never working, film bytes recording AFTER people have already left the frame, etc)

8 Channel Series HD Security NVR with Real-time 2K Recording and FLIR Cloud


I thought I could have some confidence because it was a Dahua variant but now I’m convinced (at least the NVR) is just buggy garbage all around.

Should I trying picking up a better NVR and keep the cameras?
Or perhaps Lorex is just sketchy and I should ditch it all and switch to another brand?

Sorry, I’m not familiar enough with this stuff to see a clear path so I’m hoping to get some insight from you guys

I don’t have a lot of cash to throw at this so I’m not expecting top of the line, I just want something reliable.

Huge thanks in advance

 

[fenderman]

hey guys, I bought this set a few years ago and it’s always had pretty sketchy interface controls and random issues with connections to its cameras. However I finally got around to trying to add a few more cams and now the problems have just multiplied (cameras regularly dropping, notifications almost never working, film bytes recording AFTER people have already left the frame, etc)

8 Channel Series HD Security NVR with Real-time 2K Recording and FLIR Cloud


I thought I could have some confidence because it was a Dahua variant but now I’m convinced (at least the NVR) is just buggy garbage all around.

Should I trying picking up a better NVR and keep the cameras?
Or perhaps Lorex is just sketchy and I should ditch it all and switch to another brand?

Sorry, I’m not familiar enough with this stuff to see a clear path so I’m hoping to get some insight from you guys

I don’t have a lot of cash to throw at this so I’m not expecting top of the line, I just want something reliable.

Huge thanks in advance

Buy a 100 dollar i5-3570 pc and blue iris, wonder how you missed this, enjoy. See wiki on blue iris hardware and optimizing blue iris. With therapy, you will recover from buying a standalone NVR.

 

[bp2008]

If you feel like trying Blue Iris on a PC, you can probably use the same cameras. It sounds like most of your problems could be the NVR.

Choosing Hardware for Blue Iris | IP Cam Talk

 

[mat200]

hey guys, I bought this set a few years ago and it’s always had pretty sketchy interface controls and random issues with connections to its cameras. However I finally got around to trying to add a few more cams and now the problems have just multiplied (cameras regularly dropping, notifications almost never working, film bytes recording AFTER people have already left the frame, etc)

8 Channel Series HD Security NVR with Real-time 2K Recording and FLIR Cloud


I thought I could have some confidence because it was a Dahua variant but now I’m convinced (at least the NVR) is just buggy garbage all around.

Should I trying picking up a better NVR and keep the cameras?
Or perhaps Lorex is just sketchy and I should ditch it all and switch to another brand?

Sorry, I’m not familiar enough with this stuff to see a clear path so I’m hoping to get some insight from you guys

I don’t have a lot of cash to throw at this so I’m not expecting top of the line, I just want something reliable.

Huge thanks in advance

Hi @Nocturn

That NVR is a more affordable model. You maybe able to trouble shoot some of the issues you are having, though just note that I would expect the compute power of that NVR to be consumed rather quickly as you add more load on it.

Try the PC VMS ( like Blue Iris ) option. If you have a decent PC you can test it - there is a demo version of Blue Iris.

 

[Q™]

With therapy, you will recover from buying a standalone NVR

It helped me...

 

[Nocturn]

ok point well received...lol
IL channel my obsession toward the search for POE hubs and low cost PC..... my wife is so going to kill me

 

[th182]

I have Lorex HDCVI DVR that started acting up. It would bring my network to a crawl. Their support was no help and just wanted me to keep the Ethernet cable unugged - hard to remote view with no network connected. I gave up on them and now have a dedicated Blue Iris PC... I wish I had done that years ago!!! My Lorex DVR is firewalled from everything and just acts as a video encoder for Blue Iris now. Until I slowly replace all my Lorex cameras with IP cams based on this forums recommendations


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[Nocturn]

why have the Lorex still active if the blue Iris in connected? doesn't BI replace the need for an NVR by encoding itself?

 

[th182]

My Lorex is not an IP system. It's HD over coax. If they were IP cameras I'd toss the Lorex in the trash.


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[mat200]

I have Lorex HDCVI DVR that started acting up. It would bring my network to a crawl. Their support was no help and just wanted me to keep the Ethernet cable unugged - hard to remote view with no network connected. I gave up on them and now have a dedicated Blue Iris PC... I wish I had done that years ago!!! My Lorex DVR is firewalled from everything and just acts as a video encoder for Blue Iris now. Until I slowly replace all my Lorex cameras with IP cams based on this forums recommendations


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HI @th182

Were you port forwarding this DVR? or using UPnP, P2P?

 

[th182]

Port forwarding. I know, bad practice. It was fine for the first year or so. Then my home network was super slow for a few weeks and through process of elimination I determined it was the DVR. After trying to get a response from Lorex for a couple weeks they marked my ticket "solved" after I told them unplugging the DVR from the network resulted in my network returning to normal.


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[mat200]

Port forwarding. I know, bad practice. It was fine for the first year or so. Then my home network was super slow for a few weeks and through process of elimination I determined it was the DVR. After trying to get a response from Lorex for a couple weeks they marked my ticket "solved" after I told them unplugging the DVR from the network resulted in my network returning to normal.


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@th182 from your description it sounds like your DVR may have gotten cyberjacked.

I would do some pack inspection and see what the DVR is attempting to do when connected to the network. There's a number of things a device can do to bring a network to a crawl - one of those things is attempting to multi-cast with networking gear which can not handle that.

 

[th182]

@th182 from your description it sounds like your DVR may have gotten cyberjacked.

I would do some pack inspection and see what the DVR is attempting to do when connected to the network. There's a number of things a device can do to bring a network to a crawl - one of those things is attempting to multi-cast with networking gear which can not handle that.

Would it be worth downloading the latest firmware and reinstalling it? Theoretically that would wipe any malicious modifications right?


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[mat200]

Would it be worth downloading the latest firmware and reinstalling it? Theoretically that would wipe any malicious modifications right?


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Hi @th182

Depends on how infected and jacked up a system is. Some malware replaces things like bootloaders, updaters, and the like. Some even get into the BIOS.

Normally a properly done "fresh install" will work. On a PC you'd boot off a ROM device and go from there, of course if the BIOS was jacked that would not work.

I am thinking that you'd need to do something a long those lines for this DVR to restore it. ( remember, this is my theory of what is potentially the issue - could still be something else - packet inspection would be useful in this case )

 

[Nocturn]

Pricing seems to be all over the place on these injectors. Some are even missing uplinks which means you lose a port; strange choice.

Do you guys have any go-to models that that dont cost a leg?
I've not head of this brand but if the reviews are solid and fakespot gives it an "A"

I really only need 6-7 cameras to cover my main entry points

BV-Tech 8 Gigabit PoE/PoE+ Ports Switch - Plug and Play- 19" Rackmount - 130W - 802.3af/at

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F6DL2FS/?coliid=I39PUUSHYT2SCD&colid=1SUO2SMSZ825J&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[Q™]

I've not head of this brand but if the reviews are solid and fakespot gives it an "A"

I run two (2) BV-Tech 5-port and one (1) 10-port PoE+ switches, but not that particular switch. Mine all run fine...haven't experienced any issues with them yet. The only problem I've had is that the LED status lights tend to bleed light from active ports to inactiveports making it difficult at times to get an accurate idea of port status. Other than this, BV-Tech gets a conditional thumbs-up...the condition being I've only run them for 6-months or so.

Here is the 10-port model I run...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0754P9KLN

And here's the 5-port model I run...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ES1OVY2

HTH!

 

[mat200]

FYI - if you need a POE switch at a deal

La View currently has:

PoE Switch-8 Channel
SKU LV-SW90
Availability: In stock
Reg $87.99
Now $54.99

and another 20% off iirc w/SANTA20 ( so about $45 )
LaView POE Switch

( the 20% off should work for the other accessories - so if someone needs a junction box for Hikvision it maybe good to see what they have )