I know Empiretech is recommended here. I sent and email and tried to do the chat for some help setting up a system and got zero replies. Is there a phoen number or something? I'm pretty frustrated by the whole experience and just want a sales person to help me out.
empiretech
- Thread starter kingzing
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One of the ways they keep costs low is by not staffing a 1-800 call center like an Amcrest, Lorex, Ring, etc. would do.
They are usually responsive, so maybe your email was considered spam and they didn't get it? Or maybe the time difference on the chat options.
Keep in mind the cameras we are getting.
Empiretech is Dahua OEM and the Dahua and Hikvisions of the world do not cater to the "consumer" market - their target audience are professional installers that know what to do with these cameras and service their clients (but you are also paying 5-6 times more than you paid for these), so we are considered "prosumer" and we are fortunate to get our hands on these types of cameras and NVRs instead of consumer grade junk and not having to go thru professional installers to get quality gear.
Now the downside is we get them at a discount and without manuals and without Dahua support and thus are on our own to figure it out. And we are just fine with that! That is what forums like this are for!!!
Post your questions here and we can probably help you out. In addition to recommending EmpireTech, this is a hobby for many of us and we are willing to help out on this forum because it keeps the costs down for when we want to buy cameras!
They are usually responsive, so maybe your email was considered spam and they didn't get it? Or maybe the time difference on the chat options.
Keep in mind the cameras we are getting.
Empiretech is Dahua OEM and the Dahua and Hikvisions of the world do not cater to the "consumer" market - their target audience are professional installers that know what to do with these cameras and service their clients (but you are also paying 5-6 times more than you paid for these), so we are considered "prosumer" and we are fortunate to get our hands on these types of cameras and NVRs instead of consumer grade junk and not having to go thru professional installers to get quality gear.
Now the downside is we get them at a discount and without manuals and without Dahua support and thus are on our own to figure it out. And we are just fine with that! That is what forums like this are for!!!
Post your questions here and we can probably help you out. In addition to recommending EmpireTech, this is a hobby for many of us and we are willing to help out on this forum because it keeps the costs down for when we want to buy cameras!
What email did you use? Aside from that, you can't expect much handholding because of the low price business model. As wittaj stated, you can expect some help from the forum if you don't make outrageous requests.
thanks for your replies. Sorry for my late response I have been traveling. I need to replace an older lorex nvr and cameras. I'm just looking for basic suggestions on what cameras to place around the 3rd car bump out section. I get paralysis by analysis with all of the threads on here. Thinkng one looking at front door and then either side of the garage bump out for full coverage of the garage and side yard.
Can I add cameras to their nvr via my home network? I have another section of my house that has an ethernet port that I can plug in a powered switch to power cameras on that side of the property, but I would be unable to directly run cables from the cameras directly to the nvr.
Is all the AI stuff in the NVR or do I need AI cameras? Basic stuff like alerting a person or vehicle.
Finally am I safe with the empiretech firmware? Does that prevent phoning home to china or is that not an issue anymore?
sorry for the dumb questions.
Can I add cameras to their nvr via my home network? I have another section of my house that has an ethernet port that I can plug in a powered switch to power cameras on that side of the property, but I would be unable to directly run cables from the cameras directly to the nvr.
Is all the AI stuff in the NVR or do I need AI cameras? Basic stuff like alerting a person or vehicle.
Finally am I safe with the empiretech firmware? Does that prevent phoning home to china or is that not an issue anymore?
sorry for the dumb questions.
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Lorex was the consumer brand of Dahua, so they are lower end with cheaper materials, less than ideal MP/sensor ratios, and cheaper processors.
Many here started the Lorex route and then started replacing cameras with Empiretech cameras for better quality and could be added to their Lorex NVR. Heck just today I was helping my neighbor replace two Lorex cameras with 2 Empiretech cameras he got during the sale.
The cameras you would want would have AI in them. If you use the NVR for AI, it can cripple the capacity of the NVR by almost half.
Yes you can bring your cameras in like that. They all do not have to go to the POE ports on the back. You will likely have to manually add those within the NVR.
ALL cameras are a security risk and can phone home (china) or elsewhere or be hacked. Best practice is to not give them internet access.
By virtual of them being on the POE ports of the NVR, the NVR acts as a firewall of sorts and puts the cameras on a different subnet.
For the cameras that you would have in front of the NVR, you would want to block them on the router.
What is the goal of the cameras - OVERIVEW or IDENTIFY and if IDENTIFY at what distance? It would be one camera if within 15 feet of the camera and it would be a different camera if you wanted it at the street.
See this thread for the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value in terms of price and performance day and night.
The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection
Many here started the Lorex route and then started replacing cameras with Empiretech cameras for better quality and could be added to their Lorex NVR. Heck just today I was helping my neighbor replace two Lorex cameras with 2 Empiretech cameras he got during the sale.
The cameras you would want would have AI in them. If you use the NVR for AI, it can cripple the capacity of the NVR by almost half.
Yes you can bring your cameras in like that. They all do not have to go to the POE ports on the back. You will likely have to manually add those within the NVR.
ALL cameras are a security risk and can phone home (china) or elsewhere or be hacked. Best practice is to not give them internet access.
By virtual of them being on the POE ports of the NVR, the NVR acts as a firewall of sorts and puts the cameras on a different subnet.
For the cameras that you would have in front of the NVR, you would want to block them on the router.
What is the goal of the cameras - OVERIVEW or IDENTIFY and if IDENTIFY at what distance? It would be one camera if within 15 feet of the camera and it would be a different camera if you wanted it at the street.
See this thread for the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value in terms of price and performance day and night.
The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection
overview and identify at 15-20 feet at most tbh. Small neighboorhood with 1 way in and out so worst case can get license plates from those dedicated readers (I have access to that nvr.) Basically just looking to identify someone if they're breaking into my car (unlikely but have had 1 case of a person going through unlocked cars in the neighborhood) and just a general overview of the driveway and entrances.
Very low crime area, gated community, really no issues, just piece of mind. Does nvr still have mobile access in your security scenario or do I have to just be local access?
Very low crime area, gated community, really no issues, just piece of mind. Does nvr still have mobile access in your security scenario or do I have to just be local access?
In that case the 54IR 3.6mm camera would be perfect.
Many here will isolate the NVR from the internet and use a free VPN like OpenVPN (native to many routers) or something like Tailscale or Wireguard VPN, while others are ok using P2P with the NVR.
Do not use the paid ones as those are to hide/mask your identify.
Many here will isolate the NVR from the internet and use a free VPN like OpenVPN (native to many routers) or something like Tailscale or Wireguard VPN, while others are ok using P2P with the NVR.
Do not use the paid ones as those are to hide/mask your identify.
Most here are going to recommend the 5xxx series NVR to go along with the 5 series cameras you would be buying.
Best practice is buy the next number of channels up. So if you think you will only have 3 cameras, buy the 8 channel instead of 4 channel. We always add more LOL.
Best practice is buy the next number of channels up. So if you think you will only have 3 cameras, buy the 8 channel instead of 4 channel. We always add more LOL.