Help deciding on NVR, DVR, or BlueIris for residential setup, advice needed

[nutshellml]

Morning all... need some advice/guidance.

BACKGROUND:
So I am using BI on stand alone CPU w/ Hikvision IP cameras (about 5-7) for my home, my friend asked me to set up his home and planning on about same amount of cameras. He is not too good with configuring PC, settings, troubleshooting, etc. From my experience w/ my IP cams and BI it was a learning experience, but now it's pretty stable after moving through the bumps in the road.

GOAL:
He wants a system that he can monitor remotely, access easily, and also set up in some what TEXT alerts when motion is detected on certain cameras. He has a pool and in addition to the standard safety measures, he wanted to setup a camera or zone at the pool so if it detects motion, send alert.

WHICH DIRECTION:
1) NVR /DVR with IP Cameras? Since I didn't go this route, I'm not very familiar with NVR / DVR's capabilities and ability to customize. Can the goal be obtain with an NVR / DVR?
2) Same setup as I have, standalone PC, Blue Iris, customization for alerts.

Please keep budget in mind, not unlimited

I know the BI route will allow more customizing, but one thing I couldn't do is have some type of TEXT alert, email yes, but you know you don't always check email right away.

Any thoughts? on the above or a different direction to go? I also advise him to put some standalone motion detectors up for the pool area (possibly z-wave for him to integrate with his current system).

Thank you in advance for any info!

 

[fenderman]

I know the BI route will allow more customizing, but one thing I couldn't do is have some type of TEXT alert, email yes, but you know you don't always check email right away.

Blue iris supports text alerts as well as push notifications to the app which are much faster than texts.

 

[nutshellml]

@fenderman that's right, I did use the alerts, and they're great, i shut them off since I haven't fine tuned the motion sensitivity and it was going off all the time....

So, generally speaking, what do I gain by setting him up w/ an NVR / DVR instead of BI/CPU? I would assume I loose some/many customizable features but gain the easy/simple install and no hassle maintenance/tweaking?

 

[fenderman]

@fenderman that's right, I did use the alerts, and they're great, i shut them off since I haven't fine tuned the motion sensitivity and it was going off all the time....

So, generally speaking, what do I gain by setting him up w/ an NVR / DVR instead of BI/CPU? I would assume I loose some/many customizable features but gain the easy/simple install and no hassle maintenance/tweaking?

Aside from assigning ip addresses, the nvr is no more simple than blue iris..the pool is going to be a problem for any pixel based motion since the water is constantly moving.

 

[nutshellml]

Any suggestions for pool area? I'm thinking
1) if pixel based (BI) just set the zone for surrounding area of pool and/or gate
2) use separate motion sensor not tied to Cameras

 

[spork]

The nice thing with BI is you can setup different profiles for alerts so you can easily switch them off as needed from your phone. Its difficult to setup outdoor alerts without desensitizing yourself from false alarms. I always found the benefit of better motion detection is that I can review events more quickly.

With a nvr you could more easily use a external pir. Even those are not immune to false alarms in a outdoor area.

edit: you could also get cams with alarm inputs for a external pir