Help give me the rundown on feasibility of NAS drives, POE switches, and how and if it can be utilized for security cams

mattyp

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I am interested in resolving a non security cam system problem: space, backup, and transferring files all over again when i get a new laptop, and finally having to pay a premium for a laptop with a larger drive. ( Haha i am currently in the need of a new laptop and dread the 1TB transfer again, so it got me down this path. )

SO research told me I need a WD MyCloud or a Synology NAS - although i have since been told a Synergy drive is better and that is the way to go as I "can run software" on it......

...and it comes with camera license..........and now things are starting to sound familiar to ANOTHER project I am working on: Setting up a POE cam system and NVR!

Hmmm. So I am here to ask if this NAS system can ALSO be used as the NVR? Can I run software like Blue iris directly on it as accessed from my computer? If not on it how would this setup work?

Here is my 2 projects needs, i am investigating the possibility of combining into 1:
  1. Use our families laptops which can access files on a 2 drive NAS (this will have RAID1) and also backup to the cloud using backblaze. (for onsight and offsite backup.)
  2. Connect 2 IPcams POE cams with a POE switch connected to my router.
Now, for project #2 when this was a seperate project, I was thinking of using a camect system (Camect Smart Camera Hub: Industry Leading AI for your Security Cameras) but now after learning just enought about NAS drives I am wondering if THIS NAS and blue iris or something other can replace this as an NVR?
 

wittaj

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But you said in another post that the folks here peddle BI and BI wasn't for you and you didn't wanna fiddle f with it and the reviews you saw about it on other sites said it is a PITA :lmao: (sorry just an attempt at some internet humor LOL)

Or are you now seeing that BI really is an an incredible value.

Camect isn't cheap and neither is Synology Camera.

And with both of those, you still have to dial the cameras in to your field of view and are not plug and play.

While not recommended, you can do a search here and find folks running BI on their NAS.

But most here run BI on a dedicated computer and then move stored video to NAS later.

But to each their own.
 

mattyp

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But you said in another post that the folks here peddle BI and BI wasn't for you and you didn't wanna fiddle f with it and the reviews you saw about it on other sites said it is a PITA :lmao: (sorry just an attempt at some internet humor LOL)

Or are you now seeing that BI really is an an incredible value.

Camect isn't cheap and neither is Synology Camera.

And with both of those, you still have to dial the cameras in to your field of view and are not plug and play.

While not recommended, you can do a search here and find folks running BI on their NAS.

But most here run BI on a dedicated computer and then move stored video to NAS later.

But to each their own.
Yeah ideally I didn't want to use blue iris because of the setup... I know it's the best but most run it on a dedicated computer which I don't have. I already downloaded it and watched hours of YouTube video and have bem lurking in here for months. It is a steep learning curve. For some, consumer level stuff is better depending on their needs. But from the ability to run on a nas I might have to learn it. Not sure what that other guy will do.
 
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wittaj

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I assure you BI isn't as steep of a learning curve as you think.

Dialing in the cameras to your field of view within the camera GUI is probably more nerve wracking for most than Blue Iris, but you would have to do that regardless of the VMS system you choose, unless you go with consumer grade Ring or Arlo or Nest....

Literally "right out of the box" the BI default settings are better than any NVR default settings.

Simply download and install BI. Open BI. Select "add camera" and type in IP address, username, password and hit find/inspect and let BI do it's thing. Repeat for each camera. I assure you this is much simply than any non POE VMS where you have to manually add the cameras into the VMS or NVR.

It is that simple to get the basic system up and running. The default settings for motion detection will get you triggers. Then go in and set up any alerts you want.

Then as you see how it responds to your field of view, you go in and start tweaking the settings for motion detection.

Then as you learn and want to do way more than you can ever do with an NVR, then you start setting up other things.
 

mattyp

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ok thanks! i am waiting for Andys refurb list to pick up come cams (or else buy new). Meanwhile, its good to know i can run it on a NAS. (or attempt). I have a feeling I am about to embark on a much more technical system and will be asking a lot of questions pretty soon! I guess you know you are on the right track when you become excited about work.
 

wittaj

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Believe me, if you have any prior experience with NVRs, once you play with BI, you will get even more excited than you are now at all the capabilities and possibilities there are with it. Way more functionality than any other system.
 

jrbeddow

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ok thanks! i am waiting for Andys refurb list to pick up come cams (or else buy new). Meanwhile, its good to know i can run it on a NAS. (or attempt). I have a feeling I am about to embark on a much more technical system and will be asking a lot of questions pretty soon! I guess you know you are on the right track when you become excited about work.
Hello neighbor (yes, I am in Marin too, but I can assure you I am not in one of the 2 - 4++ Million dollar homes ;), mine is one of the semi-rare, more modest ones)

I probably started lurking and reading on this site around the same time as you (last fall). I can add one more voice to assure you that Blue Iris isn't all that hard to understand of configure. Read ALL of the Wiki pages, several times over, and you will know what to do.

I too hesitated and wavered on possibly getting an NVR or a NAS running Surveillance Station or similar, but am very pleased with the performance of my Blue Iris machine. I have only recently finished installing two of my EmpireTech/Dahua 5442 cameras (of the four that I have purchased, as it's just a bit of a process to get all the POE wiring in place), but they are awesome. In fact, if you are considering going with wired cameras at all, I would say that the physical wiring is the hardest part compared to the software side, and would need to be done regardless of what you use to manage those cameras.
 

Flintstone61

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Blink make a really easy non security camera system, complete with Alexa integration. thats as easy as it gets.
they even have a doorbell camera.
It has a bit a frustrating Lag if you don't pay the subscription.
I set one up with a noncloud storage feature, and they seem to punish you with some kind of lag in the software..
Maybe its just me. ymmv
 

mattyp

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Hello neighbor (yes, I am in Marin too, but I can assure you I am not in one of the 2 - 4++ Million dollar homes ;), mine is one of the semi-rare, more modest ones)

I probably started lurking and reading on this site around the same time as you (last fall). I can add one more voice to assure you that Blue Iris isn't all that hard to understand of configure. Read ALL of the Wiki pages, several times over, and you will know what to do.

I too hesitated and wavered on possibly getting an NVR or a NAS running Surveillance Station or similar, but am very pleased with the performance of my Blue Iris machine. I have only recently finished installing two of my EmpireTech/Dahua 5442 cameras (of the four that I have purchased, as it's just a bit of a process to get all the POE wiring in place), but they are awesome. In fact, if you are considering going with wired cameras at all, I would say that the physical wiring is the hardest part compared to the software side, and would need to be done regardless of what you use to manage those cameras.
Great i will come over your house when i get stuck on setup haha jk. (And yeah my houes is old, rented and falling apart!)
 

mat200

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I am interested in resolving a non security cam system problem: space, backup, and transferring files all over again when i get a new laptop, and finally having to pay a premium for a laptop with a larger drive. ( Haha i am currently in the need of a new laptop and dread the 1TB transfer again, so it got me down this path. )

SO research told me I need a WD MyCloud or a Synology NAS - although i have since been told a Synergy drive is better and that is the way to go as I "can run software" on it......

...and it comes with camera license..........and now things are starting to sound familiar to ANOTHER project I am working on: Setting up a POE cam system and NVR!

Hmmm. So I am here to ask if this NAS system can ALSO be used as the NVR? Can I run software like Blue iris directly on it as accessed from my computer? If not on it how would this setup work?

Here is my 2 projects needs, i am investigating the possibility of combining into 1:
  1. Use our families laptops which can access files on a 2 drive NAS (this will have RAID1) and also backup to the cloud using backblaze. (for onsight and offsite backup.)
  2. Connect 2 IPcams POE cams with a POE switch connected to my router.
Now, for project #2 when this was a seperate project, I was thinking of using a camect system (Camect Smart Camera Hub: Industry Leading AI for your Security Cameras) but now after learning just enought about NAS drives I am wondering if THIS NAS and blue iris or something other can replace this as an NVR?
Hi @mattyp

Question: ".. if this NAS system can ALSO be used as the NVR?"
Reply: Yes, some NAS software can also act to store video from security cameras like a NVR.

That stated, there are issues:
1) Most NAS hardware is not designed with a lot of extra CPU power to analyze and process video ..
2) One very popular NAS software gives you a couple channels / cameras you can connect to the NAS with the base software. For more cameras you need to pay an additional amount per each camera. I am not certain if this is dated information .. so you would want to double check ..
3) NAS NVR software is not as fully featured as many would like to have.

With these issues, most members have opted to not go the NAS route.

Examples of license pack cost for Synology:
1649293978682.png

ref:
 
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