Hi to all! Question about an ecosystem for an Offline Environment

V

v3v0r

n3wb
Sep 24, 2024
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0
Montreal
Hi all! I'm new here, not sure if this is the right place to post, please guide me if there's a better place.

I'm looking for recommendations on home security camera ecosystem that can work by design in an offline (no internet) environment. (there will be a POE switch, full wired ad-hoc connection, no internet, the site can get internet for updates etc periodically via a hotpot router)
I'm going to build this gradually adding one camera at a time.

Requirements:
  • POE over Ethernet
  • Working properly in an offline environment by design!
  • Decent recoding quality/night vision
  • Emphasis on live feed monitor display, no need for apps/notifications etc
  • Decent hardware quality
  • Doesn't have to be cheap, but good bang for my buck (going to end up with maximum 6 cameras)
  • Wide FOV
  • Built for extreme weathers (Montreal winters, although it will be installed under the soffit)
  • Widely available in Canada, supported and modular based ecosystem
  • A plus: Being able to connect to NVR by phone app using ad-hoc network a (the old unifi video had this feature, but they retired it in the new Unifi Protect, with no current plans to re-enable)
  • A plus: live feed monitor software that would allow streaming from other brands (I.e. door phone camera etc)
I'm a big fan of ubiquiti, my problem with that is that it's really designed for an offline environment. (see here and more)
I've also briefly looked at reolink, browsed this forum a bit, as it looks like its checking off most of my requirements save for the "Decent recoding quality/night vision"...
 
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This is like the 3rd thread today alone about a system that works without Internet. It isn't a unique concept unless all you look at are consumer stuff like Ring and Nest and Arlo, etc.

Most of us here run systems that do not require internet. And we don't update and fix what isn't broke.

You want wide view FOV - I guess you don't need IDENTIFY capabilities beyond 15 feet?

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. Many here run these cameas in Canada climate and worse just fine.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

Blue Iris will run cameras from other brands.
 
wittaj said:
This is like the 3rd thread today alone about a system that works without Internet. It isn't a unique concept unless all you look at are consumer stuff like Ring and Nest and Arlo, etc.

Most of us here run systems that do not require internet. And we don't update and fix what isn't broke.

You want wide view FOV - I guess you don't need IDENTIFY capabilities beyond 15 feet?

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. Many here run these cameas in Canada climate and worse just fine.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

Blue Iris will run cameras from other brands.
Click to expand...
Thanks for your response, I'll also read the other threads.

I think 15 feet of IDENTIFY is more than enough for my application, I'll take a look at that thread you linked.

As far as NVR, my concern with Blue Iris is the lack of dedicated hardware, it means I'll have to run a windows machine and lose plug and play for the live feed monitor.
 
All of us start with that wide FOV see everything, then something happens, but maybe you are in a situation that 15 for IDENTIFY is good.

If you stay all with the same OEM, which is recommended for someone using an NVR, then an NVR may be the right choice.

But if you want to mix brands, BI/PC is a very strong option. As far as plug and play for a live feed, you can either click on one icon to get the live feed or set it up to always pull it up in the event of a power outage.

I certainly wouldn't consider BI anymore difficult to display a live feed.

Most of us get a PC just for BI so it is dedicated hardware - it is only used as an NVR and not for anything else. Since it isn't connected to the internet, Windows updates are not needed. At that point it is simply a black box like an NVR. Get a SFF and it isn't much bigger than an NVR.
 
wittaj said:
All of us start with that wide FOV see everything, then something happens, but maybe you are in a situation that 15 for IDENTIFY is good.

If you stay all with the same OEM, which is recommended for someone using an NVR, then an NVR may be the right choice.

But if you want to mix brands, BI/PC is a very strong option. As far as plug and play for a live feed, you can either click on one icon to get the live feed or set it up to always pull it up in the event of a power outage.

I certainly wouldn't consider BI anymore difficult to display a live feed.

Most of us get a PC just for BI so it is dedicated hardware - it is only used as an NVR and not for anything else. Since it isn't connected to the internet, Windows updates are not needed. At that point it is simply a black box like an NVR. Get a SFF and it isn't much bigger than an NVR.
Click to expand...
I totally understand that, however I would wonder what the next best NVR would be after BI on a PC
 
 
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wittaj said:
An NVR of the same manufacturer as your cameras.

The NVR for the cameras linked in that thread I posted would be this one:

Click to expand...
I suppose it's be foolish for me to be petty on the cameras since I don't have too many.

Looking at EmpireTech I find that their products aren't readily sold in Canada.

Additionally I'd like to understand the difference between the NVR you posted and this much cheaper one, or is there a thread discussing EmpireTech's NVR line up ? @EMPIRETECANDY

 
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Plenty of people are here from Canada and buy these cameras from Amazon Canada:


Or a direct DM to @EMPIRETECANDY

Not all NVRs are created equal.

You have to look at the specs carefully as it is usually in resolution and bandwidth issues that are the main differences, and will make a difference.

For example the 4xxx series says this:

4/8/16-channel IP video access
Smart H.265+/Smart H.264+/H.265/H.264; H.265 auto switch
Max 80 Mbps bandwidth
Up to 8MP resolution for preview and playback
8-channel decoding@1080p (30 fps)
AI by Camera: Perimeter protection; SMD Plus; people counting; heat map
Click to expand...
While the 5xxx series says this:

8/16/32-channel IP video access
Smart H.265+/Smart H.264+/H.265/H.264/MJPEG; H.265 auto switch
Max 320 Mbps bandwidth
Up to 24MP resolution for live view and playback
1-channel fisheye dewarping (AI by NVR)
AI by Camera: Perimeter protection; face detection and recognition; SMD Plus; video metadata; ANPR; people counting; stereo analysis; crowd distribution; heat map
Click to expand...

So what does this mean? The 4xxx series is limited to 80Mbps bandwidth, so it is more of a consumer/economical option. Which means that depending on the resolution and FPS you run, you may not be able to run 8 cameras on an 8 channel NVR as an example.

Compare that to the 5xxx series with 320Mbps bandwidth and 24MP resolution for live view and playback.
 
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I'm also wondering if I can have the ET camera's record to SD card and connect using an app directly to the camera on a LAN for live view and playback without an NVR?

At the same time I'm wondering what role the sd card plays when there's an NVR?
 
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v3v0r said:
I'm also wondering if I can have the ET camera's record to SD card and connect using an app directly to the camera on a LAN for live view and playback without an NVR?

At the same time I'm wondering what role the sd card plays when there's an NVR?
Click to expand...
If someone breaks into your home/property, it is now somewhat common for them to steal the NVR (take the evidence) along with whatever else they want. Almost certainly, they will NOT take down cameras, open them, and retrieve SD cards. So the SD card is kind of a backup source of evidence if the NVR is compromised.
 
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sdkid said:
If someone breaks into your home/property, it is now somewhat common for them to steal the NVR (take the evidence) along with whatever else they want. Almost certainly, they will NOT take down cameras, open them, and retrieve SD cards. So the SD card is kind of a backup source of evidence if the NVR is compromised.
Click to expand...
So it records to both the NVR and the SD simultaneously?
 
Most here go with Samnsung Evo. Don't go above 256 as the firmware has shown to be problematic in some instances with higher memory.
 
@wittaj thanks for your assistance until now, I would like to buy one ET camera for my driveway/front yard as a test. If it isn't too much to ask, can you help me with a list of questions I should answer about the location and my needs in order for to be able to make a model recommendation?
 
Do you want the camera to be OBSERVE or IDENTIFY and if IDENTIFY at what distance?
 
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