How is Costco Lorex 4k 8-channel NVR with 6 bullet cameras

[Amp Park]

Hi everyone:

I am looking for a new system for a brand new house we built and moved back in last July. I have had builder run 6x Cat6a cables around the outside of the house but I only intend to use 5 cameras as I need one of the wire run for an outdoor Wireless AP. Currently I have a Ring Pro doorbell camera and Ring Floodlight camera above the garage doors since we moved into the new house last July. I am a huge fan of Ring just because of the convenience of cloud and everything however not happy with motion based recording because I have noticed significant delays from time to time between the initial detection of motion and the start of recording. I still like Ring but since I have made the investment in the Cat6 cables during the construction process I would like to get solid wired solution.

I am ready to spend upto $200/camera and upto $500/NVR for decent setup but I am curious about the Costco Lorex 4K 8-channel NVR with 6 bullet camera package for $700. Can someone comment on the Lorex 8-ch 4K system from Costco and share their experience?


From home network perspective all my Cat 6 cables go into the basement in an AV closet and I have all Ubiquiti network gear with 5x indoor APs, 16-port PoE switch, 8-port PoE Switch, Router so I was also looking at the Unifi G3 cameras and came across Ubiquiti's brand new Unifi G3 Pro cameras but they are a bit pricey at $299/camera.

I have a friend who has 4x Axis M2026 cameras which I really really like in terms of quality and are attached to a 8-port Axis companion NVR but they are too expensive and his remote viewing setup is not as great and convenient as Ring, in fact my friend even complains about the remote viewing setup on Axis but the system was installed by the AV installer when he built the house and he just agreed to whatever AV installer sold/pushed to him.

I do have one specific requirement for the camera which is the color of the camera - it has to be black or be able to paint black (not worried about voiding the warranty). Our house has all exterior trim (Windows, soffit, fascia, gutters, leaders, exterior lights etc in black with white stucco so want to maintain the color scheme. My Ring products are also black. Finally I am in norther NJ - Parsippany vicinity.

Sorry for the long essay but would appreciate the feedback. I started reading the IPCamTalk Cliff Notes and I am upto Dahua International vs US model page.

Thanks.

 

[mat200]

Hi Amp,

Please see
FYI - Some local Costco B&M have a Lorex / Dahua OEM 4K 6x camera kit and 8 port NVR for $800

If you go with that I would augment it with 2 Dahua OEM starlight cameras.

Remember to assess your needs. If you have a larger house or property you may want more than 6-8 cameras.

 

[Amp Park]

I guess my real question is if the Costco’s Lorex 4K good enough or for roughly $1500 can I do significantly better for 5 IP cameras and NVR? I really don’t care about 4K resolution regular 1080p is just fine, have been looking at various 1080 and 4K security camera feed videos on YouTube and don’t notice much of a difference but I do need decent night vision and good remote viewing capabilities. I am ok with cloud options as well as long as it is under $10-$12/month.

 

[mat200]

I guess my real question is if the Costco’s Lorex 4K good enough or for roughly $1500 can I do significantly better for 5 IP cameras and NVR? I really don’t care about 4K resolution regular 1080p is just fine, have been looking at various 1080 and 4K security camera feed videos on YouTube and don’t notice much of a difference but I do need decent night vision and good remote viewing capabilities. I am ok with cloud options as well as long as it is under $10-$12/month.

Hi Amp,

Please do take some time to figure this out, the notes @giomania has assembled are excellent. Many of the questions people have are answered there.

So in general:
$1500 will buy you better than $700-800
$3000 will buy you better than $1500

Think of this as buying a car... do you need a truck? suv? sedan? or a go-cart? Then what particular one?

Look at your functional needs first.

You can buy a costco kit and add Dahua OEM starlights.
You can buy a Dahua OEM NVR and Dahua OEM cameras.
You can buy a i5/i7 windows pc ( used is liked ) and Blue Iris software + PoE switch + Dahua OEM ( or Hikvision - I bought Dahua so I know them better )

Ideally decide on how many cameras you need to cover your situation. Look at the notes for more details.

 

[mat200]

.. I am ok with cloud options as well as long as it is under $10-$12/month.

Hi Amp, I recently posted this.

Currently there are no cloud cameras which can provide you with better image quality than the Costco 4K kit, and especially no where close to the low light performance of the Dahua OEM.
You will have a much better cost effective solution with a wired IP PoE system you own.


"Hi Zeusy

Cloud based products are in truth products you do not own, but products you are basically leasing.

Personally I do not like to lease a car, but to own it.

Ring, Nest, and many others charge significant amount of money for the base crippled product - and then charge you a service fee to increase the functionality.

It's a great business model for them, however for many of us who want a reliable system - and a cost effective one, it does not make much sense to go that route."

Need help building/picking a system

 

[looney2ns]

In most instances you will be happier with a system you design instead of a kit.

Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE
Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

Best to stay away from Wifi cams and cloud based anything.

 

[Mr_D]

Currently there are no cloud cameras which can provide you with better image quality than the Costco 4K kit, and especially no where close to the low light performance of the Dahua OEM.

Yep. How do you fit multiple 1080p streams through someone's 1-5 Mbps residential Internet upload? Compression and lots of it. I have a Ring doorbell and holy crap is the compression cranked to the moon. Better hope people are standing still and looking right at it from under 5' away if you want any chance of and ID.

 

[Amp Park]

Thank you folks keep the recommendations coming. Like I mentioned since I invested in pre-wiring the home I would definitely like to get wired IP cameras and have enough PoE ports on my switches. Now on the camera, are there any benefits of cons of using Bullet over Turret? On the @giomania's cliffnote he mentioned turret style preferred over dome for outdoors but what about bullet cameras?

 

[mat200]

Thank you folks keep the recommendations coming. Like I mentioned since I invested in pre-wiring the home I would definitely like to get wired IP cameras and have enough PoE ports on my switches. Now on the camera, are there any benefits of cons of using Bullet over Turret? On the @giomania's cliffnote he mentioned turret style preferred over dome for outdoors but what about bullet cameras?

Hi Amp,

Turrets in general a liked more by members here.

Downside is that if you need a stronger level of zoom - the turrets typically do not have enough room in the body for a bigger zoom lens than in the HDW5231xx so you would have to go with a Bullet style.

Personally imho IF someone can easily get a hold of the camera -> definitely go turret, as they are harder to change the angle. ( a solid well placed bullet like some of the HFW52xx or HFW82xx models will also be hard to change the angle if you've secured them well - that is the models with the hex screw in the base to secure them.. imho those bullets with a simple Philips screw holding the camera angle in the stem are easier to force out of angle )

Note - if you're buying a kit you may have to accept bullets as there are less kits with turrets. Thus another benefit of custom ordering your components.

 

[Amp Park]

Hi Amp,

Please do take some time to figure this out, the notes @giomania has assembled are excellent. Many of the questions people have are answered there.

So in general:
$1500 will buy you better than $700-800
$3000 will buy you better than $1500

Think of this as buying a car... do you need a truck? suv? sedan? or a go-cart? Then what particular one?

Look at your functional needs first.

You can buy a costco kit and add Dahua OEM starlights.
You can buy a Dahua OEM NVR and Dahua OEM cameras.
You can buy a i5/i7 windows pc ( used is liked ) and Blue Iris software + PoE switch + Dahua OEM ( or Hikvision - I bought Dahua so I know them better )

Ideally decide on how many cameras you need to cover your situation. Look at the notes for more details.

@mat200

I have PoE switch, a completely unused but bit old i7 PC (i7-6700k, 16G DDR3 RAM, 256G SSD), looks like Blue Iris can run on this. Does Blue Iris have feature parity with Dahua's own software in terms of remote viewing capability?

 

[mat200]

@mat200

I have PoE switch, a completely unused but bit old i7 PC (i7-6700k, 16G DDR3 RAM, 256G SSD), looks like Blue Iris can run on this. Does Blue Iris have feature parity with Dahua's own software in terms of remote viewing capability?

Hi Amp

Sweet! You've got a good start already.

Definitely go the Blue Iris route since you're already way ahead of the game w/the i7PC and PoE switch.

NVRs are typically offering less options than a PC based solution as a part of the design is to keep them fairly low powered compared to a full i7 system.

 

[Mr_D]

@mat200

I have PoE switch, a completely unused but bit old i7 PC (i7-6700k, 16G DDR3 RAM, 256G SSD), looks like Blue Iris can run on this. Does Blue Iris have feature parity with Dahua's own software in terms of remote viewing capability?

You'll need to add a hard drive to store the recordings (WD Purple is good) but that computer is more than sufficient. I wouldn't call it old at all.

 

[Farmer D]

I had the Lorex Kit from Costco for about 2 weeks. Ended up returning it. From what you're wanting in your set up, I think you'll be very disappointed with the kit.

What I don't like:
1. Night time images are very soft with lots of motion blur and trailing.
2. Lorex app is totally useless. Slow to load, timed out every minute or so. I had to use gdmss/idmss app for remote viewing.
3. Not varifocal.
4. NVR is on the weak side for 4k cameras. This results in a 2 to 3 seconds lag when live viewing. Also when recording on motion, NVR skips a few frames when recording. I know a few Dahua NVR's have this exact same problem.
5. No IVS (tripwire, intrusion)
6. Does not come with turret cameras. Turrets look so much better for front of house than bullets. Less intrusive.

What I do like:
1. Daytime image is superior to the 2mp cameras, no matter what sensor it uses. Very crisp and clear.
2. Ease of set up. It's pretty much plug and play.
3. Costco return policy.

With your budget, you're better off going with the starlight varifocals as suggested by users here.

 

[Amp Park]

I found N44BB33-B on Dahua US site which I like because I need or prefer Black camera but not sure if this is a Startlight version. Are cameras on Dahua US and Dahua's global website (dahuasecurity.com) completely different?

Also have anyone painted cameras to Black?

 

[Yollie]

I had the Lorex Kit from Costco for about 2 weeks. Ended up returning it. From what you're wanting in your set up, I think you'll be very disappointed with the kit.

What I don't like:
1. Night time images are very soft with lots of motion blur and trailing.
I don't have this problem on mine
2. Lorex app is totally useless. Slow to load, timed out every minute or so. I had to use gdmss/idmss app for remote viewing.
Absolutely no problems with my app, in fact it loads quicker than the NVR grid setup.
3. Not varifocal.
4. NVR is on the weak side for 4k cameras. This results in a 2 to 3 seconds lag when live viewing. Also when recording on motion, NVR skips a few frames when recording. I know a few Dahua NVR's have this exact same problem.
How do you mean week? I'm wondering if it might need a bit more power but my lag time is about 1/2 a second.
5. No IVS (tripwire, intrusion)
6. Does not come with turret cameras. Turrets look so much better for front of house than bullets. Less intrusive.

What I do like:
1. Daytime image is superior to the 2mp cameras, no matter what sensor it uses. Very crisp and clear.
2. Ease of set up. It's pretty much plug and play.
3. Costco return policy.

With your budget, you're better off going with the starlight varifocals as suggested by users here.

I added starlights and they really do have some awesome nightime video!
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I guess everyone can have a different experience but had I had more money and now had to have someone install mt cameras and knew more about networking (I know more now after having trouble connecting 1 of the 4 starlights), I probably would go with the "design my own system" option.