New user, hello

[sgt-flippy]

Hi, recently started to work on a little home camera security.
So was able to buy a barely used, Dell Optiplex i7 6700 16gb, it came with a 256 gb ssd and I added a 4tb Samsung ssd. I started out with 2 camera's, to see if I could get things running. They are Reolink RLC-810a.

Took some time to get them connected to Blue Iris, just selecting "Reolink" didn't do the trick. Generic/ONVIF did work. But I had a massive amount of false alerts, coming from image shifting and full gray images. Tonight I changed it to Reolink again, but set it to h.265 and after that seems a lot better.

The main thing I'm now after, is to view them at work. I was able to setup remote view on my mobile, outside my LAN. But the pc's at work seem to block direct ip connecting. It's not loading anything and times out. So was wondering if anyone has tips. I was thinking streaming to youtube, but I'm afraid I can't set that to private.

All in all very happy already, can't wait to install the camera's at their final locations (only got the junction boxes last night) and add some more!

 

[wittaj]

Welcome! I can tell you haven't been on this site very long LOL.

How old are the Reolinks? Can you return them?

Blue Iris and Reolinks do not work well together, but the same principles applies for almost any low end consumer grade camera. It is just Reolinks is one of the more consumer end cameras people buy and come to this site as to why it is pointed out often about. I have a cheapo camera for overview purposes so it doesn't matter, but it exhibits this same behavior even though in the settings I can set an iframe...

This was a screenshot of a member here where they had set these cameras to 15FPS within the cameras (I suspect you will be missing motion that you do not know you are missing....):



Now look at they key - that is the iframes. Blue Iris works best when the FPS and the iframes match. Now this is a ratio, so it should be a 1 if it matches the FPS. The iframes not matching (that you cannot fix or change with a reolink) is why they miss motion in Blue Iris and why people have problems. This is mainly why people are having issues with these cameras and there are many threads showing the issues people have with this manufacturer and Blue Iris. It is these same games that make the camera look great as a still image or video but turn to crap once motion is introduced.

The Blue Iris developer has indicated that for best reliability, sub stream frame rate should be equal to the main stream frame rate and these cameras cannot do that and there is nothing you can do about that with these cameras... The iframe rates (something these cameras do not allow you to set) should equal the FPS, but at worse case be no more than double. This example shows the cameras going down to a keyrate of 0.25 means that the iframe rates are over 4 times the FPS and that is why motion detection is a disaster with these cameras and Blue Iris...A value of 0.5 or less is considered insufficient to trust for motion triggers reliably...try to do DeepStack and it will be useless...

Compounding the matter even worse...motion detection is based on the substream and look at the substream FPS - they dropped down to below 6 FPS with an iframe/key rate of 0.25 - you will miss motion most of the time with that issue...

Blue Iris is great and works with probably more camera brands than most VMS programs, but there are brands that don't work well or not at all - Rings, Arlos, Nest, Some Zmodo cams use proprietary systems and cannot be used with Blue Iris, and for a lot of people Reolink doesn't work well either.

Now compare above to mine and cameras that follow industry standards that allow you to actually set parameters and they don't manipulate them. You will see that my FPS match what I set in the camera, and the 1.00 key means the iframe matches:



In addition to being problematic with BI, they perform very poorly at night. Check out all the wonderful examples people have provided:

Reolink: Deconstruction of a dangerous misleading youtube review "Finding the BEST 4K Security Camera NVR Package (Reolink vs Amcrest vs Swann)"

Executive Summary: DO NOT be a sheep. Ask what a reviewer can be missing, ask if a reviewer is using hype words to sell the cheapest product. Test your cameras and kits right away. Just do a bench test. Test real world conditions. Test moving suspects. Test at night, test at day. Use a test rig...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[sebastiantombs]

I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but you will find more problems with the Reolink cameras as time passes. While they may get rave reviews on Amazon those are most likely paid reviews or reviews posted by Reolink themselves. See these threads -

Compiled by mat200 -

Reolink: Deconstruction of a dangerous misleading youtube review "Finding the BEST 4K Security Camera NVR Package (Reolink vs Amcrest vs Swann)"

Executive Summary: DO NOT be a sheep. Ask what a reviewer can be missing, ask if a reviewer is using hype words to sell the cheapest product. Test your cameras and kits right away. Just do a bench test. Test real world conditions. Test moving suspects. Test at night, test at day. Use a test rig...

ipcamtalk.com

Reolink, low light issues as shown in LifeHackster's "Reolink RLC-823A Review - 4K IP Camera that has Pan, Tilt, Zoom, Spotlights and Motion Tracking"

I will review and high light some of the image capture issues Reolink has in low light conditions from the following youtube video: ( commentary below ) Reolink RLC-823A Review - 4K IP Camera that has Pan, Tilt, Zoom, Spotlights and Motion Tracking LifeHackster Feb 5, 2022 ref: update: One...

ipcamtalk.com

That said you should not be port forwarding because it presents a severe security threat, opening, to your network and everything attached to it. Set up and use a VPN, which is far more secure, as described in the thread below. This is not an "outboud" VPN designed to hide your surfing habits but n "inbound" VN to provide a secure, encrypted, link to your LAN from the outside world.

VPN Information Thread

VPN Primer for Noobs

The internet is a force of nature; no video surveillance system made was designed to be exposed to those forces.. NEVER FORWARD PORTS to your NVR or Cameras, doing such things not only exposes you to severe security problems, but everyone else on the internet too.. Hackers dont want your video...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[sgt-flippy]

Welcome! I can tell you haven't been on this site very long LOL.

How old are the Reolinks? Can you return them?

I only got them this week, so I guess I can do that. I must admit I'm not after high security, it all started with le wanting to check on my sliding gate when the sensors are clueless what state it is in.

I looked around a bit, but hadn't bumped into these issues no. Luckily I got them with a nice discount. But of course I do like things to work...

I also found it difficult to find good info on cameras and I don't want to spend a fortune on them. Could you point in some direction?

@sebastiantombs
I read that twice, but after searching some more, decided to follow the wizard anyway. And other posts and tutorials suggest to do that exact thing. Also tried to read up a bit on everything, since I don't know a lot about networking and I noticed some things I'd need to do, aren't available on my modem.

 

[wittaj]

If you just want them to check on a sliding gate, then it is probably fine, but if you want to be able to know more than when something happened like get a picture the police could do something with, that is when you need better cameras.

Unless you got them at a crazy discount, Amcrest is a good budget camera that is comparable in cost and works well with BI.

Here is a thread that mentions the most commonly suggested cameras based on the distances one wants to IDENTIFY someone with.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

At the urging of several folks here, I created a thread to show the importance of focal length and how focal length can be more important than megapixels (MP). I mentioned some of this in the post regarding The Hookup’s latest video demonstrating different cameras, including one sold from a...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[sebastiantombs]

You are leaving your front door open 24/7/365 with a flashing neon sign saying "come hack me here" using port forwarding. There's a discussion going on, right now, about an NVR that "mysteriously" gets settings changing every night. It is using P2P which is a form of port forwarding. A VPN needs to be enabled on a router, not a modem. If your router is supplied by your ISP you may be able to do one of two things.

1 - Replace that router with your own, preferably an Asus or Netgear with OpenVPN built into the router.
2 - Place the ISP router in "bridge" mode and install your own router as in #1.

 

[sgt-flippy]

If you just want them to check on a sliding gate, then it is probably fine, but if you want to be able to know more than when something happened like get a picture the police could do something with, that is when you need better cameras.

Unless you got them at a crazy discount, Amcrest is a good budget camera that is comparable in cost and works well with BI.

Here is a thread that mentions the most commonly suggested cameras based on the distances one wants to IDENTIFY someone with.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

At the urging of several folks here, I created a thread to show the importance of focal length and how focal length can be more important than megapixels (MP). I mentioned some of this in the post regarding The Hookup’s latest video demonstrating different cameras, including one sold from a...

ipcamtalk.com

Great, thanks!

I think I won't toss them just yet, I have some uses for thel that aren't that critical.

Will look into some of the other options. It's sad if you just google, you don't really come across all this. Just like the port forwarding issue, it gets really technical, really quickly. And although some people try to explain it and do tutorials, it seems it's not possible to fall back into technical abreviations and lingo where they lose me

 

[sebastiantombs]

YouTube has many videos demonstrating how to set up a VPN as well as how to set up Blue Iris. To be honest, most of the Blue Iris ones seem to be done by people who don't fully understand Blue Iris and all of its nuances, let alone what it takes to get a good video with motion at night.

 

[sgt-flippy]

YouTube has many videos demonstrating how to set up a VPN as well as how to set up Blue Iris. To be honest, most of the Blue Iris ones seem to be done by people who don't fully understand Blue Iris and all of its nuances, let alone what it takes to get a good video with motion at night.

I just turned off the forwarded port. Will be looking into VPN now.

 

[sgt-flippy]

YouTube has many videos demonstrating how to set up a VPN as well as how to set up Blue Iris. To be honest, most of the Blue Iris ones seem to be done by people who don't fully understand Blue Iris and all of its nuances, let alone what it takes to get a good video with motion at night.

Might be a lot to ask, but all my hardware is TP-link. I have 3 Omada access points and a powerline adapter. Could you tell me if this router can do what I need?
TP-Link TL-ER605

 

[wittaj]

That is what makes this forum so great - it is a collection of users that have been there/done that and are sharing experience and tips with no ulterior motive. Unlike the reviews and YouTube videos where they are getting either paid by the hit or thru affiliation commission based on sales from their links, we are just the average homeowner sharing our journey for free.

In addition to the NVR hacking that @sebastiantombs mentioned that someone is going thru right now, here was a BI "hacking" due to port forwarding:

What does this mean? Are there people connecting to my Blue Iris?

As far as keeping your system secure, many here use OpenVPN very successfully.

OpenVPN is simple, but we overthink it and make it way more difficult than it needs to be lol.

You will need a DDNS as your WAN IP address is subject to change at anytime by your ISP (although most do not change often) or you are paying for a static IP address.

I was there too once with OpenVPN...tried to do all this research to find directions and got to the point I said screw it and just enabled it and kinda of followed what it was asking and it worked.

Just go to OpenVPN and enable it and see what it says - probably asks you to create a user/PW, DDNS name, encryption method, and create certificate. Then copy and save the certificate on your mobile device. Then install the OpenVPN app and select the certificate and then connect and you are on your home network.

It really is simpler than our minds make it out to be.

OpenVPN on a Asus router

Sept 2021 Turned off comments because of ads July 2021 Bought a new Asus router, an RT-AX86U. Loaded it right away with Merlin firmware, s...

randyshomeprojects.blogspot.com

 

[wittaj]

Might be a lot to ask, but all my hardware is TP-link. I have 3 Omada access points and a powerline adapter. Could you tell me if this router can do what I need?
TP-Link TL-ER605

Sure looks like it:

How to Setup OpenVPN on TP-Link Routers (Windows)

How to Setup OpenVPN on TP-Link Routers (Windows)

www.tp-link.com

 

[Flintstone61]

The NVR path maybe a good place for some noobs to start lol....

 

[Flintstone61]

Maybe everybody should experience a Nightowl or a Costco or a Reolink package for 3-6 months, then they'll know why we say what we say....

 

[wittaj]

Maybe everybody should experience a Nightowl or a Costco or a Reolink package for 3-6 months, then they'll know why we say what we say....

Been there, done that LOL.

 

[DanDenver]

Sounds like you can return the reolink. I recommend that you go ahead and do that. If still wanting modestly priced cams, get Amcrest as mentioned above. I have a few of them and for non-critical concerns such as you described they work great.

 

[sgt-flippy]

Sounds like you can return the reolink. I recommend that you go ahead and do that. If still wanting modestly priced cams, get Amcrest as mentioned above. I have a few of them and for non-critical concerns such as you described they work great.

I've been looking at Amcrest just now and maybe it's a difference between USA and EU, because on Amazon USA I indeed see camera's around the same prices. EU the prices start around 200 Euros, there's only 2 dome camera's available cheaper. They aren't even widely available as far as I can tell.

 

[sgt-flippy]

Good news everybody, the Reolinks are packed to return!

Now I paid 150 Euros for 2 of them, from what I can see, that's about the price starting point from anything advised here. Guess I'll open up the wallet

 

[sebastiantombs]

@looney2ns has a saying "Buy once, cry once".

 

[srvfan]

Maybe everybody should experience a Nightowl or a Costco or a Reolink package for 3-6 months, then they'll know why we say what we say....

I was delusionally happy with my Costco Lorex package for a while. That is until I really needed to produce some usable images for some issues that occurred around the house. Never again...