I am a complete newbie when it comes to IP cams and recording technology. I am hopeful that I can draw on all the great experience here to arrive at the best solution.
I have had my car broken into at home once in the last couple years, as have a couple neighbors. I live in a "country subdivision" so the houses sit on 2 - 4 acres each. I have a son who is very into soccer and has high-end soccer nets and other training tools in the backyard I want to keep an eye on -- plus monitor my driveway and my front door.
To accomplish this, I am looking at a total of 4 Hikvision 4MP cameras. This may expand to as many as 7 cameras in the future.
I was looking at getting a dedicated PC set-up with Blue Iris, but I am seeing very inconsistent responses on the specs needed for the PC. I am trying to do things properly, but on a budget, so I don't want to run off buying an i7 desktop if that's not what is necessary and I could effectively set up the system with a refurbished Gen 4 i5 system.
That also got me thinking, would it be smarter (and more cost effective?) if I looked at Hikvision or Dahua NVRs? I see most people advise against that.
I definitely appreciate any thoughts the group here can provide -- like I said, I want to do this right, but without tossing away money.
Thanks everyone!
I have had my car broken into at home once in the last couple years, as have a couple neighbors. I live in a "country subdivision" so the houses sit on 2 - 4 acres each. I have a son who is very into soccer and has high-end soccer nets and other training tools in the backyard I want to keep an eye on -- plus monitor my driveway and my front door.
To accomplish this, I am looking at a total of 4 Hikvision 4MP cameras. This may expand to as many as 7 cameras in the future.
I was looking at getting a dedicated PC set-up with Blue Iris, but I am seeing very inconsistent responses on the specs needed for the PC. I am trying to do things properly, but on a budget, so I don't want to run off buying an i7 desktop if that's not what is necessary and I could effectively set up the system with a refurbished Gen 4 i5 system.
That also got me thinking, would it be smarter (and more cost effective?) if I looked at Hikvision or Dahua NVRs? I see most people advise against that.
I definitely appreciate any thoughts the group here can provide -- like I said, I want to do this right, but without tossing away money.
Thanks everyone!
