Noob here from Vancouver Canada! Would love some help!

[steve gill]

Hello!

I've been reading the forum here for a few days now and want to say thank you! It is an excellent resource! I will admit it is a little overwhelming at times though.

So I have a new house build and I've gotten the security guys to run 7 cat5e wires around the outside of the house. They want to sell me an 8 camera 4mp dahua kit for $2600 (CAD). Can't get the camera models or nvr models out of them yet. Not sure about how much storage.

My house is located in a safe quiet neighborhood. I have a school on one side of the house and mostly good neighbors. I'm really just throwing up cameras just because. I would wall mount all of these cameras on stucco (uploaded a pic).

I'm considering just buying my own from Andy and doing it myself.

- NVR4208-8P-4KS2 (NVR)
- 5 IPC-HFW1831E (mix of lenses between 6mm and 4mm)
- 2 IPC-HDW5231R-ZE (one near the front gate, one at the back of the house)
- 2 PFB203W mounts
- 5 PFA121 junction boxes (are these required?)
- WD Purple 4TB

How does this seem? Should I pick different cameras? Anything I'm missing?

I imagine this kit will cost me around $2250 (CAD).

Alternatively, I was looking at a cheap kit from Lorex like https://www.lorextechnology.com/detail/4k-ip-camera-system/4k-ultra-hd-ip-nvr-security-camera-system-with-6-ip-cameras/4KHDIP86-0-p?_requestid=2125866. It would cost me around $1000 (CAD). Quite the savings.

Thanks!
-Steve

 

[mat200]

Hello!
..
I'm considering just buying my own from Andy and doing it myself.

- NVR4208-8P-4KS2 (NVR)
- 5 IPC-HFW1831E (mix of lenses between 6mm and 4mm)
- 2 IPC-HDW5231R-ZE (one near the front gate, one at the back of the house)
- 2 PFB203W mounts
- 5 PFA121 junction boxes (are these required?)
- WD Purple 4TB

How does this seem? Should I pick different cameras? Anything I'm missing?

I imagine this kit will cost me around $2250 (CAD).

Alternatively, I was looking at a cheap kit from Lorex like https://www.lorextechnology.com/detail/4k-ip-camera-system/4k-ultra-hd-ip-nvr-security-camera-system-with-6-ip-cameras/4KHDIP86-0-p?_requestid=2125866. It would cost me around $1000 (CAD). Quite the savings.
..

Welcome @steve gill

Excellent job on getting them to prewire the house. Cabling is typically the hardest part for most of us and takes a lot of DIY time.

Looking at the bulk wiring coming out of the wall, imho you will want to use junction boxes and / or the wall mounts. Hopefully you have an idea if there is support next to the cat5e cable coming out that you can screw into. ( did you take pictures before the stucco / house wrap went up? )

In the USA this weekend lorex is giving 25% off and you can get 3 different colors for the junction boxes. ( andy should also have them, though iirc only in white - probably fine as I would probably end up paint them to match the stucco.) I don't think lorex has the wall mounts.

On that Lorex kit - if you decide to go that route I would recommend getting newer models of the cameras, as those are older models.

Do read up on some of the lorex threads. If you're OK with updating firmware, some of the lorex NVRs are Dahua OEM NVRs and can be updated to Dahua OEM firmware. ( this enables them to use the IVS features ).

You can also look at a lorex kit with the same NVR and 4 better cameras and then augment it with some Dahua OEM 2MP starlights. While the NVR can have it's firmware updated if you're ok with some DIY work on the firmware ( it is a bit of an IT job - so only do it if you're ok with it ), however so far we have not had members successfully update the cameras firmware to dahua oem firmware.

If you decide to go with the Dahua OEM NVR - I would recommend the NVR52xx series instead - they are more powerful in terms of processing power.

Remember to also consider the favorite option of members: Blue Iris on a used windows i5/i7 PC + PoE switch.

 

[aristobrat]

The 8MP/4K cameras in that Lorex kit have a 1/2.5” image sensor. The 1831s have a much larger 1/1.8” sensor that should perform noticeably better in low-light... brighter images and less motion blur.

Having said that, the 5231s should perform even better. You might start with two 5231s and initially just two 1831s and make sure the 1831s work well for you before ordering all five of them.

Dahua announced a new line of cameras, 2MP and 4MP. The specs of both look like they’ll do even better than the 5231s, and they’re supposed to detect people/vehicles better. Andy just mailed out some review units last week. Not sure how anxious you are to get going, but if you have some time, seeing how these models pan out might be worth it.

 

[steve gill]

@mat200 I really appreciate the detailed answer!

I definitely have photos of the frame before wrap. So I will use those to figure out my support.

Ya I saw the Lorex sale. I am generally okay to update things like firmware (software dev by trade). I didn't realize I could update the lorex NVR to Dahua OEM firmware! That is awesome.

Instead of the lorex model I shared, I should probably look at 4K Ultra HD IP NVR System with 4 Outdoor 4K 8MP IP Cameras, 275FT Color Night Vision, Real-time recording. It is newer and seems to have better cameras. Also the NVR seems to be a dahua nvr. I could then get a couple of Dahua OEM 2MP starlights as you recommend from Andy + all of the mounts. I like the idea of paint matching the mounts. The lorex kit would cost me $1588 (CAD) + $675 (CAD from Andy + missing possible canada duty tax) = $2263 (CAD). Seems like buying the custom kit from Andy would be better off (depends on if lorex NVR + cameras are better than original ones I selected)

The NVR52xx series seem to be 16 ports on Andy's site. I don't see any 8 ports. Also a bit more expensive.

I've lightly considered BI. I do have an old PC sitting around that I could probably do a few upgrades to and make it work. It is currently used as my plex server.

Another question, if I get a non-POE NVR, and get a POE Switch instead, I could then have my NVR live in my downstairs office and my POE Switch in the closet upstairs where all my cat5e (camera) + cat6 (internet wires) terminate. I already have a bunch of cat6 + 5e wires that run to the office from the central closet.

@aristobrat not a bad idea buying a few less cameras at first and waiting for the reviews of the new models to land. I don't have any pressing deadline for this project.

 

[mat200]

@mat200 I really appreciate the detailed answer!
..

Instead of the lorex model I shared, I should probably look at 4K Ultra HD IP NVR System with 4 Outdoor 4K 8MP IP Cameras, 275FT Color Night Vision, Real-time recording. It is newer and seems to have better cameras...

Hi @steve gill

Those are definitely better cameras in that kit. The NVR iirc is a version of the Dahua OEM NVR5208-8p-4ks2x but with a nice front panel.

Andy typically carries the NVR5216-16P-4KS2x version w/o a fancy front panel. iirc the 5208-8P-4ks2 version was only a little less - so I went with the 16P version.

In the USA lorex often has some nice deals around BF-cyberweek.

here's some of the lorex kits which have better cameras than the first kit you posted
4KHDIP822NW
4KHDIP86NVW

4KHDIP822NWW

4KHDIP86NV

and the one you posted ( which btw was as low as $594.99 USD during the BF-cyberweek period )
4KHDIP822


Note that lorex prices jump around quite a bit. Sometimes they are just screwy, and other times you can find some decent deals.

For example you can look at this kit. ( currently w/the save25 discount code $1,312.49 - close to what on-point is selling it for on Amazon USA )
16-Channel 4K Ultra HD IP NVR System with Four Outdoor 4K (8MP) IP Fixed 30FPS Real-Time Format Nocturnal Cameras with Color Night Vision and Audio Recording

The cameras are what appears to be a variant of the IPC-HFW1831E w/o IVS ( thus I suspect may have less processing power and maybe ram ... would need to do a probe of hardware to get that info from the camera to confirm )
The NVR appears to be a variant of the Dahua OEM NVR5216-16P-4Ks2x

So you can go to Andy's store and see the price difference.