NVR Questions

AlD

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Hi @Elgato54

Good question... they basically look the same from a quick glance. Though I noticed the back of the NVRs are a bit different, as 8 ports on one are marked with "green" background - perhaps indicating a different PoE standard? or ??? So check the PoE power specs in the spec sheet and see if there is something to do with the ports.

4K Ultra HD 16 Channel Security NVR, 3TB Hard Drive, POE, Records 4K (4 x 1080p) at 30FPS, with Audio Recording
NR9163
spec sheet

4K Ultra HD 16-Channel Security NVR with Lorex Cloud Connectivity and 3TB Hard Drive
N881A63B-W
spec sheet:


View attachment 52344



and the N881A63B-W image of the NVRs back:

View attachment 52345

Thanks for the info. I came across those spec sheets on the Lorex's website, as I ordered a kit that was supposed to come with NVR model # N881A63B, but I received NVR model # NR916XCL-N instead.

Is there anything that makes the NR916XCL-N inferior to the N881A63B other than the smaller max hard drive capacity (2 x 8TB vs 2 x 10TB) and the smart home compatibility features? The "record rate" details on the N881A63B seem to be pretty vague compared to the spec sheet for the NR916.

FWIW, Lorex did not notify me of the change to my order. When I called them on it, they claimed that the features were the "same" and assumed I would be ok with receiving a different model than what I had ordered because they were out of stock on the N881A63B NVRs. When I pointed out the difference in max hard drive size and the smart home capabilities, the rep admitted that the warehouse manager that fulfilled the order was likely only thinking about the number of channels (16) being the same.

It's odd that they are claiming to be out of stock of the N881A63B NVR, yet they currently have about 10 complete systems advertised for sale on their website that use that model NVR. I'm wondering if they are "bait and switching" everyone who happens to order a system that uses that NVR. I called their sales department and they confirmed that they had the N881A63B in stock. When I mentioned that to the customer service rep I spoke with who said it was out of stock, they said the salesperson was likely mistaken.

In any case, my issue is that I had already bought a 10TB WD Purple HD and getting Lorex to send me the correct model (N881A63B) that can support the 10TB drive has been an absolute nightmare. Their customer service reps in Columbia are very kind, but have absolutely zero authority to make any decisions and even their supervisors at their location have zero decision making authority (they keep telling me they are submitting an e-mail to the corporate office in the states to review my case and that I'll have to continue to wait. It's been 3 weeks now). At this point, I'm wondering if I should just keep the NR916XCL-N and try to return the 10TB HD and order an 8TB drive. But I don't want to give up when I could be close to getting this resolved. I'm venting a bit here, but might be helpful info for anyone considering placing an order with Lorex directly.

Edited to add: I just came across the post below where a member said that the NR916 series NVRs can accommodate 10TB drives!? I called Lorex tech support and they said that the max capacity for the NR916 series NVR is only 8TB drives.

 
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mat200

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Thanks for the info. I came across those spec sheets on the Lorex's website, as I ordered a kit that was supposed to come with NVR model # N881A63B, but I received NVR model # NR916XCL-N instead.

Is there anything that makes the NR916XCL-N inferior to the N881A63B other than the smaller max hard drive capacity (2 x 8TB vs 2 x 10TB) and the smart home compatibility features? The "record rate" details on the N881A63B seem to be pretty vague compared to the spec sheet for the NR916.

FWIW, Lorex did not notify me of the change to my order. When I called them on it, they claimed that the features were the "same" and assumed I would be ok with receiving a different model than what I had ordered because they were out of stock on the N881A63B NVRs. When I pointed out the difference in max hard drive size and the smart home capabilities, the rep admitted that the warehouse manager that fulfilled the order was likely only thinking about the number of channels (16) being the same.

It's odd that they are claiming to be out of stock of the N881A63B NVR, yet they currently have about 10 complete systems advertised for sale on their website that use that model NVR. I'm wondering if they are "bait and switching" everyone who happens to order a system that uses that NVR. I called their sales department and they confirmed that they had the N881A63B in stock. When I mentioned that to the customer service rep I spoke with who said it was out of stock, they said the salesperson was likely mistaken.

In any case, my issue is that I had already bought a 10TB WD Purple HD and getting Lorex to send me the correct model (N881A63B) that can support the 10TB drive has been an absolute nightmare. Their customer service reps in Columbia are very kind, but have absolutely zero authority to make any decisions and even their supervisors at their location have zero decision making authority (they keep telling me they are submitting an e-mail to the corporate office in the states to review my case and that I'll have to continue to wait. It's been 3 weeks now). At this point, I'm wondering if I should just keep the NR916XCL-N and try to return the 10TB HD and order an 8TB drive. But I don't want to give up when I could be close to getting this resolved. I'm venting a bit here, but might be helpful info for anyone considering placing an order with Lorex directly.

Edited to add: I just came across the post below where a member said that the NR916 series NVRs can accommodate 10TB drives!? I called Lorex tech support and they said that the max capacity for the NR916 series NVR is only 8TB drives.

Welcome @AlD

"Is there anything that makes the NR916XCL-N inferior to the N881A63B other than the smaller max hard drive capacity (2 x 8TB vs 2 x 10TB) and the smart home compatibility features? The "record rate" details on the N881A63B seem to be pretty vague compared to the spec sheet for the NR916."

Honestly I do not know enough about the Lorex NVR product line to really have a solid answer. Much of what I have been learning on Lorex is from what others have been posting and the spec sheets from Lorex.

Check the spec sheets as best as possible - it is possible that some NVRs the major difference is the firmware version.

Certainly imho better to have one which can take a 10TB HDD.. and note, some NVRs the spec sheet may say up to 8TB HDDs accepted - yet users have reported success putting in 10TB HDDs - and other times the spec sheets have been right on the max HDD size. So I'd always double check and see if the current NVR you have can take the 10TB HDD.
 
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AlD

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FWIW, Lorex finally sent the correct NVR (N881A63B) that was supposed to come with the kit that I ordered. On the Better Business Bureau reviews site, I made a stink about them sending the incorrect NVR and their customer service team repeatedly telling me to wait 3-5 days for headquarters to review the case (over the course of 3 weeks). I noticed that negative reviews on the Better Business Bureau site were receiving more attention than calling the customer service line, so that's why I decided to give that a try. Sure enough, the person/team assigned to handling the poor BBB reviews responded to my review and had the issue resolved in short order. They apologized for the inconvenience. I responded that an apology was nice, but considering the amount of time and effort required to get Lorex to resolve their error (5 phone calls, each with 40+ minute hold times and multiple e-mails, the hassle of returning the incorrect NVR etc) a partial refund was the least they could do. I was issued a $200 refund several days later and they assured me that it was simply a shipping error. As mentioned earlier in this thread, I have a sneaking suspicion that I wasn't the only one to experience this "switch" and that most people probably aren't looking close enough to notice the difference in their order.

Sidenote: The N881A63B NVR is fairly noisy. The fan is pretty loud and not something I would want in a bedroom where people would be sleeping. I can't compare it to the NR916XCL-N NVR that I'm returning (I didn't even want to plug it in because I don't want to give Lorex a reason not to accept the return).
 

looney2ns

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FWIW, Lorex finally sent the correct NVR (N881A63B) that was supposed to come with the kit that I ordered. On the Better Business Bureau reviews site, I made a stink about them sending the incorrect NVR and their customer service team repeatedly telling me to wait 3-5 days for headquarters to review the case (over the course of 3 weeks). I noticed that negative reviews on the Better Business Bureau site were receiving more attention than calling the customer service line, so that's why I decided to give that a try. Sure enough, the person/team assigned to handling the poor BBB reviews responded to my review and had the issue resolved in short order. They apologized for the inconvenience. I responded that an apology was nice, but considering the amount of time and effort required to get Lorex to resolve their error (5 phone calls, each with 40+ minute hold times and multiple e-mails, the hassle of returning the incorrect NVR etc) a partial refund was the least they could do. I was issued a $200 refund several days later and they assured me that it was simply a shipping error. As mentioned earlier in this thread, I have a sneaking suspicion that I wasn't the only one to experience this "switch" and that most people probably aren't looking close enough to notice the difference in their order.

Sidenote: The N881A63B NVR is fairly noisy. The fan is pretty loud and not something I would want in a bedroom where people would be sleeping. I can't compare it to the NR916XCL-N NVR that I'm returning (I didn't even want to plug it in because I don't want to give Lorex a reason not to accept the return).
Glad they fessed up. Incompetence rules the day.
 
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looney2ns

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FWIW, Lorex finally sent the correct NVR (N881A63B) that was supposed to come with the kit that I ordered. On the Better Business Bureau reviews site, I made a stink about them sending the incorrect NVR and their customer service team repeatedly telling me to wait 3-5 days for headquarters to review the case (over the course of 3 weeks). I noticed that negative reviews on the Better Business Bureau site were receiving more attention than calling the customer service line, so that's why I decided to give that a try. Sure enough, the person/team assigned to handling the poor BBB reviews responded to my review and had the issue resolved in short order. They apologized for the inconvenience. I responded that an apology was nice, but considering the amount of time and effort required to get Lorex to resolve their error (5 phone calls, each with 40+ minute hold times and multiple e-mails, the hassle of returning the incorrect NVR etc) a partial refund was the least they could do. I was issued a $200 refund several days later and they assured me that it was simply a shipping error. As mentioned earlier in this thread, I have a sneaking suspicion that I wasn't the only one to experience this "switch" and that most people probably aren't looking close enough to notice the difference in their order.

Sidenote: The N881A63B NVR is fairly noisy. The fan is pretty loud and not something I would want in a bedroom where people would be sleeping. I can't compare it to the NR916XCL-N NVR that I'm returning (I didn't even want to plug it in because I don't want to give Lorex a reason not to accept the return).
The fans can be replaced for quieter ones such as: Noctua

 
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BullCity

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I have mine in a security Room. It's not very hot in there at the moment but when the fan is on I can hear it but not as loud as my NVR's in the past. The problem I'm having now Is false alarms. Just started even know I had it about 6 weeks up. And the app has a hard time connecting the 1st time you try to log in but worked fine the 1st few weeks. I think for the money I pay it still was a good deal. But I think I will take may video editing computer and convert it to run blue Iris. I want to put up some PTZ cameras and a couple license plate capture ones. And yes had to spind more than 2 days with customer service causing me to lose business. Took almost a month to get my unit.
 

Kendive

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