NVR vs BlueIris. Which NVR for Dahua cams or build NVR? Power consumption?

[Warptrooper]

So I'm likely getting Dahua cameras. If I was to use a NVR, how much of a power difference is that over blue Iris machine?

Parts I have to make a blueiris machine is i3 8100, 12GB, 120 ssd, 2x 3TB WD Reds

To run blue Iris on above, will it be significantly more power draw over NVR? (Assume 4 cameras). Has anyone tested this with a killlawatt?

If I go NVR route, is there anything in particular that is recommended on a budget that can do 4-8 cams? I can provide my own PoE switches so I don't need a cable from each camera running into the NVR.

 

[wittaj]

I have had cams for over 12 years, when I switched from NVR/DVR to a computer and BI I did see an appreciable increase in power. You will run the computer without a monitor on, BI runs as a service, and nothing else running on it and the power consumption drops fairly low.

An NVR is basically a computer that only does one function - for most, the software between what is on an NVR versus Blue Iris is night and day. I finally made the switch to Blue Iris and am kicking myself for waiting so long.

Another problem with an NVR is people never buy one large enough. As you will see in my post on your other thread, an event happens and it points out your deficiencies in your cameras, so you need to add more. If you buy a 4 cam NVR and need two more cameras, now you have to upgrade to an 8-port NVR. With BI, you simply add it. I think BI can take up to 64 cameras.

 

[fenderman]

So I'm likely getting Dahua cameras. If I was to use a NVR, how much of a power difference is that over blue Iris machine?

Parts I have to make a blueiris machine is i3 8100, 12GB, 120 ssd, 2x 3TB WD Reds

To run blue Iris on above, will it be significantly more power draw over NVR? (Assume 4 cameras). Has anyone tested this with a killlawatt?

If I go NVR route, is there anything in particular that is recommended on a budget that can do 4-8 cams? I can provide my own PoE switches so I don't need a cable from each camera running into the NVR.

There are many threads on this subject. The number of cameras is irrelevant, its the FPSxresolution and there are so many ways to setup BI that there is no way to determine your load. Assuming a 30 percent load your pc will likely draw 25-30w. The red drives are not counted as you would have them in the NVR as well.

 

[aristobrat]

I haven't seen a post where someone has specifically tested a setup exactly like yours (i3 8100) with a killawatt.

My BI PC is plugged into an APC UPS that shows it using around 50-55 watts. It uses an old processor (i7 from back in 2012) and BI is doing motion detection for twelve cameras (mostly 2MP, 15FPS, VBR).

I previously had a Dahua NVR (5216). With two HDDs, it ran at about 20 watts (IIRC, it's been a few years).

One of the main reasons that NVRs can run with a lower power draw is because the processors inside of them are pretty minimal when compared to a PC. This means most NVRs don't have the compute power to do their own motion detection, so they rely on the cameras to do it instead. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just make sure you're happy with the whatever motion detection capabilities that your cameras have, because there's usually no enhancements on that.

Also be aware that while most Dahua/Hikvision cameras have two versions of motion detection, the better motion detection (Dahua calls theirs IVS, Hik calls theirs Smart Event) only works if the brand of the NVR matches the brand of the camera. So if you're starting with four Dahua cameras, you're almost guaranteed to want a Dahua NVR so that you can use the better IVS motion detection built into those cameras. Not to say you can't add Hikvision cameras to a Dahua NVR down the road, but if you do, you won't be able to tap into the Hikvision camera's better motion detection. Same deal if you were starting with four Hik cameras... you'd want a Hik NVR, and if you added Dahua cameras to it down the road, you couldn't use the better Dahua motion detection.

BI gives you more capabilities for motion detection, IMO. You can use any combination of Blue Iris' built-in motion detection, and/or a Dahua/Hik camera's basic motion detection, and/or a Dahua/Hik camera's advanced motion detection. For most of my cameras, I use BI's built-in motion detection because in many situations it's more configurable than even the advanced stuff built into my cameras. The exception to that has been with the new 5442 models and their SmartAI "human/vehicle" filters, which Dahua added to IVS (something that Blue Iris supports). Those work so well I have BI set to let the camera do the motion detection on those models.

My BI PC draws more power than my old NVR, but even if that extra 35w adds $5-$10 to my monthly electric bill, there's no way I'd ever switch back to a NVR. Between the better motion detection options, the ability to have it reach out to other devices (my feeble home automation system has a free Blue Iris plugin that lets it take actions <like automatically turning lights on/off> based on BI motion detection), and the fact that the folks in the house here actually use BI several times a day <they hated the Dahua NVR phone app so much they never used it>, it's worth the extra cost for us.

There might be an opportunity with newer builds of BI to lower overall processor usage (which may lower watts used). Newer builds give BI the option to monitor a second stream from the camera (set to a lower resolution) for the purpose of doing motion detection while still recording the primary stream (in its full resolution) to the HDD. I haven't tried that yet, but I'll try to remember to update this thread if it ends up lowering CPU usage/watt usage.

 

[Warptrooper]

Ok thanks for responses. Yeah 20-30W load seems great. This 8100 is likely very efficient and it has quick sync too.

Guess I'll start building BI machine.

 

[wittaj]

Since you have the parts laying around, you will be way more satisfied with the BI option.

 

[MacFun]

Also be aware that while most Dahua/Hikvision cameras have two versions of motion detection, the better motion detection (Dahua calls theirs IVS, Hik calls theirs Smart Event) only works if the brand of the NVR matches the brand of the camera. So if you're starting with four Dahua cameras, you're almost guaranteed to want a Dahua NVR so that you can use the better IVS motion detection built into those cameras. Not to say you can't add Hikvision cameras to a Dahua NVR down the road, but if you do, you won't be able to tap into the Hikvision camera's better motion detection. Same deal if you were starting with four Hik cameras... you'd want a Hik NVR, and if you added Dahua cameras to it down the road, you couldn't use the better Dahua motion detection.

BI gives you more capabilities for motion detection, IMO. You can use any combination of Blue Iris' built-in motion detection, and/or a Dahua/Hik camera's basic motion detection, and/or a Dahua/Hik camera's advanced motion detection. For most of my cameras, I use BI's built-in motion detection because in many situations it's more configurable than even the advanced stuff built into my cameras. The exception to that has been with the new 5442 models and their SmartAI "human/vehicle" filters. Those work so well I have BI set to let the camera do the motion detection on those models.

With the new 5442 models and their SmartAI "human/vehicle" filters, is there any benefit to capability that having the matching NVR allows...? Or, does BI fully take advantage of these camera features?

 

[aristobrat]

With the new 5442 models and their SmartAI "human/vehicle" filters, is there any benefit to capability that having the matching NVR allows...? Or, does BI fully take advantage of these camera features?

I don't think Blue Iris can directly use the newer Dahua AI camera features. For example, many of the newer camera models have a Face Detect feature that will pull images of faces from the video stream and save them separately on the NVR so you can easily flip through them. I'm pretty sure only a Dahua NVR will support that feature.

SmartAI "human/vehicle" filters indirectly work fine with Blue Iris. They're extra options you have when you build IVS rules on the camera. Blue Iris has supported Dahua IVS for awhile now. While the cameras keep getting new IVS features (like these SmartAI filters), all Blue Iris does is hang around and wait for the camera to say "Hey, an IVS event has been triggered", at which point it starts recording. That's seems to be a fairly generic conversation that doesn't change as Dahua adds new options to IVS on the cameras.