NVR

[Teeling611]

Looking for some input on a Dahua NVR. I was originally looking at BI but after reading through many of its issues good and bad I’m now looking at the NVR. I haven’t ruled it out however. Just looks to be a bigger learning curve. In my reading here the NVR also has many of the same issue good and bad. Dahua gets some lower than I expected reviews. I was originally looking for a 4 camera system but 8 camera NVR looks like a better choice. Has has been mentioned. With BI I wouldn’t have that issue.

So I’m not looking to record anything, but will record 24/7. I mainly want to view and have alerts setup for intrusion onto my property. I don’y want tree, bush, grass and small animal movement setting off alarms. Pretty much that’s it. Can an NVR accomplish this task? For that matter can Bi? From what I’ve read it appears so.

thanks

 

[wittaj]

I had NVRs for many years. It was a frustrating experience.

There is a big debate here on which is better. Personally I found the NVRs to be too clunky and not very user friendly and got to the point that I was reactive instead of proactive. I literally tested BI and knew within a few minutes it was better than any NVR I ever had.

Like literally I would go months on end not even looking at the NVR videos because the interface was too clunky and would take forever to pull up any motion from the night before. And ended up turning off the alerts because there were so many false triggers. I would only look at it if I could tell someone messed with something on my property or a neighbor asked me if my cameras caught anything.

With BI, in addition to being able to configure it such that I get notifications whenever someone gets too close to my house, I can literally in less than 30 seconds every morning do a quick review to see if there was any suspicious activity or people walking down the sidewalk at 2am. I could never do it that fast with an NVR.

Here is the search tool of all the NVR versus BI comparisons:

blue iris vs nvr ip cam site:ipcamtalk.com - Google Search

 

[Flintstone61]

I think many users start out with NVR's because retail outlets have them on shelves plain to see.
but if they google a problem, and the search results land them here.....then they begin see an alternate solution.
That was my path, partly because of a job i took that had a crappy security system in place for covering the entrances.
and then I fell victim to knowing "just a little" bit, and started buyin shit.
Then in seeing the less than stellar results, I found out that IP cams were the way to go....and that Blue iris was the fastsest
clip reviewer i had seen, this worked best for job with much more to do than watch video.

 

[Teeling611]

Thanks for the responses. If figured a good Dahua NVR with Dahua cameras might just work over the box store brands. I understand the draw to BI and it’s abilities but there’s so much written about it it makes my head spin. For the enlighten it may appear simple not to me. Then there’s the issue of running a PC full time. There are many used PC’s available to use but most are at least 10 years old or more and have been taken out of business informants. A brand new NVR is about the same cost. I’ll keep working at it and thanks again.

 

[tigerwillow1]

Using only a Dahua NVR I'm not qualified to fairly judge it against BI. My biggest appreciation is that it has been running reliably 24x7 for about 6 years, and after a few firmware upgrades has needed zero attention. I'm running horribly old firmware now and don't care that it's old. The NVR has a crash or similar about once every 2 years, and has with one exception rebooted itself. I use an external POE switch with I suspect aids the reliability by keeping a lot of heat out of the NVR's case. There are 3 ways to view recorded videos: A hardwired monitor, the web interface, and the smartPss utility. I view using smartPss, and frankly find the other two methods a pain to use. If I had to use one of the other interfaces as the main viewer, that might have driven me to BI by now. I've got nothing against BI. Having a setup that's highly reliable, fairly easy to use, and doesn't need much time fiddling with it leaves me with zero incentive to look elsewhere. You're correct that the NVR has a "good" and "bad" list. As with any of the complicated computer things you learn to lean on the good and avoid the bad.

 

[looney2ns]

BI will run circles around any NVR.
If you follow the mantra, don't update just because, it can be an extremely reliable system.
You can purchase very good off lease business class systems from ebay such as this one for less than $200.
An NVR is just a stripped down computer.
For the basic's, BI is absolutely no harder to configure than an NVR. IMHO, it's easier.
BI can do what your wanting in spades.

 

[looney2ns]

You can try it for 15 days at blueirissoftware.com

 

[wittaj]

Keep in mind a box store brand like an Amcrest or Lorex is a watered down Dahua system. At least with Amcrest and Lorex, you get 1-800 call support (which most have found is useless). With Dahua, you do not get that 1-800 support unless you spend big bucks and purchase from an authorized Dahua USA installer. So you will need to rely on help from a forum like this.

Now the Dahua brand will be better quality than the watered down versions Amcrest and Lorex as they had to shave costs in order to provide 1-800 service.

Take a look at the Dahua "manual" and compare it to the BI manual. The BI manual is over 200 pages of detailed information. Dahua not so much as their expected audience is installers and not homeowners. That is what the Lorex line is for.

When I was looking at replacing an existing NVR, once I realized that not all NVRs are created equal (the bandwidth it can process is a huge limiting factor), and once I priced out a good one, it was cheaper to buy a refurbished computer, POE switch and BI than an NVR.

Many of us buy refurbished computers that are business class computers that have come off lease. The one I bought I kid you not I could not tell that it was a refurbished unit - not a speck of dust or dents or scratches on it. It appeared to me like everything was replaced and I would assume just the motherboard with the intel processor is what was from the original unit. I went with the lowest end processor on the WIKI list as it was the cheapest and it runs my system fine. Could probably get going for $200 or so. A real NVR will cost more than that.

Nothing wrong with an older computer - they are workhorses.

I have had whatever the NVR operating system is running on go out. TWICE. Got to buy a whole new NVR - TWICE

I have had the ethernet port go out on an NVR. Got to buy a whole new NVR.

i had the HDMI port go out on an NVR. Got to buy a whole new NVR.

Most I ever got was 2.5 years. The only working part was the HDD that I simply moved from the old NVR to the new one. I got to the point of realizing that an NVR is simply a stripped down computer, so I went to BI and never looked back. I got tired of buying a whole new unit.

So in my BI Computer, at least if the SSD goes out, I can just replace it. If the ethernet card goes out, I can just replace it. If the HDMI port goes out, I can just replace it. etc.

Personally I gave up on NVRs because I have found them to be clunky and a struggle to review clips and if a component goes out like the internet port, then you are stuck buying a new NVR whereas a computer part goes out and you replace just that component. I went to BI on a dedicated machine and haven't looked back.

Keep in mind an NVR is simply a watered down computer....

You can certainly set BI up to be just as maintenance free as people claim with an NVR. You turn off Windows and BI updates and it just runs.

I can set BI up faster than I can an NVR for a basic system.

Most of us run BI headless, which means all we have is the computer cabinet, that isn't much bigger than an NVR and then we remote into it to view stuff. It doesn't need to be setup like a computer with keyboard and mouse and monitor.

 

[Teeling611]

BI will run circles around any NVR.
If you follow the mantra, don't update just because, it can be an extremely reliable system.
You can purchase very good off lease business class systems from ebay such as this one for less than $200.
An NVR is just a stripped down computer.
For the basic's, BI is absolutely no harder to configure than an NVR. IMHO, it's easier.
BI can do what your wanting in spades.

Thanks it is reasonable but has no operating system. But I do get your point!

 

[Teeling611]

Keep in mind a box store brand like an Amcrest or Lorex is a watered down Dahua system. At least with Amcrest and Lorex, you get 1-800 call support (which most have found is useless). With Dahua, you do not get that 1-800 support unless you spend big bucks and purchase from an authorized Dahua USA installer. So you will need to rely on help from a forum like this.

Now the Dahua brand will be better quality than the watered down versions Amcrest and Lorex as they had to shave costs in order to provide 1-800 service.

Take a look at the Dahua "manual" and compare it to the BI manual. The BI manual is over 200 pages of detailed information. Dahua not so much as their expected audience is installers and not homeowners. That is what the Lorex line is for.

When I was looking at replacing an existing NVR, once I realized that not all NVRs are created equal (the bandwidth it can process is a huge limiting factor), and once I priced out a good one, it was cheaper to buy a refurbished computer, POE switch and BI than an NVR.

Many of us buy refurbished computers that are business class computers that have come off lease. The one I bought I kid you not I could not tell that it was a refurbished unit - not a speck of dust or dents or scratches on it. It appeared to me like everything was replaced and I would assume just the motherboard with the intel processor is what was from the original unit. I went with the lowest end processor on the WIKI list as it was the cheapest and it runs my system fine. Could probably get going for $200 or so. A real NVR will cost more than that.

Nothing wrong with an older computer - they are workhorses.

I have had whatever the NVR operating system is running on go out. TWICE. Got to buy a whole new NVR - TWICE

I have had the ethernet port go out on an NVR. Got to buy a whole new NVR.

i had the HDMI port go out on an NVR. Got to buy a whole new NVR.

Most I ever got was 2.5 years. The only working part was the HDD that I simply moved from the old NVR to the new one. I got to the point of realizing that an NVR is simply a stripped down computer, so I went to BI and never looked back. I got tired of buying a whole new unit.

So in my BI Computer, at least if the SSD goes out, I can just replace it. If the ethernet card goes out, I can just replace it. If the HDMI port goes out, I can just replace it. etc.

Personally I gave up on NVRs because I have found them to be clunky and a struggle to review clips and if a component goes out like the internet port, then you are stuck buying a new NVR whereas a computer part goes out and you replace just that component. I went to BI on a dedicated machine and haven't looked back.

Keep in mind an NVR is simply a watered down computer....

You can certainly set BI up to be just as maintenance free as people claim with an NVR. You turn off Windows and BI updates and it just runs.

I can set BI up faster than I can an NVR for a basic system.

Most of us run BI headless, which means all we have is the computer cabinet, that isn't much bigger than an NVR and then we remote into it to view stuff. It doesn't need to be setup like a computer with keyboard and mouse and monitor.

Very informative just what I was looking for! Thanks

 

[Teeling611]

Using only a Dahua NVR I'm not qualified to fairly judge it against BI. My biggest appreciation is that it has been running reliably 24x7 for about 6 years, and after a few firmware upgrades has needed zero attention. I'm running horribly old firmware now and don't care that it's old. The NVR has a crash or similar about once every 2 years, and has with one exception rebooted itself. I use an external POE switch with I suspect aids the reliability by keeping a lot of heat out of the NVR's case. There are 3 ways to view recorded videos: A hardwired monitor, the web interface, and the smartPss utility. I view using smartPss, and frankly find the other two methods a pain to use. If I had to use one of the other interfaces as the main viewer, that might have driven me to BI by now. I've got nothing against BI. Having a setup that's highly reliable, fairly easy to use, and doesn't need much time fiddling with it leaves me with zero incentive to look elsewhere. You're correct that the NVR has a "good" and "bad" list. As with any of the complicated computer things you learn to lean on the good and avoid the bad.

Very good information! Thanks

 

[wittaj]

Thanks it is reasonable but has no operating system. But I do get your point!

An NVR has an operating system. It is a very basic Linux operating system, often with backdoor exploits that are never addressed or fixed until years later.

EDIT: you were talking about the computer linked LOL

 

[looney2ns]

Thanks it is reasonable but has no operating system. But I do get your point!

Windows 10 Pro can be easily installed. Simply use Microsoft's Media Creation tool and follow the instructions on that download page.

 

[Teeling611]

I knew you would say that .

 

[Teeling611]

I knew you would say that .

Smiley face missing.

 

[tigerwillow1]

Take a look at the Dahua "manual" and compare it to the BI manual. The BI manual is over 200 pages of detailed information.

I don't think the page count of the manual is a good measurement. But if it were I'd point out that the Dahua NVR manual v4.3.2 contains 467 pages.

 

[wittaj]

I don't think the page count of the manual is a good measurement. But if it were I'd point out that the Dahua NVR manual v4.3.2 contains 467 pages.

True but the Dahua manuals tend to include every available feature in the manual, whether the NVR or camera has that capability or not.... The PTZ section for a fixed camera is useless LOL.

At least with the BI manual, it doesn't include anything that you can't do LOL.

 

[tigerwillow1]

I really dislike these peeing contests. Are any of you saying that BI is a superior solution over a Dahua NVR for every user in every situation? That's what it sounds like to me. Am I delusional thinking I'm satisfied with a 15 camera NVR system that I think I can scan for events every day without wasting a huge amount of time? Should I just give up trying to objectively answer questions like in the first post of the thread? Am I an outsider in a BI cult? I'm happy that the BI users are happy with BI. I'm sorry that you're annoyed by any comments defending an NVR.

 

[wittaj]

I really dislike these peeing contests. Are any of you saying that BI is a superior solution over a Dahua NVR for every user in every situation? That's what it sounds like to me. Am I delusional thinking I'm satisfied with a 15 camera NVR system that I think I can scan for events every day without wasting a huge amount of time? Should I just give up trying to objectively answer questions like in the first post of the thread? Am I an outsider in a BI cult? I'm happy that the BI users are happy with BI. I'm sorry that you're annoyed by any comments defending an NVR.

Welcome to the Internet LOL.

You fight tooth and nail supporting NVRs, just as folks here do the same for BI.

There is a big debate here on which is better. Personally I found the NVRs to be too clunky and not very user friendly and got to the point that I was reactive instead of proactive. I literally tested BI and knew within a few minutes it was better than any NVR I ever had.

You admitted you either haven't looked at BI or tried it briefly and you acknowledged you are not "qualified to fairly judge it against BI". Most here using BI came from the NVR experience first.

I have literally had 5 NVRs over a 10 year period, from crappy Swann before I knew better to Dahua. The most one ever lasted was 2.5 years before some component went out that couldn't be changed out (or easily), which necessitated a new NVR. But I found their respective viewing platforms to be clunky, slow, and lacking the ability I wanted to quickly look at things.

My folks still use a Dahua NVR and it is a painful reminder every time they ask me to pull it up to look at something that I am glad I no longer have mine for that purpose.

My BI computer is way more reliable than any of my NVRs ever were. I could run it 24/7 with zero attention, but it is as much a hobby now and squeezing every bit of performance out of it with things simply not possible with an NVR.

But the forum needs your voice, and others that use NVRs, to help people make a decision for themselves as to which way to go.

Some people are better off with NVRs. But many of those same people would also be content with a Ring system as well LOL.

The biggest misconception is people think NVRs are plug-n-play, which they are not. But many people that is all they do. Then they run auto/default settings.

But once someone takes the time to go into each camera and manually change shutter, brightness, etc., then it starts to put the favor towards BI in setting it up.

 

[bigredfish]

Mine work fine and arent any more clunky than BI and a computer OS. Longest Dahua NVR now running since 2017. Three others running since 2018. and a couple more I helped friends with since 2018. I did lose a HD once.