Replacement of BI machine with new NVR

[petere10]

Hi All,
Been a while, so here's the background.
I initially installed a Concord 4K 8 channel (rebranded ZhuhaiRa Zhuhai Raysharp Technology Co.,Ltd system for Australia) which is still working perfectly. On top of that I installed a Win 10 Core i8 system with Blue Iris that is fed from the same cameras. All has been working well for the last 2 years non-stop. Except, the BI system is less 'sensitive' than the Concord. ie. it misses some clips that the Concord records. This has been a bit of a problem lately.

Setup: Cameras go to 8 channel POE switch that feeds into the router. Both the BI PC and the Concord are set up to receive the feeds. All works well. Both PC and Concord box are DENIED internet access. All cameras (Raysharp/Concord) are ONVIF compatible.

Question: I want to replace the PC and connect a new NVR with up to 16Tb storage. What brand/model would you suggest given my current cameras all work perfectly. Reasonable budget of course. I like the idea of having the Concord NVR left on 'movement trigger' giving me about 7 days recordings (only has a 1Tb HDD) and put the new NVR on a much longer before/after recording schedule or even continuous.

Thanks for reading
Pete
Sydney, Australia

 

[wittaj]

Sounds like you haven't spent the time to dial in the BI settings. You can certainly make BI more "sensitive" and with Deepstack AI now added, you can really dial it in.

It is best to match camera brand with NVR brand to ensure full functionality.

 

[petere10]

I've tinkered a lot with BI. I just don't want to run a full blown PC 24/7 any more

 

[wittaj]

That is fine, but you do realize an NVR is simply a watered down Linux PC running 24/7 LOL

 

[petere10]

That is fine, but you do realize an NVR is simply a watered down Linux PC running 24/7 LOL

Yep, realise that perfectly. If I wanted to, I could run it all on a Raspberry Pi, but I want something branded that will be just set and forget

 

[CamNewb1985]

Yep, realise that perfectly. If I wanted to, I could run it all on a Raspberry Pi, but I want something branded that will be just set and forget

I'm looking for same; set and forget type NVR that will work with differnent brand cameras, ONVIF and PTZ. Curious what you went with and your experience. I'm using surveilence station and it sucks

 

[petere10]

Hi,
Haven't got anything because no recommendations. Tweaked BI a bit more and added a 10TB external HDD to supplement the 500GB SSD. Seems to be working, but running a full blown PC 24/7 just sucks power.
Pete

 

[wittaj]

In most of our experiences, the PC actually consumes less than an NVR. YMMV.

But even if it is a little more, it is way more powerful than an NVR...

 

[petere10]

I'm assuming that's because the NVR has the POE built in whereas the PC does not. My current set up is a POE hub in the cupboard which feeds the cameras, and then ethernet connections to a BI PC as well as another NVR. I don't use the POE on the NVR at all. The NVR stores about a week of motion detected recordings and the PC stores about 90 days. The current NVR is limited to a 2TB disk (I think), and I should save heaps of power by replacing it with another NVR (more modern) that can take (say) 2x8TB disks. Comments welcome

 

[wittaj]

According to the kilowat meter, my PC and POE switches run less wattage than the NVR.

I have two UPS backup units both are the same purchased same day from same lot. On a power outage, the UPS with the PC and 8 port POE switch lasts longer than the NVR with 8 port POE. I have the NVR feed going into BI and those cameras had no signal while the UPS with the PC and POE switch kept going for several more minutes.

As with everything, YMMV.

 

[petere10]

OK, could it be that the PC power supply with its bigger smoothing capacitors 'bled out' a little slower than the much smaller NVR power supply? Anyway, not really of importance - I'll leave that to someone with a higher pay grade than me

 

[wittaj]

I am just pointing out that most here have seen it to be a myth that was created by PC haters that claim they are more power consuming than an NVR lol.

As with everything, YMMV. I am sure some have an old power hungry PC and that may take more power than a newer NVR.

 

[petere10]

Nobody loves PC's more that me. I built my first one in about 1982 with a whopping 5Mb hard disk. Imported the bits from Taiwan. No I'm not telling you may age!!!!

 

[Flintstone61]

While your shopping for the NVR, You may get more motion captures if you change the timings on the Trigger and prerecord settings. My Costco Nightowl camera over the driveway misses shit, so I put the time to 18.5 sec of prerecord. that way when it does trigger, I get the stuff happenig beforehand and I can watch the car move thru the intersection all in one clip.
The 9.0 second setting I use as my initial default setting and tweak from there.

 

[petere10]

Thanks for the hints and images
Pete