Store surveillance camera question

[rbanic]

Hi,

my grandad owns a small retail store and as with all retail stores there is a problem with theft. We've had 32 HD-CVI cameras for a while now and recently one of the recorders kicked the bucket. So now we're 16 cams down and looking at what to do. Most of the cameras are 2MP (and I think Dahuas). At first I thought of getting Reolink because it seemed like such a good deal but after reading around this forum a little bit it seems like they're absolute ass in movement. I was tasked with replacing the 16 cams with a 2000 EUR budget ex. tax. (- 160 EUR for the PoE switch, 200 EUR for the NVR and 100 EUR for the wiring) which leaves me at around 1500 EUR. This honestly seems like an impossible task if not using anything but Reolink. I suppose the best thing to do is get a replacement recorder and keep the existing cameras until the budget increases or start replacing the cameras more slowly.

Kindest regards, and thanks for any/all replies
Roberto

 

[Jim I.]

That may be the best option given your budget to work with. Were the cameras you already have getting the job done ?

 

[rbanic]

Eh, so so, some are ok, some are really inadequate. The previous installer is asking for 400 eur plus tax for the new recorder (excluding hard drives).

 

[cyberwolf_uk]

If like you say he has a small retail stall, how small is small? as 32 cameras originally seems a lot for a small store! Even 16, you could probably reduce your camera count by being clever with placement. Example you could install a 2 - 3 fisheye cameras that will cover a large area.. Would be good to see a diagram of the current setup to advice. But I could cost that out via @EMPIRETECANDY for the NVR and the 16 cameras if needed for under 2000 budget.

 

[rbanic]

15 employees (2 overlapping shifts), its a home depot kind of shop. The camera placement is for sure less than optimal but the large metal yard necessitates at least 4-5 cameras to cover, and the shop has at least 4 heavily separated portions. Unfortunately there is no diagram but ill try draw something up tomorrow when it opens.

 

[cyberwolf_uk]

Examples
NVR -

https://www.amazon.com/EmpireTech-Recognition-Recording-Bandwidth-NVR5216-16P-EI/dp/B0BXX4MHD5/ref=sr_1_16?keywords=nvr&m=A329YQ83EBQGJF&qid=1683469292&s=merchant-items&sr=1-16

Fisheye x 3 -

https://www.amazon.com/Loryta-IPC-EW5531-AS-Panoramic-Detection-Intelligent/dp/B07XQ71CJH/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=nvr&m=A329YQ83EBQGJF&qid=1683469292&s=merchant-items&sr=1-13

Duel Camera x 2 -

https://www.amazon.com/EmpireTech-Dual-Directional-No-Splicing-Multi-Sensor-IPC-HDBW5441F-AS-E2/dp/B09H2ZRYX8/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=nvr&m=A329YQ83EBQGJF&qid=1683469292&s=merchant-items&sr=1-4&th=1

3.6mm Turret x 5 -

https://www.amazon.com/Loryta-IPC-T2431T-AS-Eyeball-Network-English/dp/B081Q38RPY/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=nvr&m=A329YQ83EBQGJF&qid=1683469292&s=merchant-items&sr=1-6&th=1

No POE switch needed if you use the NVR, But like I said with plans we could plan better... This is direct from @EMPIRETECANDY Amazon store, but going direct you could get better prices.

 

[rbanic]

Yeah if I go direct I need to sort imports, I need to sort import from .com anyways since I'm in the EU.

 

[Perimeter]

What kind of ability do these cams need?
Low light/night vision? Infrared?
Higher than 2MP resolution?
PTZ?
Dome?
What kind of focal length / fov do they need?
What is the trait that makes a camera a store camera?

 

[rbanic]

Hi, thanks for the answers you all gave me, I really appreciate it. It seems for now it is not in the budget to replace all the cameras with IP cameras, nor will it be in the next couple of months for sure. I have to bring up the 16 cameras that aren’t working (because of the lack of recorder) up though. My idea was to use BlueIris and a 16ch 2mp encoder and add the streams in BlueIris if something like that is possible, but I have no idea where to even start looking for that encoder or if that is a good idea.

 

[wittaj]

Hi, thanks for the answers you all gave me, I really appreciate it. It seems for now it is not in the budget to replace all the cameras with IP cameras, nor will it be in the next couple of months for sure. I have to bring up the 16 cameras that aren’t working (because of the lack of recorder) up though. My idea was to use BlueIris and a 16ch 2mp encoder and add the streams in BlueIris if something like that is possible, but I have no idea where to even start looking for that encoder or if that is a good idea.

It is usually cheaper to buy another NVR than an encoder, especially for 16 cameras.

 

[rbanic]

As per my last 30 mins of research that is obvious to me now. Im just surprised that the installer is asking 500 eur ex VAT for a no hdd recorder when I seem to be able to get an XVR1B16-I for 110 eur. It seems like we would be able to use something like that, and it supports up to 5MP unlike the one he is offering (he said 700 for 5MP support).

 

[TonyR]

I'd go with BI (Blue Iris) on a PC that meets the minimum specs, a new POE NVR (not an expensive encoder) and stream the NVR to BI.
Add a POE switch and IP cams later as needed.
On the PC, using the MS Media Creation Tool using a USB flash drive, perform a fresh install of Windows on a SSD, put BI and BI's "db" folder on the SSD, send video clips to a surveillance-rated spinning HDD.
Be sure to optimize BI and use substreams where possible.

 

[rbanic]

That is what I’m thinking right now yeah, im just quite confused regarding the nvr i mentioned, some sites say only 8 cameras are supported, some say 16.

 

[cyberwolf_uk]

That is what I’m thinking right now yeah, im just quite confused regarding the nvr i mentioned, some sites say only 8 cameras are supported, some say 16.

The XVR1B16-I is a 16 channel the XVR1B8-I is an 8 channel, if you order the XVR1B16-I then you'll get 16 channels unless the seller is talking shit and in that case you return telling them so