To Hikvision NVR or not?

[klasipca]

Initially, I was considering to buy POE switch $(100 for 8 POE) and hook it up NAS, but considering that I have to buy additional licenses (6x$50) for QNAP NAS to support 8 cameras it looks like more cost effective (saving $100) would be to buy NVR specifically DS-7608NI-E2/8P . Is there any pros and cons to this? Perhaps there is a better value for 8 channel/8 poe NVR? Also, will I be able to record wireless Hikvision cameras that are not connected to NVR directly? Thank you in advance!

 

[fenderman]

Initially, I was considering to buy POE switch $(100 for 8 POE) and hook it up NAS, but considering that I have to buy additional licenses (6x$50) for QNAP NAS to support 8 cameras it looks like more cost effective (saving $100) would be to buy NVR specifically DS-7608NI-E2/8P . Is there any pros and cons to this? Perhaps there is a better value for 8 channel/8 poe NVR? Also, will I be able to record wireless Hikvision cameras that are not connected to NVR directly? Thank you in advance!

With the nas you will not be able to hookup a monitor for live streaming...also remember that most nas boxes have severe fps limitations when using multimegapixel cameras...You can record to nas with no license fee but then you need to deal with hikvision share issues....
You will be able to record any hikvision camera on your network, wired or wireless...

 

[whoslooking]

NVR vs NAS is a no brainer really, NVR every time, then BI on your PC

 

[alastairstevenson]

With the nas you will not be able to hookup a monitor for live streaming

Not strictly true - although not mentioned, but implied due to licence costs, QNAP Surveillance Station is an NVR app, accessible via a web GUI, a Windows client (QVR), and with some models, via HDMI.
I too balked at the licence costs when expanding the number of cameras - and bought a couple of Hikvision NVRs instead of paying the $50 per.
I've been very happy with and impressed with the NVRs ever since, though I do still run Surveillance Station. The main positive feature that differentiates it over the NVRs is the event-marked continuous playback timeline.
On the negative side - Surveillance Station will currently only create actions from a very limited set of event types (motion, connection failure, user-defined). Hikvision's 'Smart events' are not featured.

On performance - QNAP have a very wide range of NAS models with performance to handle very large numbers of cameras if required.

 

[klasipca]

NVR it is, never owned one. The main thing I wanted to make sure I could run wireless cams of it.

 

[fenderman]

Not strictly true - although not mentioned, but implied due to licence costs, QNAP Surveillance Station is an NVR app, accessible via a web GUI, a Windows client (QVR), and with some models, via HDMI.
I too balked at the licence costs when expanding the number of cameras - and bought a couple of Hikvision NVRs instead of paying the $50 per.
I've been very happy with and impressed with the NVRs ever since, though I do still run Surveillance Station. The main positive feature that differentiates it over the NVRs is the event-marked continuous playback timeline.
On the negative side - Surveillance Station will currently only create actions from a very limited set of event types (motion, connection failure, user-defined). Hikvision's 'Smart events' are not featured.

On performance - QNAP have a very wide range of NAS models with performance to handle very large numbers of cameras if required.

Yes, some have hdmi out, but not most models that folks have in the house using as nas...with the 50 dollar per license you are looking at about 750 for a unit that can handle 8 cameras at 15fps. For some reason qnap does not publish frame rate limits like synology, or at least I could not find them...have you seen any?

 

[klasipca]

Yes, some have hdmi out, but not most models that folks have in the house using as nas...with the 50 dollar per license you are looking at about 750 for a unit that can handle 8 cameras at 15fps. For some reason qnap does not publish frame rate limits like synology, or at least I could not find them...have you seen any?

Well, it's not really $750, first of all Qnap has two free licenses, also I already own the NAS and it's used for other tasks, so really I would be paying 6x50 which is $300 and I will need poe switch $100, so that's basically $400 vs just getting 8 channel Hikvision NVR with poe for $300 + ~$100 for couple 2TB hard drives. 15 fps is more then plenty, I usually record at 10fps anyway.

 

[fenderman]

Well, it's not really $750, first of all Qnap has two free licenses, also I already own the NAS and it's used for other tasks, so really I would be paying 6x50 which is $300 and I will need poe switch $100, so that's basically $400 vs just getting 8 channel Hikvision NVR with poe for $300 + ~$100 for couple 2TB hard drives. 15 fps is more then plenty, I usually record at 10fps anyway.

Which model are you running? Some of the synology units are very limited, dont know how it works with qnap. Also, I have also read that recording/viewing cams slows the nas down for others...I have never used it so I have no idea.
One thing to keep in mind with the NVR is that they are pretty loud. I dont think you would want one in a room you work in or use.

 

[klasipca]

I have couple TS-251. I am going to put in the garage, so noise isn't a huge issue, but if it is, I plan to modify it.

 

[alastairstevenson]

qnap does not publish frame rate limits like synology, or at least I could not find them...have you seen any?

I've seen no frame rate limits either.
Provided there is enough RAM - Surveillance Station needs a minimum of 512MB, ideally 1GB - the HD video stream recording is pretty light on the CPU, just 2-3% per camera (dual-core armv7 2.8GHz), though the playback with it's timeline thumbnail generation is very intensive.
And both my 4-bay QNAPs are whisper quiet - big fans, speed-controlled.

 

[vegas]

If you buy a NVR, why do you need BI still? I believe most have the companion software for PC/Mac that does the same thing and connects to the NVR through your router, right?

 

[klasipca]

You don't need BI, some just prefer using it over NVR software.

 

[fenderman]

If you buy a NVR, why do you need BI still? I believe most have the companion software for PC/Mac that does the same thing and connects to the NVR through your router, right?

Blue iris is much more flexible and customizable than NVR's or manufacture software...that is why folks use it instead of or inconjunction with NVR's.