Total noob looking to ditch Lorex in favor of Blue Iris & would REALLY appreciate your help :)

[CottonTexas]

Hello everybody, I've been pouring over the threads here until my brain is mush when all I thought I wanted was to replace my fairly basic (& very unreliable) Lorex system. I hope that y'all don't mind that I'll likely ask the good folks here questions that have undoubtedly been asked before, because to me the answers often look like they're written in algebra. I'll post again some other time with all of my inquiries in the appropriate section, but I wanted to stop in & say hello; I hope y'all're all doing well, & I look forward to getting to know the experts here on this wonderful forum. Cheers, Cotton

 

[TonyR]

Welcome to IPCT!

Assuming you have a Lorex NVR, you might consider streaming from the NVR directly to the Blue Iris server PC, at least initially.
This will give you time, since you're a noob, to "ramp up" slowly and help with the learning curve.

One you have BI (Blue Iris) runing well and have learned some basics then you could add a POE IP camera, chosen for its features and its desired duty, and a POE switch to power it and more cameras in the future. This "gradual" approach can help finacially as well.

I suggest you read the Wiki for :

• Choosing Hardware for Blue Iris
• Optimizing Blue Iris's CPU Usage
• Sub Stream Guide

Questions:

1. Are the cameras connected by CAT cables furnished in a Lorex kit? I ask because if they are there's a good chance they are CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum) which is NOT good, especially for POE-powered cameras.
2. What model of Lorex NVR and cameras?

 

[CottonTexas]

Thanks for the response. I'm currently running an all wifi system that consists of three floodlight cameras (V261LC), a bullet-style w/ LED (W482CAD), & a "Fusion" NVR (D881A8). There's a long & disappointing story of money wasted in hopes of making this a system that might become reliable, but it's a lost cause. Ideally, I would like to replace what I have with like-for-like on a POE system. I use the NVR with Fusion software for continuous recording & grabbing clips of naughty pedestrian vadals & potential thieves (though I've silenced all notifications because that's the only way to make my phone shut up every time it rains, a moth flies by, the wind blows, etc.), and I'd like to replace the NVR with BI on my home server. I use a super-cheap tablet to run the Lorex Android app to watch live-view almost constantly, and I've read that I'll likely have to switch to separate motion-sensing floodlights & cameras (though haven't found a box-shaped outdoor POE cam yet, let alone one with similar specs & features). I've read that the IPC-HFW5442T-AS-LED is the ideal replacement for my front camera (I like that the LED makes the camera an obvious deturrent when it illuminates would-be mailbox pirates), but it looks like it needs a dedicated 12v, & it's not just POE-powered. I'd also like to have Micro-SD redundancy & a 2.8mm wide-angle lense should keep the 360° vision that I currently have around my house, & sound recording is a must as well. I've never used the siren or intercom features, though I remember thinking how great it might be to have when I first got them.

I have two routers, one running in EXT-mode which I intend to plug to the POE switch - it's currently connected to all four cameras as their wifi efficiency has steadily deteriorated over time. The NVR (as well as the server) is in an outbuilding just behind the house along with the main router. Everything is plugged into UPS backups which is why I'd like to avoid running any more power cables than absolutely necessary.

I hate jumping off into the deep-end, especially because money is always tight ...made even worse now that I've already spent a small fortune on getting the system I have to [not] work, but I'm hoping that I can get this figured out in an efficient & timely manner with some assistance from my better peers here. I'll keep reading, but I'm pretty sure I'll never understand what a mega-pixie is, nor why it matters

Thanks, Cotton

 

[wittaj]

Welcome!

Many of us have gone down that path and have boxes and boxes of consumer grade junk that just didn't cut it.

I hate to think how many better cameras I could have if I just went there first.

And wifi cams just don't cut it as you are finding out.

With real cams and real AI, you false triggers become non-existent.

Yeah that two way audio stuff sounds cool, but most here after playing with it realize it is just gimmicky.

Yep, motion activated lights and these cameras are not friends. Camera does no good if it gets blinded during the money shot!

See this thread for the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value in terms of price and performance day and night.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

 

[CottonTexas]

@wittaj You saw me coming from a long ways with that post, huh? After all that reading, I basically just looked up the specs on what I have now, so that I can get something close since the quality is not really the issue for now (not in the way that funding is anyway).

When I saw the message about Win10 going the way of the dodo, I realized that the server I have now is soon to be obsolete, and I ran across this in one of the links posted above:

Generally speaking, if you can appreciate (and afford) an enterprise-grade server platform, your needs will be better met by enterprise-grade video management software instead of Blue Iris.

This has me wondering what other software is out there, just in case I find myself with a proper server, and I would guess that anything labelled "enterprise-grade" would likely be subscription based, no? I've heard of FOSS out there like Frigate, but the appeal of BI is that it's a one-&-done payment, with all the bells & whistles that one could expect from finished software, so I have to ask: Is there any comparable server software that might be recommended? TIA, Cotton

 

[wittaj]

Keep in mind if you go the BI route with Win10 that is ok. You are not using the computer for anything more than the VMS system so it is fairly secure and would still have current antivirus software on it. Unlike an NVR that doesn't run antivirus software.

An Enterprise solution is big bucks. Some of the cheaper ones charge per camera and the per camera price is more than BI, but most will be in the thousands of dollars.

For the typical homeowner, BI represents an incredible value.