Yup, another newbie here......I've sandbagging for a while trying to find the answers but haven't yet. I'm looking to build a home system using
Blue Iris. Before I buy anything I want to be clear as to just what I need to see cameras footage on my smart phone. I'd rather not leave my PC on all the time but don't quite understand what else is needed for equipment to post to the web for viewing remotely. A general system layout would be helpful.
Pretty much everything lets you view on your phone. But if you use Blue Iris you will need to leave the PC on all the time to accomplish this. As long as you have cameras loaded in Blue Iris, and have a port forwarded through your router to Blue Iris, then you can view remotely. Alternatively if you have a VPN server feature on your router you could connect to that and then log in directly to the cameras with an app like TinyCam or IP Cam Viewer -- no Blue Iris and no NVR required.
I have BI installed without issue and can connect to my webcam. Before I buy cameras, I want to be sure that all components will be compatible with each other.
Almost all IP cameras work with Blue Iris. The problem is if you buy the wrong brands they can be unreliable -- and most brands out there are the wrong brands (more on this later).
I do want at least one PTZ cam.
This is one of the best value PTZs you can get right now. For outdoors anyway.
Dahua SD49225T-HN
For indoors, Dahua SD29204T-GN is pretty good.
For non-PTZs, Dahua IPC-HDW5231R-Z is a very popular model.
Also do I need a NVR or can I save footage in the cloud using a DSL connection?
Blue Iris is a replacement for an NVR. So if you have Blue Iris, you do not need an NVR. Saving footage in the cloud via DSL is not necessarily a good idea unless the recordings are few and far between. DSL usually has low upload speed, and sometimes even data caps. Far more common is for you to store video on the computer's hard drive(s).
I hate the idea of buying equipment that I'll end up regretting later or that doesn't work with other equipment. Please share your ideas.
Thanks. Steven
Dahua and Hikvision are both high quality brands, so I suggest you pick one of those and stick with it. Lately I feel like Dahua has been doing a better job than Hikvision, but I think you would not be disappointed with either. You'll notice there aren't a lot of wifi options with Dahua and Hikvision cameras, and this is for a good reason. Wifi is terrible for security cameras. Don't connect cameras with wifi and you'll be happier for it.
Besides cameras, you need a decent computer for Blue Iris, a PoE switch, and some quality
cat5e or cat6 network cable. You want cable with pure copper conductors. Don't get cables with CCA -- Copper-clad aluminum.
