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Had my contractor pull all the cables and my home is ready for me to pull the trigger and get a NVR + 4 IP cameras... but I got cold feet/second thoughts. Do I really want a NVR? My thoughts why not: 1/ NVR will make noise (it is my bedroom closet) 2/ NVR uses more energy (==$) 3/ NVR SW is I read pretty clunky (Swann, Avertx, Qsee) 4/ I don't really need 24/7 recording What I need: 1/ on demand (motion) recording 2/ notifications (email, sms, app: some subset of these is fine) 3/ access to the images and videos from phone/remote pc So if not NVR, could I use: 1/ same type of high quality IP cameras, but connect them to a simpler that just facilitates uploading the images to the cloud or recording on the camera itself? 2/ using gdrive, box etc' as cloud storage 3/ power the camera with a PoE switch? If anyone has an opinion on NVR vs not, and if not, what alternative will make use of my already wired setup. thanks!

big conflict here and not much time (going to have plywood close the access in 10 days!) 1/ In general, are systems with NVR like https://www.costco.com/AvertX-8-Channel-HD-IP-NVR-with-4TB-HDD%2c-4-4MP-Cameras-with-100'-Night-Vision.product.100305629.html worth it these days, have a local box and a worse overall software (and mobile app) compared to the more "modern" Nest, Piper, Ring etc' ? 2/ What is the electrical cost of running such NVR + 3 IP Cameras? maybe when I hear that, than paying $100 to ring or nest per years will not sound so bad.. The above is to get external cameras. for internal, I think a more generic smartThings security system is what I will do (or piper). So really, what I want is 2 or 3 outside camera so I get some records of people coming/going into my property before and regardless of if they actually break inside. I just don't want to miss the opportunity now that my walls and ceiling is wide open if I need to run cat5 cables...

big conflict here and not much time (going to have plywood close the access in 10 days!) 1/ In general, are systems with NVR like https://www.costco.com/AvertX-8-Channel-HD-IP-NVR-with-4TB-HDD%2c-4-4MP-Cameras-with-100'-Night-Vision.product.100305629.html worth it these days, have a local box and a worse overall software (and mobile app) compared to the more "modern" Nest, Piper, Ring etc' ? 2/ What is the electrical cost of running such NVR + 3 IP Cameras? maybe when I hear that, than paying $100 to ring or nest per years will not sound so bad.. The above is to get external cameras. for internal, I think a more generic smartThings security system is what I will do (or piper). So really, what I want is 2 or 3 outside camera so I get some records of people coming/going into my property before and regardless of if they actually break inside. I just don't want to miss the opportunity now that my walls and ceiling is wide open if I need to run cat5 cables...

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Thanks @JoeyJoey! Drilling down on the "yes": do the cameras support - motion detection built in -> trigger email notification? - motion detection built in -> trigger email notification with snapshot image? - live stream on demand? - save video/image snapshots to locale SD (or remote FTP?) on motion detection - save video/image snapshots to locale SD (or remote FTP?) on schedule Again, assume no NVR. that is, I don't refer to a setup running a PC with BI as an NVR replacement, I mean _no_ NVR, o software... thanks hernan

anyone knows if you can use and access the cameras without the NVR? just wondering, if later the NVR fails, can I still use the IP cameras by hooking them directly to the router (via POE switch). thanks

can you confirm that these cams can do the 4 tasks I mentioned though? I have an old Panasonic IP cam now connected to my router... can do all of that except it is crappy quality and indoor. (plus side though, it has IR Vs video sensor for motion detection). Hence I seem to like the simplicity. What extra things do you suggest VMS let you do (I can think of one: record 24x7 video so you can go back and look at any time and any day in the last week... but if motion activation works, I just don't see the value). BTW, this is for home use, not monitoring a warehouse for example...

Q2U, thanks for managing this thread, spent 20 min reading all of it and am learning tons. Questions: 1. Anyone thinks it is possible/good idea to use these cameras with no nvr (no PC based either). Do they have enough features on the cam itself to power use cases like - motion detection email alerts - snapshot image attachment to email - in addition to email with 1 image, multiple triggered snapshots to SD card on cam, NAS or ftp - trigger some simple sound alarm 2. do you need an expensive POE switch? it seems that what you are using is ~$100-$200, that makes me thing that the appliance NVR might be a better bet just for that reason (-:

I hope I am not forking into a new topic, but many folks mentioned the NVR Vs. PC issue in this thread. My question is: any of you tried just using the IP cams "as-is" with no NVR (PC or appliance). Seems to me that you get a much simpler setup, no wasted energy (or fan noise) from the NVR, and you (at least I) get all the benefits I need: 1. email alert with snapshot (I hope you can customize how many and at which rate you want snapshots to be recorded once motion is detected) 2. local recording triggered by motion of images (I assume video as well, but I don't get why would you want video when images should be higher-res with higher sharpness, making face recognition easier) 3. I saw some cameras had "alarm out" (?) which I assume means can trigger audible alarm. 4. direct over the internet access to see live feeds I am new to these systems, so 1-4 above are more of what I think I know, but likely you can talk some sense into me... please! (-:

I see these IP cameras support on cam SD card. so I could put 32GB card per cam to record multiple images. that should be a lot. Unless I do video of course... but aren't the cameras ability to take multiple (I hope high FPS) image snapshots just as good or better than video? again, for _home_ use...

Hi. I have been playing with an old, low quality Panasonic IP camera connected to my router. I have been getting emails triggered by motion detection (with one image snapshot), and I can access it via the cell phone or browser for live feed. I have been wanting to upgrade to a more indoor/outdoor 1080p solution with higher quality cameras like the ones Costco sells (AvertX, Q-See or Swann). My question: Fro home use, my main use case is: 1. motion detection email with a picture so I can actually know _something_ is happening 2. larger amount of pictures/video for evidence in case something happens inside the house (or very close to the house) that I can go and review. I understand one thing you need an NVR for: to go and review video from any time during the last week for example... but I suspect that is not very common need for home use. Does anyone recommend I get an NVR? I fear the extra box consuming energy and one more thing that can break, so I appreciated insight on the value and why it will make my setup better, thanks HErnan