Tnek

After stepping into the deep end here so to speak Im trying to get a crash course in how to use my PC for a NVR. My Dell with its i5 processor seems to not be up to the job depending on what I read. So from the experts here if you were going to use a PC for up to 4 3meg cameras and wanted to store/loop a weeks worth of each camera onto a external hard drive what would you buy? Keeping in mind this is for home use. It seems I would need to add a DVR card maybe as well.

I need to clarify my lack of understanding on this new for me area. I was referring to my overall desktop PC specs and what is needed. I must say Im sorry because networking/it is not my field. I am a manufacturing level guy. I deal with mostly PLCs, Robots, and until lately CNCs. Plus all of the ancillary electronics and industrial controls involved. Apples and oranges on many levels. When I said new box I ment just upgrading my PC desktop to a new one that met the needs of controlling and monitoring several cams and feeding the data to a storage HD and live viewing on a monitor and forwarding to mobile devices and even a hard wired TV as well. Id just rather see the money a NVR costs go to a upgrade and better merger of my home PC network after dealing with a analog cam set and dvr that was a PIA to use and access.

Another new guy feeling my way before I spend more money. I'm upgrading my home camera and was looking at a 2015 Hikvision V5.2.5 DS-2CD2632F-IS 3MP Bullet Camera Full HD 1080P POE Power Network 2.8-12mm Vari-focal Lens IP CCTV Camera via Amazon and plug it into my existing router my PC is on. Use Blue Iris software and use an external seagate 3 terabyte to store the video. The hard drive is plugged into my PC via a usb 3 cable. I plan to add 2 more cameras once the bugs are worked out. Is this viable or will I have problems? Am I going to have to buy a dedicated NVR and run a Ethernet to my netgear router I use for my PC? I have an older analog camera and dvr that are overdue for an upgrade.

Going to the overseas home of the company leads to a new 4meg bullet outdoor cam and its sold in a English version from a site about as big as Amazon so to speak. Legit? DS-2CD2T42WD-I3/I5/I8

If you are happy with blue iris and your pc has enough power for the extra cameras you will be fine. Blue iris is much more flexible than a standalone NVR. How much is enough power for my PC? We talking CPU speed or vid card or ? Seems to me a call to Dell for a new box is money better spent than a NVR. The Seagate HD will be remote in a 700 pound gun safe a few feet from the desk the PC is. The safe is currently where the DVR resides with a nice 4" box fan sitting on top of the case. BTW thanks for the input. I was starting to get bummed that I was going to have to drop another few hundred for a NVR.