Jump to content
lechols155

what is a good NVR software

Recommended Posts

From a business standpoint we have zero desire to use Bosch. Why sell software only your company has an agreement with the manufacturer to sell and then put a camera readily available to anyone on the system?

 

I'd say it's a strategic move for them to NOT support Bosch.

I don't quite get your point, but that might be due to the fact that English isn't my native language.

 

Chances are they support Bosch with ONVIF.

My experiances is that ONVIF is still a work in progress. It's a good idea but it doesn't quite work completely yet.

I would be really nice when it's fully operational though.

 

Don't get me wrong though, Bosch screws up big time with their IP/Software department with little support with other brands.

They're one of the frontman of ONVIF but their own VMS system (BVMS) doesn't even support it.

 

The thing I just wanted to point out, that I don't understand the popularity of a VMS software which only has such a small list of supported brands.

I personally would rather choose a VMS software which doesn't have direct ties to a specific hardware brand.

Then again, I recon it doesn't really matter much for installers who only build small installations, or even big installations where only 1 or 2 brands are used.

 

What do you consider a "big installation"

 

I would much rather use 1 or 2 brands of cameras. Its a lot easier to support.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi again

 

What is a good way to do two or three MP cams

 

I have a client that has analog cams and dvr but would like to add a could MP cameras in key areas.

what would recommend to just record the added mega pixel cameras.

 

My distributor mentioned HIKvision and they have a hybrid dvr. does anyone have any input on these?

 

thanks again

larry

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm thinking about getting a Hikvision DS-4208HFVI, and I want the ability to add some cheap vivotek (or other) megapixel cams in the future.

 

I'd like to know how comparable their hybrid solution is with other manufacturers IP cameras as well.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
My distributor mentioned HIKvision and they have a hybrid dvr. does anyone have any input on these?

 

 

Hi. take a close look at hik specs. they are not true hybrids. if you are thinking of using 1mp then your fine. thinking of using above 1mp you are just wasting your money.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I am curious as to what a true hybrid is.

 

What is the difference between a "true" hybrid and something that is not a true hybrid.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hi. take a close look at hik specs. they are not true hybrids. if you are thinking of using 1mp then your fine. thinking of using above 1mp you are just wasting your money.

 

 

 

 

what about the DS-9008 specs claim it cam do 8 BNC and 4 2MP cams. is there something you would recommend over HIK

 

thanks

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Hi. take a close look at hik specs. they are not true hybrids. if you are thinking of using 1mp then your fine. thinking of using above 1mp you are just wasting your money.

 

 

 

 

what about the DS-9008 specs claim it cam do 8 BNC and 4 2MP cams. is there something you would recommend over HIK

 

thanks

 

 

Video Compression: H.264

Analog Video Input: 8-ch, BNC(1.0Vp-p, 75Ω), PAL/NTSC adaptive

IP Video Input: 8-ch 4CIF/4-ch 720P Real Time, or 4-ch UXGA not Real Time

 

 

 

limited. should be determind via camera not dvr

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Hi. take a close look at hik specs. they are not true hybrids. if you are thinking of using 1mp then your fine. thinking of using above 1mp you are just wasting your money.

 

 

 

 

what about the DS-9008 specs claim it cam do 8 BNC and 4 2MP cams. is there something you would recommend over HIK

 

thanks

 

 

Video Compression: H.264

Analog Video Input: 8-ch, BNC(1.0Vp-p, 75Ω), PAL/NTSC adaptive

IP Video Input: 8-ch 4CIF/4-ch 720P Real Time, or 4-ch UXGA not Real Time

 

 

 

limited. should be determind via camera not dvr

 

 

 

gotcha thank you.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Isn't it only limited because you are getting what you pay for?

 

Maybe all you need is a few cameras, so they build a piece of hardware that can do what you need for a good price?

 

 

I'm sure every NVR or NVR Software has it's limits as well, or even the hardware it is built on.

 

 

I highly doubt you can go and hook up 50k 16MP cameras to some "real" hybrid nvr or software. It just isn't physically possibly unless your using some sort of clustered infrastructure (computer scientist by profession). If this is true, it you prove your claim of a "true" or "not true" NVR invalid.

 

I'm not a CCTV expert (i'm actually on the complete opposite end of the spectrum), but this makes a ton of sense to me.

 

 

If you can show me one NVR or NVR software that doesn't have a limit, either written in black and white, or and actual physical limit to the amount or cameras/resolution you can use, I will stick my foot in my mouth.

 

 

I think all they are saying is that 8-ch 4CIF/4-ch 720P Real Time is just the physical limit of that machine, and maybe they enforce the limit (or the limit is just so you know its abilities) in order to keep complaints saying that "my $1500 NVR can't record my 800 5MP cameras at 30FPS"

 

 

...or maybe I don't have a clear understanding of the definition: "true" NVR

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

recording (analog) compression S/W MJPEG/MPEG4/H.264

resolution NTSC: 352 x 240 (CIF), 720 x 240 (Half-D1), 720 x 480 (D1)

PAL: 352 x 288 (CIF), 640 x 480 (VGA), 720 x 288 (Half-D1), 720 x 576 (D1)

frame rate (NTSC/PAL) CIF: 480/400fps Half-D1: 240/200fps D1: 160/128fps

recording (IP) resolution each individual channel can support a maximum of 5 megapixels MPEG4/H.264/MJPEG; resolution of up to 42 megapixels total for all IP camera channels

 

 

a good hybrid takes its settings from the camera res and fps

 

 

hikvision (dahua) are using decoders in the dvr (thats why you can only add 4 ip)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
I highly doubt you can go and hook up 50k 16MP cameras to some "real" hybrid

 

 

well yes you can ...... but i dought if you would be using 16mp on a hybrid anyway ...... you would be looking at the likes of avigilon and there software.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

So you're saying that IP cameras encode/compress at the camera instead of using some sort of streaming protocol and let the NVR do the encoding/compression?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
So you're saying that IP cameras encode/compress at the camera instead of using some sort of streaming protocol and let the NVR do the encoding/compression?

 

Yes all IP cameras compress video at the camera. The NVR stores the data from the cameras on disk.

 

Yes Avigilon can support unlimited cameras including 29 MP cameras.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Since I dont have experience with any NVR software what are some of the great features that put systems like Aviglon etal above and beyond the little guys?

 

It seems like NVR's dont do any of the heavy lifting like encoding and are essentially management software running on a server. Assuming hardware available can handle the required throughput what am I looking for that makes NVR software superior?

 

Hardware aside it seems like it all comes down to management features and pricing structure.

 

I have a customer running all analogue, total of 64 shots over 4 legacy Everfocus DVR's. 2 of the DVR's fail intermittently so we are looking to replace or upgrade. The recorded video is useless at 1 CIF 5 frames. I realize going to a more robust DVR I could get 4CIF but its seems like that money may be better spent on an NVR with encoders and a few MP cams initially. I realize there will be other costs like switches, POE, POE extenders etc.

 

This is where It seems like the high end NVR (software only) may be overkill. The above customer in particular is ultimately only interested in archiving usable video (min 4CIF) and simple and fast method of searching through archives.

 

I guess I am looking to understand what makes an NVR system a better system?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

You could always look at a hybrid system, like Vigil - just connect your existing analog cams directly, then migrate them to IP cams as necessary.

 

You're right, an NVR at its most basic just accepts the video stream and writes it to disk. Beyond that, it needs to catalog the video and store the information in a database, so the VMS (video management system) software can later search the video effectively.

 

On the whole, the actual NVR function doesn't require a lot of power; it's the searching, indexing, and decoding of the video playback that takes most of the processing, and that's where your VMS comes in.

 

Vigil combines NVR and VMS into one interface, so whether you're working with all-analog, all-IP, or a mix, the interface is exactly the same - no learning curve as you move from analog to IP, no need to work with two different interfaces.

 

And you're right, the big difference in VMS software is the features - search, export, analytics, display options, etc. If you've ever used GeoVision - their "search" function isn't really much of a search; it's a clunky method of selecting date, time, and camera, all separately. Vigil's search is far more intuitive, cleaner, and more powerful. I can't speak for Exacq or Avigilon, as I haven't used those, but they've gotta be better than GV.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Since I dont have experience with any NVR software what are some of the great features that put systems like Aviglon etal above and beyond the little guys?

 

It seems like NVR's dont do any of the heavy lifting like encoding and are essentially management software running on a server. Assuming hardware available can handle the required throughput what am I looking for that makes NVR software superior?

 

Hardware aside it seems like it all comes down to management features and pricing structure.

 

I have a customer running all analogue, total of 64 shots over 4 legacy Everfocus DVR's. 2 of the DVR's fail intermittently so we are looking to replace or upgrade. The recorded video is useless at 1 CIF 5 frames. I realize going to a more robust DVR I could get 4CIF but its seems like that money may be better spent on an NVR with encoders and a few MP cams initially. I realize there will be other costs like switches, POE, POE extenders etc.

 

This is where It seems like the high end NVR (software only) may be overkill. The above customer in particular is ultimately only interested in archiving usable video (min 4CIF) and simple and fast method of searching through archives.

 

I guess I am looking to understand what makes an NVR system a better system?

 

The main thing is video playback / searching for video during an incident, and exporting the video. Seems very basic, but a lot of VMS's fail at it horribly and the end result is you spend 3 hours looking at 24 hours of video to find the 5 seconds you actually need. For viewing, some software lets you stitch images from multiple cameras together to display one single image.

 

Other features are how it stores data, using data aging (ie: new video might be 10fps, as it ages it gets recorded over to 9fps... 5fps... then eventually completely overwritten), how it manages multiple archivers, how it does backups, redundancy, failover, etc. Basically the server management portion.

 

You'll also find a lot of NVR's offer different kinds of integration to other systems like access control, alarm monitoring, mapping software, basic analytics, POS Transaction functions, different levels of scalability, bunch of little specific features you may or may not need like ability to view on an android/iphone/ipad.

 

Avigilon isn't the end all be all, but it's some pretty awesome stuff. Genetec and DvTel can compete with it, as I'm sure others can as well. Avigilon has an added bonus of offering their own line of high end IP cameras though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I've got pretty limited experience with NVRs, having just started testing them, but what I found with the bundled software on the NV5000 hybrid card is that recording IP cams doesn't require a lot of CPU power, but displaying them does.

 

With 3 1MP IP cams and an analog cam, I can display any single camera view with pretty low load, but if I put up all 4 in a quad window, the load jumps way up.

 

Makes sense, since displaying the video requires decoding it, which puts a lot of CPU load on an older system.

 

I'd also assume that the design and implementation of the codec would have a lot to do with the PC horsepower required, too, and you'd expect the high-end vendors to have better coding in their modules.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×