Comparing NVR vs PC for a single camera system.

[jasauders 0]

My soon to be in-law's would like to have some eyes on their beach house. Nothing major, just basic surveillance. Since there's nothing outdoors on the property, they opted to go for an indoor camera with IR to save a few bucks. After all, if they want to get in, they'll get in, and an outdoor or indoor camera will catch them in the act regardless, hence their leaning towards the indoor camera idea.

 

I think a simple system is all they need. Just something to check on and set up email alerts. I'm thinking the camera I got that I use for puppy patrol when we're gone would be good, which is a Foscam FI8918w. Simple PTZ, IR, wireless, etc.

 

For a single camera system, I'm not sure what kind of processing power it'll need. I have some spare desktops sitting around which might fit the bill. I have a basic Pentium 4 desktop as well as a Pentium Dual Core desktop. I would think the Pentium DC would be good.

 

HDD space wise, I have about 250gb, and would likely run Linux with ZoneMinder if I went with the software route. I assume this would be enough for housing at least 2 weeks worth of camera footage from a single cam?

 

OR

 

I could just get an NVR system. Problem is, I don't have some parts to build an NVR system like I do with the computer idea, plus I'm not familiar enough with brands to go to town with looking at potential options a while. That said, I want the option on the table. Can anybody recommend a good simple basic NVR that would handle one IP based (possibly even wireless, not entirely sure) camera?

 

Thanks for the input!

[tomcctv 190]

to be honest going though build your own just for a foscam is a lot of work for a basic camera.

 

look at a 4 way aver or dahua. hide the dvr in the holiday home and you will have a better system. plus its not an expensive way to have 4 cameras and you can also cover outdoors. network it all watch from anything remote and even record to another PC.

 

holiday homes are best with more than 1 camera incase 1 goes down.

[Ben Miller 0]

Hey JASauders,

 

First off, I think tom cctv is right that just using one camera is a bit risky unless you can just take a quick jaunt up to the vacation home if something goes wrong. That said, it's totally understandable that you just want to use what you have on hand.

 

In my experience, for one camera a 250GB system using a Pentium Dual Core would suit your situation fine. It would also allow you to use remote viewing and you could keep an eye on it on your phone or laptop during the "away" time from the vacation home.

 

I think a simple computer system would do the job nicely, though you'd need a capture card or something. If you want more ideas, I can send you a PM if you'd like with links, etc.

Edited May 16, 2012 by Guest

[Soundy 1]

I could just get an NVR system. Problem is, I don't have some parts to build an NVR system like I do with the computer idea, plus I'm not familiar enough with brands to go to town with looking at potential options a while. That said, I want the option on the table. Can anybody recommend a good simple basic NVR that would handle one IP based (possibly even wireless, not entirely sure) camera?

A computer CAN be an NVR, just needs the appropriate NVR software. Blue Iris, Exacq, Avigilon, Video Insight are all examples of NVR software.

 

You could also just get a camera that records internally, like the one in the ad to the left... no PC/NVR/etc required.

[jasauders 0]

You could also just get a camera that records internally, like the one in the ad to the left... no PC/NVR/etc required.

 

That's funny you bring that up. I just got that idea in my head and came on here to ask that exact question... so I suppose could just get a really nice indoor camera with support for SD card storage, get a massively huge SD card, and set everything to store there. Then forward the camera IP through the router and from there they can play back motion detected events (pending that the camera software supports it) and whatnot right from the camera's web GUI... am I on the right track? That sounds like a great idea...

[Soundy 1]

That's funny you bring that up. I just got that idea in my head and came on here to ask that exact question... so I suppose could just get a really nice indoor camera with support for SD card storage, get a massively huge SD card, and set everything to store there. Then forward the camera IP through the router and from there they can play back motion detected events (pending that the camera software supports it) and whatnot right from the camera's web GUI... am I on the right track? That sounds like a great idea...

Not just on the right track, you're right in the middle of the street

 

Most cams that use SD format support SDHC, which is up to 32GB... with motion-detect recording and some properly-applied masking, that should give you weeks if not months of recording (since in theory, it should very rarely actually have to record anything).

 

I don't know about others, but the Dahua-made cameras will easily support live viewing and SD playback through their PSS software, and I believe you can playback video through the web interface as well.

[jasauders 0]

Very nice. I'll look into them. I don't have much experience with too many brands, but I've heard the Vivotek interface is decent. My buddy has one and told me about some of the features and it sounds somewhat comparable. I actually have one on the way but I haven't received it yet to see what it's all about.

 

The only downside is if somebody does break in and manages to find the camera, there's the feed... gone... however if they can get away from the need of a DVR/NVR based on one, solid, quality camera, I think they'd likely go the extra mile to ensure it's well hidden and out of plain view. An indoor PTZ with IR camera would be absolutely optimal. Time to do some digging...

 

It'd be nice if I could rig the thing up to back up to a cloud NAS... like ssh the video feed to my server, which runs 247... that way if someone walks in, oh hi camera, and jacks the feed, it's still mostly processed on my server to at least get a face. Probably dreaming there, but hey, I'm allowed.

[Soundy 1]

You could probably get away with cloud backup for the same reason you won't need a massive amount of storage: fixed camera, vacation property, motion record, there really shouldn't be that much video data to worry about. Again, cameras like the Dahuas can automatically send to FTP on alarm inputs, so you could potentially wire it to an alarm panel, or even just directly to a door trigger, and have it send to your server as soon as something sets it off.

 

I wouldn't even bother with PTZ in this case - it's going to add a BIG chunk to the price, and won't really do any good unless you have it running on a constant tour or pattern, in which case you'll be constantly recording and/or transmitting, and eating up the storage and bandwidth.