IP Cameras: Do I need the NVR?

[csmba 0]

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

[blake 0]

I would suggest you get an nvr just for the mere fact of being able to go back and review footage for whatever reason and not just that one snapshot that you get on your phone.There is always a leading up to and after the fact that you also need to concern yourself with.

[shockwave199 0]

The biggest plus for a hardware nvr box is familiarity and hard drive storage. An nvr is like a dvr- the same type of experience. But considering the file sizes you'll be dealing with, putting a large hard drive in the box is a must. I put a 3tb hard drive in the dahua I just installed and that should hold for a couple of months or more at a busy commercial facility where motion keeps it recording, but activity drops way off overnight and weekends. But I wouldn't settle on anything less than 2tbs. Forget a 500gb or even 1tb drive. If you're gonna get a box, fill it with storage room. You're gonna need it if you want some holding time.

[csmba 0]

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...

[vector18 1]

It is all your choice and what you need it for. You already know the benefits of a 'recorder' and you and only you

should know if you need one or not. If your only looking for snap shots of a motion event and than you will log

into the camera to see whats going on, there is no need to worry about fps. FPS will only matter if your recording

to an nvr. The snapshot is a still image, there are no frames or seconds there, lol. And lastly, you keep mentioning 'for home use'.

You do realize probably about 99.9 percent of homes with camera systems record their cameras, right?

[MaxIcon 0]

Most snapshot settings won't take very many frames per second, but it depends on the camera. By the time you get enough to be equal to low frame rate video (say, 5 fps), you'd save space with video due to MPEG or h.264 compression. Snapshots will be better quality for each frame (this is why they're larger), but this then depends on the quality settings the camera supports.

 

A 32GB card won't record much 1080p video, and accessing the video can go from very easy to a huge pain, depending on the camera's firmware. Likewise, if the card needs to be removed or changed, this can be difficult, again depending on the camera's design. All these things need to be looked at.

 

Really, this is simple. Do you want to record video? You need a video recorder, unless you only want small amounts that will fit on the 32GB card.