Mini nvr questions

[reeves1985 0]

Apologies this is posted in two separate catagories as I wasn't sure which one was best

 

I'm in the process of upgrading an analogue system on my home which currently runs 4 700tvl unbranded chinese cameras

They've been running approx 2 years and I've been happy with the peformance.

 

I'm looking at getting 2/4 of the hikvision 3mp bullets to run an ip based system. Now I know everything from cables to dvr will need upgrading.

Whilst for the moment I will initially get 2 hiks it will in time be running 4 max

 

Looking at the nvr side of things has anybody any experience with mini nvr's from china

Looking at the spec sheets they seem to be able to do what I want them to.

Aldo I have been unable to identify if they can run internal drives or are they only external as they do only look small

 

I've been searching for any information I can on them but haven't been able to find any

 

Thanks guys

[luckyfella 0]

I'll save you all the headaches and searching and research. If your buying a hikvision IP camera, buy a hikvision NVR.

[Securame 0]

Feel free to post a link of one of those mini NVRs.

 

I purchased one for testing, and it is quite good as a brick. It was supposed to work with ONVIF cameras, but I was unable to get it working with any of the cameras I tried.

[reeves1985 0]

Link of one here:

 

m.aliexpress.com/item/1393000601.html

 

I will be wanting to use with hikvision cameras

[reeves1985 0]

I'll save you all the headaches and searching and research. If your buying a hikvision IP camera, buy a hikvision NVR.

 

Thanks for the reply

Is there any particular reason for that other than the motion detection compatibility?

[Securame 0]

Link of one here:

m.aliexpress.com/item/1393000601.html

 

I will be wanting to use with hikvision cameras

 

I did try one unit that looks like that one, but the external enclosure is black. It did not detect any camera I tried it with, Hikvision, Dahua, other ONVIF cameras... It was junk.

 

I am sure there are different manufacturers, so results may vary. If you try one, please post back with your results.

[reeves1985 0]

If i do get one I will definitely post the results

 

I'm debating whether to take a gamble and see what happens or just pay out the extra for a hikvision nvr

 

I was assured it will work with hikvision but not the motion detection which is irrelevant to my needs

[xmas2000 0]

Aldo I have been unable to identify if they can run internal drives or are they only external as they do only look small

I've been searching for any information I can on them but haven't been able to find any Thanks guys

It is way too small for a hard drive... It is just a little larger than a pack of cigarettes. I have been looking at them too but I have an idea that they are not going to detect many if any cameras automatically. I have one on order to see if you can configure the cameras manually. I guess I will know in a few weeks...

Edited February 17, 2014 by Guest

[Securame 0]

Ooops, allow me to update on this. I got a firmware update for my unit, and now it works fine and detectes all my Hikvision and Dahua cameras. I still have not been able to test recording on the unit. Here are some thoughts so far:

 

- I still do have 2 ONVIF cameras that are not detected. I don't care about them.

- The menus suck. I am used to Hikvision and Dahua interfaces/menus; the ones I have on this unit are a lot worse.

- I still have not been able to do any recording. The USB pendrive is there, but I just have not figured out on this interface how to record.

- The streams on the cameras have to be the same, or they won't work. That is, you have 4 cameras? They better be able to work all of them at the same resolution (1920x1080, 1080x720) or it won't work. You can not have 2 cameras at 1920x1080 and 2 cameras at 1080x720.

- I still did not try any remote access... but it is supposed to be there.

[xmas2000 0]

Who or where did you get the updated firmware???

 

This is good news for me and gives me more hope that it might really work..

Edited February 18, 2014 by Guest

[reeves1985 0]

Ooops, allow me to update on this. I got a firmware update for my unit, and now it works fine and detectes all my Hikvision and Dahua cameras. I still have not been able to test recording on the unit. Here are some thoughts so far:

 

- I still do have 2 ONVIF cameras that are not detected. I don't care about them.

- The menus suck. I am used to Hikvision and Dahua interfaces/menus; the ones I have on this unit are a lot worse.

- I still have not been able to do any recording. The USB pendrive is there, but I just have not figured out on this interface how to record.

- The streams on the cameras have to be the same, or they won't work. That is, you have 4 cameras? They better be able to work all of them at the same resolution (1920x1080, 1080x720) or it won't work. You can not have 2 cameras at 1920x1080 and 2 cameras at 1080x720.

- I still did not try any remote access... but it is supposed to be there.

 

Thanks for the update as I haven't yet pulled the trigger and am debating if I should just use it as a excuse to build another pc dedicated to ip cameras

 

Food for thought though as this would have to pass the mrs test first as it would be substantially bigger than a dedicated nvr

 

Which would be in the bedroom as I like to keep a monitor on 24/7 for viewing pleasure! (My area seems to be nocturnal)

[Securame 0]

Who or where did you get the updated firmware???

 

This is good news for me and gives me more hope that it might really work..

 

I got it from the manufacturer. I really don't think they actually manufacture the unit, it is probably from some other factory, since I have seen these units sold by a few companies already. But they are the company that provided me the sample back at CPSE. They contacted me to ask if I liked the unit, I told them I was unable to use it at all, and they have been helping me troubleshoot some issues. I still think it is not a mature enough unit and I can still not call it "good", but now it is not "bad" also. I also did not get any useful manuals/software with the unit (everything on the included CD was in chinese).

 

Which would be in the bedroom as I like to keep a monitor on 24/7 for viewing pleasure! (My area seems to be nocturnal)

 

One thing I did think was that the unit at least would be great as a 4ch 1080p decoder. You just want to view 4 cameras 1080p on a VGA computer monitor? This would be a cheap way to do it, and hey, if it can also do recording on USB stick, that would be even better.

[xmas2000 0]

Well, I got my Super Mini NVR and have had a little time to play with it. (Not enough time)

Some thoughts:

 

On my network I have 5 different brands of cameras and the "auto detect" did not find any of them. (I kind of expected that) I have now manually configured 3 cameras and 2 of the 3 work great! (So far still working on that third one)

 

Note: None on the network were Hikvision or DaHua..

 

The menus are very intuitive and so far everything I have tried works like it should. I have recorded to the eSATA HHD and can play it back without problems. It records and plays back in full 1920X1080 so that is good.

 

I wish I had more time to play with it but that is all the information I have for now.... More when I get the time!

[xmas2000 0]

Well after playing with the mini NVR a little more I am impressed with its capability’s and the smoothness of operation. More than I thought I would be.

If it would detect the cameras, I have, it would be much nicer but once you have them configured, they work great! Except the cameras, that I have that do not support duel streams. They work but do not show in preview mode. Once you click on the camera you can see the full stream @ 1920X1080 and it will record, you just cannot see them in preview. The other cameras, when in the preview mode, show you the Sub stream, set to 320x176, and then switch to the main stream when you double click on them for full screen viewing. All recordings are in 1920X1080. You can only view one channel at a time in the playback mode. I have not gotten the motion detect to work on any camera and for now just recording all cameras 24/7.

This mini NVR is as good, if not better, than the DaHua 3216 that I was using.

[reeves1985 0]

That's good to know they work ok

 

I ended up using an old laptop an set it up with nas4free and use that as a server for motion recording but I am still undecided what to use for 24/7 viewing/monitoring I may actually get one for that sole purpose

 

It's either going to be one of these mini nvr or use an android pc but I can't seem to find any reviews on the android pc to see how well they can handle multiple cameras

 

If i do go down the android route I can use hikvisions ivms android client to view the remote recordings from nas

[xmas2000 0]

I just ordered two Hikvision cameras to try out with the mini NVR to see if I can get the motion detection to work with them. Another few weeks wait. As of right now, I am still using BI so I do not have to view the whole day of recording to find an event.

[Securame 0]

My two cents.

 

- Motion detection did not work at all with any cameras I tried.

- I did get the unit recording on a 32Gb USB stick. It only gave me like 20-22Gb available for whatever reason.

- It must use a propietary file system, since inserting the USB stick on a computer only gave me the format prompt. That means that if I want to play back the recordings on a computer, first I need to export them to another USB stick, eSATA device, etc. (there are only two USB ports, so it would not be fun to connect two USB sticks and a mouse at the same time).

- Web interface was in chinese, so I could not try anything at all.

 

This is not yet a mature product. It can, and has to get a lot better. It is cool for the small size, recording on USB stick, etc.

 

But so far as I said on my other post, the best usage I see for it is as a 4ch 1080p decoder, so you can view 4 cameras easily on any TV without the need of a computer.

[xmas2000 0]

Good morning Mind Twist. Morning for me.. I have it hooked to an eSATA drive and I also tried the USB to a 2TB hard drive and both work fine... The manual said it uses a zero track something to increase the record time on a drive but I forgot what it said exactly.

So far the manual has been a great help with the exception of configuring the cameras. It seems to think they are all configured automatically. That never happened. None of the junk I have has ever been detected by a NVR... HA hahhhaa Just too old I guess.

[Securame 0]

Good morning Mind Twist. Morning for me.. I have it hooked to an eSATA drive and I also tried the USB to a 2TB hard drive and both work fine...

 

Did you try connecting them to a computer to see if you can watch the recordings there?

[xmas2000 0]

To tell you the truth I never thought about it but I will try that later on today and see if it works..

[xmas2000 0]

You can't view it on a windows machine. Most likely the drive is formatted using Linux and that is where the problem is. I can export video to a USB stick in H264 or AVI and view it on a Windows computer.

 

The way I look at it is, without motion detection working it is not worth much to me. I will make an effort to get it working but I can't put trust in it until that happens.

[goabroad 0]

Hi,

 

What software/firmware version do You have in Your units?

What stores did You buy from?

 

I have ordered one mini nvr (from here: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/SUPER-MINI-NVR-Network-Digital-Video-Recorder-Drop-Ship-With-Tracking-Number-Free-Drop-Shipping-with/1542380109.html) to record garden and parking at front of the house 24/7. Once received I will check my device, however I do not have IP cam yet. The seller was ensuring me that this nvr is the latest version from their factory (I believe from the same factory as other similiar units)

 

I was thinking about buying some hikvision ip cam due to good opinions but now I am hesiteting a little bit and maybe would be good to buy another cheap IP cam from aliexpress...

 

Regarding file system, I think this NVR is using some linux ext2 or ext3 or ext4 file system.

[winkiwin 0]

Hi

 

Have just registered to add to this topic.

 

I purchased the 8 channel version and have got 2 cams running at 720 on it. I believe you have to set all cams to the same res for the unit to work. I have attached a 500gb usb 3 drive and this is working fine - needs formatting from the machine as mentioned above. The manual states it uses a save method that records data in one constant stream from the inner to outer track and then overwrites, this is presumably to ease the life of the hard drive.

 

After setting my cams to 720 - the nvr found them and populated the basic details with no hassle.

 

I have tried to set the motion detection but I cant get it to work. I think it is more of an interface to the cams onboard detection rather than the nvr and as such would be very hit and miss for non matched hardware, though hopefully ONVIF may help with this eventually.

 

As i am running low res, on playback, both cams are shown.

 

I am currently exploring the remote access side of it as I intend for it to run in my attic. the software is very touchy about IE, my main pc shows the login screen but my laptop shows a chinese page. I have set the active x settings like for like and have downgraded to IE9.

 

An annoying aspect is that when remote accessing when you log off all the setup is lost, not the cams but the screen setup - i.e a 4 grid view.

[goabroad 0]

Hi

 

I am currently exploring the remote access side of it as I intend for it to run in my attic. the software is very touchy about IE, my main pc shows the login screen but my laptop shows a chinese page. I have set the active x settings like for like and have downgraded to IE9.

 

An annoying aspect is that when remote accessing when you log off all the setup is lost, not the cams but the screen setup - i.e a 4 grid view.

 

Hi,

 

Thanks for sharing Your opinion.

You can also try Crome web browser with IE tab add-on installed (it supoorts ActiveX). I have some analog DAHUA DVR which also needs IE and activeX but it works perfectly with chrome IE tab

I'm not sure but Firefox may also have some plugin to work with IE activeX.

 

Before buying I asked the seller for manual to the mini NVR and it was mentioned there that this unit was tested with following HDD:

 

"The product supports external HDD only, including mobile HDD, hard-disk cartridge with E-SATA port.

We have tested following HDD brands and model numbers work with the mini NVR:

Seagate Backup Plus 1TB 2.5’’ USB3.0 mobile HDD, Model No.: STBU1000300

Seagate Expansion 1TB 2.5’’ USB3.0 mobile HDD, Model No.: STBX1000301

Seagate Expansion 2TB 3.5’’ USB3.0 external HDD, Model No.: STBV2000300

Western Digital (WD) Elements 1TB 2.5’’ USB3.0 mobile HDD, Model No.: WDBUZG0010BBK"

 

I have got 2,5' SATA HDD which I am planning to connect via following cable:

 

I think it is also possible to connect 3,5 SATA HDD with external power supply 12V. USB port is 5V only which is ok with 2,5 HDD.

 

What is the firmware version of Your unit?

Maybe firmware/software is being developed and in latest version it automatically discover cameras.

 

My NVR has been shipped and I am awaiting it in about 20 days. In the meantime I am still thinking which IP cam to buy...

[xmas2000 0]

Hi

 

Have just registered to add to this topic.

 

I purchased the 8 channel version and have got 2 cams running at 720 on it. I believe you have to set all cams to the same res for the unit to work. I have attached a 500gb usb 3 drive and this is working fine - needs formatting from the machine as mentioned above. The manual states it uses a save method that records data in one constant stream from the inner to outer track and then overwrites, this is presumably to ease the life of the hard drive.

 

After setting my cams to 720 - the nvr found them and populated the basic details with no hassle.

 

I have tried to set the motion detection but I cant get it to work. I think it is more of an interface to the cams onboard detection rather than the nvr and as such would be very hit and miss for non matched hardware, though hopefully ONVIF may help with this eventually.

 

Hi winkiwin, Thank you for taking the time to help with the Mini NVR.

 

I also have the 8 channel one and it is using firmware version 4.0 dated 11Dec2013.

I think you are right about an onboard interface to the cameras motion detection... I don't think it has the horsepower to do it on it's own.

As far as using IE I am still on IE-11 but running it in compatibility mode without problems.

 

None of my cameras have been detected... (AXIS, Pelco, Anran, Going) So I am curious about what you are using?? I have 2 Hikvision on order but that will be a while before they get here...