Which NVR would be better in my case.

[Hozzie 0]

Hi Everyone,

 

New to the forum, but I have been doing a lot of research and reading on here and the wealth of information is great. I am going to put in a new system in my house and I have decided to go with an NVR since I want the higher resolution camera's. With that said, I think I have narrowed my choices down to two different options. The first is the ION Series ESDV-NVRION-8 and the second will be one of the Dahua NVR's, either an NV3208 or the NV5216.

 

Basic info:

- I am not interested in a software only NVR. I want to set this up and leave it not worrying about an OS and such.

- I plan to initially install 5-6 cameras, but don't ever see needing over 8. They will all be Dahua.

- I will have 2 outside 3MP camera's and 3 or 4 inside 1.3MP cameras as their field of view doesn't really need as much MP.

- I will be buying an 8 Port POE Switch. This will only be dedicated and connected to my NVR.

- I am a technically capable of doing any network config and setup that is needed, so that isn't an issue.

- I will want to review footage remotely as I travel a lot. If there is something detected, I want to be able to check it out. A good web interface is important.

 

I have read a lot about max Bitrate, etc and understand in general the limits around these. Essentially, I see that the ION Series ESDV-NVRION-8 says it can support 240 FPS and 64MB of throughput. The NVR5216 supposedly has 64MB throughput and the FPS is a little harder to figure out by their specs (at least for me). The NVR3208 only supports 32MB. As the 5216 isn't that much more, I figured I would just go with it if I go Dahua.

 

Of course, there is a $300 difference between these NVR's and I am trying to figure out if there is a good reason to not go with the ION Series ESDV-NVRION-8. It is cheap, but I want something that is going to last and do what I need. I don't expect it to jump through hoops, but I do expect it to do what it was designed for. It may be that the software is so much better on the Dahua or vice-versa, or general performance is better on one or the other, but I don't have experience with either. I would appreciate any feedback, good or bad on either one as the specs seem to be really close other than I could go up to 16 channels on the Dahua.

 

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[buellwinkle 0]

These really inexpensive NVR's can be problematic and the one person that posted recently about his said it just didn't work and sent it back, so hard to say but you are limited to a small reseller than imports unknown brands from China and sells them cheap. I have one company in China that will sell me an 8 channel NVR for $60, but after testing their other product, not sure it's ready for primetime. Also, many of these inexpensive units may not support 3MP cameras or even if they do, not all at their full frame rate so ask first.

 

What's interesting is one of my Dahua distributors will be selling a 4 camera system with NVR for about the price of just a Dahua NVR alone with a U.S. warranty and support. Don't know the quality, but will take a look at it soon since they are local, but don't have my hopes up but you never know. My guess is that at ISC West, the big security trade show in Vegas, a little over a month away will have some new products in the lower price range.

[Hozzie 0]

Thanks, I have also heard good things about the Everfocus brand, but then we are talking $900 more than the Dahua. I am not completely opposed to going that route, but it better have some major advantages. I would really like to stay at $1500 for the NVR and 5 cameras and that is near impossible to do with one of the higher end NVR's. I don't really need support for Raid 10 and such that some of the higher end ones come with.

[buellwinkle 0]

As much as you said no software, it's really the most flexible approach. You can get a small footprint PC with a G2030 processor for under $300 and it's not much bigger than an NVR. You can get decent software for free or low cost. The biggest advantage for me is if it breaks I can fix it or get it fixed quickly. Imagine if in 2-3 years, any NVR breaks, how can you fix it, it's just throwaway unless it's just a hard drive that failed. So now you have to start your search over again, find a new one, learn the quirks, learn new smartphone apps. I've had my PC with NVR software running for 3 years, no problems, sits hidden in a cabinet, I can access it remotely with RDP if I need to see something, I have script that runs that checks each camera out daily in case one breaks I get notified, I can replace just about any component if need be from parts from Fry's or Microcenter quickly and I can add just about any camera, heck, just added at 10MP camera last week, lets see a cheap NVR do that.

[pcmcg 0]

You can get a small footprint PC with a G2030 processor for under $300 and it's not much bigger than an NVR. Y

 

I was just curious what type of system you have? Can you post any more info about it?

[Hozzie 0]

I could build a PC, but I don't want to mess with it, plus it will eat more energy. I think I have decided to go with the Dahua. If it doesn't work, I will have the cameras and I can always try a PC based system. I have a spare PC I can try it on now if I want to compare, but I am really looking for something I don't have to think about too much. I want to just set it up and let it go. From everything I have read, this setup should work well for me.

[MaxIcon 0]

I've found dedicated NVRs to be more stable in the long run than PC based NVRs. That said, I only run PC based systems personally, but prefer dedicated NVRs for the few commercial systems I support.

[shockwave199 0]

What one are you choosing? From what you say you want out of a system, the ESDV-NVRX-8P looks like a good fit for you.

[drocer 0]

- I plan to initially install 5-6 cameras, but don't ever see needing over 8. They will all be Dahua.

- I will have 2 outside 3MP camera's and 3 or 4 inside 1.3MP cameras as their field of view doesn't really need as much MP.

- I will be buying an 8 Port POE Switch. This will only be dedicated and connected to my NVR.

 

That NVR ION thing can only do 1080p(2.1MP)*8. 3MP might be doable but you won't get 8 channels or frame rate will suffer. Just a heads up on buying 3MP camera's and not being able to use 3MP mode.

 

Agreed 100% about separate PoE from the NVR. Less to break and the greatest thing--fanless versions available.

 

I almost when with that ION NVR but didn't like being stuck in one brand, 2.1MP max, and I was starting with 8 cameras so adding another one meant ditching the unit. I don't know about Dahua's PSS software but Hikvision's PCNVR is dead easy and very light on resources.