Newbie bought 3 hikvision cams (3MP) needs an NVR

[tms21 0]

Hello everybody. I would like to say this forum has been excellent. I learned about the Hikvision quality here. After a almost a week of looking I finally ordered 2 of the bullets 2032, and 1 Exir turret 2332. I also bought myself a TG link 8 port POE switch TP-LINK TL-SG1008P. I live in a row house in New York so I think 3 cameras will be enough.

My next step is deciding on an NVR system. I dont mind paying for quality but since I only have 3 3MP cams, could someone please recommend a good fit?

 

It appears that a Hikvision NVR would be a good choice for compatibility. I also heard about blue iris. I have a macbook air from 2011, basic 1.4 GHz intel core duo with 2GB memory. would this work for blue iris? I am sorry if I sound ignorant but I have almost no knowledge in this area and it seems everyone here is advanced with computers and cam systems.

 

I would prefer to use a NVR. I know I'm in for a hell of a time setting it all up but I saved the link to a few videos that simply the setup. Drilling through the brick outside is gonna be fun too lol.

 

Thank you very much for everyones time and expertise.

[Linwood 0]

I just bought 7 Hikvision cameras including 6 of the DS-2CD2332-I's, and spent a lot of time looking at software without really finding on that I was completely happy with, but I did find some good choices.

 

If you are not very computer literate I would consider Blue Iris if you are running windows (you mentioned a Macbook Air which is normally not running windows, but I did not look for any mac products). It is simple and has lots of features. However... it is a real CPU hog. But there is a trial version and you can give it a try and see if it keeps up. Hint: reduce the frame rate, you don't need 20-30fps for a security system, consider 4-6, helps a lot with CPU issues.

 

I am using ZoneMinder, which is linux based, but is mostly for someone who likes to tinker with linux.

 

I was also pleasantly surprised by a little known product called Xeoma. It was the exact opposite of ZoneMindr -- you CANNOT tinker with it at the OS level, they give you almost no configuration options. But they give you a lot of features you can set up (e.g. motion detection, email on alarms, frame capture, web input and output), but it's practically zero configuration at the OS level. Also has a free trial (but a weird one that resets every 4 hours -- but is good forever).

 

All that said not sure a macbook air is really a good solution, period, especially with 2GB of memory (which is pretty tiny when considering many frames buffered of 3mp images, multiply 2048 x 1536 x 24 x 3 and you see one frame from each is already about 230MB, and keeping pre- and post-alarm buffers means usually quite a number of frames.

[tms21 0]

Thank you for your reply. I think I am going to buy an NVR, should I go with hikvision NVR or is there a dahua that will be fairly easy to configure.

[trooper 0]

I bought everything hikvision, easier that way. Thats if you go for a NVR.

 

If your using a PC Avigilon is one of the best to run on PC, I have heard the algorithms help you zoom in and make it clearer like a CSI TV thing.

[ak357 0]

I bought everything hikvision, easier that way. Thats if you go for a NVR.

 

If your using a PC Avigilon is one of the best to run on PC, I have heard the algorithms help you zoom in and make it clearer like a CSI TV thing.

You right Trooper

Avigilon rocks