Fo show 0 Posted March 8, 2018 I currently have a residential DVR system with 5 cameras, not sure of name brand, and the cameras do ok to recognize that someone is at my house, can't identify someone unless they are at about 10' or less. My budget is $1200. No more. Monitoring from my phone would be nice but not necessary, I would like to go to an 8 camera system. I considered switching to a Poe system with new everything, but I was reading a post earlier that suggested someone use a TVI system. I have read enough here to realize that there is no one package system that will fit all needs and I'm OK with buying the NVR and camera's separate, however setup may be a challenge but I can probably figure it out. I think 2 TB will be fine for my needs since we are home almost every evening. I had read some posts' on which brand to stay away from and which is best, some have mixed reviews. Here are my questions: What is TVI? Does it still use the BNC style cables? If it does I could use my existing cameras, and add some better quality ones for now or replace a couple. In the opinion of people on this forum what would be the top three brands to choose from? My priorities would be 1. reliability, 2. Quality 3. Support I have noticed that some of the Duhua cameras on ebay and Amazon say something about "International version" is this what I would want or what I would want to stay away from? I just want a quality system that will produce video that can ID someone at a reasonably close distance and be reliable. Any help on any of the above points or questions would be appreciated. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheF 0 Posted March 11, 2018 you will notice a big difference when upgrading from your legacy analog system. TVI, CVI and AHD are all coax based and can currently support up to 4/5MPx cameras with existing coax cables. You will notice big difference just by going for 2MPx (HD), but if you can afford it, I'd go all in with 4/5 MPx cameras. Remember, higher pixel count in cameras mean more digital zoom (it's not like it is in CSI). Storage needs will increase, but HDD can be changed later if you need it. I have not met a CVI/TVI/AHD system that doesn't support legacy analog cameras, so if you wanna reuse them in other places to save money, You can. TVI can be a lot easier to handle than IP if you're not sure of the difference of IP-adresses, network mask, gateway and such, since it's just a cable and power. As for brand, I¨'m not gonna suggest one or another, cause most of them are pretty decent and similar, with intuitive menus. buying a big brand usually offers better support, but not allways. No-brand from China usually gives no support and I have had China-made DVRs "call home" with unknown data, which I find scary. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomcctv 190 Posted March 11, 2018 Hi. You have a good budget ....... But you can half that. Direct replacement dvr for your existing cameras and cable Upgrading cameras later all you need to do is look for CVI 2-3-4 or 5 MP they start at about $40 This is a new dahua unit with full Canada support and warranty no messing shipping to and from China https://www.lorextechnology.com/security-dvr-and-surveillance-dvr/8-channel-hd-mpx-2k-digital-video-recorder/DV8082W-1-p Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
