scratch 0 Posted March 12, 2019 I worked as an installer at ADT for 15 years, but about 7 years ago, I was in an accident and am now disabled with a brain injury so I've been out of the loop for a while now, and don't know what is out there as far as good camera systems. I have an analog 4 camera system with a DVR right now but yesterday, the magic smoke in my DVR escaped, and after about 12 years, I think it's time to upgrade. I'm looking for suggestions. I have Cat5e running to each camera right now but my house is super easy to run cabling, so I'm not worried about having to run wires. I NEED to move at least 2 of the cameras anyways, and will probably move one more of them. I have lots of Cat5e cable still, as well as spools of RG6 and siamese. What I'd like is 3 indoor cameras, and for sure 1 outdoor camera. I really would like that exterior camera to be a PTZ camera (optical zoom) to mount on the peak of my house. I may want one more standard exterior camera also. I know 5 isn't the ideal setup for a camera system, but it is what it is... I might want a 5th camera. I want to be able to expand to 8. I don't think I'll ever need more than that. I have a DVR now and figured maybe I should probably upgrade to an NVR, but I don't know much about them. I don't get the best WIFI at my house and I'm not sure if that's going to cause problems with my family's other devices on the network. I had heard that the NVR only uses the WIFI when accessing it from mobile devices, not constantly, but not sure about that... I don't need this for security as much as I do convenience. I have the DVR and monitor in my man cave in the basement where I spend alot of time reloading, and working on small projects, and it's always nice to see who's in the driveway when the dogs start barking. My kids use it a lot for the occasional "Where did I put my purse yesterday?" situation. (We have found many misplaced household items using our camera system) I obviously want night vision, and to be able to view from my cell phone (which I've not been able to do with my old system so I'm kind of excited for that feature) I've heard names like Lorax, Swann, Riolink, Blink, Nest and am wondering if they are any good. I've seem some video reviews of the Swann stuff and they seem to meet all my requirements, plus I really like their SWPRO-1080PTZ with its 10X optical zoom, (I don't think it'll work with an NVR though...) but not sure if they just look nice in videos and are actually junk in real life. I'm not concerned about installation as I actually enjoy the challenge of running and hiding wires. I also do not want batteries to replace. My budget is 1000.00 with a nice PTZ camera, hoping to be around 500-700 without. So what I'm asking is: 1. Should I upgrade to an NVR or are DVR's still ok? 2. Do NVR's use WIFI constantly, causing problems with other devices? 3. What are your thoughts on the Swann equipment, or should I be looking at something else? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
larry 2 Posted March 12, 2019 2 hours ago, scratch said: So what I'm asking is: 1. Should I upgrade to an NVR or are DVR's still ok? 2. Do NVR's use WIFI constantly, causing problems with other devices? 3. What are your thoughts on the Swann equipment, or should I be looking at something else? 1. Definitely upgrade to an NVR 2. Do not use wireless. You already have cat5 installed. An 8 cam wireless system would cause problems 3. Swann is good, it's just an rebrand of a Hikvision 4. You budget is too low to include a PTZ camera Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scratch 0 Posted March 12, 2019 Thanks for your input. I was looking at one of these Swann systems: 8 Channel 5MP Super HD NVR Security Systemhttps://www.swann.com/us/swnvk-875804 SWNVK-875804 $549 8 Channel 4K Ultra HD NVR Security Systemhttps://www.swann.com/us/swnvk-875804 SWNVK-885804 $649 With this PTZ camera (I was hoping for more zoom but the higher zoom model is analog) NHD-817 Pan-Tilt-Zoom Super HD Dome Camerahttps://www.swann.com/us/swnhd-817ptz SWNHD-817PTZ $299 It looks like even if I go with the 4K system and this PTZ camera, I'll still be at 949.00. Just below my budget. Does this seem like decent equipment? Also... correct me if I'm wrong here, but those two systems I posted above are the exact same NVR, just different cameras right? 4K or 5MP...? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scratch 0 Posted March 12, 2019 4 hours ago, larry said: 2. Do not use wireless. You already have cat5 installed. An 8 cam wireless system would cause problems I must be misunderstanding then... I definitely want to go hardwired. I "thought" I had heard that when you use an NVR it uses WIFI somehow. I wasn't sure if it uses WIFI constantly or not. I've never even seen an NVR. All of my experience is with DVR's. It looks like you thought I was wanting to use wireless cameras but I don't. From your response, I take it that NVR's don't use WIFI constantly then, and shouldn't cause any problems with other bandwidth problems with my home WIFI correct? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tomcctv 190 Posted March 12, 2019 Hi. That Swann is not a good unit .... Already had a member in the past week buying and removing it ... Plus all this home intergration has given Swann a few problems over the last few months Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
scratch 0 Posted March 12, 2019 Just now, tomcctv said: Hi. That Swann is not a good unit .... Already had a member in the past week buying and removing it ... Plus all this home intergration has given Swann a few problems over the last few months Thanks, do you have any suggestions? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
