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Recommend to me Video Surveillance Software

G

Garet Jax

Diamond Member
Anyone here build their own "NVR" using a POE switch, some IP cameras and video surveillance software? If so, which software package did you guys end up using? There are a lot of them out there, but it is hard to narrow it down to the best one. I am hoping someone here has done some research on their own to help short circuit my search.

Thanks.
 
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Have you looked at the Blue Iris product? Newegg has it and there's a downloadable trial. It has mixed reviews but will at least get you started and give you a better idea what you do and don't want.
 
dbcooper1 said:
Have you looked at the Blue Iris product? Newegg has it and there's a downloadable trial. It has mixed reviews but will at least get you started and give you a better idea what you do and don't want.
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Yeah - I have. The problem is that I haven't found one that doesn't have reported issues. In order for me to test these software packages out, I need to put out money on a POE switch + at least one camera. Once I do this, I more or less am "pot committed" to going down this route. In addition, most software packages run great with one camera, it only starts having issues when you add more - so I will probably need to get at least 2-4 cameras to really push the system and by that point, I am 100% pot committed.

If I get rid of the idea of building it myself and just buy a "precanned" system, then all of these issues disappear, but doing so is quite a bit more expensive.

I was hoping to find people here who have already gone through this process and can tell me that Blue Iris stops working after X cameras or that the hardware requirements are so extensive for 3MP 1080P cameras, that buying a precanned system is just a better way to go.
 
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Garet Jax said:
If I get rid of the idea of building it myself and just buy a "precanned" system, then all of these issues disappear, but doing so is quite a bit more expensive.
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I don't really see how much you would be saving... particularly if you find you have bought components that are not compatible or you have unworkable software... that would be a complete deal-breaker right there. Even if you fill and inside straight and pick components that get along, and find software that works... unless you have some wild hardware requirement... I don't see how you can beat the value of a prebuilt system.

The other thing to consider... is if and when you actually NEED that video, and find because of incompatible hardware or software... your video is bad or non-existent because something went bust when you weren't looking.

The Swann system I have has PC connectivity, you don't even need to touch the VR unit to view files. I don't remember if it has live monitoring (on a Windows PC) because I don't have mine set up that way, but I believe it does.
 
Charlie98 said:
I don't really see how much you would be saving... particularly if you find you have bought components that are not compatible or you have unworkable software... that would be a complete deal-breaker right there. Even if you fill and inside straight and pick components that get along, and find software that works... unless you have some wild hardware requirement... I don't see how you can beat the value of a prebuilt system.

The other thing to consider... is if and when you actually NEED that video, and find because of incompatible hardware or software... your video is bad or non-existent because something went bust when you weren't looking.

The Swann system I have has PC connectivity, you don't even need to touch the VR unit to view files. I don't remember if it has live monitoring (on a Windows PC) because I don't have mine set up that way, but I believe it does.
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There are a couple of problems with precanned systems. 1) They offer very little flexibility to expand - so if you buy a 4 camera system and want to add a 5th camera, then you are out of luck. If you account for added flexibility then you have to pay for it - as an example to convert a 4 camera system to an 8 camera system (still only with 4 cameras), then it is ~$400 2) They are designed to work only with the cameras from that manufacturer - so if you want to include a "best of breed" camera, then you won't be able to unless it is from the same manufacturer. 3) The total price of a pre-canned system is generally higher than if you build it yourself.

As an example, a starting price for a 4 IP camera setup (3 MP, 1080p camera with 1 TB recording) is ~$1500 (Look here as an example: http://www.cctvsecuritypros.com/4indoipsecas.html). These guys are a little more expensive and can be negotiated down a little bit.

I can buy a 4 port POE switch for <$100. I can buy 4 IP 3MP 1080P cameras for ~$700. I can buy a 1TB drive to use for constant writes for ~$70. I already have a capable machine that is unused in my network so I get that for free. The big unknown is the software to drive it all.
 
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I tried Zoneminder, I found it was flaky as hell and not very intuitive, though I only had one off brand camera to try with so hard to judge without trying more than one. Too bad there's not really anything else open source as the whole idea of DIY is to not be tied to something proprietary and expensive. We have Blue Iris at work (paid, windows only) and it works ok. We have about 10 cameras on it spread across 3 different offices.
 
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Garet Jax said:
3) The total price of a pre-canned system is generally higher than if you build it yourself.

...The big unknown is the software to drive it all.
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Not to beat a dead horse... the total price of a pre-canned system includes proven (I would assume, otherwise they shouldn't be marketing it...) software, support and a warranty. Yes, typically the hardware is somewhat proprietary (I'm not sure how much so... a camera is a camera? I haven't had a chance to try an additional camera on my system.)

Good luck, though, it's an interesting subject. Keep us posted! 🙂
 
Pre-canned if you want it up and running and move on with your life. Otherwise, you can spend a lot of time tinkering, though you will have more flexibility in the future. Most of the pre canned systems do have cameras that can work elsewhere, though.

Probably the best idea if you get a system is to get an IP based one. A lot of the entry level systems and cams are still coaxial based and that absolutely will limit you in the future. It's now possible to get a 10 MP IP camera for $300. It's a piece of crap, but it shows where things are going.

I have a few hikvision cameras and I don't use a DVR software of any kind. I have them all recording to local storage. Hikvision are fairly unique among IP cameras in that they have a built in DVR function. Some other brands do as well, but not many. What this means is you can play back video directly from the camera (it tapping your network storage, obviously); so there is a timeline function if you login to it with a browser or through its mobile app. Although it's not as full functioned as a stand alone one, it's been good for my needs.

Thus:
Windows machine with some file share locations
cameras
POE switch

This is a recent setup and I obsessively research before buying cameras. In this price point ($100-150 for 2-3 MP cameras) hikvision seems to be the defacto first go-to these days. Dahua is a close competitor. Foscam is well represented on Amazon but I think they are worth skipping and genuinely not worth bothering with.
 
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