Storage Solutions Open Source NVR vs Branded NVR and qns on the software scene with security cameras

DigitalDude

DigitalDude

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Help me get a hold on what is what in NVRs and other security camera related softwares.

1) is it better to just go with a branded NVR solutions like Tp-Link, Hikvision, Dahua etc NVRs or can we look to custom NVR software that we can install on our own hardware?
2) if custom, then how do the available options compare and what is good for a small home security system? (blue iris, frigate, zoneminder etc)
3) how do other related camera software relate to all this? (like scrypted, Home Hubs etc)
4) can all this be just installed in a proxmox host?

What I have in mind is a good 8 channel PoE NVR + 4~6 PoE IP cams (2K res 4MP or 5MP) + (if needed, continuous recording) + (AI object+person detection and mobile notification would be good) and as much as possible avoid a subscription service.

We can discuss just the NVR software and related stuff in this thread, for the actual camera and other hardware I will start a separate thread after I get a clear hold of this.
 
Either go with synology nvr or have to go DIY route where there are many options:
1) If using windows go for blue iris, milestone XProtect Essential+
2) If using linux then can go for frigate, viseron, ZoneMinder
3) xeoma can run on both windows and linux

Blueiris is a onetime payment for that particular version then can pay additional amount to upgrade to next version like from V4 -> V5. Ai detection is done using codeproject
Scrypted looks nice but requires subscription payment
Synology is the most polished experience both nvr and client app but requires 50$ license for each camera but it's a one time payment and is transferable if you upgrade to another camera.
Milestone XProtect Essential+ is free for the first 8 cameras you can try it out.
frigate, viseron, zoneminder all have a generous free version see which one works best for you.
Also a google coral TPU will go a long way for inferencing.

For your usecase I would suggest either blue iris or zoneminder, also no matter which camera you are choosing make sure they support rtsp/onvif. Also yes they can be installed on proxmox.
 
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Just setup frigate and home assistant, backup of detected footage from frigate would be very easy if you are considering that. I have a cpplus dvr in my apartment building and its software/ web management console is mess and for the same reason i would never go with "NVRs" that are sold. Ubiquiti's nvr is nice but their products are too expensive for india
 
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hitomi said:
Just setup frigate and home assistant, backup of detected footage from frigate would be very easy if you are considering that. I have a cpplus dvr in my apartment building and its software/ web management console is mess and for the same reason i would never go with "NVRs" that are sold. Ubiquiti's nvr is nice but their products are too expensive for india
Click to expand...
cp plus dvr is a mess their nvr is not.

i have a 16ch hikvision nvr and am pretty satisfied with it.
 
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hitomi said:
Are you using it with hikvision cams ?
I am looking to get 5-6 outdoor cameras for my upcoming frigate setup, would you recommend them ?
Click to expand...
yes out of 16 12 are hikvision , 4 are cp plus [ cp plus or dahua cameras are compatible with every nvr even hikvision camera run on cp plus nvr]
it s all due to a protocol onvif , search it up.
you can take hikvision for your setup.

ishanjain28 said:
All open source nvrs are trash. don't even bother. software nvrs in general are a miss. Go with hardware nvrs
Click to expand...
exactly
 
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NVRs are cheap , no fuss and low power consumption appliances designed for one thing and one thing alone - and thus they excel at it...
I have been using Hik NVRs for years now and they provide pretty much most things you need on their default firmware. Any ONVIF compliant camera can be added easily or for that matter any camera that exposes a rtsp stream

Coming to software solutions, it is still better to let the cheap NVR offload the constant recording duties from your server.
I do use scrypted (containerized) on a server to bridge some of my cams to HomeKit and it would be trivial to add blue iris to the same server .. I would still stick to the dedicated NVR simply because they are so cheap and offload the otherwise resource intensive task from your server .. Doing it purely in software would be a completely pointless endeavor IMO
 
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Need a no hassle NVR software with mobile app. Any suggestions? Cameras are all TAPO cameras.


NVR that just captures stream and stores it. No conversion or detection so there isnt much cpu usage. (good to have the option.)

I am rebuilding my Proxmox server. So I can make it linux, windows or mac, no problem. Server is NUC 13 i5. and 64gb ram. 2tb wd purple attached via usb dock. Can upgrade both hdd and doc later.
 
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Looking for Similar Setup. What are the concerns about the hardware / setup being chinese makes ? , I heard CP plus is home grown ,is it any better.
Any Indian make NVR and NVR cameras ?

Any how do you guys have power backup for entire setup ? is there any AC to DC Battery to entire setup ? , basically dont want UPS or inverter ,it should directly run on battery and battery being charged all the time , is there any setup like this ?
 
nfsnfs said:
What are the concerns about the hardware / setup being chinese makes ?
Click to expand...
I have a dahua (considered one of the best, Dahua and Hikvision) NVR with 2 SATA bays in my business. Honestly, the NVR does it's job, but not very well. The software and webUI is a slow, laggy mess. Downloading parts of your recorded footage requires an obscure internet explorer (yes, IE) plugin and only works with Edge in Internet Explorer compatibility mode. Re playing multiple streams and forwarding through them makes it crash and say something similar to "not enough resources", most of the time. And this is without any motion or object detection stuff running.
I spent around 34k on it 3 years ago (without HDDs), and I wish I'd have just spent that money on a used PC instead. I have also faced issues like it not starting recording automatically after I "reboot" using the webUI. I have had to manually power cycle it.

The remote access app is trash, and takes FOREVER to load. I ended up just using a Tailscale router and TinyCam app on my android, because it was so frustrating and refused to connect multiple times, even on the LOCAL NETWORK. But the app is essential if you need to view past footage, so I have to keep both installed.
nfsnfs said:
it should directly run on battery and battery being charged all the time , is there any setup like this ?
Click to expand...
...you just described a UPS...
 
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Party Monger said:
Need a no hassle NVR software with mobile app. Any suggestions? Cameras are all TAPO cameras.


NVR that just captures stream and stores it. No conversion or detection so there isnt much cpu usage. (good to have the option.)

I am rebuilding my Proxmox server. So I can make it linux, windows or mac, no problem. Server is NUC 13 i5. and 64gb ram. 2tb wd purple attached via usb dock. Can upgrade both hdd and doc later.
Click to expand...
Hi @k_m_Arya , any suggestions?
ishanjain28 said:
Blueiris
Click to expand...
Can you elaborate more? Does it have a good android app? Whats the total cost like?
 
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