Wired NVR setup vs wifi cams

Please suggest a 8-channel NVR (4 channel will be ok for now but want to be future proof) and cameras for indoors (and two cameras in covered corridor) of an apartment.

Please suggest specific brand and model (with link, if possible). I am not knowledgeable enough to understand "buy any cheap NVR of xyz brand". :)
 
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For NVR, I'd recommend going for 16 channel one. It's a much higher price, but it's also a one time purchase. And it's mostly a 1k price increase compared to 8 channel ones.
You'll have to buy PoE switch separately anyway, so you can cheap out there.

Here's a 4 channel NVR

Here's a 16 channel NVR:

The one above has space for only 1 hard disk, while some others have 2 hard disks, but also cost more.

I'd recommend going for TP-Link switches if you have any other PoE appliance than the cameras on it. Otherwise, CP Plus switches work as well.


Again, the 4 port one costs 1.4k, so for 500 more, you get a lot of future headroom. And you can chain the switches later on as well.

As for cameras... well, if you want color at night, there's the TruColor or whatever Hiksvision calls it. Otherwise, go for 2MP cameras if you're going the 4 channel route, or 5MP ones if you're going the 16 channel route.

You can go 2MP for any NVR, but higher resolution also means higher quality video recordings. Still looks kinda shit compared to what you might be used on a smartphone for example. But it has its upsides.

Higher resolution also comes with higher storage usage. With 4 cameras at 5MP each, and a 2TB HDD, you can record for 1 to 1.5 months I think. Could be wrong.

These are just suggestions. Please do your own research before buying.
 
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prime said:
suggest a 8-channel NVR (
Click to expand...
get K series NVR from Hikvision [ online dealers you would be ripped off]
you can contact this seller
Mahadev Computers they are wholesellers for hikvision in mumbai but ship all over india
+91 92230 97991
I use the I Series NVR
WhatsApp Image 2025-02-09 at 11.53.25 PM.jpeg


KAKAN said:
I'd recommend going for TP-Link switches if you have any other PoE appliance than the cameras on it. Otherwise, CP Plus switches work as well.
Click to expand...
get any poe switch as @KAKAN suggested prefer cp plus or hikvision ones if budget is a issue

KAKAN said:
The one above has space for only 1 hard disk, while some others have 2 hard disks, but also cost more.
Click to expand...
this please get surveillance specific hdd only I have used normal hdd and then these there is a difference

WD PURPLE OR SEAGATE SKYHAWK [ ONLY THESE 2]

Plus never compromise on camera quality never
dont take below 4mp cameras
 
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anmolbhard004 said:
get K series NVR from Hikvision [ online dealers you would be ripped off]
you can contact this seller
Mahadev Computers they are wholesellers for hikvision in mumbai but ship all over india
+91 92230 97991
I use the I Series NVR
View attachment 223710


get any poe switch as @KAKAN suggested prefer cp plus or hikvision ones if budget is a issue


this please get surveillance specific hdd only I have used normal hdd and then these there is a difference

WD PURPLE OR SEAGATE SKYHAWK [ ONLY THESE 2]

Plus never compromise on camera quality never
dont take below 4mp cameras
Click to expand...
Can hikvision nvr / cameras be used with home assistant?
 
jayanttyagi said:
Can hikvision nvr / cameras be used with home assistant?
Click to expand...
Cameras, yes. But mostly the high end ones that support binary sensors.
If you're talking about video feed, then also yes. Not directly with HA tho, with something like Frigate or Spy something. Any camera with ONVIF protocol can work here.
 
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kuduku said:
TP-Link VIGI NVR1008H 8 Channel 3700/ https://fgtechstore.com/product/tp-link-vigi-nvr1008h-8-channel-nvr/
Click to expand...
Before buying all the hardware, I am thinking of doing trial by buying an 8 channel NVR and putting a spare 500GB hard disk in it. I have TP-Link Tapo and CP Plus cameras which I plan to connect through Wifi also for this trial. If everything goes well, I will buy a WD purple 2TB HDD and 4MP or 5MP Wifi cameras. No need of switch and ethernet wiring. My home (and outside main door) has good wifi signals.

Am I right? @kuduku @KAKAN @anmolbhard004
 
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prime said:
Before buying all the hardware, I am thinking of doing trial by buying an 8 channel NVR and putting a spare 500GB hard disk in it. I have TP-Link Tapo and CP Plus cameras which I plan to connect through Wifi also for this trial. If everything goes well, I will buy a WD purple 2TB HDD and 4MP or 5MP Wifi cameras. No need of switch and ethernet wiring. My home (and outside main door) has good wifi signals.

Am I right? @kuduku @KAKAN @anmolbhard004
Click to expand...
It should work as per the Youtube . His all hardware was Hikvision so no compatibility issues . You will be adding tplink and CP Plus so that may be issue . Once you buy the NVR then the flexibility of changing brand goes away
Local quote did not work out ?
 
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kuduku said:
It should work as per the Youtube . His all hardware was Hikvision so no compatibility issues . You will be adding tplink and CP Plus so that may be issue . Once you buy the NVR then the flexibility of changing brand goes away
Local quote did not work out ?
Click to expand...
Logically, all brands' NVR should support other brands' wifi cameras, not sure if that doesn't happen in real life.

About local quote, I think that was not even worth negotiations.
 
prime said:
Logically, all brands' NVR should support other brands' wifi cameras, not sure if that doesn't happen in real life.
Click to expand...
Yes and no.

1) All onvif compliant cameras will work on any other brand nvr. So eg tapo or cp plus will work with hikvision nvr

2) however advanced triggers like motion detection based recording wont work.
These triggers usually use proprietary APIs for which only same brands will work. Not an issue though if all one wants is continuous loop recording.

3) vast majority of camera available locally are non onvif and use proprietary cloud. Something to watch out for as none of the onvif units will work with anOn premise nvr
 
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Now that this has become a general thread, I am asking this here instead of starting a new one. @mods please move as necessary.

I have an old spare phone that I've stuck to my door's peephole with Alfred cam installed for remote monitoring. It works okay except most features are behind a Paywall and i don't know how long the battery is going to last if plugged in 24x7.

I looked for proper peephole CCTV cameras but finding none that'll work with home assistant. Can someone suggest something that's for the peephole with good resolution, night vision, audio and without any subscription or cloud? It has to work with WiFi though and record to a local home storage (NVR? Are they different? Pardon my ignorance). My plan is to have a mini PC run a home server with home assistant and another PC to run a NAS. The camera can record to that. What hardware and costs am i looking at?
 
kartefact said:
Now that this has become a general thread, I am asking this here instead of starting a new one. @mods please move as necessary.

I have an old spare phone that I've stuck to my door's peephole with Alfred cam installed for remote monitoring. It works okay except most features are behind a Paywall and i don't know how long the battery is going to last if plugged in 24x7.

I looked for proper peephole CCTV cameras but finding none that'll work with home assistant. Can someone suggest something that's for the peephole with good resolution, night vision, audio and without any subscription or cloud? It has to work with WiFi though and record to a local home storage (NVR? Are they different? Pardon my ignorance). My plan is to have a mini PC run a home server with home assistant and another PC to run a NAS. The camera can record to that. What hardware and costs am i looking at?
Click to expand...
I have an Imou Cue 2 camera mounted between my main door and a safety door, plugged into a charger 24/7 and is probably a more practical option for just above 1k compared to a phone, as the app itself does a good job of creating recordings based on motion and sound. I don't trust the apps from the Chinese manufacturers as such since they stop working if I block web access and seem to always stream through AliCloud even when I switch off mobile network support.

Unfortunately, the Onvif support doesn't work the way it is supposed to with something like ODM that I wanted to use on my old home Windows server. Some of the paid software works fine though, so have to figure out why. But in general with such a setup, any Windows or Linux device is enough and some have cloud integration with the likes of OneDrive/Dropbox as well as mobile apps, so you can run the setup locally.
 
Do not go with cpplus wifi cameras. If the wifi connection fails the camera starts shouting no internet available continuosly. There's no option to switch this warning off. Also, it even stops recording on the SD card which makes no sense.
 
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