why do some people use an NVR in conjunction with Blue Iris?

[wilm245]

Newbie here, very interested in Blue Iris as I have heard nothing but good things about it but I have not officially jumped on board. I have several questions, but the main thing that boggles my mind is that I read about people who use Blue Iris and continue to use their NVR which they have linked to their Blue Iris. Why is this? The only thing I can think of would be for storage purposes. Is this why, or are there any other reasons? A little background on my current camera system. I have a Lorex NVR, and various Lorex IP cameras. Some have varifocal motorized zoom and listen in audio and others are more basic. They all have some form of motion detection, some of them are smart motion capable. They are all 4K and wired. My NVR is a 16 channel 4k fusion NVR and I currently have 4 cameras connected directly to the NVR and I also have 4 additional cameras that are connected to a cheap generic amazon POE switch which is connected directly to my router. The biggest pitfall with my system is that the NVR is only capable of recording 15 fps @ 4K, even though most of my cameras are capable of 30 fps @ 4k. This is something that I wasn't exactly aware of when I bought the system since lorex is quick to tell you about the 4k @ 30 fps cameras that your getting but fails to tell you that the NVR they are including in the package Isn't capable. I would love to take advantage of the full 30 fps @ 4K. The fact that my NVR is not capable of recording at the cameras max resolution and frame rate is what caused me to wonder why some people opt to use their NVR's with Blue Iris. I would like to try to build a computer that will be dedicated strictly for my surveillance system but I don't know much about how all this works and I'd like to become educated and informed before I dive in. I look forward to hearing what kind of feedback I get. Thanks for reading

[TimG]

Two things come to mind:

1. If your old cameras are not compatible with BI5 but your NVR is, then you would connect it. Sometimes it's just easier. Analog cameras for example.
2. FPS. Cctv isn't Hollywood. I record at 10 to 12 FPS to save cpu, bandwidth and hard drive space and recorded motion is fluid. Why would you want 30 FPS ?

What do YOU think ?

[louyo]

I think I posted this once before. We inherited 8 cameras and NVR when we moved in (business site). All but one of the cameras had default passwords. Moved the m to BI. Couldn't access the remaining one. So, I followed procedure to reset the password in the NVR but maintain all other configs. When that camera craps out, we will replace it and ditch the NVR. It is a very good name brand Unit.
I thought about trying to take the camera down and reset to factory. Contacted the company to find out the default (as well as Mrs Google) but had no luck. Works fine. Leave it alone. Well, I can't resist trying to guess the password now and again.

[Pogo]

As Tim pointed out, the best reason is often just a matter of creating a convenient migration path from an analog to IP system without a huge outlay of $$$ for a whole new package deal -- or even just to upgrade an existing NVR that was advertised to be something it wasn't even though the cameras in the package were..., as seems to be the case with the OP. Or just expand what you may already have into a hybrid analog/IP setup similar to a Dahua or Amcrest Pentabrid XVR which actually does exactly the same thing all in one box -- and costs a LOT more.

Bottom line is adding Blue Iris to an already functioning system immediately extends such a system's capabilities and useful life while providing the best and most economical learn-and-grow-as-you-go migration platform out there, bar none. Then there is the obvious redundancy aspect that will always come in handy sooner or later!

I personally have a Dahua NVR and two Amcrest Pentabrid XVRs integrated into my Blue Iris system. They each serve different purposes in different locations with Blue Iris being the main component common to everything else both for management and monitoring at one central point -- our kitchen counter, where else? LOL

Channels are channels and inputs are inputs. They can all work together on any given network to create a very wide area of observation at relatively low cost using many different types of cameras, some quite economical for their actual level of performance -- if you use enough of them in the right places. Give me four 2MP cameras over one 8MP camera just about any day of the week (and most nights) for general close proximity surveillance.

Get more life out of that old 1080p DVR or those crummy IP cams from a lousy package kit by hooking it all up to Blue Iris and have some fun!

[hopkins]

How does it provide a cost-effective migration path from analog to IP systems or enhance the capabilities of an NVR?

[TimG]

I tend to imagine a hard wired analogue system with co-ax cable buried into the walls. Instead of ripping it all out, you add the nvr to BI5 to use the newer functionality with your existing cameras. As time goes on, you may slowly update the old system piece by piece instead of all at once.
In Pogo's case, he already had the nvr's and they worked, but then he found he could connect everything together with BI5.
You can't add new functionality like artificial intelligence to an old nvr, but you can with a PC and BI5.

[Pogo]

How does it provide a cost-effective migration path from analog to IP systems or enhance the capabilities of an NVR?

The short answer is "one camera at a time".

The migration from analog to IP has been explained. Just add an existing analog DVR to Blue Iris via ethernet over whatever network already exists just as you would an IP camera. Each individual analog camera can then be picked off from the DVR and added to Blue Iris as if it were an IP camera. This typically provides many more features and capabilities for the cameras than the DVR technology was able to provide, especially in the area of motion detection, alerts, and most importantly, recording, storage and playback flexibility. This essentially converts an existing analog system into a digital IP system simply by adding it to a Blue Iris server. Use it as long as it is still useful while adding new IP cameras directly to Blue Iris or even upgrading some of the analog cameras to higher end technology, or a mix of both -- a camera at a time, or at whatever pace suits your particular situation.

As for enhancing the capabilities of a NVR, much of the above also applies regarding enhanced motion detection and storage, not to mention redundancy if that's an important consideration. And It's not necessarily the NVR capabilities that may benefit from integration with Blue Iris, but rather the IP cameras themselves depending on whether they are capable of more enhanced performance than the NVR is able to physically provide with its given hardware and firmware capabilities, e.g. regulating resolution and frame rates that may otherwise be realized with a more capable hardware platform. If that were the case, the obvious solution would be to add the cameras directly to Blue Iris via other means and just eliminate the NVR altogether unless having both served a particular purpose.