Need advice on which 4k nvr to buy?

[shery999]

Hello everyone,

I am looking to install a 4k 8ch nvr at my home. My house is located on the main road and I park my car in front of my house so that's why I am installing a cctv system. There aren't any brands that I have tried in the past except Hikvision. I installed a hikvision DVR at my work and so far I am satisfied with that system. This time around I want to go for a 8ch poe nvr from hikvision DS-7608NI-K2/8p. I understand that with higher megapixels you get lower fps. I was thinking of having 2 8mp poe cameras connected on the front door capturing the road where I park my car and one 2mp/3mp/4mp camera facing down the door entrance to capture the entrance.

First question is, do you think this is a good nvr system that I am buying ? If not, can you suggest me any other alternatives. I have seen some other systems from brands like Ankke and Swann and for some reason I feel like they are not as good as Hikvision. And Reolink only allows for the use of Reolink cameras which I don't like as I want ONVIF capability to be able to use third party cameras.

Secondly, I wanted to confirm that I can use lower mp cameras on this nvr. So if I wanted to use 1080p 2mp poe cameras would I be able to use it on this 8mp system. I think lower mp cameras should work on it but just want to confirm it.

Thanks.

 

[Kyle]

Hi shery999

Hikvision are the most popular manufacturers of IP CCTV equipment and usually offer the best value for money across their range, you can't really go wrong with them.

You're kind of right regarding the higher MP = lower frame rate situation, but most cameras nowadays will support 20-30fps as a standard, regardless of resolution. It's all down to bandwidth restrictions, as cameras with super high resolutions would require lots of bandwidth when recording in high frame rates. This is becoming less of an issue as the data compression technology in the cameras improve.

The Hikvision DS-7608NI-K2-8P NVR is a good choice for yourself and will support recording up to 8MP, so the 2MP cameras will work fine with it. The -K series NVRs are ideal for and perform well in smaller setups.

 

[shery999]

Hi shery999

Hikvision are the most popular manufacturers of IP CCTV equipment and usually offer the best value for money across their range, you can't really go wrong with them.

You're kind of right regarding the higher MP = lower frame rate situation, but most cameras nowadays will support 20-30fps as a standard, regardless of resolution. It's all down to bandwidth restrictions, as cameras with super high resolutions would require lots of bandwidth when recording in high frame rates. This is becoming less of an issue as the data compression technology in the cameras improve.

The Hikvision DS-7608NI-K2-8P NVR is a good choice for yourself and will support recording up to 8MP, so the 2MP cameras will work fine with it. The -K series NVRs are ideal for and perform well in smaller setups.

Thanks for your response mate. Can you suggest any good cameras to go with it? I need at least 2 4k (8mp) cameras and one camera for the front door entrance which can be any resolution as long as its good to see the faces of people coming in and going out. PTZ and varifocal lens capability would be preferred.

Also you mentioned that nowadays 4k cameras can support 20/30fps but isn't fps limited by the nvr itself instead of the cameras? In the detailed spec sheet for this hikvision nvr it mentions that 4k cameras are limited to 15fps so I assumed that its the nvr that doesn't have to capability to process higher fps at 4k rather than it being a camera problem.

 

[Kyle]

No worries. What kind of height are you thinking of mounting the 8MP cameras at? Generally, the higher you mount the further the coverage you'll get from the cameras. To get the most out of 8MP for covering the road/cars I'd suggest mounting a couple of Hikvision DS-2CD2385G1-I 8MP IR Fixed Turret Network Cameras about 3m high. I can't accurately recommend a field of view for these as I'm not sure of the exact layout of your property, but I'd guess either 2.8mm or 4mm, the shorter the FOV then the wider the camera will cover, but the less detail you'll get in objects at distance. With 8MP you should still get plenty of detail at distance with even the shortest FOV. This camera isn't a varifocal/PTZ though. This article is useful for understanding the focal length differences if you wanted to know more.

For a PTZ and varifocal, the best value option would be the Hikvision DS-2DE4A425IW-DE 4MP 25x Network IR PTZ Camera, it's only 4MP but if you wanted 8MP you're looking at astronomical prices for a residential setup. For just a varifocal, I'd suggest a Hikvision DS-2CD2H85G1-IZS 8MP Motorised Varifocal Turret Network Camera, which is pretty much the same as the turret mentioned above but with a varifocal lens.

For the door coverage, you definitely want to go for a mini dome with a 2.8mm FOV, mounted at around head height to the side of the door to pick out faces effectively. A 2.8mm FOV will give you 102° viewing angle so will cover the whole entrance well. It's up to you what resolution you go for but 4MP will be more than enough. My suggestion would be a Hikvision DS-2CD2545FWD-I 4MP Mini Dome Network Camera, you can go up to 5/6/8MP for this too if you want. You've also got the option to go for the -IS (supports an external audio device) or the -IWS (supports WiFi and an external audio device) versions of this camera.

The NVR will definitely not restrict the FPS it records in, regardless of the camera resolution. Could you show me where you are seeing this in the spec sheet? I've checked the most up to date spec sheet from Hikvisions site (attached) and can't see any mention of a 15fps limitation at 8MP, just "2-ch @ 8 MP (25fps)" (on the second page of the attached), which refers to the decoding capacity and not to do with the resolution it will record at - whatever the camera data sheet lists the FPS as is what the NVR will be able to record at