Need some recommendations on new setup for NVR + Cameras

[Rothgar]

Hi All,

New to the site hoping I can get some assistance from some of you experienced people.

Bit of background, I am looking at options for our Strata security requirements.

I am not in the security business myself and haven't personally setup any of these type of camera systems before but I do work in IT and don't believe I should have too much trouble (unless I'm told otherwise) to configure/setup the system I am looking to propose for review/consideration.

What I need some help with is picking the best options for our requirements without going overboard. For reference I believe we have an existing TVI Hikvision recorder setup with around 4-5 cameras currently. From what I have read TVI's are Analog based systems? NVR's are better and will also allow PoE? We have also been told by the building manager the existing camera resolution is poor, most of the cameras would have been installed around 4 years ago.


On to my thoughts/proposed requirements:

One of the requirements we are looking to add is an ANPR camera at the garage entrance so we can pickup number plates to hopefully help us lookup number plates and match the plates timestamp against FOB access timestamp to assist with visitor parking issues we are having.

We also want to add some more cameras at various points of the complex like the garbage bin rooms etc.

I would like to know whether the best option would be to ditch the current TVI setup and if so what would be a good NVR option to replace it?

I would like to allow for 32 channel support if it's not too expensive (Doesn't need 32 ports inbuilt, not sure if it's as simple as adding an additional PoE switch for expansion on a supported model?), PoE capability should be inbuilt unless there is big cost savings to offset buying a PoE separate switch? Current camera requirements should be under 16 at the moment. Should support an ANPR camera if there are special requirements.

I can see a few ANPR camera options when searching the Hikvision website however the model that seems most found on google and how I found a few posts on this forum seems to be DS-2CD4A26FWD-IZHS)(LZS)/P, is that the best value ANPR camera and would that meet our requirements or are there new/different models that might be worth looking at?

What PoE based IP camera would be best value for replacing the existing analogue cameras we have and for our new additions?

Appreciate the assistance I'm sure you all with a lot more experience would be better equipped to recommend or at least short list some options which would be a huge help at this point.

Regards,
Jason

 

[Phil]

The Best Hikvision NVR for 32 Cameras

Select an -I Series NVR.

The 4A26 ANPR camera will work with that.

Then, perhaps turret cameras as required; 2335, 2355, 2385 (3, 5, and 8MP respectively).

 

[Rothgar]

Thanks Phil, is there any reason I would want to look at the 9600 series NVR's? I note they don't have PoE and would need a separate PoE switch if i wanted to run the cameras via PoE at a glance?

Otherwise the DS-7732NI-I4/16P model looks decent and not too bad on pricing from what I can see? Would you recommend that? I would probably look to rack mount it in a cabinet, does it come with rack mount kit do you know? It looks to have one from here:

Hikvision DS-7732NI-I4-16P 32 Channel Network Video Recorder

For the cameras I take it you are referring to this camera type? DS-2CD2355FWD-I - Hikvision Australia

I looked at some comparisons on resolution here:

Differences in Camera Resolutions

It seems like 4MP would be decent enough resolution, price wise though it seems not a huge difference in camera cost between the 2355 and 2385 unless I am missing something, would you normally recommend the 8MP cameras? Would you downscale the resolution if you went the 8MP cameras or is the storage requirements these days efficient enough to run at 8MP?

 

[Phil]

Thanks Phil, is there any reason I would want to look at the 9600 series NVR's? I note they don't have PoE and would need a separate PoE switch if i wanted to run the cameras via PoE at a glance?

Higher bandwidth / Dual LAN / Dual monitors / RAID are the beneficial features.

Yes, the 7732-I is a good model.
It does ship with rack-mount ears.

Yes, that's a turret style camera.
With the advent of the h.265+ CODEC there's no problem with using 8MP resolution.
NB - most people would not use more than say 10 frames per second (fps).

 

[Rothgar]

Yeah thanks for the information, from the reading I initially did it seems with the newer h.265+ codec the bandwidth is less of a problem these days? I can understand the RAID/ additional drive support as well but seeming as the hdd drive capacity is getting bigger and cheaper it also doesn't seem to be as much of a problem these days unless you find I/O being a problem? Don't think we need the redundancy of network and I know with a lot of cameras it might get hard to see the overall footage from a single video output but tv's are cheap enough these days, do you recommend if needed say a single tv or something? The building manager is going to be the one responsible for the day-to-day not sure how much of an issue that might be.

Thanks for the overall comments and feedback, sounds like I have a BOM now to work off getting some costing.

Just confirming that turret camera you recommended you think should be suitable for a garage environment? I'll be looking to install it in the apartment complex garage and we have around 140 car spaces, we have exhaust fans on the outside of the garage to help extract fumes but I know at least from storage bays located behind the individual car spaces there is a bit of buildup over time and just want to make sure that is not going to cause any problems in the longer term for the cameras we install?

 

[Phil]

You should be fine with that NVR and h.265/+.
It can be handy to have a direct-connected monitor - there is some additional info available via a monitor.
The turret cameras will be good for that environment, better than a dome; less prone to the image being affected by dust build-up / easier to clean.

 

[Rothgar]

Thanks Phil, appreciate all your help.

I would have thought the Dome's might have been better sealed to keep the microscopic dust out?

Regarding storage what do you typically recommend? Do these NVR's do RAID? Is it better with just a single drive, 2 drives in a RAID 1 or 3 in a RAID 5 etc?

For say 16 cameras are the WD purples still the recommended option? What capacity drives would you be recommending?

For the ANPR Camera is it still recommended to go for the 8-32mm model or for a garage entrance setup is that not really necessary?

What specifications/model would you recommend for the ANPR? Don't think I will need the Heater or WiFi or probably Sound and would be good to have it PoE.

I don't know if the HD resolution is important doesn't seem to be many models available that I could see with the HD option?

The closest I could see so far was DS-2CD4A26FIZP8

Not sure if WDR is important to have?

 

[Phil]

I would have thought the Dome's might have been better sealed to keep the microscopic dust out?

If you use dome cameras IR reflection and image quality will be a much bigger issue for you than dust ingress (the turrets are IP67 rated).

Regarding storage what do you typically recommend? Do these NVR's do RAID? Is it better with just a single drive, 2 drives in a RAID 1 or 3 in a RAID 5 etc?

Only the 96XX NVRs permit RAID configurations.
Virtually nobody uses RAID, as you lose so much of your available drive capacity.
The drives are monitored.
The NVR will complain to you if drive performance is impaired.
Generally, people consider CCTV data differently to data/documents i.e. if a drive fails you can probably afford to lose some CCTV recordings.
Of course, some sites/customers will specify/require RAID.

For say 16 cameras are the WD purples still the recommended option? What capacity drives would you be recommending?

Always WD Purple HDDs for CCTV.
You need to calculate the drive size according to the number of cameras, fps, resolution and CODEC used.
There's a calculator here - IP Cameras and IP CCTV IP Camera Bandwidth and Storage Calculator

For the ANPR Camera is it still recommended to go for the 8-32mm model or for a garage entrance setup is that not really necessary?

It depends on the camera to plate distance - for most reasonably length applications the 8-32mm is best suited, with the wider focal length alternative version of the camera only being used for close-up camera to plate mounting e.g. for a camera adjacent to a gate, bollard, barrier.

What specifications/model would you recommend for the ANPR? Don't think I will need the Heater or WiFi or probably Sound and would be good to have it PoE.

Hikvision DS-2CD4A26FWD-IZS\/P | 2MP Darkfighter IR Array Bullet Network Camera

 

[Rothgar]

Ah cool that IP67 rating sounds like it should be fine then.

Wow that storage calculator says I may need a fair amount of storage, so how do these NVR's work storage wise with multiple bays I just add more drives and it fills one and moves to the next?

The ANPR camera is going to be an Entrance/Exit camera basically and the primary purpose will be grabbing plates of vehicles that are driving up to the FOB Swipe/Intercom box, I expect location wise will be mounted right in front of the garage door on the ceiling in a corner looking down on to the vehicles and distance wise it would only be a few meters away? Would you say it is still better to go for the 8-32mm version?

The model you provided looks good thank you, it doesn't have the HD option though which is the H right? Do you find the HD is not really necessary for the ANPR?

 

[Rothgar]

Also where does the information on support for 10TB drives come from? I can only see 6TB listed on the Hikvision website?
DS-7700NI-I4/16P - Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co. Ltd.

But it seems on the store page it says up to 10TB?
Hikvision DS-7732NI-I4-16P 32 Channel Network Video Recorder

Was that in a firmware note somewhere or something? Or you've unofficially said it supports it?

 

[dturtill]

Always WD Purple HDDs for CCTV.
You need to calculate the drive size according to the number of cameras, fps, resolution and CODEC used.

Is there any difference between the WD purple and the Seagate Skyhawk drives?

The ANPR camera is going to be an Entrance/Exit camera basically and the primary purpose will be grabbing plates of vehicles that are driving up to the FOB Swipe/Intercom box, I expect location wise will be mounted right in front of the garage door on the ceiling in a corner looking down on to the vehicles and distance wise it would only be a few meters away? Would you say it is still better to go for the 8-32mm version?

Be careful with the mounting position of the ANPR camera as if it's on an angle to the cars you may suffer from plate reading issues if possible mount in the middle and angle down no more the 30 degrees ( based on the HCSP course info )

 

[Phil]

Wow that storage calculator says I may need a fair amount of storage, so how do these NVR's work storage wise with multiple bays I just add more drives and it fills one and moves to the next?

Yes, that is the default out-of-the-box behaviour.
Once all of your drives are full it will overwrite the oldest video.

I expect location wise will be mounted right in front of the garage door on the ceiling in a corner looking down on to the vehicles and distance wise it would only be a few meters away? Would you say it is still better to go for the 8-32mm version?

You'll probably find that the 8mm end of the focal range will be OK for your requirement.
Bear in mind @dturtill comments regarding best not to have too steep an angle up/down or side to side.
Hik NVR is very tolerant though, works far better than early systems we worked with ten plus years ago.

The model you provided looks good thank you, it doesn't have the HD option though which is the H right? Do you find the HD is not really necessary for the ANPR?

When you look at Hikvision's worldwide websites you will see an incredible number of possible variants of cameras & NVRs.
Many of these will not be available in your region.
You should not have problems with the standard items sold for this purpose in your region (they are what all other are buying and using).

Also where does the information on support for 10TB drives come from? I can only see 6TB listed on the Hikvision website?

When the datasheets were created 6TB was the largest HDD available.
The datasheets tend not to get updated when larger HDDs are released.
At the time of writing a 12TB WD Purple drive is currently the largest available.
I suspect that we could install that in any NVR without problems.

Is there any difference between the WD purple and the Seagate Skyhawk drives?

We have always recommended and sold Western Digital Purple.
Seagate was later to the party in recognising the opportunity for a dedicated HDD range for CCTV surveillance.
We see no reason to switch.
Historically, Seagate had some issues / bad press for poor reliability.
We sell a lot of drives e.g. the sales value of drives is greater most months than for second-tier camera brands.
Though we ship a lot of drives, and bear in mind we have been doing so for many years, and they have multi-year warranties - we see very few failures of WD Purple HDDs.
We had one this week.
The last was almost six months ago.
WD's RMA & replacement service works very well.
Therefore, no incentive to switch to or offer Seagate as an alternative.
WD Purple is performing well for us and our customers.
Whenever our team arrange a WD RMA I am copied-in - Ground truth snapshot from my email below:

 

[Rothgar]

Thanks again Phil appreciate all your assistance.