Is my DS-7604NXI-K1/4P NVR able to handle 4 cameras recording at 4K?

[coffeeKing81]

Hi all,

I was wondering if someone could help me.

I have just purchased a new HIK VISION system with the following:-

HIKVISION EMBEDDED NVR AcuSense DS-7600 series DS-7604NXI-K1/4P & 4 x HIKVISION colourVu 8MP DS-2CD2387G2-LU.

I was wondering if the NVR is able to handle the 4 cameras recording at 4K.

I have had some advice that it only supports 2 cameras recording at 8MP and would need an 8 channel NVR to have all 4 recording at 4K.

Quite confused novice here, the system seems to work ok with all cameras plugged in and recording the only thing was that the cameras in HD looked a little grainy on the app in HD.

I don’t know if this was because I was trailing these in a bedroom and hanging out a window or if it will be better once fully installed this Friday.


Any help would be greatly appreciate as I’m now panicking that I have a NVR that isn’t suitable.

Thanks

Andy

 

[JB1970]

Hi all,

I was wondering if someone could help me.

I have just purchased a new HIK VISION system with the following:-

HIKVISION EMBEDDED NVR AcuSense DS-7600 series DS-7604NXI-K1/4P & 4 x HIKVISION colourVu 8MP DS-2CD2387G2-LU.

I was wondering if the NVR is able to handle the 4 cameras recording at 4K.

I have had some advice that it only supports 2 cameras recording at 8MP and would need an 8 channel NVR to have all 4 recording at 4K.

Quite confused novice here, the system seems to work ok with all cameras plugged in and recording the only thing was that the cameras in HD looked a little grainy on the app in HD.

I don’t know if this was because I was trailing these in a bedroom and hanging out a window or if it will be better once fully installed this Friday.


Any help would be greatly appreciate as I’m now panicking that I have a NVR that isn’t suitable.

Thanks

Andy

It can record all 4 cameras at 4K resolution but with caveats. That recorder is 4 channel OR 40 Mbps incoming bandwidth whichever is reached first. The incoming bandwidth is the total of the connected cameras bitrates. So if you were to have the cameras set to record at higher frames per second and used the recommended bit rates, you could easily exceed that incoming bandwidth. When that happens you'll get cameras dropping out and not recording. As an example I have my 8MP cameras set at 25 frames per second and 16,384Kbps incoming bandwidth. It wouldn't be possible to run more than two cameras at those settings on that recorder. If I were installing four 8MP cameras on a K series recorder (the more expensive M would be the preference), I'd be using the 7608NXI-K2/8P; not because I need 8 channels but because it has 80 Mbps incoming bandwidth and would allow me to connect all four without exceeding the bandwidth cap.

The decoding is also a limitation on that model; it's 1 channel at 8MP. This means you could only play back 1 of the cameras at a time on a connected monitor (live view would be OK as the recorder will request the cameras lower resolution sub stream when in a 2 x 2 window view.

The'graininess' you see could be a few things depending on what you're seeing. Fine graininess on a night is due to the camera's AGC (gain) running at 100%. The camera will use this to boost the signal in low light to enable a bright enough image. A side effect of that is that it will boost visible noise in the image. If you're seeing the image almost break up/pixelate then correct itself every couple of seconds, that can be caused by the bit rate being set lower than is required for the frames per second, resolution and compression level (the camera does a full frame refresh every x frames and the frames in between those I frames only show changed pixels)

 

[coffeeKing81]

Hi JB1970

Thanks for your reply to my question.

I am going to call the company today to see what they say. My fear is that they won’t do anything as I already set the NVR up.

I turned it all on last night to check things out & out of the 40mbps there was 13mps left. Will this number go down when you set your intrusion zones etc?

I realised that sub stream was set at a lower quality would this be the issue of the quality not looking the best? We feel that looking at our ring cameras on the app is much more clearer if that makes sense.

I have attached a couple of pictures if your could advise if the settings look ok, the sub stream is what it was then I changed it for 1 camera… will this eat up the 40mbps if increased for all cameras?

 

[alfaclvi]

I would also try increasing I Frame Interval on Cameras settings(not through NVR) on Sub-Stream. You cannot do this on Main Stream if H265+ is enabled. But you can disable to experiment.
You say that the image is grainy on the app. On NVR, there is also an option in Network-Advanced Settings-Platform Access, where you can Enable or Disable Low Bitrate Mode. This can also help.

 

[JB1970]

I turned it all on last night to check things out & out of the 40mbps there was 13mps left. Will this number go down when you set your intrusion zones etc?

No, the incoming bandwidth is the total of the camera streams coming back to the NVR for recording. As the bit rate in the camera is variable, the total of the bandwidth will be too. The amount of movement in the scene, frequency of movement and light will affect the use of the cameras bit rate. A relatively static scene with infrequent movement will use less bandwidth than a camera covering a busy road or moving trees where a large percentage of the pixels are constantly updated. Sensor noise present in low light images causes used bit rate to be higher.

I realised that sub stream was set at a lower quality would this be the issue of the quality not looking the best? We feel that looking at our ring cameras on the app is much more clearer if that makes sense.

Possibly. When using the app you can select either the sub stream (standard) or the main stream (HD) Tthe NVR is always set to record the main stream**. When viewing on a phone you really don't need to be viewing the main stream - the screen is small and that level of detail is unnecessary to see what's going on.

I have attached a couple of pictures if your could advise if the settings look ok, the sub stream is what it was then I changed it for 1 camera… will this eat up the 40mbps if increased for all cameras?

You've done what most do and immediately select full frame and highest quality. Full frame is not necessary for security. Yes the images will appear more fluent but that comes at the cost of a higher bit rate and storage requirement. Highest quality equals lowest compression and again will make the bit rate higher (it will often 'burst' beyond the maximum set). I rarely (never) recommend H265+; it does keep the bit rate down and require less storage space but I've sometimes seen unwanted artefacts in the images (ghost images/retained frames). With regard to the sub stream, all cameras used to have a maximum resolution of 640 x 360. Nowadays the 8MP models can go up to 720P. I have mine on 720P as over the last few years, phone screens have advanced to resolutions that may make a 640 x 360 image appear 'soft'. Whether that affects the maximum incoming bandwidth may be determined by the recording settings. It used to be that the NVR could be set to record the Main stream or Sub stream. Many recorders now only have a choice of Dual Stream or Sub Stream. If that's the case, the incoming bandwidth will include the sum of all main streams and sub streams.,

You say that the image is grainy on the app. On NVR, there is also an option in Network-Advanced Settings-Platform Access, where you can Enable or Disable Low Bitrate Mode. This can also help.

As @alfaclvi has mentioned, the low bitrate mode (or bit rate adaption) is a mechanism designed to reduce the bit rate for viewing where the network conditions (WiFi or mobile data) aren't good enough to allow the stream to be viewed. It's best turned off as I've seen it drop the sub stream all the way down to 32 kbps giving an unusable image,

 

[coffeeKing81]

No, the incoming bandwidth is the total of the camera streams coming back to the NVR for recording. As the bit rate in the camera is variable, the total of the bandwidth will be too. The amount of movement in the scene, frequency of movement and light will affect the use of the cameras bit rate. A relatively static scene with infrequent movement will use less bandwidth than a camera covering a busy road or moving trees where a large percentage of the pixels are constantly updated. Sensor noise present in low light images causes used bit rate to be higher.

Possibly. When using the app you can select either the sub stream (standard) or the main stream (HD) Tthe NVR is always set to record the main stream**. When viewing on a phone you really don't need to be viewing the main stream - the screen is small and that level of detail is unnecessary to see what's going on.

You've done what most do and immediately select full frame and highest quality. Full frame is not necessary for security. Yes the images will appear more fluent but that comes at the cost of a higher bit rate and storage requirement. Highest quality equals lowest compression and again will make the bit rate higher (it will often 'burst' beyond the maximum set). I rarely (never) recommend H265+; it does keep the bit rate down and require less storage space but I've sometimes seen unwanted artefacts in the images (ghost images/retained frames). With regard to the sub stream, all cameras used to have a maximum resolution of 640 x 360. Nowadays the 8MP models can go up to 720P. I have mine on 720P as over the last few years, phone screens have advanced to resolutions that may make a 640 x 360 image appear 'soft'. Whether that affects the maximum incoming bandwidth may be determined by the recording settings. It used to be that the NVR could be set to record the Main stream or Sub stream. Many recorders now only have a choice of Dual Stream or Sub Stream. If that's the case, the incoming bandwidth will include the sum of all main streams and sub streams.,

As @alfaclvi has mentioned, the low bitrate mode (or bit rate adaption) is a mechanism designed to reduce the bit rate for viewing where the network conditions (WiFi or mobile data) aren't good enough to allow the stream to be viewed. It's best turned off as I've seen it drop the sub stream all the way down to 32 kbps giving an unusable image,

I just wanted to thank everyone for their help, the company will take the NVR back even though it’s been opened and hard drive installed. Just less a restocking fee. We decided to upgrade to the best that you could get being the DS-7608NI-M2/8P

I know I reset the other one back to factory settings before sending back, so I need to unpair the cameras or will they plug into the new one ok?

Sorry for all the questions, I appreciate everyone’s help

 

[JB1970]

We decided to upgrade to the best that you could get being the DS-7608NI-M2/8P

Good choice. That has enough incoming bandwidth to run the cameras at 25 frames per second at their highest quality without issue.

I know I reset the other one back to factory settings before sending back, so I need to unpair the cameras or will they plug into the new one ok?

Your best bet is to power up the new NVR without the cameras. Set the new NVR password and camera activation password identical to the one that you have sent back. Then hopefully when you plug the cameras in (which were previously activated through plug and play on the previous NVR) they should connect. Alternatively if the cameras are not fitted yet and you have a 12V power adapter kicking around you could reset them. Remove the little SD card cover plate, press and hold the reset button while powering up with the adapter. Hold the button pressed for around 15 seconds before releasing. That would reset the camera fully so that the new NVR would activate it.

 

[coffeeKing81]

Good choice. That has enough incoming bandwidth to run the cameras at 25 frames per second at their highest quality without issue.

Your best bet is to power up the new NVR without the cameras. Set the new NVR password and camera activation password identical to the one that you have sent back. Then hopefully when you plug the cameras in (which were previously activated through plug and play on the previous NVR) they should connect. Alternatively if the cameras are not fitted yet and you have a 12V power adapter kicking around you could reset them. Remove the little SD card cover plate, press and hold the reset button while powering up with the adapter. Hold the button pressed for around 15 seconds before releasing. That would reset the camera fully so that the new NVR would activate it.

Thanks so much for your help JB1970 we still have the old NVR just waiting on details on how to send it back.

I will do what you advised above for setting it up & hopefully there will be no issues .

Thanks for your help with this fingers crossed it all goes ok