In this third part of our multi-part series on setting up your first home security system, we’ll be looking at network video recorders (NVRs) and the different storage options available to you as a first-time buyer. We’ll cover NVR hardware and how to balance footage quality with storage space and network bandwidth.
NVRs
Network video recorders make up the ‘brain’ of your home security system; tying the cameras to the hard drives, providing the hub for playback, and a host of other utility options. There are many to choose from, so how do you go about picking the right one for you?
Number of Channels
The first and likely most important thing to begin with is also perhaps the most obvious: the number of channels. Simply put, you want an NVR that is able to support the number of cameras in your system; there’s no use getting a 4 channel NVR if you’ve got 10 cameras ready and waiting to be connected! Whilst this seems straightforward enough, it’s also worth bearing in mind your plans for the future. A 4 channel NVR may be fine for now, but if you think you may expand to a bigger system at some point in the not-too-distant future, it may be worth getting an 8 channel or larger to save you from unnecessary extra purchases down the road.
Bandwidth
As with the number of channels, the bandwidth of your NVR refers to a hard limit on your system; in this case, the upper bound on the Mbps it can receive from your cameras. If you want an 8 camera system recording at full HD 1080p resolution and 15fps, this is going to be far more demanding on your network than say, a 4 camera system recording at 720p and 10fps. It’s a balancing act, in which you have to weigh what quality of image you need vs what your home network can take. We recommend using the Western Digital Surveillance Capacity Calculator to help estimate what your storage costs will be.
Plug and Play
Most NVRs, particularly those from Hikvision, now come with plug and play functionality, but it’s worth noting that not all do. Those that do will typically allow you to plug your cameras directly into your NVR, rather than your router or network switch, and will come with added utilities such as automatically calibrating your cameras with your selected settings, and assigning them strong passwords on your network. While this isn’t a necessity as most software is designed these days to be as straightforward to setup as possible, it’s worth keeping an eye out for plug and play in the product specifications if this is something you want to make life a little easier.
Other Features
There are a number of extra features that may be worth considering for your NVR. It’s worth at this stage bearing in mind that the NVR supersedes the camera’s in-built settings: if the NVR doesn’t support it, you won’t be able to use the camera’s feature. For example, with the rise in popularity and availability of AI (Artificial Intelligence) cameras, NVRs such as the XRN-820S are becoming popular as they will support the use of Wisenet AI cameras. If this or any other additions are something you want for your home security system, it’s important to check the product specs of your NVRs to ensure that you’ll be able to use them.
PoE
Power over ethernet, or PoE, is a common feature in modern cameras and NVRs that reduces the number of cables you need in your system. Via the use of PoE network cables, your cameras are able to be powered via their connection to the NVR, rather than requiring a power lead or battery in addition to this. Each NVR lists the number of PoE connections it can have, so it’s worth just making a note of this when purchasing as it should hopefully make installation a little more straightforward. Also note that the network cables you use have to specifically be PoE compliant – all category 5 (cat 5) cables and above fulfil this requirement, so they’re not hard to find. You can read a little more in-depth info about PoE on our Help & Info pages.
Storage Space
It is important to note that each NVR can only support a limited number of hard drives, with a maximum amount of storage space, though these are obviously designed with the appropriate amounts in mind. This places a hard limit on the amount of data you’ll be able to store from your cameras, so it’s worth adding up the numbers to ensure that the NVR you’re buying will allow you to store as much as you’d like. Once again you can use the Western Digital calculator to work out roughly how much storage space you’ll need for your setup and how many days you’ll be able to store at a time.
What next?
So you know what size NVR you want and how much storage you are going to use, but there are so many NVRs to choose from. How do you choose the specifics?
If you already have your cameras or a couple of cameras, we recommend purchasing an NVR from the same manufacturer. This is because of the ease of setup/ability to utilise the full functionality of the unit. This is not to say that you can’t mix and match, however, it is our experience that it is simpler to keep the same manufacturer for the whole system. See below some examples:
System 1:
You already have 2 x QNE-8021R and would like to add three more cameras and an NVR to complete your system. As you already have cameras from the Q series you should choose your remaining cameras and NVR from this range. With a total of 5 cameras you will need an 8 channel NVR, in which case we would recommend using the QRN-820S. This unit has 8 PoE ports in-built which means you can directly connect all 5 of your cameras to the NVR without the need for an additional/separate PoE switch.
System 2:
You have 1 x DS-2CD2347G2-LSU/SL and intend to add three more of the same to start your system with the view to add a couple more at a later date. In this case, you will need to purchase an 8 channel NVR. The DS-7608NI-I2-8P has long been one of the most popular Hikvision NVRs and is still a great choice, however, if budget allows you could look at the newer DS-7608NXI-I2/8P/S.
Hard Drives
Due to the nature of CCTV recording, conventional hard drives aren’t generally fit for purpose within a security system. This is due to the 24/7 usage, constant writing of data, and the associated heat and vibration that comes with this usage. Instead, there are drives built specifically for this purpose, we recommend using Western Digital Purple Series hard drives which have been made specifically for use in security systems. Another reason why we recommend the Purple hard drives is due to their reliability, as within our experience they have a very low failure rate. Some cameras also come with an SD card slot, however as you’d imagine these are rather limiting in terms of storage space. For very small setups of, say, 1-2 cube cameras though, this may be an ideal budget alternative solution instead of buying an NVR.
Summary
In this part we’ve looked at the various features of NVRs and storage drives that are important to consider when setting up your first home security system. We’ve covered some of the limits that will be in place on the network, ways of working these out beforehand, as well as some suggestions for possible storage solutions that should hopefully make this aspect of setting up a little more straightforward.
Next, we’ll cover some of the common pitfalls to avoid when it comes to installing your cameras, and things to consider when putting them up.
NVRs
Network video recorders make up the ‘brain’ of your home security system; tying the cameras to the hard drives, providing the hub for playback, and a host of other utility options. There are many to choose from, so how do you go about picking the right one for you?
Number of Channels
The first and likely most important thing to begin with is also perhaps the most obvious: the number of channels. Simply put, you want an NVR that is able to support the number of cameras in your system; there’s no use getting a 4 channel NVR if you’ve got 10 cameras ready and waiting to be connected! Whilst this seems straightforward enough, it’s also worth bearing in mind your plans for the future. A 4 channel NVR may be fine for now, but if you think you may expand to a bigger system at some point in the not-too-distant future, it may be worth getting an 8 channel or larger to save you from unnecessary extra purchases down the road.
Bandwidth
As with the number of channels, the bandwidth of your NVR refers to a hard limit on your system; in this case, the upper bound on the Mbps it can receive from your cameras. If you want an 8 camera system recording at full HD 1080p resolution and 15fps, this is going to be far more demanding on your network than say, a 4 camera system recording at 720p and 10fps. It’s a balancing act, in which you have to weigh what quality of image you need vs what your home network can take. We recommend using the Western Digital Surveillance Capacity Calculator to help estimate what your storage costs will be.
Plug and Play
Most NVRs, particularly those from Hikvision, now come with plug and play functionality, but it’s worth noting that not all do. Those that do will typically allow you to plug your cameras directly into your NVR, rather than your router or network switch, and will come with added utilities such as automatically calibrating your cameras with your selected settings, and assigning them strong passwords on your network. While this isn’t a necessity as most software is designed these days to be as straightforward to setup as possible, it’s worth keeping an eye out for plug and play in the product specifications if this is something you want to make life a little easier.
Other Features
There are a number of extra features that may be worth considering for your NVR. It’s worth at this stage bearing in mind that the NVR supersedes the camera’s in-built settings: if the NVR doesn’t support it, you won’t be able to use the camera’s feature. For example, with the rise in popularity and availability of AI (Artificial Intelligence) cameras, NVRs such as the XRN-820S are becoming popular as they will support the use of Wisenet AI cameras. If this or any other additions are something you want for your home security system, it’s important to check the product specs of your NVRs to ensure that you’ll be able to use them.
PoE
Power over ethernet, or PoE, is a common feature in modern cameras and NVRs that reduces the number of cables you need in your system. Via the use of PoE network cables, your cameras are able to be powered via their connection to the NVR, rather than requiring a power lead or battery in addition to this. Each NVR lists the number of PoE connections it can have, so it’s worth just making a note of this when purchasing as it should hopefully make installation a little more straightforward. Also note that the network cables you use have to specifically be PoE compliant – all category 5 (cat 5) cables and above fulfil this requirement, so they’re not hard to find. You can read a little more in-depth info about PoE on our Help & Info pages.
Storage Space
It is important to note that each NVR can only support a limited number of hard drives, with a maximum amount of storage space, though these are obviously designed with the appropriate amounts in mind. This places a hard limit on the amount of data you’ll be able to store from your cameras, so it’s worth adding up the numbers to ensure that the NVR you’re buying will allow you to store as much as you’d like. Once again you can use the Western Digital calculator to work out roughly how much storage space you’ll need for your setup and how many days you’ll be able to store at a time.
What next?
So you know what size NVR you want and how much storage you are going to use, but there are so many NVRs to choose from. How do you choose the specifics?
If you already have your cameras or a couple of cameras, we recommend purchasing an NVR from the same manufacturer. This is because of the ease of setup/ability to utilise the full functionality of the unit. This is not to say that you can’t mix and match, however, it is our experience that it is simpler to keep the same manufacturer for the whole system. See below some examples:
System 1:
You already have 2 x QNE-8021R and would like to add three more cameras and an NVR to complete your system. As you already have cameras from the Q series you should choose your remaining cameras and NVR from this range. With a total of 5 cameras you will need an 8 channel NVR, in which case we would recommend using the QRN-820S. This unit has 8 PoE ports in-built which means you can directly connect all 5 of your cameras to the NVR without the need for an additional/separate PoE switch.
System 2:
You have 1 x DS-2CD2347G2-LSU/SL and intend to add three more of the same to start your system with the view to add a couple more at a later date. In this case, you will need to purchase an 8 channel NVR. The DS-7608NI-I2-8P has long been one of the most popular Hikvision NVRs and is still a great choice, however, if budget allows you could look at the newer DS-7608NXI-I2/8P/S.
Hard Drives
Due to the nature of CCTV recording, conventional hard drives aren’t generally fit for purpose within a security system. This is due to the 24/7 usage, constant writing of data, and the associated heat and vibration that comes with this usage. Instead, there are drives built specifically for this purpose, we recommend using Western Digital Purple Series hard drives which have been made specifically for use in security systems. Another reason why we recommend the Purple hard drives is due to their reliability, as within our experience they have a very low failure rate. Some cameras also come with an SD card slot, however as you’d imagine these are rather limiting in terms of storage space. For very small setups of, say, 1-2 cube cameras though, this may be an ideal budget alternative solution instead of buying an NVR.
Summary
In this part we’ve looked at the various features of NVRs and storage drives that are important to consider when setting up your first home security system. We’ve covered some of the limits that will be in place on the network, ways of working these out beforehand, as well as some suggestions for possible storage solutions that should hopefully make this aspect of setting up a little more straightforward.
Next, we’ll cover some of the common pitfalls to avoid when it comes to installing your cameras, and things to consider when putting them up.
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