Some of these options are even free for use. When it comes to the software needed to run a DVR, there are plenty of options available. Look online for a power supply (PSU) calculator to determine how much power your DVR is going to need. Power Supply – The more powerful the components you’ve chosen above, the more power will be required to run them.More is always better and RAM tends to be rather inexpensive nowadays. Though, an upgrade to 4GB+ will make it so that any HD worries fade rather quickly. Memory – 2GB of random access memory (RAM) will ensure a smoother experience for your standard definition DVR.Don’t be afraid to splurge on this component as this is tied into what your eyes will be staring at when it comes to the quality of video being watched. HD and Blu-ray will require a video card with some decent horsepower. You’ll want a powerful enough card that can process the video signal being sent to your TV. Graphics/Video Card – This will be the more costly portion of your DVR setup.However, if you’re stuck for cash, you can always expand later on once the initial hard drive fills up. Hard drives have become rather cheap over the years so purchasing a new one shouldn’t set your wallet on fire. This sort of thing can add up quickly so having enough space to keep your DVR going is a must. Hard Drive – Recording a single movie, especially in HD, will normally cost you a gigabyte or more of hard drive space.The encoding for the DVR will be handled by a TV capture card, taking the heavy lifting off of the processor’s shoulders. Processor – So long as you have a processor that can run the latest operating systems, it won’t need to be anything special.When setting up your DVR, you’ll want to pay attention to a few specific parts. The higher the definition, the more power will be needed. Recording and watching high definition (HD) videos or Blu-ray is a different beast entirely. Recording standard definition (SD) videos won’t require much in the way of power. A Mac is also a decent choice but a PC will normally have far more available options. Plus side, is the Ubuntu server I’m designing can be managed from my Tanium infrastructure and all the benefits that goes with that are included with this setup.Īs a treat, here are a few of the images I captured from the iOS software after connecting to the Workstation NVR.You could use a laptop but it’d be difficult to update as most are very limited in the expansion department. I have only scratched the surface of what this camera and software can do… but I will be modifying my network diagram to include a custom built Ubuntu 1U server with DVR hard drives to run the NVR software locally. This software blows NightOwl out of the water and well it should as NightOwl’s app is old as dirt. I installed their iOS app and it was effortless to point it at my workstation where the NVR software was running and start viewing the camera. I installed it onto my workstation since I’m currently evaluating… and connected to the camera almost instantly. It requires either one of their NVR devices to connect, record and manage the camera or a Windows, Ubuntu or Debian computer running their NVR software which is free. Initial review… I am blown away by this camera, quality and features. Picked for the fact that it was an IP Camera, Wide angle lense and PoE. On the plus side, IP Cameras may range in price… but even the best options are below $450 per camera.Īfter research, I ordered a camera I thought had all the interesting features… A Ubiquiti Unifi G3 Dome camera. Tons of IP Cameras had PoE capabilities so I wasn’t concerned with powering them. I switched from the DVR/cameras to purely Cat6 network drops. Ultimately I realized that IP Cameras were the direction I wanted to go and this was perfect timing for our new home construction. I also discovered that my Synology NAS had a plugin Surveillance Station. My research quickly brought me back to them as a possible option. I’ve played with IP Camera software before ( Blue Iris) and figured if I ever started over, I’d go that route. Having a fondness for networking, I started researching IP cameras again. At the end of the quote, each of the 7 cameras were going to cost $450 each! That is insane!! Back to the drawing board. Well… the cost started to pile up very quickly. I began my research where I began… a DVR, but this time I’d have it professionally installed. Well behind the curve for this tech geek. I was very pleased with it until I went to extend or even check for software updates… then I hit a serious brick wall! I learned it is basically a cheap DVR that hasn’t been updated in, at least, a decade. The setup I’m using at my current home involves a NightOwl 16-camera DVR with cheap BNC cameras. The first review comes in the form of video monitoring. My upcoming new office and home-lab space has inspired me to review some of my past technology choices.
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