- Posted on
Fri Sep 02, 2016 2:27 pm
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spiv
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- Posts: 190
- Joined: Jul 15, 2014
I would be wary of turnkey hardware NVR systems. Most are proprietary and since they are from hardware-centric vendors, the software features are limited, infrequently updated, and the UI is crude or very "old school". They also do not support a lot of 3rd party IP cameras other than their own brand.
I am currently using SecuritySpy on a Mac (not the Mac running Indigo) and have been very happy with it. It has URL commands that can be used for integration (not a true REST API, but just get/put URL syntax that can be used). Performance so far with 4 cameras has been very good.
Important performance tip (for any system): If you can let the hardware IP Cameras generate an H.264 stream and the NVR software application can record this to disk without re-encoding, you will have much more capacity and lower overhead on the Mac (or PC) running the NVR software. Most good IP Cameras let you twiddle the settings for frame rate, VBR versus CBR, resolution, etc. Bandwidth is a pipeline! The more you control the point of origin, the less bandwidth everything else (network, host computer, hard disk subsystem), etc. will see and be able to handle more.
The SecuritySpy is the nicest native-Mac app I have found so far and the $$ cost is reasonable - even with a fair number of cameras.
Another option, and one that until recently I used, is Blue Iris. The unlimited camera license is only $50, but it only runs on a PC. This package is extremely flexible, there are tons of options and it fully supports direct-to-disk recording. The only downside is you must use a PC and it is traditional PC-style nerdy UI with lots of options scattered through a lot of different dialog boxes that interact with each other and overlap in what they do. I was running in on my iMac using VirtualBox and I was able to do 4 cameras ok, but I decided I wanted to go native on the Mac instead of buying a standalone PC to run it as my needs are growing. (It is simply a personal desire to not re-introduce PC's into my home/office setup as I have spent the last few years getting rid of all those horrible Windows boxes.)
For cameras, I have been having good luck with Amcrest 1080P HD camera (motorized pan/tilt) and Phylink (pinhole security/covert cameras). Not trying to start a flame-war on "favorite" IP cameras, as there already are thousands of forum posts on which is the "best" IP camera!
I have also re-purposed old iPhones as IP cameras with free or low-cost iOS apps - definitely useful for evaluation and testing of NVR software, but not practical for production use.
If you have any questions about Blue Iris or SecuritySpy that I can help with, just let me know.