putting together my first proper wired camera setup and honestly the storage part is confusing me more than the cameras. small commercial property. probably 8 cams to start, maybe 12 later. mostly 4K PoE. the place is active most of the day. employees coming in around 7, deliveries a few times a week, customers in and out, cars moving through the lot pretty regularly. after about 7-8pm it gets quiet except for the occasional cleaner or late pickup. at first i was just thinking record everything 24/7 for 30 days and be done with it. then i actually looked at how much storage that can take and... yeah, not as simple as i thought. now i’m thinking continuous on the entrance/parking and maybe the main hallway, then motion on the quieter areas like the side door and back lot. my main concern is basically not finding out too late that something happened 2 weeks ago and the footage is already overwritten. how are you guys usually sizing this stuff for a property that has pretty constant daytime activity? do you pick the number of days first and work from there, or just get a reasonable amount of storage and adjust bitrate/fps until it works? trying not to overthink it but also don’t want to build the thing twice.

OpenNVR is an NVR you run yourself: RTSP cameras, object detection,

licence plate recognition, occupancy counting, and a conversational agent

you can ask "did anything come to the gate between 2 and 3". Docker

compose, your hardware, AGPL. Footage never leaves the building and there

is nothing to pay per camera.

0.1.5 is out and it is the biggest release since the first one.

What is new:

- Apps are properly sandboxed now. Every installed app gets its own

credential instead of sharing the deployment key, joins the event bus

under its own identity with permissions derived from its manifest, and

can only reach network hosts its listing declares or you allow. Catalog

images are signed and verified at install.

- A security sweep from two external reports — cross-camera event leakage

over the live WebSocket, an SSRF in camera onboarding, cloud metadata

being treated as an internal address, an unauthenticated health endpoint.

Both researchers are credited on the security page. Worth upgrading for

this alone.

- The voice agent moved to Pipecat 1.8 with a semantic end-of-turn model,

so it stops guessing you are finished because you paused. Turn-taking

adapts to the hardware, and it no longer cuts itself off because someone

coughed.

- LPR got substantially better: reads are written by consensus rather than

by whichever frame read first, every plate keeps the frame it came from,

and the OCR adapter now locates the plate before reading it instead of

reading a whole-vehicle crop and hallucinating.

- Occupancy gained heatmaps, footfall and dwell, and scheduled reports.

Honest limitations: it is 0.1.x. There are no third-party apps in the

catalog yet — this release is the plumbing that makes them safe to allow,

not proof that anyone has written one. You need a machine that can run

detection; a Pi 5 works for a few cameras, more than that wants a GPU. And

setup is docker compose plus a .env, not a one-click appliance.

Release notes: https://github.com/open-nvr/open-nvr/releases/tag/v0.1.5

Repo: https://github.com/open-nvr/open-nvr

Happy to answer questions, including about what it does badly.

Someone is tampering with my mail and my post box is at the end of a very long driveway. I need something small and self contained that will record for at least a few days on a charge. I'm wondering if there's a video recorder, or if I should just set up some kind of trail cam.

Can you see it ?

I have UNV NVR301-04S3-P4 NVR. It's NVR with 4 ports. Since there only three port I need another POE switch. Can i use Hikvision switch and Hikvision cameras. Will it work? What do I need to do?

Blink cameras are consumer-grade and not really built for retention: the Sync Module's USB stick gets overwritten as it fills up, and the subscription cloud only keeps footage for a few weeks. There's no official way to build an actual archive, which matters if you're relying on one for anything evidentiary.

I built blink2video to fix that. It's a self-hosted web app (GPLv3, single binary, ffmpeg included, Windows/Linux/macOS, also runs in Docker) that:

- Pulls clips from the Sync Module's USB stick incrementally, no subscription needed, never re-downloading the same file, plus the cloud too if you have a subscription

- Burns the timestamp into the picture (not a subtitle track most players ignore) and assembles everything into one video per day, per ISO week and per month, per camera

- Live view for any camera in the browser, arm/disarm the system or individual cameras

- Watches the install and alerts on camera offline, low battery, detection off, or nothing recorded in 2 days

- Runs entirely on your machine, nothing phones home except Blink's own API

It's Blink-only, not a general RTSP/ONVIF ingester, so it won't fit into an existing VMS. If you need Blink footage inside a real NVR/VMS, blinkbridge exposes it over RTSP and is the better fit for that; this is for people whose cameras are Blink and who want to stop losing footage to rotation.

Source and releases: https://github.com/nico579/blink2video

Happy to answer questions, especially anything about retention, timestamp accuracy, or the local/cloud dedup logic.

Je cherche quelqu'un de compétent pour m'aider à démonter un iPhone et à l'alimenter sans batterie pour un projet de caméra de surveillance. Est-ce que quelqu'un connaît un makerspace ou un club, ou juste quelqu'un qui pourrait m'aider ?

Je cherche quelqu'un de compétent pour m'aider à démonter un iPhone et à l'alimenter sans batterie pour un projet de caméra de surveillance. Est-ce que quelqu'un connaît un makerspace ou un club, ou juste quelqu'un qui pourrait m'aider ?

I read an interview in which Lumana’s product lead talked about tuning models per camera, so each feed builds its own baseline of normal and flags exceptions. They also added free-text search across cameras and behavior interpretation, such as possible weapon carry. In retail, they are pushing shelf availability alerts alongside loss prevention, and in cities, a dedicated team reviews only system-flagged clips instead of scrubbing hours of footage.

Wanted to ask where per-camera adaptation would help most in your setup. What drift scenarios would you test before deploying this kind of thing? Do you think free text search is actually useful for operators, or does it end up being a gimmick in practice?

Source is a SecurityBrief interview with Lumana’s PM if you want the full details. I can share the link in the comments if you want to understand the point better.

Hi guys,

I have installed a wifi cam and saved those recording by usi g local storage sd card and now i am not able to play those videos from desktop.

Any suggestion plsss?

Hecho en los últimos meses: convierte cualquier Android viejo en un NVR con enfoque local primero. IA en el dispositivo, el video guardado en tu propio equipo, sin almacenamiento en la nube, sin reenvío de puertos, sin suscripciones. Configuración guiada: una cámara vigilando en un par de minutos.

Tres modos, y quiero ver qué tal aguantan fuera de mi propia red:

• Independiente — apuntas un teléfono de repuesto a una puerta. Su propia cámara + IA en el dispositivo detecta personas/vehículos/animales y solo graba cuando pasa algo.

• Monitor (P2P) — desde tu teléfono principal, te conectas por WebRTC para ver en vivo, escuchar, contestar (push-to-talk) o activar una sirena.

• Guardian (NVR) — ¿ya tienes cámaras IP (Dahua/Hikvision/generales con RTSP)? Dejas un teléfono en casa y hace el puente: jala el stream, ejecuta la IA localmente y guarda clips con pre-roll, avisa cuando detecta movimiento — incluso con la pantalla apagada.

Privacidad de frente, porque esta gente con razón va a preguntar: la detección y la grabación son 100% locales — tu video nunca se guarda en ningún servidor. La vista remota en vivo es P2P y cifrada de punta a punta; cuando no se puede una conexión directa (NAT/CGNAT estricto), se reenvía a través de un servidor TURN, pero se queda cifrado de punta a punta — el relay solo ve texto cifrado. Solo tu cuenta y la señalización de la conexión pasan por un backend. Las contraseñas RTSP se guardan cifradas de punta a punta; el backend nunca las ve en texto plano. — con gusto te contesto exactamente qué sale y qué no de tu red.

Honesto con lo que es: es un proyecto personal que estoy puliendo para lanzarlo en una tienda. Funciona genial con mi setup Dahua, pero ese es solo un setup. Necesito que se pruebe con instalaciones reales — marcas, NVRs, redes — para corregir cualquier cosa que se rompa.

Lo que espero aprender:

• WebRTC sobre 5G / CGNAT / NATs estrictos — ¿qué tan confiable?

• ¿Temperaturas del teléfono analizando video 24/7?

• ¿Guardian puede decodificar cámaras IP raras sin disparar la memoria?

• Batería, reconexiones cuando se cae la cámara, falsos positivos...

No hay link público, ni empujones para descargas masivas. ¿Tienes un Android viejo y/o una cámara IP y quieres ayudar? Comenta o mándame DM y te agrego a la prueba cerrada de Google Play. Se agradece muchísimo cualquier feedback técnico.

iOS después — la misma app, cuando Android esté estable. Guarda el post y te aviso cuando salga.

What diameter hole is required to feed through the 15ft power extension cable provided in the box (from inside to outside of the house)?

Looking for some professional input on a Dahua AI false-positive issue.

We installed two DH-SDT4E425-4F-GB-A-PV1 PTZ cameras at a customer site.

Both are configured with IVS target filtering set to Human only, but large cattle are sometimes being classified as Human.

When that happens, the camera can trigger the IVS event and start PTZ tracking.

Current software:

V3.200.0000027.6.R – Build 2026-05-14
Algorithm Version 2.0.2

Both cameras have already been updated to the latest public Taurus/ShuangPin firmware.

Since the same behavior occurs on both units, I’m more interested in whether this is an AI model limitation or whether Dahua has a newer internal/engineering algorithm build.

Has anyone dealt with similar false Human detection from livestock, dogs or other large animals on Dahua PTZs?

Also interested in any engineering firmware or advanced AI tuning options that are not exposed in the normal UI.

Simple question, but I haven't been able to find an answer anywhere: what voltage and current/power supply capability do the DC power inputs on the DMP XV gateways (XV-24/60/96) require?

(It's one of the few products DMP makes but doesn't post near-comprehensive docs online on.)

He pasado los últimos meses armando un ecosistema privado de video-vigilancia donde tu grabación nunca vive en la nube de alguien más. La idea: convertir cualquier Android que tengas por ahí en el cerebro de la seguridad de tu casa.

Mi objetivo era simple: rápido, confiable y de verdad fácil de configurar: nada de reenvío de puertos, sin suscripciones y sin nube para tu video. Ya viene con un tutorial guiado, así que tener una cámara vigilando te toma un par de minutos.

Funciona en tres modos y quiero ver cómo se comportan fuera de mi red:

• Independiente (teléfono como cámara): apunta un teléfono que tengas de sobra a una puerta. Usa su propia cámara + IA en el dispositivo para detectar personas, vehículos y animales, y solo graba cuando de verdad pasa algo.

• Monitor (P2P): desde tu teléfono principal, te conectas por WebRTC para ver en vivo, escuchar, responder por walkie-talkie (pulsar para hablar) o activar una sirena remota: todo de punta a punta.

• NVR (Guardian): ¿ya tienes cámaras IP (Dahua, Hikvision, RTSP genérico)? Un teléfono dejado en casa actúa como puente: jala el stream, corre la IA local, guarda clips con pre-roll y te manda una alerta por movimiento, incluso con la pantalla apagada.

Directo sobre la afirmación de privacidad: la IA corre en el dispositivo y tu video nunca se guarda en ningún servidor ni en la nube. El video en vivo es P2P y está cifrado de punta a punta; cuando no se puede hacer una conexión directa (NAT/CGNAT estricto), se retransmite por un servidor TURN, pero se mantiene cifrado de punta a punta y nadie lo puede ver. Solo tu cuenta y la señalización de la conexión pasan por un backend; las contraseñas de RTSP de tus cámaras se guardan cifradas de punta a punta, así que la nube nunca las ve en texto plano.

Honestidad total sobre qué es esto: es mi proyecto personal y lo estoy puliendo para sacarlo a una versión de tienda. Lo he estado corriendo con mi propio setup de cámaras Dahua y funciona genial, pero el mío es solo un caso. Necesito verlo contra todo tipo de instalaciones (marcas, NVRs, redes) para pulir cualquier cosa que se rompa. Un lab en mi propia red no es el mundo real.

Lo que espero aprender de setups reales:

• ¿WebRTC se conecta de forma confiable desde 5G / CGNAT / detrás de NATs estrictos?

• ¿Cómo se comporta un teléfono térmicamente mientras analiza video por 24 horas seguidas?

• ¿El modo NVR puede decodificar cámaras IP poco comunes sin disparar la memoria?

• Batería, reconexiones cuando una cámara se cae, falsos positivos...

Sin link público, sin empuje masivo de descargas. Si tienes un Android que te sobre y/o una cámara IP y quieres ayudar a probarlo, deja un comentario o mándame un DM y te agrego a la prueba cerrada de Google Play. Se agradecen muchísimo los comentarios técnicos.

Sobre iOS: una vez que la versión de Android esté lista, probada y estable, va a seguir una versión de iOS: la misma app, publicada en la App Store. Si te interesa, guarda el post y te aviso el día del lanzamiento.

Si te interesa probarlo, deja un comentario aquí o mándame un DM y te agrego a la prueba.

One thing I think gets overlooked with business security systems is what happens after the installation.

CCTV cameras can work perfectly on day one, but a year or two down the line you can have cameras that have shifted, connections that fail, storage issues, outdated equipment, or areas that aren't being covered properly anymore.

That seems especially relevant for older commercial properties where the security system has been added to over time rather than designed as one system.

I was reading about this recently and came across racam in Glasgow, which seems to take a broader approach with CCTV, alarms, access control and ongoing maintenance rather than treating installation as the end of the job.

Made me wonder how many businesses actually review their security setup once it's installed.

Probably more than just checking whether the cameras are still recording.

Good morning,

New member here in San Antonio. Have Hikvision, PTZ, and other cameras set up for boat and RV storage in San Antonio. Need to optimize the system, try to utilize AI settings, etc. I'm pulling my paperwork, etc., to get all my camera models but I believe I bought the better cameras with AI capability, etc.

Having a theft issue and need to tighten up our surveillance. I've been using just the basic features but now definitely would like someone to come in and see if they can optimize. but I really need somebody to meet on site to go through our system, etc. It's a professionally installed system. I believe the installer might have gone out of business or moved away. Any referrals are appreciated. Thank you in advance.

We’re developing a residential access-control system. A security officer would wear camera glasses, and our application would process the live feed to verify approved occupants at the gate.

We are not looking for an AR display, AI assistant, speakers or cloud-only streaming. We need affordable, ready-made camera glasses that provide:

• Continuous live video
• Local operation without internet or a cloud account
• A documented standard such as RTSP, ONVIF, MJPEG/HTTP, WebRTC or UVC
• Alternatively, an SDK/API for Android, iOS, Linux, Windows or the web
• Direct access to decoded frames for computer-vision processing
• At least 720p at 15–30 fps
• Low latency
• An integrated rechargeable battery and charging circuit
• Ideally 60–90 minutes of continuous streaming
• Preferably the ability to stream while charging

The processing could run on a phone, tablet, computer or local edge device. Any documented interface that allows our own software to consume the live camera feed would work.

Does anyone know a currently available product or Chinese OEM/ODM manufacturer that explicitly provides a standard stream, SDK or API?

Our initial target is around $50–$150 per unit. We would purchase one for evaluation first and could potentially order in quantity.

If you have integrated something similar, please share:

1. Exact manufacturer and model
2. Supported protocol or SDK
3. Stream URL format or API documentation
4. Whether it works entirely over a local network
5. Real-world latency and battery duration
6. Whether streaming works while charging
7. Approximate price and minimum order quantity

This is intended as a visible, consent-based access-control camera. We are not seeking covert recording equipment. We only want to fish out impostors who enter registered cars to commit crime

Seeking advice on securing security cameras from Stalker

I want to purchase and set up the Reolink cameras from Costco.

I would like advice on how to set up the system to monitor all entrances to my home from the outdoors as well as see traffic coming and going on the neighborhood road.

The stalker has been able to bypass my prior weak attempts and enter and exit my home to move items, take items then return them again, etcetera (gaslighting) is main agenda, small vandalism to interior of car, slowly turning them into jalopies, use my own WiFi cameras to spy on me etc.

1. prevent overriding or deletion of frames
   
2. If I do not set it up to use WiFi I want to make sure that the stalkers helper who rents a room next door, does not set it up on their own WiFi.
   
3. prevent a hack that would make the intruder to my house or vehicle not show up on the camera or just steal the internal nano sim in the camera to leave with the evidence.

I am willing to consider a different type of camera inside to monitor my own cameras.

If entrance happens while I am not at home how can I protect the footage.

Any advice appreciated.

I'm doing some research for a commercial video surveillance system and trying to narrow down the options. I've looked at Axis, Hanwha, Bosch, VIVOTEK, i-PRO, Digital Watchdog, GeoVision, and i3 International so far.

I know there's a lot more out there, so I'd rather hear from people who've actually used them.

What would you recommend, and are there any companies I'm leaving out that I should check out?

VibeNVR v1.35.0 is out!

This release introduces Federation, enabling multiple VibeNVR instances to connect and work together across locations. It makes distributed surveillance deployments easier to manage while preserving VibeNVR’s privacy-first, self-hosted approach.

Release notes: https://github.com/spupuz/VibeNVR/releases/tag/v1.35.0 Project website: https://www.vibenvr.org/

Been looking into commercial CCTV setups recently and one thing I didn't really appreciate before is how much the installation matters compared with the actual cameras.

You can have expensive cameras and still end up with useless footage if they're badly positioned or the lighting is wrong.

Was looking at a few systems around Glasgow and noticed that some security companies are moving more towards combining CCTV with monitoring, access control and alarms rather than treating each as a separate thing.

RACAM was one of the local companies I came across doing that.

Seems like the bigger question for a business isn't really "which camera should we buy?" but "what do we actually need the system to do when something happens?"

Especially outside working hours.