You’ve finally taken the first step in upping your home security game and purchased six home security cameras. You take your cameras out of the box, get them hooked up and insert a MicroSD card into each camera (that’s 6 MicroSD cards!). Instead of being able to view each camera’s feed simultaneously you have to view each camera’s footage separately. Although a MicroSD allows your camera to store footage, it’s not able to continuously record footage for more than 4 days at the most (for a 32GB MicroSD card). This can make it difficult to continue to have saved ongoing surveillance of your home without supporting features to add more storage such as Amcrest Cloud. Amcrest also offers DVRs and NVRs so that you’re able to continuously record for up to 30-50 days depending on the model. Both NVRs and DVRs include a USB backup feature so that you have multiple places to save your recorded footage.

Hold on a second, what’s a ‘DVR’ and an ‘NVR’?

I thought you’d never ask! A DVR is short for Digital Video Recorder and an NVR is short for Network Video Recorder, both of which can save recorded footage from your cameras. They look incredibly similar, depending on the model, and most users aren’t exactly sure what the difference is between the two. Both video recorders have custom recording modes (manual, scheduled, motion detection) and you’re able to set recording intervals anywhere from 1 minute to 120 minutes. With a video recorder, you’re able to manipulate PTZ (if your camera supports it) and view the footage of all your cameras on a wide-screen. You’re even able to store up to 6TB of footage with certain video recorders (compared to 32GB on a MicroSD) and backup your footage to a USB which is exceptionally handy if you have not gotten Amcrest Cloud yet. (Learn more about the cloud)

Network Video Recorders

NVRs are solely for IP cameras (that is, cameras that can send and receive data via a video network using the internet). With the NVR, the recorded footage is processed and encoded within the IP camera. This information is then promptly sent to the NVR to be stored so you’re able to view it at your leisure. Depending on the number of cameras you have, your NVR will consume a varying amount of bandwidth as a result.

There are two types of NVRs, PoE, and Wi-Fi. A PoE NVR requires the use of Ethernet ports and a PoE switch while a Wi-Fi NVR uses your internet connection to communicate with your cameras.

An NVR like the Amcrest NV4108-HS (Wi-Fi NVR) or Amcrest NV4108-HS (PoE NVR) are great for beginners who have just started testing the waters of home surveillance. A PoE NVR connects all of your cameras over one cable via a PoE switch (make sure that you have enough ports for your cameras) while a Wi-Fi NVR connects wirelessly over your internet connection. NVRs, while incredibly flexible with their connected cameras can experience signal loss due to your internet connection. By using either of these NVRs you don’t have to worry about drilling multiple holes throughout your home in an attempt to run cables and connect your cameras. All you need is one cable to do the job.

Digital Video Recorders

DVRs are compatible with analog cameras (that is, cameras that carry their signal over a coaxial cable). A DVR, such as the Amcrest AMDV4M4, inputs information directly from the cameras and in turn processes and encodes the footage within itself instead of the cameras. Each camera must be connected to the DVR with its own individual cable. As a result of this point-to-point connection, you experience a more stable signal. However, you have to connect a cable from your DVR to each of your cameras. Fortunately, digital video recorders tend to run at a lower cost compared to NVRs.



So, which one should I buy?

Honestly, it’s a matter of personal preference. As I mentioned earlier, NVRs are a great choice for people who are new to home security cameras and the installation that they often require. You only have to run one cable in order for your PoE NVR (Wi-Fi NVR connects wirelessly) to establish a connection with your cameras. It comes at a slightly higher cost when compared to the DVR but it is also capable of showing high-quality footage in HD. DVRs are typically available at a lower cost and experience a more stable signal with your cameras.

Regardless of which video recorder you choose for your cameras, you can be confident that both will have plug & play setup with the ability to continuously record footage for up to 30-50 days so that you’re always in the know even when you’re on the go.

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