Replace Hikvision CCTV NVR

[HCC]

Hi,

 

We are looking to replace our Hikvision NVR, and thought it would be useful to ask how other schools are recording and accessing CCTV.

There are 30 5MP cameras, and I need an easy to use web portal for the head and pastoral staff to access and use themselves, which is very much not the case with iVMS.

 

I'm currently considering:

• The Windows route, with Luxriot, Milestone or BlueIris etc
  
• Unfi protect but I don't like the online activation\portal aspect, and although it says third party cameras are supported I'm not 100% on compatibility.
  
• Replacement NVR like Cortex etc but not sure if such a system can use onvif or only works with matching manufacturer cameras.
  

 

 

Thanks,

[Chris_Cook]

I'd add Synology on your list as well. Its doing well for us. The synology cameras are quite pricey, but can be managed + updated from within the console. Licences are cheaper than Milestone once you go over about 50 cameras. I've managed to get most of our cameras (Sony, Hik, Axis) working with it except some old Arecont 180 + 360 cameras, and the new Unifi ones.

 

I want to look at unifi for our primary schools, but the new cameras only seem to work with unifi.

[PotNoodleTech]

Synology is outstanding, lov the kit, love the interface, but you have to buy a licence for each non synology camera you add so that can work out expensive. You do get what you pay for.

 

I'd never buy another hikvision NVR as their juist trash.

 

Unifi is good but it's a bit inbred and tied in to unifi cameras so not really an option in most schools that have a lot of non unifi cameras (ok if your starting on a new project tho).

 

Really, synology and unifi are the only "next gen" platforms - most of the rest are roughly the same style as hikvision i.e old style windows 95 interface on non cloud/web technology.

[Oaktech]

The Unifi stuff is fine, but it only currently supports 3rd party cameras that are ONVIF protocol and you lose all of their bells and whistles baked into the camera. If you are just after dumb cameras that just throw video at an NVR they'll do just fine. ONVIF cameras can be got really cheap online. One of my sites uses it like this - nice thing is you can back up to a cloud location which reduces the need for enormous HDD on premises.

[Chockster]

We use Luxriot, with a mix of Hikvision and Axis cameras. I'd never go with a hardware NVR again, I'd much rather have the freedom to choose appropriate cameras and not be tied in to a brand.

[StephenPink]

Off the back of this - we're looking to replace a Lilin system (software that we were sold is diabolically awful and forever failing)

 

We have some Axis Access Control stuff; so have been looking at that (interested to hear others thoughts on their offerings if anyone using)

 

I'm also tempted by the Unifi offering - price point is good, and have experience with their networking products - decent enough, good value for money.

 

The sticking point is that we can't afford to replace all the cameras yet - the access to view/playback footage is the biggest issue, so looking to sort that first with the existing cameras and then slowly replace in time. So open to other options!

Cheers

[Disease]

We use Hikvision and have done for about 15 years now, we recently upgraded to 100+ cameras running across 2 NVR units with a 3rd as a failover/hot spare.

 

Been absolutely flawless over that time they only issues we have had is with hard drive failures.

[PotNoodleTech]

27 minutes ago, Disease said:

We use Hikvision and have done for about 15 years now, we recently upgraded to 100+ cameras running across 2 NVR units with a 3rd as a failover/hot spare.

 

Been absolutely flawless over that time they only issues we have had is with hard drive failures.

What software do you use to view?  the IVMS 4200 is total garbage as far as I am concerned??.

[Disease]

9 minutes ago, PotNoodleTech said:

What software do you use to view?  the IVMS 4200 is total garbage as far as I am concerned??.

 

We are using IVMS 4200 but we have upgraded to the very latest version and it seems (touch wood) to run a lot better when compared to the older versions.

[PotNoodleTech]

16 hours ago, Disease said:

 

We are using IVMS 4200 but we have upgraded to the very latest version and it seems (touch wood) to run a lot better when compared to the older versions.

3.10.0.5 here and it's contant problems.

[Disease]

5 minutes ago, PotNoodleTech said:

3.10.0.5 here and it's contant problems.

What problems are you having with it? We are on 3.11..1.7

[Cat_Jam148]

Never had much luck with IVMS 4200, even the latest version continues to have issues. Crashing, forgetting settings and just general poor performance (not the NVRs fault).

 

And don't get me started on the macOS support for viewing cameras...

It's pretty much an iPad app and not a very good one at that. The latest update release notes had this single line "some bugs fixed" - useful.

 

Currently installing UniFi Protect cameras for our internal project at the moment. All good so far.

Edited May 1, 2025 by Cat_Jam148

[PotNoodleTech]

29 minutes ago, Disease said:

What problems are you having with it? We are on 3.11..1.7

Terrible perfromance and reliability - cameras disconnecting for no reason or saying too many users, it's always been like that but I will try 3.11..1.7 

[Disease]

I have to say we run the IVMS Software on a workstation with a dedicated graphics card as the system resource overhead is high ( Twin Xeon CPU | 24GB RAM|RTX1050 Ti).

[Leibnitz]

Been using ivms most days, for many years.  Running on various mid level PCs, no discrete gpu.  It has been fine for me.  A couple of the management team use it too.

 

10 NVRs 180 cameras, everything is Hikvision.

[Olliedawg]

Hit and miss here with IVMS 4200. Sometimes crashes & doesn't save settings. Other than that it's ok..

[MYK-IT]

Are you (  @Disease @Olliedawg) using IVMS software per client that needs CCTV access? As opposed to using Web Browser (e.g. Edge) with WebPlugIn?

 

Seems quite a full on installation, just for live-view / play-back purposes via 3-4 computers only (the rest we do on the NVR itself).

 

We're currently using the WebPlugIn option, but installation has proved problematic as end-users (correctly) don't have administrative rights. So OK for our computer, but not for the others. Although, we have one computer working (with standard non-administrative user account logged in) but not another even though configured exactly the same!

 

We've even tried the WebPlugunsUserSetup (the version for non-admin rights accounts) but once connected to NVR it prompts for an update (e.g. version is lower than NVR).

 

And bit unclear, as to the LocalServerComponents plug-in. As in, just the same as WebPlugIn? 🤨

 

Of course, access via the NVR has no issues!

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

Edited May 1, 2025 by MYK-IT

[Olliedawg]

2 minutes ago, MYK-IT said:

Are you (  @Disease @Olliedawg) using IVMS software per client that needs CCTV access? As opposed to using Web Browser (e.g. Edge) with WebPlugIn?

 

Seems quite a full on installation, just for live-view / play-back purposes via 3-4 computers only (the rest we do on the NVR itself).

 

We're currently using the WebPlugIn option, but installation has proved problematic as end-users (correctly) don't have administrative rights. So OK for our computer, but not for the others. Although, we have one computer working (with standard non-administrative user account logged in) but not another even though configured exactly the same!

 

We've even tried the WebPlugunsUserSetup (the version for non-admin rights accounts) but once connected to NVR it prompts for an update (e.g. version is lower than NVR).

 

And bit unclear, as to the LocalServerComponents plug-in. As in, just the same as WebPlugIn? 🤨

 

Of course, access via the NVR has no issues!

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

Yes using per client. Here it's only two users. 1 being the site manager, another the headteacher. We've just stuck with the IVMS software. I did try using the webplugins but ran into no end of issues so didn't bother with it.

[WHOAMI3904]

We've moved over to UniFi Protect—it's not the cheapest option, but it's miles better than Hikvision's IVMS-4200. We used to run two old coax DVRs and two IP NVRs. It used to take me 30 minutes to an hour to retrieve footage; now it takes just five minutes. The software is excellent.

 

UniFi Protect also supports non-UniFi cameras, which worked perfectly for us. We currently have 84 cameras on site, with around 75% still being Hikvision.

 

UniFi Protect can be accessed via the web interface or mobile app, and you can create user accounts with specific access—either on-site or remotely. You can also control which users can view which cameras. It’s been a great upgrade for us, and the feedback from staff has been nothing but positive

[Disease]

20 hours ago, MYK-IT said:

Are you (  @Disease @Olliedawg) using IVMS software per client that needs CCTV access? As opposed to using Web Browser (e.g. Edge) with WebPlugIn?

 

Seems quite a full on installation, just for live-view / play-back purposes via 3-4 computers only (the rest we do on the NVR itself).

 

We're currently using the WebPlugIn option, but installation has proved problematic as end-users (correctly) don't have administrative rights. So OK for our computer, but not for the others. Although, we have one computer working (with standard non-administrative user account logged in) but not another even though configured exactly the same!

 

We've even tried the WebPlugunsUserSetup (the version for non-admin rights accounts) but once connected to NVR it prompts for an update (e.g. version is lower than NVR).

 

And bit unclear, as to the LocalServerComponents plug-in. As in, just the same as WebPlugIn? 🤨

 

Of course, access via the NVR has no issues!

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

Per client but we only use 1 and that's for me as Network Manager, the Head and Site have direct into the NVR but they just view, IT do all CCTV work here.