Upgrade CCTV

[oldbutnotdead]

Existing setup is a Chinese 8 channel analogue DVR with a variety of cameras hanging off it. It is mostly OK for my purposes EXCEPT I cannot view live images off site on my phone (the manufacturer has vanished, the Android/Apple apps won't run on anything I currently own (Ipad 2 to give a clue). And the backup software on it is rubbish- it wants you to download each day individually, there's no option I can find to back up a date range so I just end up swapping the HDD out then copying files off to other storage.
I keep seeing a HikVision DS-7208HQHI-K1 box on Amazon for not a lot of cash with what looks like 8 analogue channels and 4 PoE- trouble is when I start trying to investigate what it actually does I get lost. For instance it is a bit vague with the spec on the 4 PoE ports- is it 6Mb shared between them or up to 6Mb per channel, similar on the analogue channels.
Attached pic shows the current camera views. Definitely interested in higher resolution (as high as I can get to be honest) on front parking and back yard, the front door and rear side can use improvement (the cameras are old cheap things from Ebay). Mittens cam is just there for fun. It is a biggish site (which is why that 8 + 4 appeals- 16 would be overkill and I don't think I need the expense of IP cameras on the lower cameras).
What I'd like is;
Remote viewing from Android phone, PC and ideally MacBook (I've got IP forwarding working via broadband so can use the PC software remotely), ideally viewable as a webpage as well as via an app (so if I need to I can connect to it from any web browser on any random machine)
Backup software that I can run on a remote machine via IP so I don't have to go up in the loft every month and swap HDD out
Capacity for up to 4 high res cameras (IP- the 2 mentioned above plus another 2 in the garden for the future)
Capacity for up to 6 medium res cameras (can be analogue but need better resolution than the basic composite cameras I already have. I'm reluctant to start throwing TLAs about cos this isn't my world).
Any thoughts? (There's no panic about this, just a nice winter scheme while its cold and horrid outside)
TIA
Oh yes, forgot- need motion detection with effective masking- ideally grid rather than area.

 

[sparkymarka]

The hikvision doesn’t have 4 POE ports ….this model is only 2mp on the standard bnc ports ….the HUHI …. Is the 5mp version , you can add ip cameras up to 8MP on the HUHI

 

[secureiam]

Higher resolution isn't always good value for money, You may not need the same resolution for each area to be covered.

You have to be aware of the NVR or in your case DVR is capable of, specs can change slightly between different versions of the same unit, both in terms of original hardware or firmware changes.

1. So first think is what do you want to achieve for each view that is to be covered.
2. Spec up the cameras accordingly
3.Spec up the DVR/NVR
4. Spec up your storage

Its noted that Hikvision ivms4500 is okay to view 8MP cameras on 264 compression remotely but hikconnect doesn't seem to like 8MP on 264 anymore and need to use 265 (dont use 265+).

As for understanding the spec. without you being specific its hard to say, or point you to some light reading.

You will see specs saying it supports 8MP cameras, but the see it only does that on a limited number of channels.

so 8 x 2MP cameras is 2 x 8MP only or 4 x 4MP as a rough guide. some will record fine more than 2 x 8 MP cameras but playback only 2 x 8MP cameras max.

WRT remote viewing on current app, guessing your using a local ip address only in the app settings, most common.
Many domestic properties dont have static IP address so you would need a ddns, some routers support this (usually one you have bought rather than the ISP provided one). Free ddns is available but sometimes its time limited.

All ddns does is give a domain style address rather than ip address, and the resolved name points to the actual ip address.

The higher the resolution of the cameras the more broadband speed you need to upload and download the video.
Web browser viewing, You want to check which browsers and versions are supported and you may need to download a plugin when you open the browser up. Edge being the worst browser on some of the older DVR/ NVRs in general and running on internet explorer mode can help.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Morning. Ta for that lot, detailed response to follow (tonight probably)