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Recommendations on video surveillance cameras solutions for a small to medium business would be appreciated. I just started at a new company. At my last company we started implementing Verkada cameras and replacing the old system. I am absolutely a fan of Verkada. At my new company we have a need for security cameras at our new building which we move into in a couple of months. I have already had Verkada demo for them and plan to do a trial but would like to know what others at small to medium businesses are using these days that do no require an NVR/DVR. I have done a little research on other cameras but would prefer recommendations from peers that have used others and are using others besides Verkada. It has been 4 years since I did a deep dive into this so I’m sure there are better or more applicable solutions out there now. We will be moving into a 40,000 sq ft building with a need for a few cameras outside and then a bunch inside. Fisheye cameras come in handy as you can purchase one camera to show 4 different areas instead of 4 separate cameras. I envision some areas benefiting from the fisheye cameras more than other areas. We are a manufacturing company so most cameras will be on our dock and shop area.

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At our small business, I personally focused on finding an NVR software I liked and then just got whatever cheap cameras I could that it could talk to. I ended up using Blue Iris because it can pull in feeds from so many different camera manufacturers. It sounds like you’re wanting more camera hardware recommendations but just wanted to throw that out there because it broke me out of the mindset of needing to “pick” one camera brand for NVR/DVR compatability.

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Ubiquiti or Hikvision

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I prefer not using an NVR and relying on another piece of hardware that has to be upgraded for more storage space, software updates and patches, and physical hardware problems that may arise. But I do appreciate the recommendation. Can I ask what ‘cheap’ cameras you went with?

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Neither of those are NDAA compliant. Not 100% certain about Ubiquiti (been a while since I looked) but definitely not Hikvision.

I don’t know what sort of manufacturing you do, but if there are any government contracts involved, either now or future work, neither of these are likely to be viable.

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Rhombus is a Verkada competitor but at a lower price point, if there is an issue with cost.

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Ubiquiti Protect is my goto. I would say take a look at them. they work great and have recently added some really cool AI features (optional upgrade via the AI Key)

Hikvision is on the US FCC Ban list and shouldn’t be used

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I bought some $60 Amcrest cameras from Amazon. I don’t like them, lol - buggy firmware, no recent firmware patches at all. Has this likely very insecure P2P connection option I had to go turn off.

Reolink sells similar cameras at the same price point and I’m less sketched out by them. If I’m buying cameras again, I’d probably try those next.

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Dahua has been a solid system for us over the years. We have also used Blue Iris and ArcDyn, both have great camera manufacturer compatibility

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Oooh, yes. I forgot about Rhombus. I will definitely put them on my list to look into. Thank you!

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We won’t be getting any government contracts but this is good to know.

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A few words of caution here especially as govt regulations ramp up. The government maintains a document they call the entity list and banned hardware list.

In there you will find Hikvision, Dauha, and (Amcrest made by Fosscam, using Dauah)

And others…

I have amcrest cameras at my house, tied to a closed network, using ZoneMinder, no internet access. ZoneMinder system has second NIC, attached to my network, and is running a time server to keep the cameras in sync (They drift a LOT otherwise).

Being ON that list affects how some businesses CAN use them, whether they like it or not.

All that said the Amcrest was chosen because after a week in an isolation lab, it was the only of a dozen or so cameras I got from amazon who actually remained silent on the network. The picture is sharp, the onboard software is decent standalone, and had SDcard backup as well. So I cannot complain about the product, but according to the US govt, the innards are a “Nope”

It’s a hard call.

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Vivotek could be one to look at.

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We use and love Reolink. Can be used with DVR, or sdcards right in the cameras. Easy to access either way you do it. And they are affordable and feature packed.

Amazon.com : reolink

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I also would strongly advise against any of the Chinese brands on the government’s no-go list, as those companies are known to basically build spyware tech (or functions that could be leveraged to become spyware) into their hardware (so it’s not removable).

If you’re adamant about avoiding a DVR, maybe consider a cloud-DVR solution and using generic network cameras (which opens up basically any brand that has POE-IP camera options) that can then push their feeds wherever you want to. Some solid brands I see in my many journeys all over the entire quarter of the country I do work in in no particular order:
Bosch
Axis
Vivotek
Hanwha
Avigilon
ACTi
Blink
SimplySafe

Plenty more of course, but those are some I see out in the field in commercial use (Bosch, Axis, and Avigilon WAY more than any other brands).

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Of these, Bosch and Axis are pretty well known and have good coverage (hardware warranty) without breaking the bank.

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I would maybe recommend that you look for vendors in your area, focus on proposals (with site visits) based on your requirements and budget… rather than brands ?

But would you need to keep the footage ? And for how long as well ?

Having a DVR or NVR have different pro & cons…but based on your requirements ?

But there is always the Synology NAS

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I would definitely recommend Ubiquity. I have recently moved my personal network from Amcrest cameras and Zyxel switches and APs to Ubiquity. And wish i’ve would have done that a long time ago.

Not true. Ubiquity is compliant.

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So Trumper banned Hikvision & others, yet now he is back & cracking the whip on you people o’er there, you really want to play the game of ‘that doesn’t matter for us’?

@dwhipps has suggested 2 Taiwanese brands (both NDAA & TAA compliant) yet not mention LILIN.

You said it was 4 years since your last ‘deep dive’, which means you also don’t know how much people have started to march away from cloud recording. Cloud backup is useful for some critical cameras, but the costs are becoming more prohibitive. Verkada’s AI performance does not justify the price in the current market & hasn’t for a couple of years.
Bosch - now too many of their products are OEM, losing their place
Axis - never lost their number 1 position
Hanwha - excellent Korean tech
Vivotek, Avilgilon, LILIN - all Taiwanese & NDAA TAA commpliant (my bias towards Lilin)

You talk of a fisheye camera, yet the function you mention is from a multi-lens camera, which in a manufacturing environment would definitely be more suitable & future-proofed than a 360° camera, even one with Dewarping.

What specific reason do you have for avoiding NVR’s or even server based VMS?

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Perhaps some of their products, but certainly not all. I did make mention that it had been a while since I’d checked. When we did a refresh of our equipment a couple years ago their stuff was out of the question since no one at Ubiquiti would give me a straight answer. Here’s their official word on it: https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/31115058556439-National-Defense-Authorization-Act-NDAA-Compliance

Even now, the doc you linked to doesn’t specifically state NDAA compliance, only “compliance”. As in with government/industry standards (like EMCD, LVD, RoHS, REACH).

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