Blue Iris

I've been running BlueIris 4 on an old 2012 Mac Mini for 4 cameras. It's set up to record motion-alerted videos only, while a separate Amcrest NVR records 24/7 footage from all 4 cameras to a 4TB HDD. BI also sends email notifications on motion alerts, and both BI and the NVR are remotely accessible via PC and iPhone.

However, I've never been fully happy with this setup. The biggest issue is frequent false alarms (shaking trees, light changes, etc.). Even if something serious happens, I often wouldn't know in time. Additionally, the remote access features are complicated, fragile, and unpleasant to use.

I’m now looking to upgrade and ideally consolidate the BI and NVR systems. I’m not interested in cloud-based solutions like Ring due to privacy concerns.

My questions:

I see BI 5 now has AI-powered features—will it help with false alarms?

What kind of computer specs do I need to run BI 5 with AI for 4 cameras?

Are there any other modern, easy-to-use alternatives? I’ve heard good things about Frigate’s AI capabilities—would it be a better fit?

Any advice would be appreciated!

I would look for an i5 8th gen desktop at min. Make sure it can accommodate an SSD or 2 and again at min 2 hard drives.

I don’t personally run Code Project AI but again you’ll need oomph in the desktop to be able to run it on the same desktop, my i5-6500 struggles hence why I don’t run it.

I prefer the AI on the cams, my Dahua cams have person and car detection which is ultra reliable so I use that to trigger BI via ONVIF for alert in my driveway.

For my non AI cams I just use normal BI motion detection rules and put up with false alerts due to the sun/shade, spiders, rain etc.