Blue Iris

Hi there,

I'm currently using a TP Link Kasa KC100 to monitor our back door / utility room. This is not so much a security camera situation, but more so we can see our cats entering and leaving (so we can see if they've at least been inside for food when we haven't seen them for a couple days). This camera, recording at 720p is just about good enough for that (better wouldn't hurt though).

I've just realized that after an initial period, the Kasa app that records to THE CLOUD [TM] only keeps data for a few hours (instead of days), which renders the whole thing a bit pointless. I'd rather not throw money at a proprietary solution like that so I'm looking for options.

What I already have is a capable Windows machine (Ryzen 3900X, 48GB RAM, Geforce 1660s, 24/7 rated HDD) running 24/7 as a server. So Blue Iris would run on that machine in a Hyper-V VM (or baremetal, if that's an issue or if Blue Iris is able to leverage the GPU when run baremetal). The entire house is well covered with a fast and stable mesh WiFi as well. So all I really need are 2 (might as well) indoor cameras with decent 1080p resolution, ideally with IR (+ the BI license of course). One of them would need to connect through WLAN, the other could connect through a LAN cable (no PoE components in the house so far though, so I'd need an injector as well). Although if there's a decent enough WiFi camera I'd rather go with 2 of those, to stay more flexible.

As this is basically a "just for fun" situation, I'd rather not throw more than 200€ at them. I'm located in Ireland where electronics are a lot more expensive than in the US, so let's say my budget is 75$/camera.

Is this doable, and what kind of camera would you recommend at that price point?

Thanks, Chris

It seems that Amcrest cameras are quite well regarded in the Blue Iris community.

Would something like this tick my boxes?
https://www.amazon.com/Amcrest-Security ... B095XCGKTF

They would more than suffice based on the description of your requirements and available hosting resources.

Not exactly a "just for fun" setup given the capabilities of the cameras themselves, not to mention all the peripheral options (and pitfalls) Amcrest loves to tout as value added off-premise features (which most users automatically avoid like the plague due to privacy/security concerns anyway).

Freeing any camera from reliance on its own vendor ecosystem is usually mission #1 when plugged in right out of the box. When using a third party management system such as Blue Iris, you start building a system configuration that suits your needs using the tools available with such an approach. Ditch all the smart home and cloud stuff until it may somehow fit in.

Amcrest View Pro is a decent enough app and would adequately serve any basic alert and remote viewing requirements, provided it isn't relied on to configure and manage anything. Between WebUI firmware and Blue Iris there's not much you can't do with any halfway decent IP camera. Amcrest provides a pretty solid platform in that regard.

On the other hand for an extremely basic setup with less to initially sort out, here's an insane deal that may tick just enough of your boxes to jump on as a starter kit to get your feet wet with Blue Iris as a multi-cam platform for hardly any investment at all. The cool thing about the Tapo stuff is no reliance on cloud servers for anything but initial registration for the warranty and you'd do that through your existing app for these and be done with it. Everything else could be kept local or exposed to whatever extent desired just by general LAN and WAN configurations. These are ONVIF-S compliant with RTSP and 100% Blue Iris compatible. Unfortunately your KC100 is not and will remain relegated to the app.

https://www.amazon.com/indoor-dog-wifi- ... 67083&th=1

There are obviously many other options out there. These are both viable on their respective levels as initial solutions to an entry level Blue Iris endeavor -- (which btw should be the 15 day free Evaluation Version before you spend money on it).

Good luck.

The fun starts...NOW! LOL

Awesome, thank you very much for your reply!