Questions and recommendation for indoor Reolink NVR + PoE Cameras as a backup in addition to an existing wireless security system

[mayanninhaipe]

Greeting IP Cam Experts,

Newbie here and I am looking to install an indoor PoE backup camera system to protect against potential Wi-Fi jamming and would appreciate your recommendations for the best setup.

Setup Details:

- Coverage Area: Room A (24' W x 30' L, with front and back access doors) and Room B (11.8' W x 11.9' L, connected via a side door on the right of Room A).
- Lighting: Well-lit from dusk to dawn.
- Budget: Around $500.
- Equipment Under Consideration:
- Reolink NVR RLN8-410 (No HDD) - $152
- Reolink FE-P (for Room A) - $136
- Reolink RLC-820A (for Room B) - $80
- Optional: Reolink OMVI 3i ($230) for Room A if the fisheye camera view quality is poor due to distortion.
(Note: All cameras have a MicroSD slot, fit within my budget, and per the manufacturer, do not use Dahua, Hikvision or Huawei/HiSilicon components.)

Questions:

1. Can these cameras continuously or loop-record to both a MicroSD card and the NVR simultaneously?
2. Can flat, oxygen-free copper Cat 6/6e Ethernet cables be used instead of standard round cables?
3. Will this configuration work properly within a VLAN setup?

Thanks in advance for your time and help!

 

[wittaj]

Here is the unofficial Reolink thread.

You can see all the attempts people have provided to demonstrate the quality of Reolink, and they are all a blurry mess at night or missing body parts or other messes.

We have challenged someone to provide a clean capture of someone moving at night with a Reolink and as you can see with over 20 pages, nobody has yet to provide a usable image with motion at night.

Reolink: Deconstruction of a dangerous misleading youtube review "Finding the BEST 4K Security Camera NVR Package (Reolink vs Amcrest vs Swann)"

Most will say these don't cut it.

Are these images sufficient for what your goals are for the system?

 

[looney2ns]

Greeting IP Cam Experts,

Newbie here and I am looking to install an indoor PoE backup camera system to protect against potential Wi-Fi jamming and would appreciate your recommendations for the best setup.

Setup Details:

- Coverage Area: Room A (24' W x 30' L, with front and back access doors) and Room B (11.8' W x 11.9' L, connected via a side door on the right of Room A).
- Lighting: Well-lit from dusk to dawn.
- Budget: Around $500.
- Equipment Under Consideration:
- Reolink NVR RLN8-410 (No HDD) - $152
- Reolink FE-P (for Room A) - $136
- Reolink RLC-820A (for Room B) - $80
- Optional: Reolink OMVI 3i ($230) for Room A if the fisheye camera view quality is poor due to distortion.
(Note: All cameras have a MicroSD slot, fit within my budget, and per the manufacturer, do not use Dahua, Hikvision or Huawei/HiSilicon components.)

Questions:

1. Can these cameras continuously or loop-record to both a MicroSD card and the NVR simultaneously?
2. Can flat, oxygen-free copper Cat 6/6e Ethernet cables be used instead of standard round cables?
3. Will this configuration work properly within a VLAN setup?

Thanks in advance for your time and help!

The flat ethernet cable should never be used. Especially with POE. It's too small of gauge of wire.
At the minimum you want 24gauge wires.

Reolink cams are mostly crap, except for their POE doorbell cam.

 

[OD1]

The flat ethernet cable should never be used. Especially with POE. It's too small of gauge of wire.
At the minimum you want 24gauge wires.

Reolink cams are mostly crap, except for their POE doorbell cam.

I’m still looking for an explanation why their PoE doorbell isn’t crap. I’ve owned one and thought it was crap.

Is it just that people must have video doorbells and since they’re all crap, this one just fits in?

 

[TonyR]

I’m still looking for an explanation why their PoE doorbell isn’t crap. I’ve owned one and thought it was crap.

Is it just that people must have video doorbells and since they’re all crap, this one just fits in?

I've had 2 working flawlessly for over 3 years now. Direct boiling sun in the afternoon with a non-contact outside surface reading of +150° F, 4° in the winter. Direct blast from rain. Dozens of lightning storms, nearby strikes and power outages in that time frame...keeps on ticking.
Most of the posts in the Reolink Doorbell thread are positive, so statistically I'd say you are in the minority.
No doubt you've had issues with it....maybe it's configuration? Or maybe you're expecting too much from a video doorbell?

 

[OD1]

I've had 2 working flawlessly for over 3 years now. Direct boiling sun in the afternoon with a non-contact outside surface reading of +150° F, 4° in the winter. Direct blast from rain. Dozens of lightning storms, nearby strikes and power outages in that time frame...keeps on ticking.
Most of the posts in the Reolink Doorbell thread are positive, so statistically I'd say you are in the minority.
No doubt you've had issues with it....maybe it's configuration? Or maybe you're expecting too much from a video doorbell?

What if you just held it to the same standard you hold real cameras to? You can easily use a real camera instead. Then you get to keep your nice looking doorbell.

Working for three years isn’t much of a standard. I don’t own any cameras that new.

 

[wittaj]

I’m still looking for an explanation why their PoE doorbell isn’t crap. I’ve owned one and thought it was crap.

Is it just that people must have video doorbells and since they’re all crap, this one just fits in?

Sadly there are not many POE doorbell cameras on the market. And this one is the best of them in terms of performance and cost.

But yea, if video quality is what someone wants, go with a real camera. I did because nobody rings the doorbell anyway LOL. The all knock.

 

[TonyR]

What if you just held it to the same standard you hold real cameras to? You can easily use a real camera instead.

Why don't you do it and tell US what you did and how you did it? Apparently one would just use "a real camera" in place of a video doorbell, right?

@mayanninhaipe , sorry your thread got hijacked.

 

[jeremyx]

On your first question, yes, as long as the model supports it. Reolink calls it dual recording: with a microSD card in the camera and an HDD in the NVR, the camera records to both once it's added to the NVR and recording is turned on for that channel. The SD card and NVR schedules are set separately, so set continuous on both if that's what you want. I'd check each model's support page for dual recording before you buy, since not every Reolink camera has it.

On the VLAN question, cameras plugged into the RLN8-410's built-in PoE ports sit on the NVR's own internal network rather than your LAN, so only the NVR itself needs to go on the camera VLAN. If you block that VLAN from the internet, keep in mind that remote viewing in the Reolink app goes through their cloud service, so you'd want a VPN into your home network to view remotely.

 

[mayanninhaipe]

Why don't you do it and tell US what you did and how you did it? Apparently one would just use "a real camera" in place of a video doorbell, right?

@mayanninhaipe , sorry your thread got hijacked.

No problem at all. It's cool as I would like to learn / gather everything I can absorb before open my wallet.

 

[mayanninhaipe]

Here is the unofficial Reolink thread.

You can see all the attempts people have provided to demonstrate the quality of Reolink, and they are all a blurry mess at night or missing body parts or other messes.

We have challenged someone to provide a clean capture of someone moving at night with a Reolink and as you can see with over 20 pages, nobody has yet to provide a usable image with motion at night.

Reolink: Deconstruction of a dangerous misleading youtube review "Finding the BEST 4K Security Camera NVR Package (Reolink vs Amcrest vs Swann)"

Most will say these don't cut it.

Are these images sufficient for what your goals are for the system?

Thanks for the video link.

I reviewed the black-and-white footage, and it appears that none of the cameras can clearly capture and identify a running person at night regardless.

Given our tight budget and the fact that these are for indoor use where lights remain on overnight, I believe this setup will be sufficient. Compared to other security options like Swann, NightOwl, and Lorex, Reolink seems to be the only brand offering an affordable 360° PoE camera. This will primarily serve as a precautionary measure for peace of mind and insurance purposes, allowing me to contact the authority if needed while I am away.

 

[mayanninhaipe]

On your first question, yes, as long as the model supports it. Reolink calls it dual recording: with a microSD card in the camera and an HDD in the NVR, the camera records to both once it's added to the NVR and recording is turned on for that channel. The SD card and NVR schedules are set separately, so set continuous on both if that's what you want. I'd check each model's support page for dual recording before you buy, since not every Reolink camera has it.

On the VLAN question, cameras plugged into the RLN8-410's built-in PoE ports sit on the NVR's own internal network rather than your LAN, so only the NVR itself needs to go on the camera VLAN. If you block that VLAN from the internet, keep in mind that remote viewing in the Reolink app goes through their cloud service, so you'd want a VPN into your home network to view remotely.

Thanks for your comments. I noted your point and will double-check the models for dual recording.

To confirm my understanding of the setup: all PoE cameras will plug directly into their dedicated NVR, the NVR will connect to the VLAN on the router or switch, and remote viewing will be accessed via a VPN such as NordVPN. Is that correct?

On a related note, do you happen to know of or recommend any affordable (ideally under $500) 8-port routers with VLAN support?

The flat ethernet cable should never be used. Especially with POE. It's too small of gauge of wire.
At the minimum you want 24gauge wires.

Reolink cams are mostly crap, except for their POE doorbell cam.

Thank you for letting me know that the flat Ethernet wire gauge is inadequate for PoE applications.

For a cable run of 15 to 25 feet, do you think 23 AWG would be overkill?

 

[mat200]

Thanks for your comments. I noted your point and will double-check the models for dual recording.

To confirm my understanding of the setup: all PoE cameras will plug directly into their dedicated NVR, the NVR will connect to the VLAN on the router or switch, and remote viewing will be accessed via a VPN such as NordVPN. Is that correct?

On a related note, do you happen to know of or recommend any affordable (ideally under $500) 8-port routers with VLAN support?

Thank you for letting me know that the flat Ethernet wire gauge is inadequate for PoE applications.

For a cable run of 15 to 25 feet, do you think 23 AWG would be overkill?

I bought bulk cat5e/6 boxes for setting mine up

Found some partially use boxes for cheap

Either 23-24 AWG solid copper wires from patch panel to patch port / junction box

24 AWG will be a bit better if you can get it. ( while I prefer running cat6, if you have cat5e it is still good for IP security cameras as they do not need more than 1G )

In terms of switches, I typically have my IP cameras on their own LAN and thus do not need VLAN, so something like the following works for me there:

 

[looney2ns]

Thanks for your comments. I noted your point and will double-check the models for dual recording.

To confirm my understanding of the setup: all PoE cameras will plug directly into their dedicated NVR, the NVR will connect to the VLAN on the router or switch, and remote viewing will be accessed via a VPN such as NordVPN. Is that correct?

On a related note, do you happen to know of or recommend any affordable (ideally under $500) 8-port routers with VLAN support?

Thank you for letting me know that the flat Ethernet wire gauge is inadequate for PoE applications.

For a cable run of 15 to 25 feet, do you think 23 AWG would be overkill?

Not overkill at all.

 

[mayanninhaipe]

I bought bulk cat5e/6 boxes for setting mine up

Found some partially use boxes for cheap

Either 23-24 AWG solid copper wires from patch panel to patch port / junction box

24 AWG will be a bit better if you can get it. ( while I prefer running cat6, if you have cat5e it is still good for IP security cameras as they do not need more than 1G )

In terms of switches, I typically have my IP cameras on their own LAN and thus do not need VLAN, so something like the following works for me there:

View attachment 250131

Thank you for the detailed information and switch recommendation.

If I understand correctly, using a Smart Managed PoE switch combined with a VPN can be a simpler alternative to a complex VLAN setup while still isolating the cameras from the main network. I watched a few videos on VLANs, but it seems a bit beyond my technical expertise.

Here is how I picture my setup for the PoE cameras and NVR:

1. Current setup: My ISP modem connects to a Linksys E9500 router, which feeds six wall Ethernet ports throughout the house.
2. Switch setup: Connect the recommended Netgear Smart PoE switch to one of the active wall Ethernet ports.
3. Devices: Connect the NVR and PoE cameras directly to the Netgear switch.
4. Access: Use a VPN to view the cameras' live feeds.

Could you please confirm if this setup will work? Additionally, do I need to configure static IP addresses for the Netgear switch, NVR, and IP cameras for the VPN to recognize them, or will default DHCP suffice?