Reolink PoE cameras with NVR Purchasing Advice.

Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics (including wearables) › Reolink PoE cameras with NVR Purchasing Advice.

steve181

116 posts

Master Geek

#320403 10-Aug-2025 10:09

Hey folks

After what seems like endless hours researching I just want to bite the bullet & purchase this. I am aiming for a Toyota Corolla set-up; solid and simple without added complexity such as uninterruptible power supply.

I need to upgrade my router; I'm thinking TP-Link AX3000

I've settled on REOLINK CX810 (x5). I plan to purchase from Amazon AU.

The NVR storage is something I am not sure about. What is a good amount of total recorded footage, I'm thinking at least 2 weeks?? According to ChatGPT five CX810's at max settings will record only 3 days on a Reolink 8 CH 2TB NVR.

Would I be best to make the 3 less important cameras film at 720p to get the recording time closer to two weeks or swap out the 2TB with something like this?

I don't want to make any purchases & regret it down the track so any advice is appreciated! 😃

Thanks!

Mehrts

1067 posts

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#3401392 10-Aug-2025 11:20

You can replace the internal HDD on the 8 channel NVR with a larger capacity one, as well as adding a second HDD via eSATA (or just standard SATA with an easy mod).

Alternatively, you can go for the 16 or 36 channel NVRs which offer easier expandability if you require a heap of storage.

Personally, I aim to have a week's worth of 24/7 storage, and with four 8mp cameras recording at a constant 30FPS/8Mbps, I found the 2TB HDD was roughly six days of recording storage.

steve181

116 posts

Master Geek

#3401457 10-Aug-2025 13:01

Mehrts:

You can replace the internal HDD on the 8 channel NVR with a larger capacity one

Thanks Mehrts. This might be the best approach. If I buy the 8CH NVR from amazon & replace the 2TB with a new 6TB HDD it will work out cheaper & higher capacity compared to just buying the 4TB 16CH NVR from PBtech.

If I buy the router & NVR from Amazon AU they will plug into my wall socket no problems as we have the same wall plugs as Australia right?

Mehrts

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#3401527 10-Aug-2025 15:44

steve181:

If I buy the router & NVR from Amazon AU they will plug into my wall socket no problems as we have the same wall plugs as Australia right?

Correct.

It doesn't actually matter where the NVR is purchased from, because the power supply that's included with the NVR is a multi voltage & frequency one. This means you just swap out the mains lead to whatever one you have lying around, and it'll work.

I bought my Reolink NVR & Camera kit from Amazon US, and it came with a US plug. I just swapped the short mains lead with one from something else that I didn't need. You can confirm this with your own PSU, the specs label will show 100-240V 50/60Hz.

MadEngineer

4308 posts

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#3401604 11-Aug-2025 10:04

Don’t reduce the quality. Reduce the frame rate.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

reven

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#3401608 11-Aug-2025 10:18

If you dont want to regret it. I'd suggest looking at unifi NVR and cameras. Theyre more expensive, but the software is 1000x better.

I was looking at reolink too, cos theyre a lot cheaper, but the software side won me over for unifi.

Mehrts

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#3401641 11-Aug-2025 11:24

reven:

If you dont want to regret it. I'd suggest looking at unifi NVR and cameras. Theyre more expensive, but the software is 1000x better.

I was looking at reolink too, cos theyre a lot cheaper, but the software side won me over for unifi.

Reolink are constantly updating their camera & NVR firmware, as well as the computer & mobile client applications. The mobile app is pretty user-friendly with regard to changing hardware settings, filtering & viewing any motion (person/vehicle/pet) events , and saving footage.

I was on the fence a while back whether to go for Unifi or Reolink, and I just couldn't justify the Unifi camera & recorder pricing.

What does the Unifi system offer that the Reolink one doesn't?

reven

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#3401644 11-Aug-2025 11:31

I wasn’t really saying UniFi has features Reolink doesn’t—just that, in my opinion, UniFi does certain things better.

Some examples:

License plate recognition

AI-powered search — e.g., “man in green shirt”

Multiple drive NAS options (4- or 7-drive)

Automations based on events — for example, if a car with a specific license plate pulls up, it could send a notification, trigger music, or run other actions. Mostly gimmicky, but it opens the door for some interesting use cases.

When I looked at Reolink, you had to connect a monitor to configure some settings. UniFi, on the other hand, is a true network device—you just plug it in and manage everything through a browser or app.

UniFi keeps adding features to their security products. While many are aimed at the enterprise market, quite a few are great for home security too.

That said, it does cost about three times as much.

So its worth considering IMO.