I’ve been a WyzeCam user for a few years and while it has done the trick, I’d like to upgrade. I currently have four cameras, each set up in a window looking out. The main reason for upgrade is I want a better image and FPS, something I can mount outside as well as AI to differentiate between person and vehicle.

With the Wyze, it continuously records to SD card, all motion events are logged (with set detection area), but it only pushes notifications on person detection. Everything is visible in the app, cameras are grouped and it’s easy to monitor multiple cameras as well as review footage (albeit the connectivity is kinda bad through their servers.) I want to maintain that functionality.

The cameras I’m looking at switching to are Reolink RLC-820A/RLC-822A or Annke C800. I’m open to alternative suggestions if a better camera exists, but I only want turrets as bullet cameras stick out too much for my liking. Zooms are nice to have, but clear image with a high enough frame rate to minimize blur is most important.

Where I’m currently struggling is with is pairing the cameras to an NVR. I know I want a dedicated NVR with 8 ports. From what I gather, Reolink NVRs and their app seems to be pretty well regarded for features. I also read it’s supposed to support ONVIF so other cameras could be used, but I’ve also read that success has been hit or miss.

How can I find out what features will work or not work with whatever camera/NVR combo? I’m telling myself that having the person/vehicle AI on the camera is better as it distributes the processing, but is that indeed the case or am I just convincing myself?

My starting equipment budget is roughly around US$600. I based that estimate on $100 per camera and $200 for NVR, but if there’s better equipment, that budget is flexible.