System Design Questions

Bryan

I'm looking to design a security camera system for my house and barn (150' from the house). WiFi at the barn is spotty, even with an extender. Should I wire to barn with CAT 6, wire to the barn with CAT 7, or just add a second NVR at the barn? Do you need line-of-sight to the NVR to control the NVR? I apologize for all the questions.

Reolink Fiona

@ourhalfdzn_493664171921643
Reolink POE cameras support T-568B connectors and CAT5, CAT6, CAT7 with 8 PIN Ethernet cables. The maximum length the camera supported is 80 meters (about 262 feet).

You can try to use the switch to connect the camera and the NVR if it is too far from the NVR and the camera. This is the guide for how to connect the PoE switch, router, and NVR. https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/900000537406-How-to-Connect-PoE-Switch-Router-and-PoE-NVR.

You may need to connect the monitor to the NVR with the HDMI cable. After installation, you can also connect the NVR to the app/Client for remote viewing.

Bryan

Thanks for the fast response, Fiona. I have a few follow-up questions:

I've read that battery-powered WiFi cameras cannot connect to a PoE NVR. If not, how do I connect them to my PoE system?
Is it feasible to have a second NVR, such as down at the barn, to monitor the barn cameras, then run an HDMI to a monitor at the house? Is that feasible? Is it recommended?
Is the NVR controlled over the WiFi and/or internet by a computer in the home? Or do it need to be connected directly with a mouse and monitor to be controlled?

Thanks in advance for your quick response and patience. My new system is arriving soon and I need help in setting it up correctly.

mdunning

@ourhalfdzn_493664171921643, It's good you are researching cam systems before buying. Some buy then get frustrated because they don't know how to run them or have they have too high expectations on how they perform. In my opinion Reolink is a great brand in their price range. I've used them for a couple years. There are YouTube videos you can watch about how to set them up and how the apps work. On YouTube type in "Reolink NVR set up, review" etc. Also use the Reolink support pages. Camera systems can be very basic, easy to use, or indepth rather complicated settings. There is a learning curve how to connect them to your router, controlling cam features, etc. but once you get the hang of it it's fairly routine. Some use NVR system, others just use phone app and record to the SD cards in the cams. Two YouTube channels I like are LifeHackster and The Hook Up who have videos about Reolink cams, there are others including Reolink's own YouTube channel.

Reolink Fiona

@ourhalfdzn_493664171921643

The battery wifi camera can't connect to the NVR. Only the wifi-wired camera can connect to the NVR. This is the guide to connect the wifi-wired camera to the NVR. https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/360004346714-How-to-Make-Reolink-WiFi-Cameras-Work-with-Reolink-PoE-NVRs
We recommend you put the NVR and the monitor on the barn. Then you can view the video on the monitor.
The NVR is controlled by the monitor instead of the computer. You can set up the system as this article introduced, https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/900005458466-How-to-Initially-Set-up-PoE-NVR-with-Monitor-Connected-New-UI-.
If you think the barn is too far to view the video. You can connect the NVR to our APP/Client for remote view. You can connect them remotely just by scanning the UID on the NVR body. This article is for your reference. https://support.reolink.com/hc/en-us/articles/360003539394-How-to-Access-Reolink-Products-Remotely
Download the APP/Client here, App & Client - Reolink.

Bryan

@mdunning_323765759099098, Thank you for the help, mdunning! I've pulled the trigger on a Reolink system and plan to "grow" into a few wireless cameras at the barn. My delivery of the NVR and PoE cameras (plus one "experimental" WiFi camera) has arrived. I'll wire these up and see if I want to invest in additional WiFi's for the barn.

Thanks again for the information and suggestions. I'll be on YouTube consistently now, since Reolink tech support is only available via overnight email.

Regards!