Buy for the system you'll have in two years, not the one you're fitting today. Adding cameras later is easy. Swapping the recorder isn't.

For full detail, our Hikvision NVR buying guide compares every series and explains the (C) vs (E) revision trap: the same model number with half the camera resolution and half the storage limit.

Do I need a PoE or non-PoE NVR?

• PoE NVR: switch ports built in. Each camera plugs straight into the recorder and gets power and picture down one cable. No separate switch or power supply, and the cameras sit on their own network, so it's simpler to set up.
• Non-PoE NVR: costs less but needs a PoE switch alongside. Right when cameras are already cabled to a comms room, when runs are too long to reach the recorder, or when you're extending an existing network.
• Check the port count, not the channel count. Several 32-channel models here have 16 PoE ports. One has 24. The DS-7716NI-M4 has no PoE at all, while the DS-7716NI-M4/16P is the same recorder with sixteen ports built in. We sell both, and the name doesn't make the difference obvious.

How much storage and bandwidth do I need?

• Drive bays decide how long you keep footage, not the channel count. One bay covers most homes and shops. Two doubles it for busier sites. Four or more where a licence sets the period. Larger models here take eight or sixteen drives.
• Bandwidth is the real limit. Divide the recorder's incoming figure by your camera count. About 3 Mbps per camera suits 2MP. 6–8 Mbps is comfortable at 4MP and above.
• Check the maximum resolution the recorder accepts. It varies a lot across the range, and a recorder quietly scales down anything above its limit. Paying for 4K cameras and recording them lower is a common, costly mistake. The figure is on each product page.

Recorders come without drives. Size one with the CCTV storage calculator and add a surveillance hard drive to your order.

Which cameras work with it?

Hikvision NVRs work with Hikvision IP cameras and accept other brands' ONVIF cameras.

• AcuSearch and AcuSeek only work with AcuSense cameras that have the function turned on. This is the most costly mismatch we see: a smart recorder with older or other-brand cameras has nothing to work with.
• DeepinMind (iDS) models have a heavier AI engine, and the same caution applies.
• Check whether your cameras need 802.3af or 802.3at power. Strobe and siren models use two to three times as much as plain ones. Make sure the total fits the recorder's PoE budget.

Send us your camera list and we'll confirm it before you order. Recording HD-TVI cameras over coax instead? You need a DVR and HD analogue cameras.

Why buy from us?

Everything here is genuine UK-spec stock. Installers and regular buyers can apply for a trade account for trade pricing. You don't need to be NSI or SSAIB approved.