A Hikvision network video recorder powers your IP cameras, records them to disk and streams live view and playback to your phone through Hik-Connect. The range runs from four-channel units for a house up to multi-bay rack chassis for a campus, and the model numbers give little away — so this page sets out how to choose.
For the full detail, our Hikvision NVR buying guide compares every series and covers the (C) vs (E) revision trap — the same model number with half the camera resolution and half the storage ceiling.
Browse by channel count
Buy for the system you'll have in two years, not the one you're installing today. Adding cameras later is easy; swapping the recorder isn't.
- 4 Channel NVRs — houses, flats, small shop fronts
- 8 Channel NVRs — the most common size, and the sensible default for most homes and small businesses
- 16 Channel NVRs — commercial units, schools, farms, pubs
- 32 Channel NVRs — industrial sites, retail parks, multi-building premises
- 64 Channel NVRs — campuses and estates
PoE or non-PoE
A PoE NVR has switch ports built in: each camera plugs straight into the recorder and gets power and data down one cable. No separate switch, no separate power supply, and the cameras sit on an isolated network — simpler to commission.
A non-PoE NVR costs less but needs a PoE switch alongside. That's the right answer when cameras are already cabled back 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 in this range provide 16 PoE ports; one provides 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. Both are sold here and the difference isn't obvious from the name.
Storage and bandwidth
Drive bays decide retention, not channel count. One SATA bay covers most homes and shops; two doubles the retention for busier sites; four or more matter where a licensing condition sets the period. Larger chassis in this range take eight or sixteen drives.
Bandwidth is the real ceiling. Divide the recorder's incoming figure by your camera count — around 3 Mbps per camera suits 2MP, and 6–8 Mbps is comfortable at 4MP and above.
Check the maximum resolution the recorder accepts. It varies considerably across this range, and a recorder will quietly downscale anything above its limit. Paying for 4K cameras and recording them below that is a common and expensive mistake — the figure is on each product page.
Recorders are supplied without drives. Size one with the CCTV storage calculator and add a surveillance hard drive to the order.
Cameras, AcuSense and AI
Hikvision NVRs work with Hikvision IP cameras and accept third-party ONVIF cameras.
AcuSearch and AcuSeek only work with AcuSense cameras that have the function enabled. This is the most expensive mismatch we see — an AI recorder paired with older or third-party cameras has nothing to work with. DeepinMind (iDS) models carry a heavier AI engine again, and the same caution applies. Send us the camera list and we'll confirm it before you order.
Worth checking too: whether your cameras need 802.3af or 802.3at power, since strobe and siren models draw two to three times as much as their plain siblings, and whether the total fits the recorder's PoE budget.
Recording HD-TVI cameras over coax instead? You need a DVR and HD analogue cameras.
Buying from us
Everything here is genuine UK-spec stock. Orders are dispatched within three working days, or collect from the trade counter at Unit 3, Park View Centre, Dudley Road, Wolverhampton — often the same day, Monday to Friday 9am–4:30pm and Saturday 10am–4pm.
Installers and regular buyers can apply for a trade account for trade pricing; you don't need to be NSI or SSAIB approved. Advice before you buy is free either way — call 01902 902251 with a camera count and a rough idea of the site.
Hikvision NVRs
A Hikvision network video recorder powers your IP cameras, records them to disk and streams live view and playback to your phone through Hik-Connect. The range runs from four-channel units for a house up to multi-bay rack chassis for a campus, and the model numbers give little away — so this page sets out how to choose.
For the full detail, our Hikvision NVR buying guide compares every series and covers the (C) vs (E) revision trap — the same model number with half the camera resolution and half the storage ceiling.
Browse by channel count
Buy for the system you'll have in two years, not the one you're installing today. Adding cameras later is easy; swapping the recorder isn't.
- 4 Channel NVRs — houses, flats, small shop fronts
- 8 Channel NVRs — the most common size, and the sensible default for most homes and small businesses
- 16 Channel NVRs — commercial units, schools, farms, pubs
- 32 Channel NVRs — industrial sites, retail parks, multi-building premises
- 64 Channel NVRs — campuses and estates
PoE or non-PoE
A PoE NVR has switch ports built in: each camera plugs straight into the recorder and gets power and data down one cable. No separate switch, no separate power supply, and the cameras sit on an isolated network — simpler to commission.
A non-PoE NVR costs less but needs a PoE switch alongside. That's the right answer when cameras are already cabled back 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 in this range provide 16 PoE ports; one provides 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. Both are sold here and the difference isn't obvious from the name.
Storage and bandwidth
Drive bays decide retention, not channel count. One SATA bay covers most homes and shops; two doubles the retention for busier sites; four or more matter where a licensing condition sets the period. Larger chassis in this range take eight or sixteen drives.
Bandwidth is the real ceiling. Divide the recorder's incoming figure by your camera count — around 3 Mbps per camera suits 2MP, and 6–8 Mbps is comfortable at 4MP and above.
Check the maximum resolution the recorder accepts. It varies considerably across this range, and a recorder will quietly downscale anything above its limit. Paying for 4K cameras and recording them below that is a common and expensive mistake — the figure is on each product page.
Recorders are supplied without drives. Size one with the CCTV storage calculator and add a surveillance hard drive to the order.
Cameras, AcuSense and AI
Hikvision NVRs work with Hikvision IP cameras and accept third-party ONVIF cameras.
AcuSearch and AcuSeek only work with AcuSense cameras that have the function enabled. This is the most expensive mismatch we see — an AI recorder paired with older or third-party cameras has nothing to work with. DeepinMind (iDS) models carry a heavier AI engine again, and the same caution applies. Send us the camera list and we'll confirm it before you order.
Worth checking too: whether your cameras need 802.3af or 802.3at power, since strobe and siren models draw two to three times as much as their plain siblings, and whether the total fits the recorder's PoE budget.
Recording HD-TVI cameras over coax instead? You need a DVR and HD analogue cameras.
Buying from us
Everything here is genuine UK-spec stock. Orders are dispatched within three working days, or collect from the trade counter at Unit 3, Park View Centre, Dudley Road, Wolverhampton — often the same day, Monday to Friday 9am–4:30pm and Saturday 10am–4pm.
Installers and regular buyers can apply for a trade account for trade pricing; you don't need to be NSI or SSAIB approved. Advice before you buy is free either way — call 01902 902251 with a camera count and a rough idea of the site.
