NVR (network video recorder)

IP cameras send compressed video across the network; the NVR records it to hard drives, manages retention, and provides live view and playback through software or a web browser. Many NVRs also power the cameras over Ethernet. ONVIF profiles describe how cameras and recorders from different manufacturers work together, and Profile G is the one for recording and storage.

For a growing business the NVR decides what you can prove: how many days of footage are kept, how quickly an incident can be found, and who can see which cameras. Camera counts grow with locations, and storage and network capacity must grow with them. Cameras should sit on their own VLAN so a weak camera password cannot expose the rest of the network.

Ask an integrator how many days of retention the storage provides at the chosen resolution, how footage is exported with its chain of custody intact, how remote viewing is secured (MFA, no open ports), how the system is updated, and whether cameras and recorder are ONVIF-compliant so you are not locked to one brand. Hikvision is among the systems Telxpress installs and supports.