u/nungdo

Hi all,

I've been wanting to set up a couple of cameras around the house but don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on a dedicated NVR and new IP cameras just yet. I have a few old Android phones in a drawer and wanted to use them as cameras.

I found an app/NVR combo called NOX that apparently lets you run the NVR on a normal PC/Mac and turns phones into cameras instantly. It says the first 4 channels are free for life.

Has anyone heard of or used this? Does the phone connection drop often? I’m mainly wondering if it’s reliable enough for basic home monitoring or if I should just bite the bullet and buy cheap Reolink/Wyze cams. Any advice is appreciated!

Hey fellow tinkerers,

I have a spare Raspberry Pi 4 gathering dust, and I’m looking to repurpose it as a dedicated NVR for a small home setup (about 3-4 cameras).

I know Frigate is the go-to for many, but without a Google Coral TPU, the Pi’s CPU usually takes a huge hit. MotionEye feels a bit dated at this point. During my research for lightweight alternatives, I found something called NOX.

They explicitly state support for Raspberry Pi OS (ARM64) and claim you can run 4 channels completely for free without needing to sign up for an account. They also have a feature to use old smartphones as IP cameras, which is a neat bonus since I don't have enough dedicated cameras yet.

Has anyone here actually deployed this on a Pi 4 or Pi 5? I’m specifically curious about:

• How is the CPU usage and thermal performance?
• Does it handle H.265 streams smoothly without choking the Pi?
• Is the setup as simple as they claim for ARM architecture?

I’d love to hear some real-world feedback on its stability before I go ahead and flash a new SD card. Thanks!