CCTVPLANNER.IO · NVR · UNIVIEW
Uniview NVR304-16E2-P16
16-ch NVR, 4 HDD bays, 16 PoE ports (150 W), RAID 1/5
SPECIFICATIONS · NVR304-16E2-P16
Full specifications
Specifications sourced from official manufacturer datasheet (link in hero).
About the Uniview NVR304-16E2-P16
The Uniview NVR304-16E2-P16 is a mid-channel recorder positioned for the most common SMB site — typical retail chains, mid-sized offices, warehouses and clinics that sit between roughly eight and sixteen cameras. Storage capacity sits in the comfort zone for month-long retention at typical channel resolutions, with room to drop archived footage onto cold storage as it ages out. The desktop chassis sits on a shelf, IT bench or wall-mount tray and runs cool enough that ventilation is not a serious design constraint. Built-in PoE on every channel (16 ports for 16 channels) lets the unit operate as a self-contained appliance — patch each camera directly into the back panel and the NVR powers, addresses and records them without an external switch. Convenient for small installs; on larger sites a dedicated managed PoE switch is still the cleaner architecture.
Best use cases for this recorder
Small retail & single-tenant office
Built-in PoE means the entire install fits in one cabinet — cameras patch straight into the recorder, no extra switch to specify or maintain. 16 channels cover a typical front-of-house plus stockroom and parking layout.
SMB site — office, school, clinic, hotel
The 16-channel/4-bay combination sits in the most-shipped slot for SMB CCTV: enough channels for a mid-sized site, enough storage for 30-60 day retention at typical commercial-camera bitrates.
4K/8MP camera deployments
Native support for 12 MP per-channel recording matches it to current-generation 4K cameras — useful when the install plan calls for fewer-but-higher-resolution cameras (typical of perimeter, parking, and identification-focused layouts).
Strengths
- •16 built-in PoE ports eliminate the need for an external switch on small installs
- •RAID 1/5 support protects archive against single-disk failure
- •H.265 codec roughly halves storage cost over legacy H.264 installs
- •ONVIF compliance lets the unit record from third-party cameras, not just the same-brand catalog
- •320 Mbps ingest bandwidth supports the unit at full channel count at 4K resolution
Considerations
- •No notable limitations for the intended class of installations
Storage planning
Running all 16 channels at the industry-typical 4 Mbps/channel H.265 CBR (15 fps, 4 MP scene complexity), the NVR304-16E2-P16 produces roughly 675 GB of footage per day — about 4725 GB/week, 20250 GB/month, and 60750 GB across a 90-day retention window. Fully populated with 4× 10 TB drives the unit holds 40 TB raw — enough for roughly 2.0× the one-month archive at full bitrate before RAID overhead. These figures are deterministic — derived from your bitrate assumption, the channel count, and the calendar — not estimated from a marketing data sheet.
Estimates assume 4 Mbps per channel H.265 CBR continuous recording. Motion-only recording typically reduces storage by 40-70%.
Bandwidth headroom
Input (ingest)
Avg 20.0 Mbps per channel — enough for 4K H.265 at 4 Mbps/channel.
Output (playback)
Sets the ceiling for simultaneous remote playback streams to mobile and web clients.
Installation tips for the NVR304-16E2-P16
Locate on a shelf in a ventilated, lockable cupboard — desktop units pull dust through the chassis quickly when sat on a carpeted floor, and the HDDs need ambient temperatures under 30 °C for rated life.
Plan storage at roughly 675 GB/day (≈20250 GB/month) for continuous H.265 recording at 4 Mbps/channel — match HDD capacity to the longest retention window the privacy policy or insurance contract demands.
Use RAID 5 (one-disk parity) for general-purpose archive or RAID 6 (two-disk parity) for evidentiary recording — RAID 10 is fastest but burns half the bays on mirroring, only worth it when write performance is the bottleneck.
Distribute high-power cameras (PTZ, heated housings) across the 16 built-in PoE ports — concentrating them on a single port group can exceed the per-port PoE budget even when the chassis total has headroom.
Power & rack
Power draw sits at roughly 50 W idle and around 178 W under full load (4-bay HDD activity plus 150 W of PoE delivered to cameras). That dissipates approximately 607 BTU/hour of heat into the rack — size the comms-cabinet ventilation accordingly. On desktop placement, raise the unit on rubber feet or a vented tray rather than directly on carpet — the chassis pulls cooling air through bottom intakes and dust ingress is the primary cause of premature HDD failure.
Installer time & cost (rough estimate)
A typical EU integrator quotes 6-8 h of labour to commission the Uniview NVR304-16E2-P16 (approximately €270-€360 excluding hardware), broken down as physical install, HDD population and RAID set-up, 16-channel discovery and IP/credential configuration, schedule + retention setup, motion / event rules per camera, mobile-app pairing, and a brief operator handover. Allow extra time for sites with non-standard network topology (multi-VLAN, multi-site bridges) or for migrations from a legacy DVR where camera streams must be re-addressed.
Indicative EU 2024-2025 pricing — actual quotes vary by region, network topology and migration scope. Excludes hardware, HDDs, transport, permits, and VAT.
Frequently asked questions
How many cameras can the Uniview NVR304-16E2-P16 record?
Up to 16 IP camera channels per chassis. Total ingest bandwidth is 320 Mbps, which sets the practical ceiling — running every channel at 4K (typically 8 Mbps each) requires 128 Mbps, so verify whether your camera plan fits inside the bandwidth budget.
Does the Uniview NVR304-16E2-P16 support third-party (ONVIF) cameras?
Yes — ONVIF Profile S/T support means the unit records from third-party cameras as well as the same-brand catalog. Most cameras supporting ONVIF 16.12 or newer plug-and-play; older firmware may require manual stream URL configuration in the NVR web UI.
How much storage does the Uniview NVR304-16E2-P16 need for 30-day recording?
At the industry-typical 4 Mbps per channel H.265 CBR (15 fps, 4 MP scene), all 16 channels recording continuously for 30 days produces approximately 20250 GB (19.8 TB) of footage. Motion-only or event-triggered recording typically cuts that by 40-70 % depending on scene activity. Plan HDD capacity for the longest retention window your privacy policy or insurance contract demands.
What HDDs are recommended for the Uniview NVR304-16E2-P16?
Use surveillance-rated HDDs — WD Purple, Seagate SkyHawk, Toshiba S300, or equivalent. Desktop / consumer drives (WD Blue, Seagate Barracuda) are not validated for 24/7 write workloads and typically fail within 12-18 months in CCTV use. Max 10 TB per bay across 4 bays = up to 40 TB raw capacity; populate matched pairs/sets if planning RAID.
Does the Uniview NVR304-16E2-P16 need its own PoE switch?
Not on small installs — 16 built-in PoE ports power and connect cameras directly to the recorder. On larger sites a dedicated managed PoE switch is still the cleaner architecture: separate failure domain, larger PoE budget, easier replacement.
What power and cooling does the Uniview NVR304-16E2-P16 need?
Plan for 50 W idle and ~178 W under full load, dissipating roughly 607 BTU/hour into the rack or cupboard. Size the UPS for at least 15-minute hold-up so the unit can flush write buffers and shut down cleanly on mains failure — abrupt power loss is the leading cause of NVR file-system corruption in commercial installs.
Is the Uniview NVR304-16E2-P16 suitable for evidentiary recording?
Yes — RAID 1/5 support protects archive against single-disk (or two-disk on RAID 6) failure, and channel headroom supports the typical 30-90 day retention required by Polish and EU evidentiary policies. Export footage via the web UI or front-USB; native hash signing ties the export to the source archive.
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Helpful Tools & Resources
Storage Calculator
Match HDD capacity to your retention policy
Bandwidth Calculator
Verify your network can carry the ingest load
Camera Quantity Calculator
Match channel count to your site
UPS Sizing Calculator
Hold-up time for clean NVR shutdown on mains failure
System Budget Estimator
Hardware + install + commissioning cost
CCTV Storage Planning Guide
Bitrate, retention, RAID — the full math
Plan your CCTV layout with Uniview NVR304-16E2-P16
Use our free CCTV planner to lay out cameras feeding this recorder, match HDD capacity to retention windows, and generate a professional PDF report — no signup required.
Free until you outgrow it · No card · No install