Does anyone know if the white parts of this cam can be spray painted? I'd like it to blend a bit more to the interior of my home.
Review-Dahua IPC-A46 4mp indoor PT cam.
- Thread starter looney2ns
- Start date
jiriteach
Young grasshopper
Hi,
Just bought 2 of these from Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) and received them yesterday. Installed them with the IMOU app and also installed the toolbox and smartpss. Both are working from a video perspective but on one I cannot get any sound. I can talk to it via my phone but the mic on the camera does not pick up anything. I have reset it 3-4 times, re-installed it and still the same issue. I have looked at the config and it looks like the mic is set-up ok, I cannot see any differences between the 2. I have been exchanging emails with Andy who keeps proposing for me to reset or to install apps but nothing changes. Any ideas before I push for an exchange?
Edit: Would also like to add that when I press the sound button in the IMOU app I start hearing a soft hissing through the phone but no actual sound of the environment.
Thank you in advance.
Just bought 2 of these from Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) and received them yesterday. Installed them with the IMOU app and also installed the toolbox and smartpss. Both are working from a video perspective but on one I cannot get any sound. I can talk to it via my phone but the mic on the camera does not pick up anything. I have reset it 3-4 times, re-installed it and still the same issue. I have looked at the config and it looks like the mic is set-up ok, I cannot see any differences between the 2. I have been exchanging emails with Andy who keeps proposing for me to reset or to install apps but nothing changes. Any ideas before I push for an exchange?
Edit: Would also like to add that when I press the sound button in the IMOU app I start hearing a soft hissing through the phone but no actual sound of the environment.
Thank you in advance.
Last edited:
fenderman
Staff member
- Mar 9, 2014
- 36,892
- 21,407
If you have two of them that are not working, its user error or an app issue. An exchange wont help you.
It's only one of the two that has the problem.
Only thing I could think of was that maybe the mic did not get plugged in at the factory.
Take it apart and check the connection. Stuff happens.
Thanks for the feedback. Not really feeling up to taking it apart and breaking the warranty. Andy has nicely proposed to exchange it for me. It just wanted to make sure I hadn't missed anything as I do not want to do an unnecessary replacement and waste his time and money.
On the one I have I have been unable to get my NVR-5216-4KS2 NVR to display the A46. SmartPSS picks it up just fine. I also have loaded the new firmware on the A46 so I do not have any web access to it. I tried the method to put the web UI back on it from another thread and it bricked it but I figured the method out to put it back right. So it looks like if you want the web interface on it you have to go back to older firmware. Neither of the 6.22 firmware would let me get the web UI back on it. Anyway I want the newer firmware since it probably has fixes. Also painful to change IP or to change it from wifi to wired. I think I have defaulted it and re-added it 50 times in IMOU app now. lol
I finally DID get it to show up on my NVR too! I had to manually add its IP (I have them set as static IP's) and then set the Manufacturer to Xunmei and than it connects but no video on main stream or sub stream 1 but if I choose sub stream 2 on the preview screen I get the video (at full main stream resolution!).
But its is odd because in the preview mode on the NVR you can select sub stream 2 but on the encode, image, and any other screen on the NVR you cannot select sub stream 3 so you cannot set it up to record, change any settings, or anything. 
I was trying to make this setup so that I can use the NVR to record the A46 but no luck so far. At least I can see it now. I guess maybe I will try other manufacturers and see if I can get it to connect on any others. Goofy that SmartPSS and Config tool can see it just fine but not the NVR (I have not tried connecting it directly to the POE ports on the NVR yet). I can put other cameras also not directly connected to the NVR on my network and get the NVR to see those just fine, just not the A46. I will also try directly connecting it as well and see it that makes any difference. I suspect not but at minimum I'm pretty sure that will break the Imou app from seeing it and it communicating with Amazon too.
These A46 are weird anyways. Pretty much no matter what you do short of blocking it with a firewall the A46 is also connecting to Amazons web services which is how it pushes the video to the phone app. No port forwarding or anything is needed since the connection it being initiated from inside your network and it is always on and connected once you manage to get it configured and working.
I finally DID get it to show up on my NVR too! I had to manually add its IP (I have them set as static IP's) and then set the Manufacturer to Xunmei and than it connects but no video on main stream or sub stream 1 but if I choose sub stream 2 on the preview screen I get the video (at full main stream resolution!).
But its is odd because in the preview mode on the NVR you can select sub stream 2 but on the encode, image, and any other screen on the NVR you cannot select sub stream 3 so you cannot set it up to record, change any settings, or anything. I was trying to make this setup so that I can use the NVR to record the A46 but no luck so far. At least I can see it now. I guess maybe I will try other manufacturers and see if I can get it to connect on any others. Goofy that SmartPSS and Config tool can see it just fine but not the NVR (I have not tried connecting it directly to the POE ports on the NVR yet). I can put other cameras also not directly connected to the NVR on my network and get the NVR to see those just fine, just not the A46. I will also try directly connecting it as well and see it that makes any difference. I suspect not but at minimum I'm pretty sure that will break the Imou app from seeing it and it communicating with Amazon too. These A46 are weird anyways. Pretty much no matter what you do short of blocking it with a firewall the A46 is also connecting to Amazons web services which is how it pushes the video to the phone app. No port forwarding or anything is needed since the connection it being initiated from inside your network and it is always on and connected once you manage to get it configured and working.
awsum140
Known around here
The common thread for "cloud" and IoT (internet of things) devices goes across many products like home automation stuff as well. Start looking for a HA controller that is 100% locally run with its own built in web server and you will find that your choices are slim but "cloud" connected and there are hundreds out. That common thread is money. Not just from them pitching subscription based services either (like the app this camera model wants you to subscribe to their cloud storage plan). It also plays a role in hardware and development costs. Manufacturers can cut costs and use cheaper/slower processors, less flash storage, lower development costs by moving the bulk of the processing power to the "cloud" much in the way "thin client" type terminal computing is done in many larger businesses. The computers are super basic with only the most basic hardware - the operating system and software runs on the server and the little terminal box is really more of a way to display video, provide and interface for a keyboard/mouse, and a network connection. So in that respect I get it and I'm okay with that but I want to the be the one with the "cloud server" and all of it be 100% under my control. If the internet goes down, everything still works, my data is all under my control.
With "cloud" you are 100% trusting someone else to protect your data and big data centers are the biggest targets to be hacked. We hear about new breaches every day. New(ish) cloud providers go under every day. There have already been dozens upon dozens of brand of smart thermostats, locks, smoke detectors, and other IoT devices where the company that started it made a very cool product but the company itself ultimately failed and now those devices are near useless bricks that cannot function if they cannot contact the cloud server. I've seen some amusing results of some of it as well. Most memorable to me was a few years ago at Lowes I was walking by the appliances and a popular porn site (****hub) was on display on a refrigerator. LOL
For me, in the end, on being able to control certain things like this I look for things that I can run locally and control outside access to (as well as its own ability to initiate outside contact) it via a high end firewall and encrypted VPN. So that is what my goal is with this little A46, I do NOT want it communicating with Amazons AWS servers and having that as my only way of using the camera. I know that the older firmware has a web interface and I'm also debating on just putting that back on as it gives much better local control over the thing and makes it more like the commercial Dahua stuff we use. This consumer thing is what it is. For the price and features it is going to be geared as a "consumer" product intentionally and by design. I just want to make it a little more "commercial" or better integrated with the other commercial devices I have.
With "cloud" you are 100% trusting someone else to protect your data and big data centers are the biggest targets to be hacked. We hear about new breaches every day. New(ish) cloud providers go under every day. There have already been dozens upon dozens of brand of smart thermostats, locks, smoke detectors, and other IoT devices where the company that started it made a very cool product but the company itself ultimately failed and now those devices are near useless bricks that cannot function if they cannot contact the cloud server. I've seen some amusing results of some of it as well. Most memorable to me was a few years ago at Lowes I was walking by the appliances and a popular porn site (****hub) was on display on a refrigerator. LOL
For me, in the end, on being able to control certain things like this I look for things that I can run locally and control outside access to (as well as its own ability to initiate outside contact) it via a high end firewall and encrypted VPN. So that is what my goal is with this little A46, I do NOT want it communicating with Amazons AWS servers and having that as my only way of using the camera. I know that the older firmware has a web interface and I'm also debating on just putting that back on as it gives much better local control over the thing and makes it more like the commercial Dahua stuff we use. This consumer thing is what it is. For the price and features it is going to be geared as a "consumer" product intentionally and by design. I just want to make it a little more "commercial" or better integrated with the other commercial devices I have.
If it never reaches the cloud then you configured something on your router/firewall to block it from making the outgoing connection to the Amazon AWS servers.
DLONG2
Known around here
- May 17, 2017
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- 461
That is correct. Once the camera had a static IP I then added it into the firewall rule to drop any packets trying to reach the WAN.
DLONG2
Known around here
- May 17, 2017
- 772
- 461
Yes, the PTZ controls for the A46 work within BI. I had tried the smart tracking and decided to disable it, though.
Wait! I haven't been able to get ptz to work in BI. Would you mind sharing how you set it up?
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Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
I have the A46 working in BI including PTZ. I am just unable to get 2 way talk to work. If I play with the settings I can get the sound to come thru on the server, but nothing ever comes out the speaker on the camera no matter what I try. if this is working for you @looney2ns can you please share what you did?
DLONG2
Known around here
- May 17, 2017
- 772
- 461
What I noticed is the speaker is really weak. One has to speak loudly into the remote mic just to hear a faint sound coming out of the camera.