Can anyone suggest a good alternative to Dahua cameras? I prefer something a bit more user-friendly and reliable but with the same quality picture. I want a camera that works. I'm tired of fighting the settings of my Dahua cameras, the date and time, the IP address, and the recordings never seem to hold their settings and I constantly have to go back in and reset everything.
Good alternatives to Dahua cameras.
- Thread starter Night Owl
- Start date
trapper
Getting comfortable
- Feb 11, 2017
- 279
- 275
I encourage you to ask lots of questions on this forum. When I got my dahua system I had not clue how to set up. With the help of this forum and some basic research I was able to set up a 7 camera system, NVR LPR,etc with zero background in cameras. I have had my challenges but this form will help you over come any set up issues you could ever have. If you decide to ditch the dahua system please post equipment here.
Many here find it's direct competitor Hikvision to be even worse in user-friendlyness.
I guess we should ask, are you using Internet Explorer? Many cameras, both Dahua and Hikvision, won't work properly or settings stick if not using plain ole Internet Explorer. Not Chrome or Edge with the IE plug in, but plain ole explorer.
We do not experience the issues you have or we wouldn't be using them.
Unfortunately Hikvision and Dahua make many of the other brands out there, so you would potentially have the same experiences.
Further, you have to remember that the homeowner isn't the Dahua and Hikvision target audience, it is the professional installers that are authorized to sell and install this gear, so we cannot purchase directly and thus they will not take your phone call for support related questions or suggestions - they will tell you to talk to the installer you purchased from. Many people have bought a "Hikvision" or Dahua from Amazon or some shady foreign website and when they call Hikvision or Dahua for support they basically tell them to go pound salt. We simply are not their intended market to sell to and they will not take your call for support...Lot's of threads here confirming this, including one from a few months ago where someone tried to call for support and they told them sorry talk to your installer....
We are just fortunate to be able to get our hands on these types of cameras and a forum like this to help us troubleshoot when needed. If you can't follow along, then go with consumer grade stuff.
We simply are not their intended user, so if you want it simpler and more user-friendly, then you need to go to consumer grade stuff like Ring, Arlo, Nest, Reolink, Blink, Eufy, etc where you simply scan a QR code and you are good to go. Not very secure and the imagery won't be as good, but it is simple to get going.
You really need to be asking yourself do you want quality cameras to capture quality video at night with motion OR do you want the simplicity scan a QR code and be tricked into thinking you have a good system (that is actually a security risk and crappy video with motion at night)? Unfortunately you can't get both.
The consumer grade Ring and Arlos and Reolink and Blink and whatever you can buy at a big box store sells just that - simplicity plug-n-play devices with very little ability to tweak settings. But that simplicity comes at the expense of usable video with motion, especially at night.
Any camera worth anything will allow you to set the camera parameters to get quality captures and that is going to be done thru a web browser into the camera GUI, and for the majority of them it will be with Internet Explorer.
I guess we should ask, are you using Internet Explorer? Many cameras, both Dahua and Hikvision, won't work properly or settings stick if not using plain ole Internet Explorer. Not Chrome or Edge with the IE plug in, but plain ole explorer.
We do not experience the issues you have or we wouldn't be using them.
Unfortunately Hikvision and Dahua make many of the other brands out there, so you would potentially have the same experiences.
Further, you have to remember that the homeowner isn't the Dahua and Hikvision target audience, it is the professional installers that are authorized to sell and install this gear, so we cannot purchase directly and thus they will not take your phone call for support related questions or suggestions - they will tell you to talk to the installer you purchased from. Many people have bought a "Hikvision" or Dahua from Amazon or some shady foreign website and when they call Hikvision or Dahua for support they basically tell them to go pound salt. We simply are not their intended market to sell to and they will not take your call for support...Lot's of threads here confirming this, including one from a few months ago where someone tried to call for support and they told them sorry talk to your installer....
We are just fortunate to be able to get our hands on these types of cameras and a forum like this to help us troubleshoot when needed. If you can't follow along, then go with consumer grade stuff.
We simply are not their intended user, so if you want it simpler and more user-friendly, then you need to go to consumer grade stuff like Ring, Arlo, Nest, Reolink, Blink, Eufy, etc where you simply scan a QR code and you are good to go. Not very secure and the imagery won't be as good, but it is simple to get going.
You really need to be asking yourself do you want quality cameras to capture quality video at night with motion OR do you want the simplicity scan a QR code and be tricked into thinking you have a good system (that is actually a security risk and crappy video with motion at night)? Unfortunately you can't get both.
The consumer grade Ring and Arlos and Reolink and Blink and whatever you can buy at a big box store sells just that - simplicity plug-n-play devices with very little ability to tweak settings. But that simplicity comes at the expense of usable video with motion, especially at night.
Any camera worth anything will allow you to set the camera parameters to get quality captures and that is going to be done thru a web browser into the camera GUI, and for the majority of them it will be with Internet Explorer.
Last edited:
Yes, I'm using Internet Explorer. Several times now I've had to go back into my camera to change the IP address, save it, log out, and a few days later I'll have to change it will no longer recognize the IP address and I'll have to go back into the settings and set it again. I have the same issues with the date and time. I'll synch the PC in the settings and a few days later it lost the settings, now I'm having an issue with one of my 2 cameras not recording motion, it only records under general. I've made several attempts to set to record motion like it was before, but it won't take. It's like the cameras have amnesia. If they would just keep the settings, I would be fine but I can't figure it what I'm missing.
I added the ( use IE pluggin ) in chrome. That's the only thing that I know still works.
That is certainly not what we experience.
What camera models?
Is the camera going thru the router and do you use P2P? If so, they are probably being hacked and that is why you are losing settings.
What is your VMS - NVR or BI or something else or nothing?
There are ways to get Explorer again.
The simple way is to change the BHO folder to another name like oldBHO and BAM Explorer is back...and this thread also shows other ways...
Looks Like Internet Explorer Died Today
Or this option: Trouble with new DS-2CD3B86G2T-IZHSY -missing part of menu
Or try Pale Moon Browser.
What camera models?
Is the camera going thru the router and do you use P2P? If so, they are probably being hacked and that is why you are losing settings.
What is your VMS - NVR or BI or something else or nothing?
There are ways to get Explorer again.
The simple way is to change the BHO folder to another name like oldBHO and BAM Explorer is back...and this thread also shows other ways...
Looks Like Internet Explorer Died Today
Or this option: Trouble with new DS-2CD3B86G2T-IZHSY -missing part of menu
Or try Pale Moon Browser.
trapper
Getting comfortable
- Feb 11, 2017
- 279
- 275
I had to default my cameras back to factory setting several times during initial set up due to changing too many things during set up and not knowing what I did wrong. eventually I was able to find where I was making an error and fix it. Just a suggestion.
Yes, the cameras are going through my wifi router. I tried to make changes in the task scheduler. Here's what I'm selecting for motion alerts, am I missing something?
Mark_M
Known around here
I find Axis cameras to be a great rock solid system, but Dahua still wins for better 'price to performance' for a home user's camera system.
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 15,943
- 26,823
recommend you get a separate switch for the cameras, as it helps to reduce the load on your router.
Flintstone61
Known around here
My Sons buddy has come to his wits end with the Reolink-universe of products. now that he'
s somewhat of a novice he sees the shortcomings of the "easy systems" and the lack of "tunability" for his locations.
So he's ready to move toward what your moving away from.
Maybe try a Reolink system for awhile.
Then clocks will all be syncronized, and you'll be happier.
s somewhat of a novice he sees the shortcomings of the "easy systems" and the lack of "tunability" for his locations.
So he's ready to move toward what your moving away from.
Maybe try a Reolink system for awhile.
Then clocks will all be syncronized, and you'll be happier.
Flintstone61
Known around here
1. I am not sure if you mean what you write.
You say your cam loses the IP address and you have to go back in and reset it. If your cam loses it's IP address, you will not be able to go back in. Does it reset to another known IP address? Which IP address do you use to go back in?
2. If I was having problems with motion detection, I wouldn't just post that screen but start elsewhere. So I am not sure you have set motion detection up correctly. You are recording on SD card? In override mode?
3. Clocks can desync during power-on by full hours if you don't set the EST correctly.
4. Do you use wifi cams?
Unfortunately, there are many things you can do wrong, that will lead to strange results. I can tell you all about it. Frankly, from what you said and showed in this thread, I am leaning more towards user-misconceptions than a broken camera atm.
You say your cam loses the IP address and you have to go back in and reset it. If your cam loses it's IP address, you will not be able to go back in. Does it reset to another known IP address? Which IP address do you use to go back in?
2. If I was having problems with motion detection, I wouldn't just post that screen but start elsewhere. So I am not sure you have set motion detection up correctly. You are recording on SD card? In override mode?
3. Clocks can desync during power-on by full hours if you don't set the EST correctly.
4. Do you use wifi cams?
Unfortunately, there are many things you can do wrong, that will lead to strange results. I can tell you all about it. Frankly, from what you said and showed in this thread, I am leaning more towards user-misconceptions than a broken camera atm.
Last edited:
^^^^^ (video 2 posts up)
"With the 1 terabyte hard drive you can store weeks or even months of footage...."
They sure do a lot better than I do. My 2 terabyte drive will go last about 5 days with 8 cameras running at 10 fps.
"With the 1 terabyte hard drive you can store weeks or even months of footage...."
They sure do a lot better than I do. My 2 terabyte drive will go last about 5 days with 8 cameras running at 10 fps.
I would pay no attention to that. That was the same script for all of the other kits; they said the same "weeks or even months of footage" for the 3, 4, and 16tb systems as well.
They also "spent 24 hours" reviewing all of the systems. That is not near enough time to give any sort of realistic review.
They were just reading specs off of a card from what I can tell.
At least LifeHackster is giving out some practical info to people who already have reolink stuff.