Mini-Review EmpireTech IPC-Color4M-T

I am looking to replace a HDW5231R-Z turret camera on my front door.

I am looking for good IR and the option to have white led’s turn on by motion as a deterrent and attention seeker (bring face looking at the camera).

The flashing red and blue lights look like a nice option for an alarm.

So would this particular camera fit my needs? Target area about 20’ deep and 10’ wide. Not a pitch dark area.
3.6mm about 4m.
 
Yeah the 3.6 mm is best between 5ft and 12ft so agree with above
 
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Yeah the 3.6 mm is best between 5ft and 12ft so agree with above

Perfect. What about white leds coming on during ivs intrusion/tripwire event? Would love for camera to switch from IR and into white led light. To act as deterrence and attention getting by looking into the camera.
 
Perfect. What about white leds coming on during ivs intrusion/tripwire event? Would love for camera to switch from IR and into white led light. To act as deterrence and attention getting by looking into the camera.

Sure they can.

But keep in mind, the white light, or the red/blue isn't really a deterrent.

There are enough videos here showing that perps do not flinch when a floodlight turns on. They avoid homes all lit up.

Watch this video someone posted and how the floodlight comes on and they don't even flinch. But then the audio comes on and they don't know which way to run LOL.

 
Perfect. What about white leds coming on during ivs intrusion/tripwire event? Would love for camera to switch from IR and into white led light. To act as deterrence and attention getting by looking into the camera.
I would recommend using only the alarm without the blue and red light.
 
Sure they can.

But keep in mind, the white light, or the red/blue isn't really a deterrent.

There are enough videos here showing that perps do not flinch when a floodlight turns on. They avoid homes all lit up.

Watch this video someone posted and how the floodlight comes on and they don't even flinch. But then the audio comes on and they don't know which way to run LOL.

I can confirm that. For this reason, the alarm function is so important to me, in case someone wants to look at the gate again.
 
Sure seems like audio alarm is clearly better. Can this be triggered manually via the DMSS app? Specifically this camera in this thread? I would hate for this to trigger on a non trespasser at night.

Also, if there is a better camera than this threads I am open to hear it.
 
Sure seems like audio alarm is clearly better. Can this be triggered manually via the DMSS app? Specifically this camera in this thread? I would hate for this to trigger on a non trespasser at night.
You can activate the siren yourself via Dmss or via IVS rule.
 
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Yep and it has two way talk that works well, again through the DMSS app, so you could yell at him and/or call him bad names.
 
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Sure seems like audio alarm is clearly better. Can this be triggered manually via the DMSS app? Specifically this camera in this thread? I would hate for this to trigger on a non trespasser at night.

Also, if there is a better camera than this threads I am open to hear it.

Unless you plan to get up and be attentive to every trigger or unless you plan on having this trigger in a high traffic area, who cares if it goes off on a non-trespasser.

Set up different IVS rules. Mine is set up to alert me for everyone at the door, but from x hour to y hour (middle of the night), it is going to go off if someone comes to my door.

So if I occasionally send it off because I forgot to disarm it, oh well.

These things are not loud enough to really bother anyone. I can't hear it in the house for example even with a window open.
 
Hi everyone! I just received the EmpireTech IPC-Color4M-T 1/1.8" 2.8mm (planning to mount it above the outdoor market, so I needed something with a really wide view). I’d like to ask what the best overall settings for it would be. I noticed there are a lot of adjustable options in the setup—compression, encoding strategy, working mode, AI features, Firmware upgrade, etc. If anyone could share their tested or recommended settings, I’d really appreciate it. This is my first time setting up an IP camera on my own, so I’m still pretty new to all of this. Thanks a lot!
 
Hi everyone! I just received the EmpireTech IPC-Color4M-T 1/1.8" 2.8mm (planning to mount it above the outdoor market, so I needed something with a really wide view). I’d like to ask what the best overall settings for it would be. I noticed there are a lot of adjustable options in the setup—compression, encoding strategy, working mode, AI features, Firmware upgrade, etc. If anyone could share their tested or recommended settings, I’d really appreciate it. This is my first time setting up an IP camera on my own, so I’m still pretty new to all of this. Thanks a lot!

You need to read through the forum a lot more and educate yourself on the basics first.
 
You need to read through the forum a lot more and educate yourself on the basics first.
I’ve already spent a few days going through the forum, but most of what I find are small discussions that don’t clearly apply to this exact camera. Some people suggest avoiding H.265 compression, others recommend turning off all AI features—but there’s never an explanation as to why. It’s honestly pretty confusing. That’s why I’m asking if someone could provide a solid, short overall setup guide for these basic settings. I’d really appreciate it!
 
I’ve already spent a few days going through the forum, but most of what I find are small discussions that don’t clearly apply to this exact camera. Some people suggest avoiding H.265 compression, others recommend turning off all AI features—but there’s never an explanation as to why. It’s honestly pretty confusing. That’s why I’m asking if someone could provide a solid, short overall setup guide for these basic settings. I’d really appreciate it!
Use H264H , General Mode , Bitrate 10240 , 8,33 Shutter 50 Gain , 3DNR 40-50.
 
I’ve already spent a few days going through the forum, but most of what I find are small discussions that don’t clearly apply to this exact camera. Some people suggest avoiding H.265 compression, others recommend turning off all AI features—but there’s never an explanation as to why. It’s honestly pretty confusing. That’s why I’m asking if someone could provide a solid, short overall setup guide for these basic settings. I’d really appreciate it!

99.99999% of cameras all use the same controls and image quality and IVS rules , decoding, etc are all similar. Then you start on the part that is unique to your scene. That part is more art than science. I still learn something from members every day.

I’ll write up my opinion on all of it for say $2500. It would take days

Realize many of us have spent literally years learning this stuff, and each scene/placement and use case is different. Telling you to use h.264.h vs h.265 or exposure of 0-3 vs 0-12ms for example means little if you don’t understand the basics of compression or exposure first.
 
99.99999% of cameras all use the same controls and image quality and IVS rules , decoding, etc are all similar. Then you start on the part that is unique to your scene. That part is more art than science. I still learn something from members every day.

I’ll write up my opinion on all of it for say $2500. It would take days

Realize many of us have spent literally years learning this stuff, and each scene/placement and use case is different. Telling you to use h.264.h vs h.265 or exposure of 0-3 vs 0-12ms for example means little if you don’t understand the basics of compression or exposure first.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to make it sound like I was asking for a professional calibration or anything. I was just hoping for some basic, general settings that I could use as a starting point for tweaking. At 68, making new connections isn’t as quick as it used to be, so it’s a bit harder for me to figure things out. I apologize again if my request came across the wrong way or caused any offense.
 
Have you bothered to even read through this thread?

Page 6 has a lot of details