Camera Shopping Spree : Dahua

[FrankOceanXray]

Four cameras to start, each different. My shotgun approach here is to see first hand what works for my peoject. I expect all cameras to be in use in some role.


The cameras:

DH-IPC-HFW4431M-AS-I2, 12mm

IPC-HDW4431C-A, 6mm & 2.8mm

DH-IPC-HFW4421E, 6mm

No NVR ATM.I'm waiting for BFriday to score a silly deal on a PC to run BI. Though, an acquaintance is to give me several servers being pulled from the racks soon.

LPR is a project for down the line (studying the threads by nayr ).

Avoided the appeal of the Mini 4x PTZ for 110. I may still break.

Plans; 2.8 at front doorway. 6mm bullet or turret or 12mm bullet on driveway. 6 or 12 looking over front yard. Left over at back door.

Advice? I can post a photo or two of the abode to help with guidance and opinions. I want facial recognition. I don't want to be reminded something happened, I want to know who did it.

 

[nayr]

make your self a test rig, something like sinking a 2x6 into a bucket full of sand/rocks and leave the camera running on that for a few days to see how well your positions really work in the real world.. tweak and do walk tests and compare recordings to see if you made it better or worse, then repeat until you have what you want.

 

[FrankOceanXray]

Yes, will do.

I have become concerned with placement recently. As I watch these screen grabs, I see great general surveillance but very little for investigative and even less for prosecutorial value. I cannot find much in the way of camera placement design or theory if you will. I'm considering getting sneaky with some: in the bushes and attached about the mailbox for good facial and tag captures.

 

[nayr]

yeah its a crap shoot, I got nowhere with a shooting right infront of my house because I had no plate info.. the one very weird scenario where they approached from the west, went down the culdesac to my north and then left to the west without ever passing my easterly looking plate camera.. unfortunately I do not have a decent option to try to get plates going the other direction, not without some landscaping to hide a camera closer to the road.. usually trimming your neighbors tree's is frowned upon.

cameras are a passive security measure, they are just one layer of many.. they do not replace the need to keep your property secured in the first place.

the biggest help is having a live display, I have one @ my front door and one at my desk.. and my living room TV can display cameras too.. Most of the help the camera's have provided was the ability for me to react to activity, like finding a guy in my mailbox @ 2am.. or teenagers pulling doorhandles, or the door to door salesman I got fired for being an asshat, I knew he was coming and was prepared for him.

Soon I'll be installing some red/blue strobes outside that I can trigger w/my home automation system, then I can run off prowlers without actually going outside.. it sucks when someone steals your shit when you were awake and staring at a screen just a couple feet away.

 

[FrankOceanXray]

You only run an NVR? All the features and tweaking seemed to me you were running something more capable. Is there a thread with your set up details?

All these nice cameras, getting lots of nice footage but sometimes just not enough. No plate. No face. No distinguishing feature. I'll really be working on that on my install.

 

[fenderman]

No NVR ATM.I'm waiting for BFriday to score a silly deal on a PC to run BI. Though, an acquaintance is to give me several servers being pulled from the racks soon.

Dont use those old servers..they are extreme power hogs and will cost more in power than buying a new system.

 

[nayr]

Just a basic NVR, I use the Dahua HTTP API w/my Automation Server (Domoticz) to provide any additional features I need..

• changing day/night profiles and PTZ idle presets at sunrise/sunset.
• adjusting LPR camera focus and turning on/off external IR spotlight
• taking snapshots and calling PTZ presets when perimeter sensors go off.
• changing the OSD's to show internet temps or license plate reads.
• monitoring camera alarm io to trigger automation events
• triggering indoor cameras to record when alarm system is armed

I record 24/7/365, and dont have much use for that wishy washy video motion crap..

 

[FrankOceanXray]

I know! You set me straight already. Just seems like fun to tinker with. I will try and wait for a silly Black Friday deal.

 

[FrankOceanXray]

I need to look into this HA more. I figured cameras and their NVRS would be smart enough to at least have a profile setting, if dark then apply these camera settings.. I guess not?

 

[nayr]

they do, but the sun rises and sets at different times each day.. and the cameras have a fixed timer.. like 9am to 9pm or whatever. my automation system calculates sunrise/sunset based off my log/lat coordinates and changes them when I want them too.

 

[FrankOceanXray]

I found you on the HA forum... I wrote C+ about 15 years ago in school.... can I just look of your answer sheet :nuts:?

Silly the setting profiles are so simplistic as to just really be a timer.

Even my landscape lighting has a simple photosensor controlling on/off.....!

Well I hope these cameras are a good start.

 

[nayr]

they have built in photosensors, and they will change from color to black and white.. but they wont actually change profiles.. The cameras have a Normal profile, a Day profile and a Night Profile.. before I setup this HA switch I was running the normal profile, with photo-reisistor turning it from color/b&w and the exposure settings were a compromise middleground for day and night.

now I have completely different settings from day/night, and that actually helps quite a bit.. it still actually uses photo-resistor switch it to B&W if it gets dark early due to stormy weather or something, but at 20mins before sunrise/sunset I change profiles.

I wrote a NodeJS module for this and published it @ https://github.com/nayrnet/node-dahua-api

 

[FrankOceanXray]

Thank you.

Should I just buy the Dahua NVR (have a POE switch already, so return it and keep it with a non powered NVR or)..... or try to run BI?

 

[nayr]

If you want to mix and match and you dont have an inherent aversion to Windows like I do, then go for BI if you'd like.. its your choice.