Confusion around Day/Night switch utility and newer Dahua cameras

W

WallaWalla

Getting the hang of it
May 10, 2024
26
36
US
Hey everyone,

I've been doing a lot of reading on this forum both old and newer threads and just when I think I've got it I get confused again.

Short version:

I have the new Dahua cameras but am confused about the best way to switch between day and night profiles. Should I
  1. Use the Day/Night Switch setting in the camera interface itself?
  2. Use the Day/Night utility that is often discussed on this forum (seems like it may not even work for the newer cameras based on other threads?)
  3. Invoke the camera's API directly (triggered from some other automation) to switch profiles
  4. Some other option I am not aware of yet?

Long version:

I've read a lot about this Day/Night switch utility, but then I read it doesn't work on newer cameras. Then I read that now the cameras switch between Day/Night like you would expect but not sure if this is what everyone is doing now or if its still not as good as switching profiles at sunrise/sunset. Then I came across multiple threads where people are invoking the camera's API directly (triggered from some other automation). Just not really sure what the best approach from here is.

I am pretty new to this whole thing so all my Dahua cameras are new (purchased this year) and are on the latest firmware, Web 5.0, etc. etc.

Here are the current camera models I have:
  • IPC-Color4K-T180
  • IPC-T58IR-ZE-S3
  • IPC-T54IR-ZE-S3
  • IPC-T54IR-AS-S3

Now that I have everything installed I've been really working to dial in the settings for both day and night profiles. Currently I have every camera configured with "Customized Scene" where I have a different schedule set up for each month that switches between Day and Night profiles based on the sunrise/sunset times for the middle of the month based on my location.

While this works okay it's not precise enough for me and am starting to run in to issues (beginning and end of the month) where its not switching profiles close enough to the actual sunset/sunrise time.
What is the best practice now for these new cameras to most accurately switch profiles based on lighting and/or sunrise/sunset times?

As always appreciate everyone's help and the wealth of information on this forum!
 
On the S3 cams you can simply use the day/night switch settings in the camera. They work as they are supposed to now.
Meaning, the camera will determine based on the outdoor light to change from day to night and vice versa.
 
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Awesome, thanks! I tried this out on one of my cameras last night and it seemed to bounce back and forth at dusk, not sure if there is a way to configure/adjust that at all.

For my IPC-Color4K-T180 I noticed this same day/night switch setting is not available. What is my best bet for this camera? API call? Modify the day/night utility to work with the newer camera/API?
 
Are you using default/auto settings for things like shutter? Once you speed up the shutter to eliminate motion blur, the bouncing around tends to stop.

Otherwise it can bounce around as the sensor changes based on the light conditions.
 
I am using manual for both, these are the current settings for the camera that was bouncing back and forth:
Screenshot 2024-08-31 at 12.14.02 PM.pngScreenshot 2024-08-31 at 12.14.48 PM.png

Although, maybe it was just bouncing back and forth between color and B&W, not sure if you can tell whether its switching profiles or just between color and B&W. But either way would be ideal to not bounce back and forth.
 
WallaWalla said:
I am using manual for both, these are the current settings for the camera that was bouncing back and forth:
View attachment 202227View attachment 202228

Although, maybe it was just bouncing back and forth between color and B&W, not sure if you can tell whether its switching profiles or just between color and B&W. But either way would be ideal to not bounce back and forth.
Click to expand...


Just a side note, you shouldnt need 1/2 that DNR during daylight
 
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After playing around with the settings the last few nights I am still having the same "bouncing" issue at dawn and at dusk.

wittaj said:
Force day in color and night in B/W instead of auto.
Click to expand...
I tried the above but it appears that those settings are greyed out when the Day/Night Switch setting is enabled. If I change that setting to something else like Customized Scene and then try forcing Color for the Day profile and B/W for the Night profile and then switch back to the Day/Night Switch setting it appears to take the settings at first. But upon logging back in to the camera the Day/Night settings are greyed out once again and have been changed back to "Auto"
Screenshot 2024-09-03 at 8.31.50 AM.png
Am I doing something wrong or am I missing something else?

bigredfish said:
Just a side note, you shouldnt need 1/2 that DNR during daylight
Click to expand...
Sorry, not quite following, can you clarify?
 
Could be browser. Are you using IE or Edge in IE mode? Try that
 
A quirk with the firmware. Change to customized scene and then you can force color and B/W.

Hit save, then select the day/night radio button and then save.
 
bigredfish said:
Could be browser. Are you using IE or Edge in IE mode? Try that
Click to expand...
Reloaded in IE mode and same results.

wittaj said:
A quirk with the firmware. Change to customized scene and then you can force color and B/W.

Hit save, then select the day/night radio button and then save.
Click to expand...
Thanks @wittaj, this is what I had done initially but noticed it wasn't actually working. When I log back into the camera after following the above steps the settings have reverted to Auto and are disabled. Wondering if maybe this is a bug with the latest firmware now?
 
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Unless there are any other thoughts/suggestions regarding this issue on the newer cameras/firmware, I think I may end up writing a new Windows service that works with the newer cameras/API to solve this problem. Additionally, as I understand it the Color-4k cameras don't even have the Day/Night Switch setting at all so those cameras could utilize this as well.

Last call on whether anyone else has an alternative approach to the day/night profile settings on the newer Dahua cameras?
 
I've got mine not to jump now (hopefully this will still be the case every night). Changed to customized scene, went to Day/night settings on both profiles, changed sensitivity to 0 (& pressed apply on both profiles). Then I went back to Day/night switch and this evening at dusk I've had no jumping.
 
Interesting, what are your exposure settings set to? It's possible that mine are just too quick for the setting/lighting available and still ends up bouncing back and forth. It does seem like the "Sensitivity" setting is persisted when switching back to the Day/Night Switch, however, it doesn't seem like you can also force Color or B/W because it will always reverts to Auto when going back to Day/Night Switch.
 
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