Dahua IPC-L26N Floodlight camera

ryeguy8585

n3wb
Joined
Jul 25, 2018
Messages
2
Reaction score
1
Location
LI, NY
Has anyone seen these badboys yet? I wonder if they are ONVIF compliant and will work with Blue Iris. I have a few of the cheap ESCAM floodlight cameras and they work well, but Id like something of better quality.
The convenient part about these is they get power from the house 110v located at the light fixutre, but camera data is Wifi. No need to run CAT6.
 

ryeguy8585

n3wb
Joined
Jul 25, 2018
Messages
2
Reaction score
1
Location
LI, NY
still useful in certain situations where running cat6 is time and cost prohibitive. FWIW I am a network engineer, and I know using a wire is more reliable but in certain situations this can work well. Especially if you know what you are dong and setup you're WiFi correctly. I have 2 similar ESCAMs and they are rock solid, and have been for over a year as per Blue Iris watchdog and my own network monitoring application.
 

mathwizmf

n3wb
Joined
Jul 31, 2019
Messages
4
Reaction score
2
Location
USA
I installed one of these over the weekend. A few issues I had / have:

1) I had a few problems with the setup (initialization) of the camera where it would continue to skip the step where it should connect it to my wifi. After countless resets and trying everything I could think of, I eventually entered the serial number manually, which brought me to the option to actually select my device model rather than being told which model to setup from the QR code. I suspect it was automatically setting it up as a wired camera, so skipped the wifi network change portion of initialization (happened while using android device / multiple gDMSS apps as well as the PC based tool).

2) The camera webpage shows a 404 error. I can ping the camera, connect via the app and Blue Iris, but can't get to the camera's webpage. Tried from multiple devices. I really want to resolve this, but it seems like this may be an issue on the camera. Blue Iris also reported the 404 error when detecting the camera, but was able to still work.

3) only the camera's elevation (vertical) can be adjusted. This isn't necessarily a problem, but being able to adjust the azimuth (horizontal) would be useful. The lights themselves have the opposite problem, and are slightly tilted up.

4) The video stream to Blue Iris occasionally turns all grey. I suspect this is some sort of corruption, but not entirely sure where it is happening. Tweaking the camera data stream bit rates using the PC tool seemed to lessen how often the issue occurs. When simultaneously watching the Blue Iris feed and streaming to the app (or PC tool), only the Blue Iris feed would turn grey, making me think it's related my BI PC.

5) The time on the camera is somehow off after a day. I originally set it up to sync to a time server automatically, but somehow it's ahead by about 1 day now. Haven't looked into it yet, but hopefully it won't continue to be a problem.

6) playback of recordings using (one of) the gDMSS app(s) seems to be buggy. I may try another one of them (there's 4... not sure why...) to see if problems resolve. Sometimes it doesn't load any clips, sometimes only 1, etc. Annoying to click on the motion notification from the app and not find the recording. I may just uninstall the gDMSS app since I have BI, but that brings me to #7:

7) apparently the DMSS connection to Google Assistant isn't a thing? I was trying to figure out a way to manually control the floodlight via something other than the gDMSS app. Google assistant is advertised within the gDMSS app, but doesn't exist as an option on the Google Home side. Not sure if it would have even let me control the floodlights via that method anyway, but would have been nice. I don't know if there's another way to do this control without the app. Maybe I can find the network traffic for the floodlight control and find another option for manually toggling the light as needed.

I think that's about it for now. Video quality is ok (it's only a 2MP camera I believe), and lighting / motion detection is fine. Hardware is sturdy and wasn't a problem to setup. Wire management behind the light was a bit of a challenge and I ended up starting over and hiding more of the electrical wires behind the faceplate since it was difficult to hide the excess within the empty space of the floodlight housing.
 

mathwizmf

n3wb
Joined
Jul 31, 2019
Messages
4
Reaction score
2
Location
USA
Maybe I can find the network traffic for the floodlight control and find another option for manually toggling the light as needed
I'm striking out on this and could use some help. I've Gone through HTTP APIs for Dahua and Amcrest, tried a couple ONVIF tools, and managed to watch some Wireshark data coming from the app to my camera, but all the traffic appears to be UDP messages which I'm not sure how to parse / what protocol is being used. I'd really just like a way to control the Floodlight portion from something other than the gDMSS app.

The camera webpage shows a 404 error
I came across a post somewhere on here stating that the cheaper Dahua cameras no longer have a webpage UI - Is this true? It certainly appears to be the case. I've attempted to access a web UI using all of different suggestions that I've come across (IE 11 with ActiveX enabled, some other 32-bit browser tool, Chrome add-ons, etc.), but nothing is working. The Dahua ToolBox ConfigTool does most of what I need, but I was hoping to find another method of controlling the floodlight (perhaps within a web UI) that could potentially point me towards the command needed to manually control the light.
 

catcamstar

Known around here
Joined
Jan 28, 2018
Messages
1,659
Reaction score
1,193
I came across a post somewhere on here stating that the cheaper Dahua cameras no longer have a webpage UI - Is this true? It certainly appears to be the case. I've attempted to access a web UI using all of different suggestions that I've come across (IE 11 with ActiveX enabled, some other 32-bit browser tool, Chrome add-ons, etc.), but nothing is working. The Dahua ToolBox ConfigTool does most of what I need, but I was hoping to find another method of controlling the floodlight (perhaps within a web UI) that could potentially point me towards the command needed to manually control the light.
Just an out-of-the-box-idea: when you are configuring your cam through the toolbox, and you run a wireshark, can you identify how (api? unencrypted?) that traffic happens? Then it is "easier" to gimmick and rebuild the "commands" (for re-use in your own domotica / home automation)
 

aristobrat

IPCT Contributor
Joined
Dec 5, 2016
Messages
2,982
Reaction score
3,180
2) The camera webpage shows a 404 error. I can ping the camera, connect via the app and Blue Iris, but can't get to the camera's webpage.
That's unfortunately normal, at least for Dahua International models that are targeted towards consumers (like the A46). The A46 initially shipped with a web ui, but it was removed in subsequent firmware updates. :(
 

mathwizmf

n3wb
Joined
Jul 31, 2019
Messages
4
Reaction score
2
Location
USA
when you are configuring your cam through the toolbox, and you run a wireshark, can you identify how (api? unencrypted?) that traffic happens?
That's a good idea, I'll give that a shot tonight! I tried that watching the app connect, but didn't try watching the toolbox. The app starts a video feed immediately where the toolbox does not, so that may be a bit easier to look at.
 
Joined
May 1, 2019
Messages
2,215
Reaction score
3,504
Location
Reno, NV
That's a good idea, I'll give that a shot tonight! I tried that watching the app connect, but didn't try watching the toolbox. The app starts a video feed immediately where the toolbox does not, so that may be a bit easier to look at.
The fine print at Dahua website states:
LincX2Pro devices (such as this IPC-L26N) can work with third-party software only if the LincX2Pro device is added to a compatible
Dahua recorder. LincX2Pro devices cannot be added directly to third-party software.
Would love to find out how to connect to a Blue Iris machine. Any progress on your end?
The DB11 is also considered a LincX2Pro and looks like 50/50 on getting that to work with Blue Iris
 
Last edited:

mando209

Getting the hang of it
Joined
Jan 16, 2015
Messages
545
Reaction score
28
Wifi cams isn't that bad.i have a ring in driveway which is about 200ft from house using WiFi router plus ubuiti antenna.it works great only downside is picture quality is ok.this dahua floodlight pir sensor trip on alot of false alarms?
 

biggen

Known around here
Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
2,539
Reaction score
2,765
Wifi cams isn't that bad.i have a ring in driveway which is about 200ft from house using WiFi router plus ubuiti antenna.it works great only downside is picture quality is ok.this dahua floodlight pir sensor trip on alot of false alarms?
I'm thinking the term "works great" doesn't mean what you think it means...

Can wifi cams work? Absolutely they can if one builds out a dedicated network just for them and has some technical knowledge about wifi in general. But 9 out of 10 people don't have that kind of technical knowledge and then issues abound.
 

mando209

Getting the hang of it
Joined
Jan 16, 2015
Messages
545
Reaction score
28
I'm thinking the term "works great" doesn't mean what you think it means...
Well it does alot of false alarms.i meant it works great on the wifi side n recording.i have it mainly for the two way audio,siren n floodlight.my old but still rock solid dahua cam+Bosch pir sensor still working n giving me notifies.love dahua but I feel they waited too long to bring out products for home users.they would have edged out ring if they started advertising years ago
 

biggen

Known around here
Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
2,539
Reaction score
2,765
Dahua has no interest in taking on Ring. They don't even want to sell to us if they were asked. They want to sell to government and large corporate accounts where they can move thousands to 10s of thousands cameras in a single sale. They could care less about individual consumer sales. Consumer support is a burden they don't want to mess with.
 

mando209

Getting the hang of it
Joined
Jan 16, 2015
Messages
545
Reaction score
28
Dahua has no interest in taking on Ring. They don't even want to sell to us if they were asked. They want to sell to government and large corporate accounts where they can move thousands to 10s of thousands cameras in a single sale. They could care less about individual consumer sales. Consumer support is a burden they don't want to mess with.
I don't think so bud.have you seen the AliExpress store? Seems they made alot of products for the home user even made a whole new app.they definitely want a piece of that pie.in any type of business you go for the little crumbs.you will be surprised how much it matters.
 

biggen

Known around here
Joined
May 6, 2018
Messages
2,539
Reaction score
2,765
Dahua cameras/products are designed to be sold through integrators. Just like Hikvision, Axis, Amcrest, Bosch, etc... Not direct to public like Ring, Nest, etc... Those integrators are then supposed to provide support after sale. Dahua has no interest in selling directly to us. Period.
 

looney2ns

IPCT Contributor
Joined
Sep 25, 2016
Messages
15,521
Reaction score
22,657
Location
Evansville, In. USA
Dahua cameras/products are designed to be sold through integrators. Just like Hikvision, Axis, Amcrest, Bosch, etc... Not direct to public like Ring, Nest, etc... Those integrators are then supposed to provide support after sale. Dahua has no interest in selling directly to us. Period.
:goodpost:
 
Top