Dahua NVR + Amcrest Cameras

[Tic]

So as someone who is starting in on Home CAMs/Systems -- did the Amcrest/Dahua work together? I bought a CAM from Amazon (Amcrest) and then figured out its really Duhua and so am going to go with Duha for everything else. Just wondering if I should return the Amcrest to Amazon or not ... Going to order the 8 port NVR (Lite Series) POE. I have the 3M Dome from Amcrest.

As far as Dahua software (SmartPSS) and Amcrest cams are concerned, yes so far both are compatible (see my postings above). I don't know with the actual Dahua NVR...I have to figure that one out once I get it.

But given the positive initial test results along with alastair & nayr's assurances, I can say that the chances of these two brands working together especially in motion-detect recording will be very high. It is usually in this area where mix brands fail.

Re the return...if you like the cam and have the patience to wait for my test/confirmation...keep it. If you prefer the non-suspense/no guesswork route, you're better off with the Dahua cam-NVR combo. I ordered the 4 port Lite series -- the only model with no fan.


************ UPDATE: Oct. 18, 2016 ************

Just received the Lite Series NVR42A04-P today drop shipped from DahuaUSA (California). Will let you know tomorrow about my comments and findings.

 

[Tic]

Well fellas...here's the final verdict:

Motion/Video Detect DID NOT work...accessed NVR thru native GUI...added both cameras as 'ONVIF'...only options were red and blank in Region Settings...right-clicking would only bring me back straight to the Main Menu.

So, when Dahua/Hik say -- "Motion Detect recording is not supported with 3rd-party cameras" -- they really mean it -- lesson learned.

A couple of surprising things I found out about the NVR:

1. 'IVS Enable' option...I've been going back and forth with sales support a couple of times on this and they confirmed that ALL Lite series do not have this option...but on their wiki page only the 8 and 16-channel models "do not have IVS"...obviously they're not in-sync with their web buddies...I consider this a bonus...now I'm a happy camper.

2. Vent Fan...I hate these critters...chose this 4-channel model specifically because it did not show it had one in the diagrams...but when I opened the case it was sitting right there behind one of the side vents...this one got me real good below the belt -- slick move by Dahua.

I'll give my self time to think this over before deciding on what to do next.

What do you say, guys?

 

[nayr]

delete all your cameras and re-add them; but dont set them up as ONVIF.. see my screenshot.

 

[Tic]

Do you mean unplugging them from the PoE ports because I see a non-NVR IP address in your screenshot.

 

[nayr]

no you put in the IP address that they have, the important things are the port# and the manufacturer.

 

[Tic]

Thanks for the quick response, Nayr.

I didn't do the delete and add yet...because I thought I needed to do some things first that I missed last night. Anyhow, I enabled motion/video detect in Events and in Storage>Schedule enabled both regular and motion detect recordings (green & yellow)...went to Search page to check...I see a green bar in progress...opened the door in front of the camera...and Voila!!!...I see green and yellow!!!...how about that!!!

I'll take back ONLY the "Motion/Video Detect DID NOT work" part in thread #22 -- concluded prematurely (shaking my head in embarrassment) -- don't know if I should edit or just leave it that way.

Anyway, some problems still persist:

1. In Events, only red region option is present, the others...nada...no 'apply' and 'save' option whatsoever...right-clicking will only take me back to the Main menu.

2. Time display on one of the cameras in Preview/Live view looks more like Atari-ish than the other one.

3. Goto button is missing in the PTZ menu...I can't test the presets due to this.

4. In Camera>Image, I can see all the settings e.g. sharpness, brightness, etc..on both cameras but clicking on them would return "The device is not available or does not support current operation."

One more thing, the current firmware version is dated 4/16 and the latest that came out is 7/16. I didn't bother updating it for fear of losing the IVS feature and simply because they did not include the list of fixes and what not.

 

[nayr]

When they are added via ONVIF like this you must configure the cameras directly; if you can get them recognized as normal Dahua cameras through the 37777 port you tested SmartPSS with then it should then be able to configure them remotely through the NVR its self..

timestamps are encoded on the camera its self; any variation will be due to the settings on the camera or capabilities of the camera.. 4MP cameras have better looking timestamps than 2MP cameras for example.

leave the firmware alone for the time being; almost all your issues are due to improper configuration and an update will not help you..

 

[Tic]

When they are added via ONVIF like this you must configure the cameras directly;

You mean going into each camera's settings individually without the NVR, right? Now I have to use webGUIs...don't know which one to use. I am currently using Firefox...maybe you can recommend a better browser.

timestamps are encoded on the camera its self; any variation will be due to the settings on the camera or capabilities of the camera.. 4MP cameras have better looking timestamps than 2MP cameras for example.

These are 2MP cameras. I don't see why one would be different from the other.

By the way, I forgot to bring this up earlier with you and alastair...maybe it can explain some of the anomalies here. When I tried to access one of the cameras (a turret) via ODM...I wasn't able to log in using the password I made for it...on the other camera (a PTZ), I was able to but not on this one...then I tried 'admin' and it worked...strange...I don't know if that was the password for the ODM or the camera reverting back to its default settings...I was totally stumped on that one.

 

[nayr]

you might be getting a substream, the lower the resolution the worse the text looks..

you can plug into an unused PoE port on the back of the NVR and get on its network also..

sounds like it wanted more privileges than you granted it.. might need an admin login shrug.

 

[Tic]

you might be getting a substream, the lower the resolution the worse the text looks..

It was only the turret cam that showed the Atari-ish time display. The PTZ was okay. I verified under Camera>Encoding both channels main and sub were set to H.264H. Other options were H.264, H.264B and MJPEG...tried H.264...still the same.

Turret Cam


PTZ Cam



I did some further tweaking with the settings while I'm still using the native GUI. In summary...

Turret cam:

Via ONVIF -- Motion Detect recording works. Only red region setting is available, others including sensitivity and threshold sliders are non-existent. Image settings are not available.

Via Private -- No camera signal.

PTZ Cam:

Via ONVIF -- PTZ menu Presets will not function but directional arrows work.

Via Private -- Motion Detect recording works. All region setting including sensitivity and threshold sliders work. All Image settings work. PTZ menu Presets are now functional. The only thing I have noticed that is missing so far is the speaker icon.

Will get back to you after I'm done with the web GUI part.

 

[nayr]

That turret cam might not really be a dahua if it wont connect via Private (Dahua) config.. or its running some really customized firmware..

that could account for the differences in font too.

 

[Tic]

Yep, your guess is as good as mine.

I logged into it once again using the Amcrest web GUI (via Firefox) and also SmartPSS...used the non-default password...and got in without any hitch. But with ODM, it was a different story. I tried the non-default pass because I wasn't getting a preview on the lower pane...nothing...then I tried 'admin/admin' -- probably ODM's default log-in key -- and boom got video.

Since you have more experience with Dahua, what browser and web interface would you recommend? I'm really comfortable with Firefox but I am open to anything.

Thanks again for your time, Nayr.

 

[nayr]

I use SmartPSS mostly; the browser plugins just eat up all my CPU cycles.. you should be able to configure SmartPSS to connect directly to the NVR now and use it to playback recordings and do just about everything the WebUI and OSD UI can do.

 

[Tic]

That turret cam might not really be a dahua if it wont connect via Private (Dahua) config.. or its running some really customized firmware..

Private = Dahua?

On a hunch, before trying out SmartPSS with this NVR, I tried once again adding the 'problematic' turret via Private and logged in using the non-def password. To my surprise, it was able to recognize it! Have no idea what happened but I immediately went to Camera>Image to see if the settings can now be accessed and I got the whole gamut. The same can be said with the Region settings in Events>Motion/Video Detect. Not only did I get one region (red), I got the other three plus the sensitivity and threshold slider bars, BUT... instead of the full grid, I only got the vertical lines -- weird. At this point, I don't know exactly what I did but with some tweaks and restarts the full grid came back on. Gut feeling tells me the latter probably did the trick. Went ahead and did the most crucial test of all -- enabled simultaneous regular and motion detect recording -- and it passed very satisfactorily.

Bear in mind, this was all done using the 'monitor and mouse' GUI.

Some questions and quirks:

1. During playback, just at the point where motion is triggered, the video always lags or freezes momentarily. I disabled Snapshot suspecting it could be the culprit but it still persist. Is this normal? Encoding is all set at H.264/CBR.

2. With the Amcrest NVR/camera, every time I hit 'save' it will say "Save successfully!", but with the Dahua it doesn't...it will just go back to the previous window or menu. Is that how it confirms that a save was successful?

3. Do you know what these two tick boxes are for?


4. Why is there no Speaker icon in Preview/Live mode that I usually get with the Amcrest NVR? Amcrest PTZ has a built-in speaker and mic.

5. When the NVR is in the 'Off' state, there is an amber light glowing inside that I can see through the side grille. Is the recorder in hibernate mode or something? Another thing, after you do a shutdown via GUI, do you always have to turn off the black power switch on the back of the unit?

6. The vent fan on this thing is close to being useless -- almost 80% of its fins are blocked by the side grille. I plan to partially open the front end of the casing where the HDD is at for more venting and just unplug the fan connectors so I can have peace when I sleep. Do you think this will keep the recorder from working?



As for now, all is well and looks very promising. I'll give it a day or two with some startups and shutdowns -- see if everything holds up -- before I give my final word.

Thanks again.

 

[nayr]

Yes Private == dahua

1. There are separate encoding settings for normal recording and motion recording on the camera; make sure you configure these identically.. thats the number one culprit if your getting lost frames on transition from no motion to motion.. however, you may still see a slight pause, if no frames are being lost its just the player because its loading a new file.. If you export the entire video as a single clip it will not stutter.

2. If your using the OSD UI; then yeah thats normal behavior... your Amcrest didnt have an OSDUI so its not comparable.

3. Those tick boxes are to enable audio on the substreams, one is greyed out because you only have 1 substream and not 2.

4. Again if your using the OSD UI; I believe audio is enabled automatically on whatever camera is active.. in SmartPSS and WebUI I have a speaker icon.

5. Who turns the NVR off? No idea.. if mine has power its on, never once tried to turn it off.

6. Replace it with a quieter fan, the HDD's need some airflow.. did you really put this in your bedroom?

 

[Tic]

2. If your using the OSD UI; then yeah thats normal behavior... your Amcrest didnt have an OSDUI so its not comparable.

By OnScreen Display UI, you meant the Dahua NVR's native GUI, right? The Amcrest NVR does have its own native GUI, in fact, the two are very identical -- no surprise there. I presume that you don't get any confirmation after you hit 'save' on yours too.

5. Who turns the NVR off? No idea.. if mine has power its on, never once tried to turn it off.

To clarify what I meant, when I turn on the NVR by flicking that black power rocker switch on the back of it...that switch will remain in the 'On' position EVEN when the NVR is turned off by way of 'Shutdown' in the OSDUI. So the next time around if I want to turn it on, I have to rock the switch from 'On' to 'Off' to 'On' again -- quite cumbersome or awkward, don't you think? It's just a minor quibble on my part.

6. Replace it with a quieter fan, the HDD's need some airflow.. did you really put this in your bedroom?

The Amcrest NV1104E before this didn't come with a fan and never had overheating issues with a single 1TB in it...and this one doesn't look much different at all except that it has a wider casing and a bigger board. I'll do more research on the fan thing, see if it can be disabled without disrupting the recorder's function.

And yes, I put this in my bedroom. I keep watch over my 'sensitive' things.

Thanks again, bud.

 

[nayr]

On Screen Display is exactly that; a display plugged directly into the nvr..

WebUI and SmartPSS are remote methods, they vary slightly depending... you didnt plug a HDMI cable into your cameras directly... the WebUi does confirm for me, says: Saved successfully!

dunno never used the button on the back or shutdown in the UI; its not something that concerns me.. if it has power its on, thats how I run it.

 

[Tic]

You are absolutely right! You only get the "Saved Successfully!" in the webUI not in the OSDUI. My bad.

 

[JOSGAR966]

greetings have a dvr brand dahua model dvr5108h dated 20/04/2000 which I forgot the password to unlock it please help thanks

my mail is garyei1980@gmail.com

 

[Tic]

1. There are separate encoding settings for normal recording and motion recording on the camera; make sure you configure these identically.. thats the number one culprit if your getting lost frames on transition from no motion to motion.. however, you may still see a slight pause, if no frames are being lost its just the player because its loading a new file.. If you export the entire video as a single clip it will not stutter.

You were definitely right, this is a player issue. I did all the adjustments you suggested -- making sure all (Regular/Motion/Alarm) settings are the same -- but the slight pause was still there. On the WebUI's player, however, it did not stutter...video was fluid. Now I'm happy. Thanks.

But I have to tell you...this WebUI is the same PITA I've been running away from for the past couple of months and is the the only reason I switched from Amcrest to Dahua...and here I find myself dealing with the same buggy and antiquated plug-in. Have to try SmartPSS next.