Dahua NVR + Home assistant.

[Archy54]

Dahua DHI-NVR5216-16P-AI/ANZ 16 Channel AI Wizsense Network Video Recorder- It mentions 2 channel face detection.
If I'm using
Dahua TIOC Advanced 2.0 DH-IPC-HDW3849H-AS-PV-ANZ 8MP AI Active Deterrence Full color Starlight IP Turret Camera

Will I get 16 channels of perimeter detection, AI face, number plate?

Also with the network inside the nvr, is it accessible to the outside local network? I'd like to run Frigate NVR with a CoralAI as well + connect the cams to work with Home assistant. I may use blueiris but dunno if it has coral ai and not sure onhardware cost.

And for the camera, are all the functions like voice, etc accessible over IP only or do I need a bunch of wires per cam?
I'll possibly be using this GitHub - rroller/dahua: Dahua Camera and Doorbell Home Assistant Integration for home assistant. I'd like to have a 24/7 nvr that I can login to view, and the ability to have frigate NVR for its ai, and have home assistant control the security events so zigbee motion detector can popup the camera, or the cameras built in ability. Having the camera detect someone might handy to send an mqtt message to turn on a floodlight.

I think I'd probably run 9 or so of them. Maybe a doorbell and maybe a wifi to 2 chicken cams if i get chickens for youtube streaming fun. Not sure yet. First priority is house security.

 

[steve1225]

Dahua DHI-NVR5216-16P-AI/ANZ 16 Channel AI Wizsense Network Video Recorder- It mentions 2 channel face detection.
If I'm using
Dahua TIOC Advanced 2.0 DH-IPC-HDW3849H-AS-PV-ANZ 8MP AI Active Deterrence Full color Starlight IP Turret Camera

Will I get 16 channels of perimeter detection, AI face, number plate?

TIOC is a popular choice for house market due Active Deterrence features.
But You must remember this is in reality basic camera from Lite+ series with very small (1/2.8") image sensor divided into very high number of pixels (8mpx). Plus very underpowered SOC (CPU)...

At day it will show good image, but at night it will be struggle, especially for people/cars in motion (they will be blurry).
The pixels in that camera are very small and catches a small portion of light...

If you want a nice image at night You should be looking at 4Mpx cameras with much bigger image sensor (1/1.8").. Like Dahua 5442 series...



TIOC have AI SMD 4.0 (smart motion detection) and basic form of AI IVS (perimeter protection).
They works, but higher models (like 5442) have much better AI performance...

Will I get 16 channels of perimeter detection, AI face, number plate?

If perimeter protection is done on camera, then You will get it on all channels.

To have Face detection / recognition You must use that function on NVR. In case of 5xxx-EI, You can do this on max 2 channels. And then You can't use any other AI functions done on NVR (but You can receive/store events from AI functions done on cams - like SMD / IVS).

Please remember that for Face recognition to work it need good optical zoom of human face. So camera should be mounted in front of place where people will walk (like entrance) and have proper zoom lenses...

Show me where You got information that this model of cam or NVR can do ANPR (car plate recognition)?
That functionality is only available on ultra models.. 5xxx-EI series can only receive/store ANPR events / records from cams, who have that function.

Also with the network inside the nvr, is it accessible to the outside local network? I'd like to run Frigate NVR with a CoralAI as well + connect the cams to work with Home assistant. I may use blueiris but dunno if it has coral ai and not sure onhardware cost.

To access Your NVR outside Your network (like LTE/5G or different WIFI) using Dahua app (DMSS) You simply need to enable cloud access (P2P connections).
You can integrate Your NVR with HA or Frigate inside Your network.
If You need integrate NVR with HA/Frigate which are in different network, You must use some VPN between those networks...

CoralAI is not needed for modern AI cams. AI SMD / IVS have much better performance that very weak AI models provided by Frigate for CoralAI. Much less false positives or missing events..

There are available modules/integrations for HA/Frigate which allows to integrate Dahua AI SMD/IVS events with those apps.

And for the camera, are all the functions like voice, etc accessible over IP only or do I need a bunch of wires per cam?
I'll possibly be using this GitHub - rroller/dahua: Dahua Camera and Doorbell Home Assistant Integration for home assistant. I'd like to have a 24/7 nvr that I can login to view, and the ability to have frigate NVR for its ai, and have home assistant control the security events so zigbee motion detector can popup the camera, or the cameras built in ability. Having the camera detect someone might handy to send an mqtt message to turn on a floodlight.

2 way audio works on Dahua cams with speakers the same way as on Dahua intercoms.
So if You have 2way audio Dahua integration, it should works..

 

[wittaj]

+1 above.

That camera will not read plates, nor will you be able to visually read the plates, except if the vehicle is really close (like 15 feet away) and it is a driveway or parking lot.


Unfortunately that camera is an active deterrence camera on an 8MP on a 1/2.8" sensor, so it is on a horrible MP/sensor ratio. You cannot have enough light at night for it to perform well. That sensor is designed for 2MP so a 2MP camera will kick its butt all night long.

Even worse, since this 8MP is on the same sensor and CPU as a 2MP non TIOC camera and there are many threads here showing how under-performing that 3849 is. They had to limit bitrate and other parameters on the 3849 to try to make it functional, and it just doesn't cut it.

This is what happens when someone chases MP over sensor and this camera is the epitome of that thinking.

Further, the red/blue flashing lights are more gimmicky and are certainly not a deterrent. With any ambient light you won't see the red/blue flashing unless you are looking right at the camera.

If you want active deterrence, your best bet is to go with the 2MP IPC-T5241H-AS-PV that will blink the white light. This is on the ideal MP/sensor ratio and will perform comparably to any similar 2MP fixed lens camera by Dahua. I have two of them. I have some of the other active deterrence cams as well, and would opt for the 2MP in every instance except for indoor, one could go with the IPC-HDW3449HP-AS-PV that has the red/blue lights that will bounce off the walls and be much more impressive than outside.

Lot's of threads here where people showed how bad the 3849 camera is in performing:

IPC-HDW3849H-AS-PV issues

IPC-HDW3849H-AS-PV loses connection/reboots during the day

Replaced HDW5442TMP-ASE by HFW3849T1P

Dahua 8mp (TIOC): Full Colour, Active Deterrence & AI

IPC-HDW3849H-AS-PV Video Quality

 

[Archy54]

Ah thanks for the reply, I wish i didnt impulse buy one to test (just one camera. Whoops. I got caught by the whole colour night vision thing and pretty flashy lights. Oh well I guess i could use just that one later somewhere bright maybe? I like to tinker with my automation so i guess i'll use it as a learning device. Glad I didn't buy 8 of them lol. Thanks for the warning.
Are there poe devices that can act as the deterence and be triggered by those cams you talked about? I won't be spending big money for quite some time so I'm trying to do as much research as possible. I'm installing a variety of zigbee 100w led floodlights mainly for me to see at night as I'm a nightowl n work in the garden but also I'd like to have them turn on just as a deterence hopefully. I've seen some 150db 12v sirens too but I don't wanna go overboard.

The number plate thing I read I think on wizmind probably and misunderstood it for wizsense. I was probably looking at that massive ptz 7grand super zoom camera. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Is it possible to do? I saw some videos a while ago and thought it was a feature.

It's a bit disappointed the ai facial recognition is limited to 2 channels. Was hoping the tech was more advanced I guess.

I thank you for your advice, it's truly helpful. So say you wanted about 8 cams, would the DH-IPC-HDW5442TMP-ASE-0280B Dahua AI 4MP Starlight+ IP Turret Fixed IR 50m POE be the one to go for? And what nvr 16 channel would you use?

Do you know of a varifocal ptz that would be ok to use?

Thanks so much for the info, some of the dahua stuff is confusing.

 

[Archy54]

Also are the colour nightvision ones bad, even low mp big sensor ones?

 

[Archy54]

DH-IPC-HDW5442TMP-ASE-0280B was the only one I could find as you mentioned with some of the features, it's weird their tioc, etc don't have bigger sensor sizes, etc. I looked at so many cameras and...they don't look appealing. Maybe I'll wait n see if they make something new. I like the 2 way feature and tioc, etc but the low light is a problem as you say.

For the license plates I was thinking only a PTZ on the corner would get them but they'd be parked side on so it'd be hard to see I guess. Maybe one day frigate nvr will get much better ai.

 

[steve1225]

Ah thanks for the reply, I wish i didnt impulse buy one to test (just one camera. Whoops. I got caught by the whole colour night vision thing and pretty flashy lights. Oh well I guess i could use just that one later somewhere bright maybe? I like to tinker with my automation so i guess i'll use it as a learning device. Glad I didn't buy 8 of them lol. Thanks for the warning.
Are there poe devices that can act as the deterence and be triggered by those cams you talked about? I won't be spending big money for quite some time so I'm trying to do as much research as possible. I'm installing a variety of zigbee 100w led floodlights mainly for me to see at night as I'm a nightowl n work in the garden but also I'd like to have them turn on just as a deterence hopefully. I've seen some 150db 12v sirens too but I don't wanna go overboard.

Lots of things...
First - I understand that YouTube videos showing cameras demos with active deterrence function sells that cams very easy.

But reality is different - even modern cams with modern AI capabilities have 97-99% accuracy with proper detecting / filtering people / cars.. There are missing events, there are false positives.. that 1-3% can means that a few times per week You will receive siren signal at false positive (some moving trees etc).. it can be a problem at night with Your neighbors.

for almost 100% accuracy You need good dual tech PIR + MW motion sensors or IR barriers around house.. sorry...

You can limit that cams to only turn on white light. But this (automatically switched on white light) does not deter burglars at all. everyone everywhere are using motion activated lights...

We use cams with AI perimeter protection to have motion events sent to mobiles and have possibility to easy search people/car events around house in video footage history. This works very well.

But I never would connect alarm-out connector from NVR to my alarm system without some clever solutions to filter that 1-3% of false positives.

The number plate thing I read I think on wizmind probably and misunderstood it for wizsense. I was probably looking at that massive ptz 7grand super zoom camera. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Is it possible to do? I saw some videos a while ago and thought it was a feature.

ANPR function is limited to ultra line cams (like IPC-HFW7442H-Z4-X) and some dedicated ANPR cams.. I don't known any Dahua PTZ cam with that function.

You can add ANPR to any camera (even PTZ) by using WizMind Ultra line NVR's (5xxx-XI, 6xx-XI).

It's a bit disappointed the ai facial recognition is limited to 2 channels. Was hoping the tech was more advanced I guess.

No it isn't.. It is simply limitation of specified by You NVR.
You want to have IVS + Face recognition/detection.
Cams supports one AI function at time - so You choose IVS.
This NVR from 5xxx-EI line (this is WizSense not WizMind line) have limited local AI power - can add 8 SMD / 4 IVS or 2 face reg/det channels done locally on NVR (not cams).

You can enable face recognition on cam (losing IVS) and then run second part (face detection) on this NVR - in this scenario this will work max to 16 Chanels on that model.

If You want more, there are higher NVR models from WizMind line (5xxx-XI, 6xx-XI) which have much higher local AI power capabilities / limits.

PS. Face detection / recognition requires very specific cams mouting locations in front of entering people - face must be optically zoomed to bigger size.

Better function for house / SMB market is AcuPick (now AcuPick 2.0 with Video Metadata attributes) which allows You to search for the same looking people / cars simply by clicking on them from other cams / past footage. And also to search for people matching specified attributes (height, clothes color, age, hats/glasses etc)..

New 5xxx-S3 cams with 5xxx-EI NVR supports those functions - in latest freshly releasesd firmware. And they work with IVS, which is for perimeter protection.

I thank you for your advice, it's truly helpful. So say you wanted about 8 cams, would the DH-IPC-HDW5442TMP-ASE-0280B Dahua AI 4MP Starlight+ IP Turret Fixed IR 50m POE be the one to go for? And what nvr 16 channel would you use?

Do you know of a varifocal ptz that would be ok to use?

Thanks so much for the info, some of the dahua stuff is confusing.

First You must understand that there are different models of 5442 with different lens options (fixed, zoomed).
And choosing proper one is very important to have good installation.

You choose model with fixed 2.8mm lens - which provide very wide Field of view (>100 degree horizontal) - something like WIDE settings in smartphone foto apps. But with this field of view everything at distance (like 10 meter or more) is small on video image - wide lens compresses object at distance..

there are 5442 with varifocal lenses - in 1-3x zoom range (short distances) and 3-9x zoom range (long distances)..

There is a lot of reading about focal length, You can start at:

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

At the urging of several folks here, I created a thread to show the importance of focal length and how focal length can be more important than megapixels (MP). I mentioned some of this in the post regarding The Hookup’s latest video demonstrating different cameras, including one sold from a...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[steve1225]

DH-IPC-HDW5442TMP-ASE-0280B was the only one I could find as you mentioned with some of the features, it's weird their tioc, etc don't have bigger sensor sizes, etc. I looked at so many cameras and...they don't look appealing. Maybe I'll wait n see if they make something new. I like the 2 way feature and tioc, etc but the low light is a problem as you say.

For the license plates I was thinking only a PTZ on the corner would get them but they'd be parked side on so it'd be hard to see I guess. Maybe one day frigate nvr will get much better ai.

If you want tioc features and good night image - there are a new Dahua models - TIOC's PRO with 1/1.8" sensor..

IPC-HDW3449H-AS-PV-PRO - Dahua International

IPC-HDW3449H-AS-PV-PRO

www.dahuasecurity.com

IPC-HFW3449T1-AS-PV-PRO - Dahua International

IPC-HFW3449T1-AS-PV-PRO

www.dahuasecurity.com

they don't have features from 5xxx-line, but night performance should be the same..

Andy have first pieces in his shop, but I didn't read any review of it. They are very new...

 

[Archy54]

Ahh sweet, thanks soooo much for your guys help. You've definitely given me lots to plan out. I'm low income so I get one chance basically.
I was attracted to the AI features a lot, but I won't connect them to siren. Maybe that one can be if I see them or window breaks but I'll have to ask a security installer their opinions, I don't wanna annoy the neighbours, just deter the youth crime here and adults but I guess there's not too much that can be done.

I was reading Brazil is using wifi jammers? The Poe network should be safe from that, zigbee might go down. Don't think anyone here is gonna go to that length. One plus is I have a sleeping disorder so I'm usually awake till 3am to 5am and my lab barks if he's startled.

Main thing I'm looking for above all else is usuable evidence for police. And early warning alerts to me and my bro. The AI stuff looks cool but I guess it still needs work? Gait analysis is probably useless in court I'm guessing, is there a wiki page on what features to focus on for evidence? I'm not sure why I went the 8mp with low sensor size, I'm a photographer and should have known better. Had a health issue though so my brains not fully alert. I do understand the light on sensor filling the pixel during exposure and just completely forgot to think of that as a feature. Bit embarassed really. I'll be doing mountains of research before committing a few grand to a full system, just not having the background in security I've never played with a security system before to pass on to the installer what I'd like.

Do you go all varifocal or each camera individually picked to the fov? I'm trying to think of a way to easily get a fov test app to determine each location.
Are there any PTZ's worth getting? I was only thinking one on the corner of my garage awning which can see the intersection/corner house/ and I think it could bemounted to swing around to the garage too. Although a bit worried if it happened to do autotracking all day it might wear out. Probably a silly idea.

I can see now reading more links I should never buy those 8x one camera plus nvr systems, colour vision is nobueno (For some reason I thought they had an IR filter flip in or flip a dual cmos sensor. Didn't think that one through. Avoid mp's, go for biggest sensor size/most ambient light exposure. I still like the idea of speaker on cam but could I add say just corner speakers POE instead? Active deterrence looked cool I'll admit but I'm far more interested in - Image quality, facial recognition, tripwires, I wish number plate but dunno if that's possible? Blue iris ? But where I am I realized last night it would need to be a ptz camera with varifocal and I'm guessing expensive to spot the number plates as most would be side on. Guess I can get some idea oftheir car n pray the number plate shows. Just thought it'd be a cool feature to track number plates n count cars out of curiosity, I don't care what the number plate is unless they've been naughty. Also feature creep is starting to come in and driving the costs up now.

I am quite interested in the 5xxx s3 EI, I'm having trouble finding it in Australia. I don't know the naming scheme fully yet and I might be reading an old document. Is EI Enhanced, AI? H High def FW Bullet E is saying active deterrence/metal housing, elsewhere enhanced. 5 is quality, then next digit res?, generation, then function eg wdr.
Dahua DH-IPC-HDW5442T-ZE I can't see n s3 on the sites here in aus, or mention of acupic. Is that one or does it have to be Dahua DH-IPC-HDW5442T-ZE s3?
Finally are wizsense and wizmind cameras able to both work on a wizmind nvr?

 

[Mark_M]

TLDR most of this, but in regards to Home Assistant and Dahua:

The guthub/rroller integration works for the most part.
A few annoyances: Keep in mind this is a free integration, it's great all these is available for free to begin with!
My DH-IPC-HDW3849H-AS-PV-ANZ 8MP on the same network as Home Assistant, the integration recognises all functions. I can control the flashing light, siren, white light, etc. But when I put the camera behind my NVR's POE switch the integration no longer found siren/light entities available.
The integration seems to poll for availability of functions before allow you to control them. Which in my case sucks because I can call the API commands another way and it works. (@runraid)

Currently facial recognition, video metadata, people counting & heat map is not in the integration. Video metadata is where ANPR/LPR goes to.

I can confirm what works:

• Arming/disarming the NVR (and TiOC cameras).
• IVS cross region rules
• IVS cross line rules
• Smart motion detection, human and vehicle.
• Motion detection.
• Alarm inputs of an NVR (not a camera if connected through an NVR).
• Video streams of cameras and audio (mainstream, substream, substream2).
• Set overlay text.
• Thermal camera temperature alarm.

What is not supported that I would like.... if it ever does happen.

• Video metadata.
• Facial recognition.
• Get thermal camera temperature rules.

This is my Home Assistant entities for that TiOC camera behind my NVR.
You may notice 'face detection'. Indeed my TiOC camera has this function.
But another camera I have does not have facial detection, yet the NVR is doing facial detection & recognition. On that camera there is no entity for facial detection.



I really do like the call service to set overlay text. I update this every 1 hour from my weather station.

 

[steve1225]

You should simply start with buying ONE camera to play with them.
If you choose varifocal model (ZE / ZHE - 2.8-12mm - so like 1-3x optical zoom) then You can try and match this cam with every location You want test/put camera... You can put 256GB SD card (it must be Samsung/Kingstone/Sandisk Endurance line - for 24/7 writing applications, other sd cards will fail after a few months) and have almost all features without NVR..

If for some locations 2.8 or 3.6mm will fit - they you can use fixed lens models. If not varifocal.. if for some location (like gate at distance) that varifocal will be not enough - then You will known that You need Z4E models (8-32mm with 3-9x zoom) or PTZ cam for that location...

You can also play with AI and test how in your enverioment this works.. each Dahua camera & NVR from pro line have minimum one alarm output which can be connected to any small relay switch to power any device - light, siren etc..

Wifi jammers are used everywhere now. WIFI cams / alarms are simply a junk.

5xxx-S3 cams should be available in Australia. It is on webpage for that country.

WizMind S Series - Dahua Oceania

WizMind S Series

www.dahuasecurity.com

5xxx-EI (alias 5xxx-AI) NVR also are available in Your market:

WizSense Series - Dahua Oceania

WizSense Series

www.dahuasecurity.com

EI is name of series... Before that line there were 5xxx-4ks2 (non ai), then 5xxx-I, 5xxx-I/L and then 5xxx-EI NVR's - all with local AI functionality.

In Your market, Dahua Australia changed name of this line to 5xxx-AI-ANZ..

5442 without s3 / AcuPick is a old model, deprecated in 2023 and replaced with a new refreshed 5xxx-s3 version..

All Dahua IP cams from all lines will work with modern WizSense NVR.

5xxx-s3 cams and 5xxx-EI (-AI) NVR are naturally paired with each other in Dahua offerings...

 

[steve1225]

ps. You can always ask Andy @EMPIRETECANDY is he shipping to Australia and what cost and taxes it will be.

his shop:

Network Camera | EmpireTech

EmpireTech is dedicated to providing top-tier technology and goods, including multi-sensor dual lens cameras, ePoE with 800m transmission via Ethernet cable, AI Codec to enhance encoding efficacy and conserve bandwidth, and precise, reliable, and exact deep learning algorithm.

empiretech01.com

5442-s3 models are called 54ir-s3 in his shop

 

[Archy54]

Thanks heaps for the info.
I'll try the one cam which will let me test everything. I found the camera designer for focal length for fov for house n will spend the next 2 years saving n learning. The garage gets left open and has a sensor light until late so I think I'll use it there for testing as it's the main vulnerability.

I take it I can get the field of view angle and a compass to determine later which cams to get ? Thanks for finding the cams. Now I've got a much more accurate idea on the possibilities and limitations. I can see why people hire security experts, I'll probably do that before final to make sure it's all legit n good but I'll be wondering if they advertise 8 of the same cam. YouTube still recommended that 8mp tioc lol so I guess it's not good to learn from.

 

[wittaj]

Yep, just because someone on YouTube makes a video, they are the expert....who gets commission for recommendations...

And most internet articles will favor higher MP and give daytime examples. How about a 2am example with motion?

That is what makes this site different is that we are all sharing our own real world examples with our own cameras and showing how they perform in the situations we care about - a perp at 2am walking around.

That is what makes this forum so great - it is a collection of users that have been there/done that and are sharing experience and tips with no ulterior motive. Unlike the reviews and YouTube videos where they are getting either paid by the hit or thru affiliation commission based on sales from their links, we are just the average homeowner sharing our journey for free. Of course we have preferences and opinions on cameras, but that is based on our own personal usage and not based on recommending a camera based on getting a commission for every camera we push.


Rarely will a system of all 2.8 or 3.6mm fixed cams be the ideal solution.

Most here will say that 4MP is the sweet spot for these types of cameras.

See this thread for the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value in terms of price and performance day and night.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

 

[wittaj]

You may want to reconsider hiring a security expert...

There is certainly a market for companies like that, but in mine and many people here experiences, these "experts" push overpriced 2.8 and 3.6mm cameras on less than ideal MP/sensor and leaving cameras on default/auto settings to IDENTIFY faces.

Here are some examples of posts that many people cite as helping them move beyond what they either got from the big box stores or replaced cameras that were installed by a professional (you would be surprised how many were not happy with the professional install they paid big money for and come here and then purchase better cameras (for less than the cheap cameras they bought from the installer) and feel like the free service they got from this forum was better than what they paid for):

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection


The Typical picture of a Perp on Nextdoor-type Apps with Consumer Grade Cameras like Ring, Nest, Arlo, Canary, Wyze, etc.


New to LPR? Considerations Before You Begin


LPR Case Study: Scoping, Planning, Proof of Concept, Installation, & Results


Why I like Continuous Recording (aka 24/7)


Use of Overview and LPR Cams to Document Midnight Vehicle Distributing Offensive Flyers on Lawns


Dahua 4MP IP Camera setting look poor




Here is just a sampling of people that came here after being burned by a "professional" that provided them with the wrong system or a ridiculously high quote for cheap cameras and they replaced cameras based on our FREE suggestions and then started capturing what they wanted:

Human / Face detection


Storage Expansion - X54A5L


Got an installer quote - recommending Lorex


Eyeonet, anyone?


Camera upgrade.


Help newb here with a messed install looking for help.


Has anyone heard of Eclipse Cams/NVR?


Dahua TIOC camera does not recognize the IVS rule at night, original support is at a loss...

 

[Gdc]

ps. You can always ask Andy @EMPIRETECANDY is he shipping to Australia and what cost and taxes it will be.

Can confirm Andy ships to Aus. I had him ship me a varifocal IPC-T54IR-ZE-S3 (a rebadged 5442) which allowed me to work out what I needed from a fixed lens point of view.

Dahua DHI-NVR5216-16P-AI/ANZ 16 Channel AI Wizsense Network Video Recorder- It mentions 2 channel face detection.

I have 4 * Dahua 5442 cameras (of different types) in my setup. I imported a DHI-NVR5208-8P-XI from Alibaba as it gave me face detection and face recognition on all 8 channels. I reckon it was worth it as I use IVS and Human/Vehicle/Animal detection on each camera, and then I run Face Detection & Face Recognition on 4 channels on the NVR. I just found the earlier 5000 series NVR's didnt have the capability to do all functions on all channels.

The 16 channel XI version from memory does face detection and face recognition on 8 of the 16 channels. Need to check the Dahua International site (not the AU or US) for details.

connect the cams to work with Home assistant

I havent seen it written in this post, but its said elsewhere, you need to set the video encoding stream on the Camera to to h.264 not h.265 as HA wont be able to stream the video. I left my main stream as h.265 for its high res / great compression, and set the sub stream as h.264 and lower res for HA to pick up.

I'd like to have a 24/7 nvr that I can login to view, and the ability to have frigate NVR for its ai,

Depends on the AI you want to use Frigate for? In my setup I put the NVR on its own VLAN at home and firewalled it so its locked down tight. I only allow specific traffic to/from the NVR. Ie web traffic from Home VLAN to the NVR VLAN. And I only allow the NVR to connect to the Internet for NTP (time sync) and Apple iOS push notifications. I then have the DMSS app on my phone that I can access the NVR while at home, and I use a VPN (Wireguard) to connect from my iphone back to home when im at work / travelling etc. The Ubiquiti Unifi routers for $200 make this network config a piece of cake, and also helps me deal with the paranoia of a having a Dahua device free roaming on the LAN and phoning home!

 

[Archy54]

So I'm back again hopefully not annoying anyone.

Camera arrived, setup, looks good in daylight but i know it's not good as you say for night which is the prime time for crime. Although I am a very late sleeper so primary goal is notify me so I can go "deter" them within the bounds of the law.

I think that speaker function is amazing. I laughed so hard when I used it. Dunno if it deters people but I can see it being handy for talking to people, I believe the 5442 I think had that option if you wired in a seperate 12v speaker. Not exactly sure as I haven't got a 5442.

I won't be buying cams for 2 years so I have plenty of time to research. I have only just gotten into the webpage n tested like 2 functions.

SD cards - I was reading it's good to have a backup, is 512gb too much? Should I set it and can I set it to record only when motion detected to save tbw. I gave myself a real good shock today. wd purple 10tb hdd is rated workload of 360tb a year. I'm not sure if nvrs have failover ability or raid or parity, etc. But 5442 at 4mp will still save on that. I'm a bitconfused by 30fps when it seems like you need some hardcore equipment to run, I think the calculator told me 8x 8mp cameras was 320mbps and 1 petabyte a year! I know you don't store a year's worth, I'm guessing you store 2 weeks? Maybe 4? That gives enough time to find out from a neighbour they were broken into and you can check I guess. 8mp is definitely overkill, I guess in the future it could be handy but I know sensor sizes prefer 4mp or even 2 for low light unless they went medium format lol which would cost oodles.

So after my shock I'm gonna guess don't record at 30fps even 4mp with 8 cams? But can I do variable frame rate. eg 24.7 15fps, motion detected, 30fps? I'll try set this one up on my proxmox server with an nvr and external hdd with something for now, it will be near a sensor light which hopefully will makeup for low light issues but I guess I got some learning n testing to do. It's the main vulnerable spot in the house, open door garage. Hopefully it's a good learning platform even if it's not the optimal cam. It also lets me test hopefully the home assistant functionality too. in 2 years time I'll see what you guys are recommending if I save up enough for my preferred 8cam and possibly 2 chook cam.

 

[Archy54]

Absolutely love the IPC-T54IR-ZE s3. Ordered a second one. So I'll have 3 cameras for now n slowly build up. I got the varifocal model, hope that's ok. The TIOC stuff is cool but I think I can get a Waveshare 8-ch Ethernet Relay Module (B) With Digital Input, Modbus RTU/Modbus TCP Protocol, PoE Port Communication, With Various Isolation And Protection Circuits to do lights n sirens (manual) although I am detecting my cat mostly in frigate lol. When it arrives I'll test out blue iris with codeproject n hope my 1070ti is powerful enough for now. Later on I'm waiting for Hailo 8 TPU 30 tops nvme and a 4060ti or 5060ti but for now I'm happy. Better than nothing.

Does anyone know of a 2 way communication method via Home assistant, poe. I only see doorbells but was curious if something existed. Still deciding if I bother with an nvr, the xi looks nice but costs so much. Although for my friend who's not as technical as me, will NVR5432-16P-AI/ANZ be sufficient? XI doesn't seem to be in Australia at all even. Thanks all for your advice, it helped me a lot.

 

[steve1225]

Does anyone know of a 2 way communication method via Home assistant, poe. I only see doorbells but was curious if something existed. Still deciding if I bother with an nvr, the xi looks nice but costs so much. Although for my friend who's not as technical as me, will NVR5432-16P-AI/ANZ be sufficient? XI doesn't seem to be in Australia at all even. Thanks all for your advice, it helped me a lot.

If the cam have speaker (like TIOC-PRO / Color4M or Color4K-180) then 2-way is possible from Home-assistant (the same integration as for doorbells/intercoms).

 

[Archy54]

5442-s3 models are called 54ir-s3 varifocals, do they support ptz controls at all? I can zoom in the admin console but I havent found any methods via onvif profile t with onvif, webrtc, restful api, etc for home assistant. Is it basically just set it and forget it? No way to track or at least zoom on home assistant?