Difference between HDW2231R-ZS and HDW5231R-ZE?

[dragoneggs]

Did some searching but still not clear as to the difference of the subject cameras. I read that the 5 series is Eco-Savvy vs. Lite but I have no idea what that means. $50 more but what am I missing?

 

[disbjohn]

The 5231 has higher FPS capabilities and More streams

 

[fenderman]

the 2231 has no audio

 

[dragoneggs]

What about night vision with motion?

 

[mat200]

What about night vision with motion?

hint: reviews of both models have been written by members, I do recommend checking those reviews out.

 

[dragoneggs]

hint: reviews of both models have been written by members, I do recommend checking those reviews out.

thanks for the hint... been searching... maybe post the links if you want to be a little more help.

 

[mat200]

thanks for the hint... been searching... maybe post the links if you want to be a little more help.

Hi Dragaoneggs - Search box - upper right corner - enter "review" and search titles only

 

[bp2008]

They are basically identical except:
* 2231 doesn't have audio. 5231 has a built-in mic.
* 2231 maxes out at 30 FPS. 5231 maxes out at 60 FPS, which matters to maybe 1 in 1000 users.
* 5231 can do higher-resolution sub streams, I believe.
* 5231 supposedly has better built-in motion detection features, but I never use these so I'm not 100% certain.

Basically if you run Blue Iris then the only thing you should be concerned with is the lack of a microphone.

 

[dragoneggs]

They are basically identical except:
* 2231 doesn't have audio. 5231 has a built-in mic.
* 2231 maxes out at 30 FPS. 5231 maxes out at 60 FPS, which matters to maybe 1 in 1000 users.
* 5231 can do higher-resolution sub streams, I believe.
* 5231 supposedly has better built-in motion detection features, but I never use these so I'm not 100% certain.

Basically if you run Blue Iris then the only thing you should be concerned with is the lack of a microphone.

Thank you, BP. I went ahead and ordered the 5231. Not planning on using the mic but I am installing at the front entrance door so the future option is nice.

 

[mat200]

They are basically identical except:
* 2231 doesn't have audio. 5231 has a built-in mic.
* 2231 maxes out at 30 FPS. 5231 maxes out at 60 FPS, which matters to maybe 1 in 1000 users.
* 5231 can do higher-resolution sub streams, I believe.
* 5231 supposedly has better built-in motion detection features, but I never use these so I'm not 100% certain.

Basically if you run Blue Iris then the only thing you should be concerned with is the lack of a microphone.

FYI - for those following

Basically the 5231 has more processing power compared to the 2231 and thus can do more.
More streams ( 3 vs. 2 ), more on-camera IVS features, more fps, ...

Note as you allocate more work for the camera's processor to do, you will have less options available.
( for example - at 60 fps you may not be able to enable some other features - you may have to reduce the fps the camera is processing to enable those other features also )

 

[J Sigmo]

For my use-case, I put one 5231 in an area, and use 2231s for the other angles from the same mounting location. That way, I have audio available for the area, but don't pay extra to have more microphones listening at the same location.

 

[nbstl68]

Maybe a dumb question but why would I need multiple streams\sub streams?
I use BI. If I had the video on screen on my computer through BI I assume that is using the main stream, right?
If I view it on my cell phone and tablet with the BI app (or UA3 web view) would that be using 3 streams"?

 

[aristobrat]

If I view it on my cell phone and tablet with the BI app (or UA3 web view) would that be using 3 streams"?

Even then, BI is just using one stream from your camera. Most people only use one stream, IMO. But there are folks out there with multiple NVRs and/or home automation systems that can each try to pull their own stream direct from the camera. That’s when multiple main streams can be important.

 

[mat200]

Maybe a dumb question but why would I need multiple streams\sub streams?
I use BI. If I had the video on screen on my computer through BI I assume that is using the main stream, right?
If I view it on my cell phone and tablet with the BI app (or UA3 web view) would that be using 3 streams"?

Hi @nbstl68

Let's assume your camera is producing only one stream - a 8MP stream at 15 fps and H.265

Now let's say you have 8 cameras, each 8MP producing that stream.

Now let's say you have a device that wants to display all 8 8MP streams on a 1080P monitor... that's now basically 8x 1/2x "4K'" H.265 that devices needs to decode AND RESIZE for the 1080P display.

If you attempt to decode all 8 streams on some devices, when they run out of CPU power to decode - you will see a "decode" error on that channel.

This is why having a camera ALSO produce a lower resolution stream which can be consumed by a device is useful. Now your displaying device can consume the 8x lower resolution H.265 and display them ( hopefully ).

This also applies to mobile devices - many of which have significantly less power to decode H.264/265 streams and often have low resolution screens.

 

[Whoaru99]

Hi @nbstl68

This also applies to mobile devices - many of which have significantly less power to decode H.264/265 streams and often have low resolution screens.

Also to mention potential limitations of upstream bandwidth. For example, my ISP plan is 200Mb/s down but only 10Mb/s up. You can have gobs of data transmission on local LAN/camera network but only so much can get out for remote viewing. Some more than other, or not, of course depending on your service.

 

[nbstl68]

Good information all, thanks!
So, if I have additional streams from the camera, it sounds like I would want to typically point my mobile devices\tablets to a smaller 2nd\sub stream and they may perform better not having to stream a larger image or video stream than needed, yes?

 

[aristobrat]

Good information all, thanks!
So, if I have additional streams from the camera, it sounds like I would want to typically point my mobile devices\tablets to a smaller 2nd\sub stream and they may perform better not having to stream a larger image or video stream than needed, yes?

If you're using the BI mobile app, I don't think you can point directly at a camera... it's always streaming directly from BI. The mobile app Settings are does let you set "Encoder profiles" for LAN/WAN, so you could set one profile up so that it uses less bandwidth when it connects over WAN. If you're using UI3, if you hove your mouse near the bottom right, there's a gear icon you can use to control the stream size.

 

[nbstl68]

Thanks, I did see the setting option in UI3 which is great because on my particular devices it almost always errors through U!3 if using anything more than the min resolution (or jpeg option) so that's great.
I don't think apps like TinycamPro, which I just purchased recently, have similar options.

I have ridiculously low DSL upload bandwidth, (< 0.5Mpbs) so using the smallest stream will be important for it to even function I imagine.

 

[Dxue]

Even then, BI is just using one stream from your camera. Most people only use one stream, IMO. But there are folks out there with multiple NVRs and/or home automation systems that can each try to pull their own stream direct from the camera. That’s when multiple main streams can be important.

just to make it more clear for myself (still a noob in this field), if i use a nvr to record the mainstream that is one stream. If i use other devices like a mobile or another device to watch the mainstream, does that count towards a multiple stream or still the 1st main stream? I suppose you can watch the main stream on as many devices as you want, without the camera having to do anything extra right? as explained in the quote below, as long as you don't need another resolution, another sub stream is not important.

Hi @nbstl68

Let's assume your camera is producing only one stream - a 8MP stream at 15 fps and H.265

Now let's say you have 8 cameras, each 8MP producing that stream.

Now let's say you have a device that wants to display all 8 8MP streams on a 1080P monitor... that's now basically 8x 1/2x "4K'" H.265 that devices needs to decode AND RESIZE for the 1080P display.

If you attempt to decode all 8 streams on some devices, when they run out of CPU power to decode - you will see a "decode" error on that channel.

This is why having a camera ALSO produce a lower resolution stream which can be consumed by a device is useful. Now your displaying device can consume the 8x lower resolution H.265 and display them ( hopefully ).

This also applies to mobile devices - many of which have significantly less power to decode H.264/265 streams and often have low resolution screens.

does it really matter how many cams you want to display on your screen for the resolution? my nvr is 4k rated, so my example is rubbish i know, and it is easy showing 4 1080p cams on a 1080p screen. In my view, it should only matter that the cable connecting the device to the monitor that it can transfer all the data? But if it is as you said, then even if it is 8 1080p streams, depending on the nvr/device it can have difficulties showing all the streams at once right?
I wil check the network when i have time and set the streams to 1080p, as I usually use the substream as it (should) use less battery using a lower resolution and h264 instead of h265 on my phone. I will check it on the pc using the full streams and sub streams and the cpu usage that it is using. (when i have the time though)

 

[mat200]

..
does it really matter how many cams you want to display on your screen for the resolution?..

Yes. Decoding H.264/265 takes compute power. Some hardware / firmware combos does it better than others, some do H.264 well but not H.265