EmpireTec firmware Vendor and Model name

C

cryptyk

n3wb
Oct 17, 2021
3
6
San Diego
Just picked up a 5442 from Andy and updated the firmware to the latest in his sub-forum. The VMS I'm using (NxWitness) is detecting it as a generic camera because the firmware is reporting Vendor: General and Model: IP_Camera.
Is there any way to change those values in the camera?
If not, are there any major concerns with just flashing the US Dahua firmware?

Thanks!
 
I wouldn't flash it as Andy's firmware is probably better than what you will find from US Dahua firmware.

There is no issue with the camera popping up as generic. Most of us use Blue Iris and most of the cameras show up as generic and are just fine, including cameras that are Dahua logo'd.
 
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Yeah don't get hung up on the trying to surf to the manufacturer and selecting hardware. Blue Iris, seems ( in most cases) to find the cam's features and list them.
My Amcrest door bell has no Audio when I "Find Inspect" it with the Amcrest AD110 listing. If just let it "find Inspect" at the Ip address, and accept that, the audio comes right thru.
Your Mileage may vary.
 
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cryptyk said:
Just picked up a 5442 from Andy and updated the firmware to the latest in his sub-forum. The VMS I'm using (NxWitness) is detecting it as a generic camera because the firmware is reporting Vendor: General and Model: IP_Camera.
Is there any way to change those values in the camera?
If not, are there any major concerns with just flashing the US Dahua firmware?

Thanks!
Click to expand...


i had done hrs of research on NxWitness back in the days..... Why did you choose this, and do you like it?
 
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flynreelow said:
i had done hrs of research on NxWitness back in the days..... Why did you choose this, and do you like it?
Click to expand...

A combination of things:
1. It separates the server from the client. I want my server upstairs in my rack with giant disk space. I want my clients around the house - in the office, in the kitchen, etc. NxW was built from the ground up as a server/client, while BI didn't introduce it until BI5 and requires an extra license for each client.
2. It runs on linux. I already have a ton of Linux servers, a kubernetes lab, server racks, etc. The NxW server is very easily run in a docker environment on a headless machine. No windows required on the server is a huge plus for me.
3. The client is beautiful. The main screen and interface is in my kitchen, which means it better be nice to look at. NxW has the best looking client, imho. OpenGL zooms, transitions, etc.
4. It does what I want, but is extendable. While BI tries to do everything, NxW focuses on the core of being a VMS and allows plugins or integrations for everything else. I can easily integrate it with Home Assistant, Frigate, Deepstack, DoubleTake, MQTT, my own custom software, or whatever else I want. Most of that is handled with simple HTTP calls into and out of the NxW server. It was built with extensibility as a core principle and it shows. I can very easily add a button on the front gate camera feed that says "open gate" that sends an HTTP request to Home Assistant to open the gate. Setting that up takes 3 minutes. I can setup buttons on any feed to do anything I want.
5. The license is a one-time cost per camera, rather than an annual cost per server/client. That works better for me.

Here's a quick sketch of the architecture to get an idea of how NxW fits into my overall security system.
security.png
 
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Thought it would be good to post the above somewhere else as it's own topic, but there's no general or "other" VMS software forum. Ah well.
 
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