Empiretech/Dahua/Lorex compatibility?

teknika

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My 10 year old QSee Dahua rebrand is failing and it's time for me to replace everything. I wanted to get the NVR listed here on Andy's store : , but cannot wait that long for shipping. I'm wondering if I could purchase a mixture of Empiretech, Dahua and Lorex components and if they could function together since they're all English versions of Dahua?

Also, on a separate note, can I use my own POE switch instead of the onboard one on the NVRs?
 
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wittaj

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Yes many do that.

You can use an external switch
 

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My 10 year old QSee Dahua rebrand is failing and it's time for me to replace everything. I wanted to get the NVR listed here on Andy's store : , but cannot wait that long for shipping. I'm wondering if I could purchase a mixture of Empiretech, Dahua and Lorex components and if they could function together since they're all English versions of Dahua?

Also, on a separate note, can I use my own POE switch instead of the onboard one on the NVRs?
You can do either way or mix and match. You just can't go over number of camera that NVR are set at since it won't let you add more in device manager when you reach the maximum .
 
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teknika

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And I guess I should throw amcrest in there as well.? It looks like availability across all of the Dahua rebrands is sparse right now (as with everything else). I'm going to have to mix and match a lot it seems
 

mat200

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My 10 year old QSee Dahua rebrand is failing and it's time for me to replace everything. I wanted to get the NVR listed here on Andy's store : , but cannot wait that long for shipping. I'm wondering if I could purchase a mixture of Empiretech, Dahua and Lorex components and if they could function together since they're all English versions of Dahua?

Also, on a separate note, can I use my own POE switch instead of the onboard one on the NVRs?
Hi @teknika

As long as they are Dahua OEM they will use the Dahua APIs by default.

Many member prefer using a PC + VMS like Blue Iris + external PoE switch + IP PoE cameras which meet rtsp / onvif spes ( most Dahua OEM IP cameras we have seen here do, a few do not - so you do want to double check )

Note, some of the WiFi cameras by various brands are cloud cameras and can be problematic to setup to a local VMS / NVR .. even if Dahua OEM ..

Q-see iirc used port 85 for their webinterface ..

Most important is getting to learn how to sync the IP addresses / user + password as well as the stream and substream info.

Once you get that down, works well.

When I added Amcrest to my NVR from Andy, it was plug and play out of the box .. no issues .. that may have changed, as the passwords have had to be strengthened
 
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mat200

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Remember to get good cables for your runs .. copper wires, not CCA .. if running in wall, in attic .. look for properly rated cables .. search the forum for more info ..
 
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teknika

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Remember to get good cables for your runs .. copper wires, not CCA .. if running in wall, in attic .. look for properly rated cables .. search the forum for more info ..
Fortunately this is replacing an older system that was already POE, so I'm hopeful that the network infrastructure in place won't need to be adjusted. I did read a concerning review on Amazon about the cameras requiring outside network access for initial configuration, I'm hoping there's a way around that.
 

wittaj

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Fortunately this is replacing an older system that was already POE, so I'm hopeful that the network infrastructure in place won't need to be adjusted. I did read a concerning review on Amazon about the cameras requiring outside network access for initial configuration, I'm hoping there's a way around that.
Those reviews are fools that have no idea what they are doing LOL.

I have those cameras and have never needed outside network access to set them up!

In fact I set them up on an old laptop that doesn't even touch the internet.

From a previous post I did in the event you are not well versed:


No need really to update to latest firmware as they should have came with the best firmware, which may not be the latest. Something to keep in mind. Most of us do not update firmware if the camera is working for our needs as it usually breaks something.

You need to set up each camera one at a time. Do not plug in all at once as they all come with an IP address of 192.168.1.108 and you will IP conflict them if you plug them all in at the same time.

It is recommended you get a second NIC to put all the cameras on one NIC that is isolated from the internet.

Here is how most of us get the cameras to the IP address of our system:

The default IP address of the camera is 192.168.1.108, which may or may not be the IP address range of your system.

Unhook a computer or laptop from the internet and go into ethernet settings and using the IPv4 settings manually change the IP address to 192.168.1.100

1643659199778.png



Then power up your camera and wait a few minutes.

Then go to INTERNET EXPLORER (needs to be Explorer and not Edge or Chrome with IE tab) and type in 192.168.1.108 (default IP address of Dahua cameras) and you will then access the camera.

Tell it your country and give it a user and password.

Then go to the camera Network settings and change the camera IP address to the range of your system and hit save.

You will then lose the camera connection.

Then reverse the process to put your computer back on your network IP address range.

Next open up INTERNET EXPLORER and type in the new IP address that you just gave the camera to access it.

OR use the IPconfig Tool, but most of us prefer the above as it is one less program needed and one less chance for the cameras to phone home.
 

teknika

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Those reviews are fools that have no idea what they are doing LOL.

I have those cameras and have never needed outside network access to set them up!

In fact I set them up on an old laptop that doesn't even touch the internet.

From a previous post I did in the event you are not well versed:


No need really to update to latest firmware as they should have came with the best firmware, which may not be the latest. Something to keep in mind. Most of us do not update firmware if the camera is working for our needs as it usually breaks something.

You need to set up each camera one at a time. Do not plug in all at once as they all come with an IP address of 192.168.1.108 and you will IP conflict them if you plug them all in at the same time.

It is recommended you get a second NIC to put all the cameras on one NIC that is isolated from the internet.

Here is how most of us get the cameras to the IP address of our system:

The default IP address of the camera is 192.168.1.108, which may or may not be the IP address range of your system.

Unhook a computer or laptop from the internet and go into ethernet settings and using the IPv4 settings manually change the IP address to 192.168.1.100

1643659199778.png



Then power up your camera and wait a few minutes.

Then go to INTERNET EXPLORER (needs to be Explorer and not Edge or Chrome with IE tab) and type in 192.168.1.108 (default IP address of Dahua cameras) and you will then access the camera.

Tell it your country and give it a user and password.

Then go to the camera Network settings and change the camera IP address to the range of your system and hit save.

You will then lose the camera connection.

Then reverse the process to put your computer back on your network IP address range.

Next open up INTERNET EXPLORER and type in the new IP address that you just gave the camera to access it.

OR use the IPconfig Tool, but most of us prefer the above as it is one less program needed and one less chance for the cameras to phone home.
Great, thank you, that's a relief. I bought 6 of those for outdoor use and I'm going to see if I can reuse some of my older dahua (qsee rebrands) with the new NVR for the inside. If not I'll buy some additional ones for indoor use.
 

mat200

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Great, thank you, that's a relief. I bought 6 of those for outdoor use and I'm going to see if I can reuse some of my older dahua (qsee rebrands) with the new NVR for the inside. If not I'll buy some additional ones for indoor use.
Hi @teknika

@wittaj is one of our top members helping out, he's done a great job giving a quick summary of what you need to do to setup the kit.

there should also be more detailed notes around if you need them.

Last time I just plugged the cameras into the NVR and it was good to go without needing to do more, it's been awhile since I setup a new system - so definitely do let us know what you do and share your experiences.

You can also setup a pfsense firewall or other device to isolate the NVR and IP PoE cameras from other network resources .. I would recommend doing this for all work setups ..
 

wittaj

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+1 above!!!

Yes, that is true for the NVR. My instructions above would be if you wanted to play with a camera first before hooking it up to the NVR.

Plug one camera in and give it up to 30min (but should be faster) for the NVR to do the setting up.

Once you see the camera show up on the monitor, then plug in the next one.

If you plug them all in at once, then you will have trouble.

Also, this is a great thread to look at and will save you a ton of grief and aggravation:

 
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