I hate my Dahua's Motion detection / IVF. Is there anything better?

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I have spent literal months messing with my Dahua cameras around my house trying to get the tripwire / Intrusion settings to a point where they are actually usable. I've come to the conclusion that Dahua is probably great in a business setting but absolutely terrible from a home security perspective. I just walked back and around my house two full times and the cameras notified me sometimes. 3 of the 7 cameras didn't even send me a detection notification. I have pretty much had it. I have attached an example of the configuration settings on the side of my house. I just recently tried adding the "fast moving" setting to see if that does anything. Honestly, at this point i would almost rather just do something else. Are there any cameras / NVR systems better suited for home use? I actually really liked when i had Vivint, the issue is they dont offer anything like constant recording/NVR, and if they did, it would be all cloud based and i dont have fiber yet, so that's not an option.

Any help would be appreciated.
 

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wittaj

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That tripwire is much too far out and trying to do too much with that field of view. The person will be past that line before they are recognized and then the tripwire won't trigger.

Eliminate the fast moving as that won't accomplish what you want.

Either do an intrusion box with appears and crosses OR a zig zag tripwire, but what you are doing now is the reason it is failing.

Your experience is not typical of what most of us experience.

My Dahua AI/IVS is rock solid and I am in a very typical home setting, as are most of the people here. I assure you it is better than Vivint, but it isn't plug-n-play either because it doesn't rely on going to the cloud for AI processing.

Are you running the cameras on default/auto settings? That can make a big difference in the AI.

Did you do the global configuration?

You could always go to Blue Iris and use Code Project AI to supplement.

 
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That tripwire is much too far out and trying to do too much with that field of view. The person will be past that line before they are recognized and then the tripwire won't trigger.

Eliminate the fast moving as that won't accomplish what you want.

Either do an intrusion box with appears and crosses OR a zig zag tripwire, but what you are doing now is the reason it is failing.

Your experience is not typical of what most of us experience.

My Dahua AI/IVS is rock solid and I am in a very typical home setting, as are most of the people here. I assure you it is better than Vivint, but it isn't plug-n-play either because it doesn't rely on going to the cloud for AI processing.

Are you running the cameras on default/auto settings? That can make a big difference in the AI.

Did you do the global configuration?

You could always go to Blue Iris and use Code Project AI to supplement.

Thanks for this. I have tried the ZigZag setting before but the reason i turned it off is because that would trigger 20 different notifications whenever the motion is detected. I have since turned it off during the day so the mowers don't drive me crazy but i suppose i can put it back for the evenings.

What do you mean about the default / auto settings? I have done tons of configuration tweaks based on what i have been reading, so i dont think anything is default at this point. The same with the global configuration at the NVR level. I probably have, but it depends on what you are referring to. Can you send me specifics?
Thank you!
 

tangent

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How are you recording your cameras?

Do you use android or iOS?
 

wittaj

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So you had it working, but then deleted it because it was working too well LOL? You can simply disable them during that period. Depending on your VMS system, you should be able to disarm or disable at that time.

You need to make the changes in the camera GUI, not the NVR GUI. It will pull what the camera has. Make sure you are using Internet Explorer (yea we know) and not Edge or Chrome with IE tab. Or Pale Moon. Anything else and it can be a crapshoot.

To get into the camera GUI from the NVR, you need to first access the NVR GUI by going to a computer and opening up a browser (preferably Internet Explorer but Pale Moon will work as well) and type in the IP address of the NVR and login that way. Next go into the camera settings page on the NVR and look for the Microsoft e Web Browser and select it and it will go to the camera GUI (photo credit bigredfish from his PSA thread). Your screen may look a little different to get into the camera gui and see if doing it this way gets you access to some other features the NVR is blocking - do not worry about the Port number and circle as that was from another issue someone posted.

Simply select the blue IE icon and it will go to the camera GUI and from there you can set the camera parameters. Go into the camera and set up smart plan with IVS, then go to the IVS screen and draw IVS rules (tripwire or intrusion box) and then select the AI you want it to trigger on (human or vehicle).

And make sure Motion Detection and Smart Motion Detection is turned OFF in the camera.




1696106539794.png



In terms of getting the most out of the camera, here is my "standard" post that many use as a start for dialing in day and night that helps get the clean captures and help the camera recognize people and cars.

Start with:

H264
8192 bitrate
CBR
15FPS
15 iframes

Every field of view is different, but I have found you need contrast to usually be 6-8 higher than the brightness number at night.

We want the ability to freeze frame capture a clean image from the video at night, and that is only done with a shutter of 1/60 or faster. At night, default/auto may be on 1/12s shutter or worse to make the image bright.

In my opinion, shutter (exposure) and gain are the two most important parameters and then base the others off of it. Shutter is more important than FPS. It is the shutter speed that prevents motion blur, not FPS. 15 FPS is more than enough for surveillance cameras as we are not producing Hollywood movies. Match iframes to FPS. 15FPS is all that is usually needed.

Many people do not realize there is manual shutter that lets you adjust shutter and gain and a shutter priority that only lets you adjust shutter speed but not gain. The higher the gain, the bigger the noise and see-through ghosting start to appear because the noise is amplified. Most people select shutter priority and run a faster shutter than they should because it is likely being done at 100 gain, so it is actually defeating their purpose of a faster shutter.

Go into shutter settings and change to manual shutter and start with custom shutter as ms and change to 0-8.3ms and gain 0-50 (night) and 0-4ms exposure and 0-30 gain (day)for starters. Auto could have a shutter speed of 100ms or more with a gain at 100 and shutter priority could result in gain up at 100 which will contribute to significant ghosting and that blinding white you will get from the infrared or white light.

Now what you will notice immediately at night is that your image gets A LOT darker. That faster the shutter, the more light that is needed. But it is a balance. The nice bright night static image results in Casper blur and ghost during motion LOL. What do we want, a nice static image or a clean image when there is motion introduced to the scene?

In the daytime, if it is still too bright, then drop the 4ms down to 3ms then 2ms, etc. You have to play with it for your field of view.

Then at night, if it is too dark, then start adding ms to the time. Go to 10ms, 12ms, etc. until you find what you feel is acceptable as an image. Then have someone walk around and see if you can get a clean shot. Try not to go above 16.67ms (but certainly not above 30ms) as that tends to be the point where blur starts to occur. Conversely, if it is still bright, then drop down in time to get a faster shutter.

You can also adjust brightness and contrast to improve the image. But try not to go above 70 for anything and try to have contrast be at least 7-10 digits higher than brightness.

You can also add some gain to brighten the image - but the higher the gain, the more ghosting you get. Some cameras can go to 70 or so before it is an issue and some can't go over 50.

But adjusting those two settings will have the biggest impact. The next one is noise reduction. Want to keep that as low as possible. Depending on the amount of light you have, you might be able to get down to 40 or so at night (again camera dependent) and 20-30 during the day, but take it as low as you can before it gets too noisy. Again this one is a balance as well. Too smooth and no noise can result in soft images and contribute to blur.

Do not use backlight features until you have exhausted every other parameter setting. And if you do have to use backlight, take it down as low as possible.

After every setting adjustment, have someone walk around outside and see if you can freeze-frame to get a clean image. If not, keep changing until you do. Clean motion pictures are what we are after, not a clean static image.
 
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So you had it working, but then deleted it because it was working too well LOL? You can simply disable them during that period. Depending on your VMS system, you should be able to disarm or disable at that time.

You need to make the changes in the camera GUI, not the NVR GUI. It will pull what the camera has. Make sure you are using Internet Explorer (yea we know) and not Edge or Chrome with IE tab. Or Pale Moon. Anything else and it can be a crapshoot.

To get into the camera GUI from the NVR, you need to first access the NVR GUI by going to a computer and opening up a browser (preferably Internet Explorer but Pale Moon will work as well) and type in the IP address of the NVR and login that way. Next go into the camera settings page on the NVR and look for the Microsoft e Web Browser and select it and it will go to the camera GUI (photo credit bigredfish from his PSA thread). Your screen may look a little different to get into the camera gui and see if doing it this way gets you access to some other features the NVR is blocking - do not worry about the Port number and circle as that was from another issue someone posted.

Simply select the blue IE icon and it will go to the camera GUI and from there you can set the camera parameters. Go into the camera and set up smart plan with IVS, then go to the IVS screen and draw IVS rules (tripwire or intrusion box) and then select the AI you want it to trigger on (human or vehicle).

And make sure Motion Detection and Smart Motion Detection is turned OFF in the camera.




1696106539794.png



In terms of getting the most out of the camera, here is my "standard" post that many use as a start for dialing in day and night that helps get the clean captures and help the camera recognize people and cars.

Start with:

H264
8192 bitrate
CBR
15FPS
15 iframes

Every field of view is different, but I have found you need contrast to usually be 6-8 higher than the brightness number at night.

We want the ability to freeze frame capture a clean image from the video at night, and that is only done with a shutter of 1/60 or faster. At night, default/auto may be on 1/12s shutter or worse to make the image bright.

In my opinion, shutter (exposure) and gain are the two most important parameters and then base the others off of it. Shutter is more important than FPS. It is the shutter speed that prevents motion blur, not FPS. 15 FPS is more than enough for surveillance cameras as we are not producing Hollywood movies. Match iframes to FPS. 15FPS is all that is usually needed.

Many people do not realize there is manual shutter that lets you adjust shutter and gain and a shutter priority that only lets you adjust shutter speed but not gain. The higher the gain, the bigger the noise and see-through ghosting start to appear because the noise is amplified. Most people select shutter priority and run a faster shutter than they should because it is likely being done at 100 gain, so it is actually defeating their purpose of a faster shutter.

Go into shutter settings and change to manual shutter and start with custom shutter as ms and change to 0-8.3ms and gain 0-50 (night) and 0-4ms exposure and 0-30 gain (day)for starters. Auto could have a shutter speed of 100ms or more with a gain at 100 and shutter priority could result in gain up at 100 which will contribute to significant ghosting and that blinding white you will get from the infrared or white light.

Now what you will notice immediately at night is that your image gets A LOT darker. That faster the shutter, the more light that is needed. But it is a balance. The nice bright night static image results in Casper blur and ghost during motion LOL. What do we want, a nice static image or a clean image when there is motion introduced to the scene?

In the daytime, if it is still too bright, then drop the 4ms down to 3ms then 2ms, etc. You have to play with it for your field of view.

Then at night, if it is too dark, then start adding ms to the time. Go to 10ms, 12ms, etc. until you find what you feel is acceptable as an image. Then have someone walk around and see if you can get a clean shot. Try not to go above 16.67ms (but certainly not above 30ms) as that tends to be the point where blur starts to occur. Conversely, if it is still bright, then drop down in time to get a faster shutter.

You can also adjust brightness and contrast to improve the image. But try not to go above 70 for anything and try to have contrast be at least 7-10 digits higher than brightness.

You can also add some gain to brighten the image - but the higher the gain, the more ghosting you get. Some cameras can go to 70 or so before it is an issue and some can't go over 50.

But adjusting those two settings will have the biggest impact. The next one is noise reduction. Want to keep that as low as possible. Depending on the amount of light you have, you might be able to get down to 40 or so at night (again camera dependent) and 20-30 during the day, but take it as low as you can before it gets too noisy. Again this one is a balance as well. Too smooth and no noise can result in soft images and contribute to blur.

Do not use backlight features until you have exhausted every other parameter setting. And if you do have to use backlight, take it down as low as possible.

After every setting adjustment, have someone walk around outside and see if you can freeze-frame to get a clean image. If not, keep changing until you do. Clean motion pictures are what we are after, not a clean static image.
Amazing thank you!
 

IAmATeaf

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I would do something like this, you need you leave areas where the cam can detect something moving from one area to the next.

My 2 driveway cams haven’t missed a trigger when I least reviewed them, also if possible and you have another cam overlooking that area think about group triggers/alerts if you are using BI.

IMG_0762.jpg
 
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So you had it working, but then deleted it because it was working too well LOL? You can simply disable them during that period. Depending on your VMS system, you should be able to disarm or disable at that time.

You need to make the changes in the camera GUI, not the NVR GUI. It will pull what the camera has. Make sure you are using Internet Explorer (yea we know) and not Edge or Chrome with IE tab. Or Pale Moon. Anything else and it can be a crapshoot.

To get into the camera GUI from the NVR, you need to first access the NVR GUI by going to a computer and opening up a browser (preferably Internet Explorer but Pale Moon will work as well) and type in the IP address of the NVR and login that way. Next go into the camera settings page on the NVR and look for the Microsoft e Web Browser and select it and it will go to the camera GUI (photo credit bigredfish from his PSA thread). Your screen may look a little different to get into the camera gui and see if doing it this way gets you access to some other features the NVR is blocking - do not worry about the Port number and circle as that was from another issue someone posted.

Simply select the blue IE icon and it will go to the camera GUI and from there you can set the camera parameters. Go into the camera and set up smart plan with IVS, then go to the IVS screen and draw IVS rules (tripwire or intrusion box) and then select the AI you want it to trigger on (human or vehicle).

And make sure Motion Detection and Smart Motion Detection is turned OFF in the camera.




1696106539794.png



In terms of getting the most out of the camera, here is my "standard" post that many use as a start for dialing in day and night that helps get the clean captures and help the camera recognize people and cars.

Start with:

H264
8192 bitrate
CBR
15FPS
15 iframes

Every field of view is different, but I have found you need contrast to usually be 6-8 higher than the brightness number at night.

We want the ability to freeze frame capture a clean image from the video at night, and that is only done with a shutter of 1/60 or faster. At night, default/auto may be on 1/12s shutter or worse to make the image bright.

In my opinion, shutter (exposure) and gain are the two most important parameters and then base the others off of it. Shutter is more important than FPS. It is the shutter speed that prevents motion blur, not FPS. 15 FPS is more than enough for surveillance cameras as we are not producing Hollywood movies. Match iframes to FPS. 15FPS is all that is usually needed.

Many people do not realize there is manual shutter that lets you adjust shutter and gain and a shutter priority that only lets you adjust shutter speed but not gain. The higher the gain, the bigger the noise and see-through ghosting start to appear because the noise is amplified. Most people select shutter priority and run a faster shutter than they should because it is likely being done at 100 gain, so it is actually defeating their purpose of a faster shutter.

Go into shutter settings and change to manual shutter and start with custom shutter as ms and change to 0-8.3ms and gain 0-50 (night) and 0-4ms exposure and 0-30 gain (day)for starters. Auto could have a shutter speed of 100ms or more with a gain at 100 and shutter priority could result in gain up at 100 which will contribute to significant ghosting and that blinding white you will get from the infrared or white light.

Now what you will notice immediately at night is that your image gets A LOT darker. That faster the shutter, the more light that is needed. But it is a balance. The nice bright night static image results in Casper blur and ghost during motion LOL. What do we want, a nice static image or a clean image when there is motion introduced to the scene?

In the daytime, if it is still too bright, then drop the 4ms down to 3ms then 2ms, etc. You have to play with it for your field of view.

Then at night, if it is too dark, then start adding ms to the time. Go to 10ms, 12ms, etc. until you find what you feel is acceptable as an image. Then have someone walk around and see if you can get a clean shot. Try not to go above 16.67ms (but certainly not above 30ms) as that tends to be the point where blur starts to occur. Conversely, if it is still bright, then drop down in time to get a faster shutter.

You can also adjust brightness and contrast to improve the image. But try not to go above 70 for anything and try to have contrast be at least 7-10 digits higher than brightness.

You can also add some gain to brighten the image - but the higher the gain, the more ghosting you get. Some cameras can go to 70 or so before it is an issue and some can't go over 50.

But adjusting those two settings will have the biggest impact. The next one is noise reduction. Want to keep that as low as possible. Depending on the amount of light you have, you might be able to get down to 40 or so at night (again camera dependent) and 20-30 during the day, but take it as low as you can before it gets too noisy. Again this one is a balance as well. Too smooth and no noise can result in soft images and contribute to blur.

Do not use backlight features until you have exhausted every other parameter setting. And if you do have to use backlight, take it down as low as possible.

After every setting adjustment, have someone walk around outside and see if you can freeze-frame to get a clean image. If not, keep changing until you do. Clean motion pictures are what we are after, not a clean static image.
What's wrong with port 37777? All of my cameras are hooked up on that port. The cameras are plugged into a switch which gets fed to my NVR box. I dont have a way to go from the cameras to the NVR directly...
 

wittaj

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As I mentioned, don't concern yourself with that port comment as that was addressing another issue. Just use that screenshot on how to access the camera GUI.
 
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