A cousin of mine wanted to get 4K turret cameras for his property and he didn't want to listen to my "rant" over the benefits of 2mp / 4mp Starlight cameras. He ended up purchasing 2x Dahua's IPC-HDW4831EM-ASE. I tested out the cameras and was dismayed by its overall performance. (1). Though during the daytime, colors pop and look saturated, objects appeared more fuzzy / smudgy lacking detail; also strange artifacts appeared along borders of objects (blue-violet banding); a 4K display is definitely needed to reap the benefits, otherwise down-scaling hinders overall image quality. (2) The nighttime performance is neutral, I've seen worse. An always-on street light will definitely benefit 4k cameras. 4K cameras are a bandwidth and CPU utilization hog (Blue Iris). I noticed the 2mp Starlight cameras do a much better job processing without compromising network bandwidth and work well with Blue Iris and NVR's. I don't think the cameras purchased were defective and currently run the latest Dahua firmware (posted on this forum); both cameras are 2.8mm focal length. If you place a starlight camera along with a 4K camera overlooking and overlapping the same area at night, I noticed the 4K turret benefits from the IR emitting from the 2mp Starlight turret.
I was right all along, Dahua IPC-HDW4831EM-ASE - Don't follow the 4K Hype
- Thread starter Arjun
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Unfortunately, he was persistent on getting the turret-model. If I'm not mistaken, the 1/2 and 1/1.8 sensors are only featured in the bullet cameras for now
fenderman
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hikvision has 1/2 turrets
That is something I can try to suggest to him. I believe he wants to run everything on Blue Iris, therefore shouldn't be a problem. The sensor size plays a huge role. I think many will agree that 4K has its pros and cons and nothing will be absolutely perfect. Being accustomed with Starlight cameras for over a couple of years now, its been a while since I touched a non-Starlight camera. 
When I digitallaly zoom on this 4K model, everything appears washed out and more blurry than the 2mp Starlight cameras. What's more upsetting is the blue/purple banding that occurs on straight things like door molding. I tried viewing 4K footage in a 4K Laptop display in Smart Player and still did not look all that great.
To be frank, it looks like a 1080p camera upscaled to 4k resolution, and doesn't improve anything from a pixel perspective
From a distance everything looks decent, but when you begin digitally zooming, things blur out. I've come across the cheapest 4K Hikvision bullet cameras, and they do a much better job in this category especially in broad daylight.
The cameras digital zoom is never to be taken into account when deciding where to mount a camera. If I had this setup as a permanent install, this 4K camera would best be used as a general overview camera but certainly not for specific tasks. Where you have an overview camera is generally a good idea to mount one more camera besides it for a narrower field of view.
To be frank, it looks like a 1080p camera upscaled to 4k resolution, and doesn't improve anything from a pixel perspective
From a distance everything looks decent, but when you begin digitally zooming, things blur out. I've come across the cheapest 4K Hikvision bullet cameras, and they do a much better job in this category especially in broad daylight.
The cameras digital zoom is never to be taken into account when deciding where to mount a camera. If I had this setup as a permanent install, this 4K camera would best be used as a general overview camera but certainly not for specific tasks. Where you have an overview camera is generally a good idea to mount one more camera besides it for a narrower field of view.
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I changed the parameters went from CBR to VBR and increased the bit rate and frame rate. The difference is night and day, but I still think Starlight+ outperforms these 4k cameras overall. Remember that in the surveillance world, you're not making a movie (although it would be nice to achieve that level of detail), but in the interest of bandwidth, space, and allocated resources by the CPU, its more logical to stick with cameras that feature a robust sensor (with great low light capability) as well as overall reliability.
EMPIRETECANDY
IPCT Vendor
The camera’s Firmware same as IPC-HDW5231R-ZE can go to download on my postings.
Downsampling a higher resolution to a lower resolution generally yields better image quality than a native camera of that lower resolution (unless the scaling algorithm is poor).
But yes, 4K cameras often don't have a high enough bandwidth limit, and the optics may not be quite enough to do it justice. And of course night performance suffers. That said, I've been really happy with my 1/2" or 1/1.8" Dahua 4K bullets (I really have no idea what the sensor size actually is, because I think the spec changed at some point). I also have an older, smaller sensor Dahua 4K bullet that is not nearly as impressive at night.
But yes, 4K cameras often don't have a high enough bandwidth limit, and the optics may not be quite enough to do it justice. And of course night performance suffers. That said, I've been really happy with my 1/2" or 1/1.8" Dahua 4K bullets (I really have no idea what the sensor size actually is, because I think the spec changed at some point). I also have an older, smaller sensor Dahua 4K bullet that is not nearly as impressive at night.
EMPIRETECANDY
IPCT Vendor
4K starlight still have a long way to go, if prefer sharp pics at low light in the night, 2mp and 4mp are the best to go.
Hey Andy, please let us know if this is the latest firmware (please see following link). Thank you @EMPIRETECANDY
ipcamtalk.com
2.800.0000010.0.R, Build Date: 2019-08-07
New Firmware for IPC-HX5X3X-Rhea_Eng_NP_Stream3_V2.800.20190807
Hey guys, Here is the latest new firmware for these models, there has a little update for some bugs, details please check the Release Note. General one is without dahua logo DH one is with dahua logo. Models support. IPC-HDW5231R-Z/ZE IPC-HFW5231E-Z/Z5/Z12/ZE/Z5E/Z12E IPC-HDBW5231R-Z/ZE...
2.800.0000010.0.R, Build Date: 2019-08-07
CCTVCam
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The smudgeness you describe screams bit rate starvation. You can't record 4 times the detail and put it in the same size package without throwing a way a lot more information. That's why I'm a fan of higher bit rates within reason. If you're short on storage or running a big system, you can always choose a lower rate, but if you don't have the option of a higher rate, then it may be a constraining factor. CCTV has one advantage in that the majority of the picture the majority of the time is usually still. Personally I'd like to see camera manufacturers give us the option of up to 15,000Mbs at both h2.64 / h.265. However, with current restrictions, it's always a good idea in my opinion to start with the highest available and then test your way down to a rate that still maintains a good quality for a small file size. Starting low, means you might never realise what your cameras are capable of or what you're missing. Simply fixing high, may mean you get the best picture when an almost as good picture can be had for a smaller size.
@CCTVCam Bit rate starvation was the culprit. However, the firmware I am currently using can only go so far. I definitely agree with you that a bit rate of 15Mbps or more is required for optimal performance. For anyone wondering (see attached), these are the parameters I currently have save for maximum video quality. Notice how I opted for VBR vs CBR. For some odd reason, CBR impinged on video sharpness negatively.
Overall, I'm still happy with the daytime quality, and if it wasn't for my 2mp Starlight mounted within close proximity to this 4k model overlapping, I probably wouldn't approve it. The IR from the 2mp model assists this 4k model at night, no need for an external IR illuminator, but results may vary for others. The 4k cameras make a good overview camera when configured properly. I'm beginning to feel its good to have the best from both worlds. The 2mp Starlight is a great all around option, but then when it comes to details during the day the 4k outperforms.
With a 4k camera with a 2.8mm focal lens I noticed color fringing. From an overall perspective, daytime image quality is acceptable, but when digitally-zooming in you begin to notice chromatic aberration (i.e. blue borders on objects which are shiny or darker in color).
With a 4k camera with a 2.8mm focal lens I noticed color fringing. From an overall perspective, daytime image quality is acceptable, but when digitally-zooming in you begin to notice chromatic aberration (i.e. blue borders on objects which are shiny or darker in color).
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IAmATeaf
Known around here
Have you tried with smart codec disabled?
Yes I have, I've tried it with smart codec on and off and it still produces the blue line you see in the picture below (digitally zoomed in). The piece should be all black, but on the edge you see the hint of blue. When you digitally zoom out to the full frame, its hard to notice with BLC, but in WDR, it can be quite visible
MakeItRain
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I have one 4831em-ase and bought like fifteen hfw-1831e bullet cam 4k.
hands down the 1831e sensor is miles ahead of the 4831em. I wouldn’t buy another 4831 again unless i have to have a turret. The 1/8” sensor on the 1831 makes a world of difference in picture quality.Versus the 1/2.5 4831. Also the 4831 is limited to 15fps and yes indeed at night time the picture quality is more noisier. I have two almost side by side and the 1831 blows it out of the water.
hands down the 1831e sensor is miles ahead of the 4831em. I wouldn’t buy another 4831 again unless i have to have a turret. The 1/8” sensor on the 1831 makes a world of difference in picture quality.Versus the 1/2.5 4831. Also the 4831 is limited to 15fps and yes indeed at night time the picture quality is more noisier. I have two almost side by side and the 1831 blows it out of the water.