IPC-HDW4233C-A does it need a separate power supply?

[c c]

I bought this IPC-HDW4233C-A camera Dahua IPC HDW4233C A stellar camera Built in MIC 2MP IR 50m IP67 network IP Camera HDW4233C A support POE cctv camera-in Surveillance Cameras from Security & Protection on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

At the time I thought it would work like my other 4 cameras (Kare PoE 4 channel https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00NPSG7CE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), single Ethernet cable gets power and data to them.

Anyway, this Dahua camera seems to have a separate power connector; given that, I bought a "
Passive Power over Ethernet PoE Adapter Injector + Splitter Kit 12v"
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01N5GF9D6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

But, connecting the camera to the Kare NVR, I don't get an output. The Ethernet lights on the Kare NVR only turn on and start flashing when I connect the camera-side Poe Splitter, but still no signal.

Digging through these forums I see most/all Dahua cameras have a default IP address of 192.168.1.108 which is on a different subnet than mine, so over the next few days I'll try connecting it directly to a laptop and changing the camera's IP address to my subnet.

My main question is, should the Kare NVR be able to power this camera since it works with the other Kare cameras that even have night-vision leds (so higher power requirements presumably). Or is this NVR incompatible, and I need to get another one and in the mean time power the camera with something like https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=electronics&field-keywords=12v+poe+power+supply and connect it directly to the router?

Sorry for the noob questions... does anyone have a link to the instructions on connecting the camera to a laptop to change its IP address? I think I get the gist of it, just powering the camera is a bit of an unknown. Maybe I'll use an Ethernet cable plugged in the Kare NVR for the camera power, and another ethernet cable laptop<->camera for data

 

[Bramboo]

I purchased the same cam, from the same Ali store. Arrived yesterday afternoon and it's already hooked up to my NVR. It does have a separate power input (12VDC I guess), but also PoE, so I'm not sure why you'd need the power splitter... But having said that, I have zero knowledge of the Kare NVR. If it has PoE, it should theoretically be able to power the Dahua cam (and any other PoE cam). I only own Dahua cams with a Dahua NVR, in your case I think you have to go with ONVIF - Wikipediato connect.

Changing the IP address: Dahua has a config tool to do this, but for some reason it doesn't work for me.
Here's the way I do it:

- Connect the cam to your network (switch) and make sure it gets power through PoE (external supply should work as well, I've never tried it).
- Change you laptop's IP address to (fixed) IP 192.168.1.2. subnet mask to 255.255.255.0
Gateway and DNS are not important, just accept the warnings you will get.
- Browse (with e.g. Chrome) to 192.168.1.108 and login with admin/admin
You don't need the plugin now, unless you want to change video/IVS options.
At this point, you'll have to change the password.
- Go to Network > TCP/IP and this is where you can change the cam's IP address, subnet mask, etc.
- Hit Save / You'll lose cam connection immediately.
- Reconfigure you laptop's IP address (probably DHCP) and Bob's your uncle.

 

[c c]

That's what I tried to do today, but either the camera doesn't get enough power from the kare NVR (in which case I should get one of thesehttps://www.amazon.co.uk/PIXNOR-Injector-Supply-Ethernet-Adapter/dp/B01G58ZQPY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1508516138&sr=8-3&keywords=poe+injector, or the camera is somehow broken - I noticed today a small tear in a piece of plastic that shouldn't affect its operation, but who knows. Also does it take a MicroSD/TF card, did you find instructions on where it goes? I tried ConfigTool with the changed IP addresses (so you're saying it's one of those cams that defaults to 192.168.1.108? ) but it didn't see it.

Thanks.

Edit: BTW, are there any flashing lights on the camera itself that would show it's on?

 

[looney2ns]

No flashing lights. But in a dark room, you should see a faint red glow from it's IR.

 

[Bramboo]

I don't think this cam has an SD card slot, anyway I didn't use a card.

Yes - 192.168.1.108 is the default IP address. The Dahua config tool searches for cams even if you're not on the same subnet, so I would run this tool and let it scan continuously while you try to power it. If this cam has a different IP (I can only imagine this is because somebody else changed it manually) the config tool will still find it. The inserter you mentioned is the one I have been using for my test cams and works ok. You'll find them cheaper on Ali, but I can imagine you don't want to wait another 3 weeks.

The Dahua cams I own switch on the IR for some time (couple of seconds) during power up, but I didn't check it on this model. You should be able to see the red glow coming from the IR LED as looney2ns mentioned and you can also hear a soft 'click' sound (IR filter moving?).

 

[c c]

Well I managed to change its IP address. My mistake before was changing the laptop's IP address on the Wi-Fi connection, and not the Ethernet connection - seems obvious now that I have it fixed .

Next challenge: get it to work with the Kare NVR. I even set the camera to stream 720p (that's what the NVR supports), but no joy so far.

 

[c c]

Well after various tries, you'd think it would be easy.... but no, I managed to see the Dahua cam stream for all of 1 second on the Kare NVR, most annoyingly it doesn't save configuration, keeps defaulting to "NETIP" instead of "ONVIF". Interface looks exactly like this one


TinyCam App got the camera up and running in no time, I guess that's what you get when you buy the cheapest you can find, POE IP 720p camera system for ~£180, including the NVR and 4 cameras (which in fairness look very sturdy)

What's a good PoE NVR 4 channel, that can record 1080p? With no compatibility issue that I'm running into above...

 

[Bramboo]

Since you ask this in the Dahua forum, don't be surprised that I recommend the Dahua NVR4104-P-4KS2. Or the 4108 (8 channel) for just a few bucks extra.
I paid $130 a couple of weeks ago (4108 from the same seller you bought the 4233 from) and the device is relatively easy to configure and seems to do the job very well.

Not sure whether your current cams will work...

 

[c c]

This shows up as €85 for me, which is not too bad - I don't see 4/8 Ethernet ports though, do they all go in the one and it's switched? (ooo that's a long link) DAHUA NVR4104 4ks2 NVR4108 4ks2 NVR4116 4ks2 replace NVR4104 NVR4108 NVR4116 Smart 1U Mini NVR H.265 8mp 4ch/8ch/16ch NVR-in Surveillance Video Recorder from Security & Protection on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group

I have a few other indoors wi-fi 'IP Cams' as well, some I got for very cheap (€12 a piece, good IR Leds and 720p), others not so cheap and are not standard - need proprietary app to view), are there any NVRs that could pick up the Wifi cameras (at least the standard ones) as well? (Not important, just thought I'd ask)

Not sure whether to buy from the same seller (sorry if he's on these forums ), but in his replies to me, maybe it's lost in (Google) translation, his last message says

"if the camera ip address and nvr switch ip address Not in the same network segment !
you need changed the camera ip address or your nvr switch port ip address !
This is the most basic CCTV System knowledge!"

It may be basic CCTV knowledge, but it's not well documented in the manuals I got (on a mini-CD no less, had to find an old Linux PC to even read that), still no need to shout

I'll give it a few more tries to get the Kare NVR to work with this camera, if not I'll splurge for a new NVR.

Thanks everyone for the help so far.

 

[c c]

How difficult is it to unscrew the base to mount it? is this below supposed to have a role in that? because it seems broken. Do I push the latch in or pull it out?



Right now I'm thinking superglue

 

[Bramboo]

The NVR you're refering to is without PoE. If you need it, search for the 4104-P (or 4108-P).
There are a couple of ethernet PoE ports where you connect your PoE cams. Other/more than 4 cams can be connected through your network.

The seller puts an exclamation mark after *every* sentence, instead of a dot. Don't take it personal, his English is way better than our Chinese ;-)
But he does have a point about basic knowledge: if you buy at these prices, you need to know a bit about networks/cams in general, don't expect ANY service from him, just be prepared to spend hours and hours trying and getting there with small steps at a time. Use Google and... this forum of course.
Personally, I don't even expect warranty from these sellers. If you do want service/support, there is a very good Ali seller active on this forum selling international cams and he's available to support.

I've ordered a handful of cams, mounting brackets and an NVR from this guy and I've never had any issues. Delivery (free, standard China mail) in 8...16 days, which is not bad at all.

The latch needs to be pushed (gently!), not pulled. Looks like a bit of super glue is needed on your cam.


Edit: forget about the manual on the CD. The NA Dahua website is one of the few places where you find really useful info: Dahua Wiki They have a Youtube channel as well, where e.g. IVS rules settings are explained.

You started with a relatively simple plug and play system (Kare). This is a different ballgame, NOTHING works out of the box. At the very least you have to change the IP address, but usually much more is needed. And in the beginning you'll be troubleshooting almost non stop (I know I did).
I'd advise to buy and test a couple of weeks and after a while (took me 2 months) you'll know if this is your thing and you'll probably buy more.

 

[c c]

Ah yes, my comment about not buying from this seller was a bit tongue in cheek, I don't mind his language. Although having some Dahua IP cams coming by default with the hardcoded IP could be documented a bit clearer.

Anyway, I'm working in IT since 2000 (and lots of school in the same domain before 2000 - although trying to stay away from the sysadmin side) so I can say I understand networking etc - granted the amount of time you spend is not guaranteed to give you the knowledge. I even bought an RJ45 crimping tool and got instructions from our sysadmin on how to use it (I 'sold' the POE/IP system to the wife saying we could connect more than one cameras on the 1 cable - this was in the early stages of my research and seems it is not straightforward, however there's at least 1 person on this forum that uses a 1-to-4 PoE repeater that mostly works for $30)

For now, the good news is I got the Kare NVR to recognize the stream by downgrading the camera output to 720p AND encoding to H.264 (nothing else would work, H.264B, H.264H or H.265).

Thanks.

 

[c c]

In case anyone cares... I mounted the camera at the back of the house and this is the night image captured in configTool (output 720p for the NVR)

 

[c c]

And attached a 1080p snapshot using IE :

Here it is hosted

 

[c c]

Or should I keep it in color even at night?

 

[Bramboo]

Picture looks good, although it seems you have quite a bit of lights available, that make the cams job much easier. I get nice results as well, especially for a $46 cam.
I wonder if this comes any close to starlight cams...

In color mode, you might get issues with people moving (blurry/smeared pictures), as the cam could use different shutter times. Give it a try and compare the results.

 

[c c]

There appear to be many lights, although it's dark when I look in the garden.
So shutter speeds increase in infrared mode? I guess it has the extra IR light, I'll give it a go tonight.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Any idea if there's an equivalent camera but with no need for separate power splitter? Or are all Dahua PoE cams like this.

 

[Bramboo]

So shutter speeds increase in infrared mode?

I've never tried it, but it would seem logical that shutter speed increases when there's IR light available. Higher shutter speed (e.g. 1/60 instead of 1/30 s) means better images in terms of moving objects.

Why don't you give it a try? Set it to B/W with IR Smart on, walk around and check the results. Then do the same in color mode, IR is automatiucally switched off.

I don't know why you keep using the power splitter. As I mentioned in my 1st post in this thread, there's no need. I've connected all my cams, including this model, with PoE.
If it doesn't work for you, there must be something wrong somewhere.

 

[c c]

Probably the Kare NVR I use doesn't supply PoE in a standard way and only Kare cameras could be compatible, this Dahua needs the splitter to receive power. If I don't use the splitter, Ethernet lights don't even light up on the NVR. It'll be next in line to be upgraded, after another wider angle camera for the front of the house

 

[Bramboo]

Weird... Could indeed be some way to keep you from using other than Kare cams. Anyway, good that everything now works!