Need advice between Dahua IPC-HFW1831C-PIR 4k and Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal.

tatuya

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New to this forum. I want to buy a set of camera system for house security purpose.

I have read some of the cliff notes. Now I want to decide between these 2 or can I combine these 2?

I like the appearance of IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS, it looks professional but I like the alarm and speaking function of IPC-HFW1831C-PIR.
Can someone give me some advice? By the way, if I buy from Andy, which NVR should I buy. Currently I only need 4 camera, but I need some extension ability, so I need 8 camera connection, is the NVR from Andy with hard disk storage?

Thanks!
 

fenderman

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New to this forum. I want to buy a set of camera system for house security purpose.

I have read some of the cliff notes. Now I want to decide between these 2 or can I combine these 2?

I like the appearance of IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS, it looks professional but I like the alarm and speaking function of IPC-HFW1831C-PIR.
Can someone give me some advice? By the way, if I buy from Andy, which NVR should I buy. Currently I only need 4 camera, but I need some extension ability, so I need 8 camera connection, is the NVR from Andy with hard disk storage?

Thanks!
These cameras are nothing alike and can generally not be interchanged for each others purpose except maybe at a front door. See threads on both.
 

aristobrat

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The 2MP Starlights (like the 2231) are my favorite cameras for outside because their low-light image quality is so good. The low-light image quality for the 1831C-PIR is not nearly as good, but for smaller areas (i.e. next to a door), it can be adequate.

Personally, I use the 1831C-PIR on my front porch, and then use 2MP Starlights everywhere else.

For Andy's NVRs, you'll need to add your own hard drive. An 8-port model sounds like it will give you future growth, ... good job considering that. I'm not too familiar with the current models, you might look for some review threads in the Dahua forum.
 

tatuya

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The 2MP Starlights (like the 2231) are my favorite cameras for outside because their low-light image quality is so good. The low-light image quality for the 1831C-PIR is not nearly as good, but for smaller areas (i.e. next to a door), it can be adequate.

Personally, I use the 1831C-PIR on my front porch, and then use 2MP Starlights everywhere else.

For Andy's NVRs, you'll need to add your own hard drive. An 8-port model sounds like it will give you future growth, ... good job considering that. I'm not too familiar with the current models, you might look for some review threads in the Dahua forum.
Thank you very much for your advice. That's exactly my concern. Because my first language is not English( I am Chinese live in Canada), the discussion here is too professional for me (professional words) :). I tried to look for same discussion forum in China, but I didn't find. Although these cameras are made in China, it's still not popular for home use there.

I do read the review of 1831C-PIR in this forum, but there is no review about the 2-way talk function, I see lots of comment which say the voice is low and PIR is not bright.

Another thing: is the night image for1831C-PIR vs 2MP Starlights (like the 2231) can't compare at all?, If the outside is very dark( I mean even no low-light), are these two same?

My understanding is Blue IRis is a better solution than NVR, if I have it installed in my PC, it's no need to buy a NVR. is that correct?

If I buy a 8-port model for the mix of 1831C-PIR and 2MP Starlights (like the 2231), which model should I buy?, I am worried about they are not compatible.

Sorry for my English :)
 

xmfan

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just a couple of points of feedback.

1) Yes, BI will give you far greater flexibility than an NVR. Find a low end (3rd gen or greater i5) SFF (small form factor) desktop from dell, hp, or Lenovo to name a few. They are widely available through ebay. They can be had for $185 to $225 US currency. Make sure windows 10 is preinstalled.

2) Regardless of NVR or a SFF desktop, ideal type of hard drive for cam video is WD 'purple' type. Size your HD purchase accordingly. More cams means more data. Also, how many days retention you want, all this equals to a large size Hard drive.

Welcome. you'll find lots of experts here available to give you a lending hand. Go through the forums to read previously posted discussions. Most likely, the questions you have, they've been asked before :)
 

aristobrat

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Because my first language is not English( I am Chinese live in Canada), the discussion here is too professional for me (professional words) :).
The vendor that most folks here buy their Dahua from lives in China. You might shoot him an email in your native language and see how it goes, ... he's great to work with! kingsecurity2014 (at) 163.com is his email address, and his name is Andy (and goes by @EMPIRETECANDY on the forum here).

I do read the review of 1831C-PIR in this forum, but there is no review about the 2-way talk function, I see lots of comment which say the voice is low and PIR is not bright.
I have not played with the 2-way talk function much, but when I did, the volume was low. I did not try to troubleshoot the issue or play more, .. there may be a solution. PIR is the term for the passive infrared sensor that this camera uses to sense people/animals/cars/things that gives off heat. In my opinion, the LED alarm light on this model is plenty bright.

Another thing: is the night image for1831C-PIR vs 2MP Starlights (like the 2231) can't compare at all?, If the outside is very dark( I mean even no low-light), are these two same?
If the outside is very dark, the Starlights do a lot better. The size of each pixel on the Starlights is a lot larger than the size of each pixel on the 1831C-PIR. The larger pixels collect more light and make a better low-light image.

My understanding is Blue IRis is a better solution than NVR, if I have it installed in my PC, it's no need to buy a NVR. is that correct?
Correct. Along with the Blue Iris software running on your PC, you will probably want to get an 8-port PoE network switch. This network switch will connect the cameras to the network, as well as provide them power across the network cable.

If I buy a 8-port model for the mix of 1831C-PIR and 2MP Starlights (like the 2231), which model should I buy?, I am worried about they are not compatible.
Generally speaking, all of the Dahua NVRs will work with all of the Dahua cameras that come from the International lineup (like the 2231 and 1831C-PIR), so compatibility should not be a big concern. I'm not familiar with the latest Dahua NVR models.. this would be a good question to ask Andy!
 
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aristobrat

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I forgot to mention, but Dahua recently announced more Active Deterrence models:
https://www.dahuasecurity.com/products/allProducts/1/7107?tab=7167

(you may have to click that link twice for it to work)

The turret models appear to have an alarm light + speaker (like the 1831C-PIR). The image sensors look like they may do even better in low-light than the current 2MP Starlights. These models do not have the PIR sensor like the 1831C-PIR, but they're supposed to have firmware that's better at detecting people/vehicles.

Nobody's tested one of these models yet, so it remains to be seen how well they do. Andy also mentioned that these probably would not be inexpensive.
 

tatuya

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The vendor that most folks here buy their Dahua from lives in China. You might shoot him an email in your native language and see how it goes, ... he's great to work with! kingsecurity2014 (at) 163.com is his email address, and his name is Andy (and goes by @EMPIRETECANDY on the forum here).


I have not played with the 2-way talk function much, but when I did, the volume was low. I did not try to troubleshoot the issue or play more, .. there may be a solution. PIR is the term for the passive infrared sensor that this camera uses to sense people/animals/cars/things that gives off heat. In my opinion, the LED alarm light on this model is plenty bright.


If the outside is very dark, the Starlights do a lot better. The size of each pixel on the Starlights is a lot larger than the size of each pixel on the 1831C-PIR. The larger pixels collect more light and make a better low-light image.


Correct. Along with the Blue Iris software running on your PC, you will probably want to get an 8-port PoE network switch. This network switch will connect the cameras to the network, as well as provide them power across the network cable.


Generally speaking, all of the Dahua NVRs will work with all of the Dahua cameras that come from the International lineup (like the 2231 and 1831C-PIR), so compatibility should not be a big concern. I'm not familiar with the latest Dahua NVR models.. this would be a good question to ask Andy!
Thank you so much Aristobrat for the detail reply. I learned a lot.
 

tatuya

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just a couple of points of feedback.

1) Yes, BI will give you far greater flexibility than an NVR. Find a low end (3rd gen or greater i5) SFF (small form factor) desktop from dell, hp, or Lenovo to name a few. They are widely available through ebay. They can be had for $185 to $225 US currency. Make sure windows 10 is preinstalled.

2) Regardless of NVR or a SFF desktop, ideal type of hard drive for cam video is WD 'purple' type. Size your HD purchase accordingly. More cams means more data. Also, how many days retention you want, all this equals to a large size Hard drive.

Welcome. you'll find lots of experts here available to give you a lending hand. Go through the forums to read previously posted discussions. Most likely, the questions you have, they've been asked before :)
Thank you xmfan for the advice.
 

Xenon54

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The 2MP Starlights (like the 2231) are my favorite cameras for outside because their low-light image quality is so good. The low-light image quality for the 1831C-PIR is not nearly as good, but for smaller areas (i.e. next to a door), it can be adequate.

Personally, I use the 1831C-PIR on my front porch, and then use 2MP Starlights everywhere else.
Hi @aristobrat, I'm curious about running the 1831C-PIR at 2MP. If the camera performs some sort of pixel binning then the low light performance would improve and presumably narrow the gap to the 2MP starlights (of similar sensor size and aperture). Have you ever tried this on this camera (or any of the other Dahua 8MP cams)? I'd be using it indoors at home so wouldn't really need/want the full 4k, but I like the form factor and features. Thanks.
 

fenderman

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Hi @aristobrat, I'm curious about running the 1831C-PIR at 2MP. If the camera performs some sort of pixel binning then the low light performance would improve and presumably narrow the gap to the 2MP starlights (of similar sensor size and aperture). Have you ever tried this on this camera (or any of the other Dahua 8MP cams)? I'd be using it indoors at home so wouldn't really need/want the full 4k, but I like the form factor and features. Thanks.
You cannot improve the low light performance by lowering the resolution.
 
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