New RCA HSDB2A 3MP Doorbell IP Camera

I haven't been through the process before but looking back at the screenshot on page 101 it looks a little different than where I did it. Here's a screenshot from one of my outdoor Hikvision cams showing the upgrade screen I used:

View attachment 62014

The progress bar filled up and then that was it. No error messages or anything.

Did you read the warnings section regarding fw upgrade for RCA cameras? It looks like there were several bricks.

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We just installed one of these (the Hikvision version), and I'm having a few minor issues that I'm wondering if anyone has any input on:

1. It beeps anytime it detects motion. Is there anyway to disable that?
2. The volume is a bit loud. I tried adjusting it in iVMS 4200, but neither the Volume nor Output Volume slider seem to do anything.
3. The video quality is fairly low. It's set to h.264, variable bitrate, 2048 kpbs (which seems to be the highest possible), 20 fps, 60 for i-frame interval. I've tried messing with the settings, but haven't been able to get any major improvement.
4. Is there a way to set separate shutter speed for day and night?
5. In iVMS, some fields sometimes show up and sometimes don't. For example, right now I don't see the CCD settings, or the "Other Alarm" settings (for PIR). If I quit and relaunch iVMS, often one or both of those start showing up, until the next relaunch.

And a couple of questions specific to using it with Synology Surveillance Station:

1. Is there any way to enable 2 way audio? I have it added as a generic ONVIF device, and that doesn't seem to be an option.
2. Same for PIR. That doesn't show up as a detectable event in Surveillance Station.

1. Yes, it's in the options of the mobile app, Hik-connect: Settings->Notification->Notification Sound Mode: Mute
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2. It seems the volume options in Batch Config have no effect.
3. Post a couple of screenshots to check how bad is the quality. Here I have pretty good quality.
4. If you're talking about the Exposure Time option, it's in the Batch Config, but no night/day specific setting.
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5. The settings in Batch Config are dynamic, based on the initial handshake with the camera. Check if there's any network issue. This camera needs a stable connection.

Synology SS:
1. I didn't find a way to enable 2 way. It's due to the generic onvif configuration. I sent a camera device support request to Synology to ask them for official support of the Hikvision/Ezviz doorbell cameras. Hope they will. :)
2. Motion detection works with Surveillance Station, with ONVIF. We talked about it in detail lately, check the thread up to 1 month back. I discussed it in depth.
 
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Well as mentioned previously I couldn't craft a mount out of shims due to my specialty siding. Not only was it double Dutch lap,but apparently the siding projections are different between brands (1/2”, 5/8” 3/4” etc) So finding someone with my similar siding was less likely.
I asked around, and turns out my buddy had a small 3d printer. So I started taking measurements of the siding, the wedge mount , etc and began crafting up a model. I went through a few revision and then sent him the STL file. He got it printed out for me in about 4 hours. It could still use a few small tweaks,but I'm good with it, and the wife was super impressed, so I've got her approval.
One tip for anyone in my situation. A lot of public libraries will do 3d printing for you if you send them the file. I did the math and it would have cost me just under 5 bucks to have it printed there (too bad they're closed for Covid)Also I used a free web app called tinkercad. It's a dumbed down 3d modeling tool,and not much of a learning curve to it. It probably took me 3 hours to design.
Nice job with the 3d printed mount!
 
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Did you read the warnings section regarding fw upgrade for RCA cameras? It looks like there were several bricks.

View attachment 62053

I read hundreds of pages here. I did read the warnings on page 101 -- it says Nellys firmware was bricking newer RCA doorbells. This was the latest Hikvision firmware. I'm really just posting to let everyone know that other firmwares can brick the (newer?) RCA. The RCA seems to be the cheapest on Amazon with Prime at the moment so I'm probably not the only one buying it right now.
 
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I read hundreds of pages here. I did read the warnings on page 101 -- it says Nellys firmware was bricking newer RCA doorbells. This was the latest Hikvision firmware. I'm really just posting to let everyone know that other firmwares can brick the (newer?) RCA. The RCA seems to be the cheapest on Amazon with Prime at the moment so I'm probably not the only one buying it right now.

The warning says that there are users who successfully upgraded RCA doorbells to laview or hikvision fw, but to beware that there is a higher chance of bricking the unit respect to other brands. It's just a statistic that came out from reports in this thread. If I read that, I'd have avoided buying an RCA. Maybe it's just a coincidence, but it seems they brick more easily when doing fw upgrades.

It's also true that you find this thread only AFTER you buy the product, unfortunately. :)
 
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I've had this occur twice now in 2020 so I think it is something in the newer firmware as it never happened when running the older firmware versions from 2019. The other day I experienced another brief power outage in my neighborhood and my doorbell wouldn't come back as online and remained as "offline" state even though it still was recording to my NVR. Since this happened earlier this year, I just went back to my old notes I had below to quickly get it back online. Very similar steps to what others have done in recent past in case a refresher is needed.

1. Manually reset doorbell via depressing reset button and delete doorbell from phone app *I didn't need to delete doorbell from app last time but did so this time just to start with clean slate since I used both Ezviz and Hik-Connect(90% of time) apps for my RCA HSDB2 doorbell
2. Use laptop/PC to connect to “EZVIZ_XXXXXXXXX” SSID and use "EZVIZ_XXXXXX" for password *replace EZVIZ with whatever FW you're running LAVIEW, RCA, etc
3. Get DHCP IP address(192.168.X.X) by discovering doorbell via iVMS4200 tool
4. Click Remote Configuration in iVMS4200 to configure WiFi *don't activate but login as “admin” and 6 digit password “XXXXXX” if needed *I saved a profile named failed Doorbell in iVMS with that IP as it didn't change from last time so I didn't have to rediscover this time and just go straight to remote configuration settings
5. Go to Network/Wifi menu, change SSID to your home WiFi and join it
6. Use phone app with 6 digit password "XXXXXX" to add camera and it will skip through the WiFi setup process. Set up doorbell to your liking.
 
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Has anyone had luck with any of the apps sending motion or button press notifications to an Apple Watch that include a preview image? I run the Laview ONE app and get notifications on my watch, but they don't include the image.
 
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I notice the motion detection area in the Hik firmware is more segmented than others, if I set this area in the Hik app on my phone then use the Ezviz app without messing with the area in there, will it use the Hik setting.

Cheers
 
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I notice the motion detection area in the Hik firmware is more segmented than others, if I set this area in the Hik app on my phone then use the Ezviz app without messing with the area in there, will it use the Hik setting.

Cheers

As long as you don't mess with the settings in the EZVIZ app, it should work.
 
Welcome to the IPCAMTalk forum @bparrish.

Sorry to hear about your new RCA doorbell camera. Did you notice anything unusual when using the Batch Configuration program to upload the Hikvision Firmware?

You should be able to return the camera if you just purchased it.

Here started with a Nelly camera, updated the Nelly firmware then updated the Nelly firmware to the Hikvision firmware.

Started with EZViz application here and currently not connected to any of the iOS or Android apps in the cloud.

Rather just VPN to home and use a direct connect to the Doorbell camera these days.

@pete_c @bparrish - the first thing I thought of when I read this was - regarding hikfirmware read a long time ago... "Please note the firmware must be installed in sequential order, as Hikvision firmware updates are file-based, and generally depend on the previous firmware. "
i have a Ezviz DB1 and Hik DS-HD1 (front door and back garage) and haven't had any problems, but maybe that is what bricked it. RCA doorbell to 03/30/20 (200321) Hik Firmware would have been skipping one hik firmware the initial shipped 191017.
can't remember reading anyone going RCA to Hik firmware yet.. so maybe.
 
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@pete_c @bparrish - the first thing I thought of when I read this was - regarding hikfirmware read a long time ago... "Please note the firmware must be installed in sequential order, as Hikvision firmware updates are file-based, and generally depend on the previous firmware. "
i have a Ezviz DB1 and Hik DS-HD1 (front door and back garage) and haven't had any problems, but maybe that is what bricked it. RCA doorbell to 03/30/20 (200321) Hik Firmware would have been skipping one hik firmware the initial shipped 191017.
can't remember reading anyone going RCA to Hik firmware yet.. so maybe.

Thanks, maybe that was it. I'm scared to try any updates on the replacement. Getting PIR events into Blue Iris would be nice but not really a big deal. Everything was really working great. Only real complaint was the RCA logo.

How does the setup work with two doorbells? I'd like to get another one. Do you need two of the power kits installed?
 
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Thanks, maybe that was it. I'm scared to try any updates on the replacement. Getting PIR events into Blue Iris would be nice but not really a big deal. Everything was really working great. Only real complaint was the RCA logo.

How does the setup work with two doorbells? I'd like to get another one. Do you need two of the power kits installed?

well.. this is diagram from ring doorbell setups for two doorbell, one transformer. same premise would be used for the hik/rebrand video doorbells. so yes two power kits. one each to regulate power to each video doorbell.
they have several diagrams for many possible setup scenarios - 1/2/3 video doorbells 1/2 transformers, 1/2 chimes, etc.. here: Wiring Diagrams for Ring Video Doorbell Pro Setup
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however that being said, I did not have wiring to the REAR terminal of the existing inside mechanical chime (most homes wouldn't unless you already have two buttons/one chime) I did not initially have a doorbell button installed at the rear garage, and my house was not pre-wired for two doorbells.
unfortunately for me where the inside chime is mounted and located it is essentially impossible to get more wires to - without ripping open several walls and going thru several floors (i'm in a 4 floor basically 5 with ground level basement/garage city house)
luckily the transformer was mounted and installed already near the rear garage (and powering the existing front door) so the new REAR video doorbell I could easily power to run off the existing transformer but with it's own chime basically like this diagram below (but without the chimes connected to each other):
so each one has it's own chime that work independently. if that's confusing, basically i have two separate setups but share one transformer for stepping down the house power. and it's one single 16v 30va transformer. who knows what would happen if both were pushed at same time, I just dont think that will ever happen.
for me having two is nice. i can monitor front door, and rear garage door-to get packages delivered to rear or let people in thru back garage.
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The above post was interesting, I read some Ring support docs, and I found out something that is quite familiar also to our doorbell users.

When I read about strange issues, hiccups or unrealiability of the doorbell, reported in this thread, I always point to insufficient power issues or network issues, that covers 98% of the reported problems.

Here's an abstract from a Ring support document that confirms our concern about insufficient power issues. Fix your power supply, your transformer, before doing anything else to solve a problem. :)

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Hi everybody,

this is a general post to tell you that @David L is having very busy period (and that is an understatement), taking care of his family like a good man like him always does. He's concerned about the support here in the thread, he considers it (incredibly) his personal responsibility, and that tells you a lot about the quality of the man there. I always say that hobbyists with passion and competence can achieve things that professionals getting paid for their job could never dream of. What makes the difference is the passion that you put into the task, and hobbyists are unbeatable in that regard.

@pete_c and I told David not to worry about the thread and support requests, that real life/family issues have top priority, and we will do all we can to support people here. Obviously we will never be nearly good as David in following up on EVERYTHING, he always did an incredible job and set the level of commitment so high it is difficult to step in doing all he did.

We will do our best to support everybody, obviously we have our family (I have 4 children), our job and our personal life to to take care of. So please forgive me/us if we miss some post or answer with a bit of delay.
I also ask all other buddies hanging in this thread since some time, to please help us in supporting other people and their requests, in case our answers are delayed. I firmly believe in teamwork, and I'm sure we have a pretty good team in here.

Thanks for your passion and your incredible support in this thread, you guys are incredible, lot of good energy and collaboration that makes me happy to be here and give my $0.02. :)

Please also forgive me for my English, it's not as good as it was some years ago, but I'm trying to do my best.

Ciao. :)

Alessandro
 
I was having a problem with an EZVIZ DB1 running Hikvision firmware self restarting randomly anywhere between 10 - 120 minutes.

I was about to upgrade the power supply for a second time. The power supply I'm currently using is rated at 12 volts 1 amp, but it actually puts 17.0 volts across the doorbell, dropping to 16.7 volts across at night with the IR LEDs on.

What stopped the constant restarting for me was a factory reset via the batch config program. It has been working perfectly now for the last three days.

If anyone has the problem of the doorbell going offline and restarting, then perhaps try a factory reset first.
 
I was having a problem with an EZVIZ DB1 running Hikvision firmware self restarting randomly anywhere between 10 - 120 minutes.

I was about to upgrade the power supply for a second time. The power supply I'm currently using is rated at 12 volts 1 amp, but it actually puts 17.0 volts across the doorbell, dropping to 16.7 volts across at night with the IR LEDs on.

What stopped the constant restarting for me was a factory reset via the batch config program. It has been working perfectly now for the last three days.

If anyone has the problem of the doorbell going offline and restarting, then perhaps try a factory reset first.

Like I wrote in my quick fw upgrade guide, reset is a mandatory step right after flashing a different vendors' firmware. Glad to have another confirmation. :)
 
Can the "answer doorbell call" be switch on/off via geofence at all, with either ifttt or smartthings or anything, i would like to have it go silent on phone when home as i have the echo's notify me when i am at home and don't need the phone ringing too.
 
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Guessing the only way to do this is reverse engineer the cloud app such that it works locally or

not use the cloud app. (log off the app on your phone)

Here the doorbell button is a zone in my alarm panel and the PIR motion is using the ONVIF2MQTT plugin and I am not using the cloud app.

I do not speak to the doorbell but can VPN to my home network and run iVMS4200 on my phone and see who is at my door.

That said I keep all of the cell phones off when in the house and have a configuration with T-Mobile that has shut off VM and when a call goes to the phone which is off it gives a disconnected message and utilize Google voice.
 
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Can the "answer doorbell call" be switch on/off via geofence at all, with either ifttt or smartthings or anything, i would like to have it go silent on phone when home as i have the echo's notify me when i am at home and don't need the phone ringing too.

If using android phone, Then yes

Using an app called Tasker,
you could set this up in several different ways.
The easiest i could think of would be to,
have tasker turn off all notifications from The Ezviz app when connected to your home's Wifi/SSID.
the only problem I could forsee with this setup,
is that if you were to venture out into your back yard for example,
you would not be notified as you would probably still be connected to your wifi.
This problem could easily be overcome by simply switching the Tasker profile created for this off when going outside waether it be manualy or autimaticly configured somehow
 
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If using android phone, Then yes

Using an app called Tasker,
you could set this up in several different ways.
The easiest i could think of would be to,
have tasker turn off all notifications from The Ezviz app when connected to your home's Wifi/SSID.
the only problem I could forsee with this setup,
is that if you were to venture out into your back yard for example,
you would not be notified as you would probably still be connected to your wifi.
This problem could easily be overcome by simply switching the Tasker profile created for this off when going outside waether it be manualy or autimaticly configured somehow

Ar yes good idea, unfortunately i'm on the other team, ios. Curl may have done it, if anyone managed to get that working yet.
 
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