New RCA HSDB2A 3MP Doorbell IP Camera

Emiks5

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Has anyone noticed problems losing video on this doorbell when your device switches between the 5G and 2.4G networks? The signal is rather weak for me with 5G, so I will likely setup a new SSID for these that only uses 2.4 so I can pin it there.

Also, it sounds like there is no web interface for this version of the doorbell. Is there any way to remove the time stamp on the video since it is redundant with my BI time stamp?
You can use the hikvision IVMS-4200 client software to access various parameters of the doorbell. For the Date-Time display select the Video Display menu item.
 

rafale

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Has anyone noticed problems losing video on this doorbell when your device switches between the 5G and 2.4G networks? The signal is rather weak for me with 5G, so I will likely setup a new SSID for these that only uses 2.4 so I can pin it there.

Also, it sounds like there is no web interface for this version of the doorbell. Is there any way to remove the time stamp on the video since it is redundant with my BI time stamp?
It depends on your 2.4 vs 5GHz environment. It does drop frames when switching from one to another and likes to be on 2.4GHz by default.
My environment is very busy on 2.4GHz so bringing my setup to a 5GHz only SSID made a huge difference in reliability. If your signal is weak on 5GHz, I would maybe suggest to get an access point closer instead.
 
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I do not seem to be able to change the RTSP password.
I can change the verification code but that does not seem to effect the RTSP password which remains the default code (one it came with on the sticker).
It also does not seem to save any extra user accounts that I create (logging in using iVMS-4200).

It also seems that despite the change in verification code that the original is used to login from iVMS-4200 as well.... so the verfication code change does not seem to affect the user account.

Any way to change the admin user password?
 

rafale

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Not sure if you could change the admin password. Just for the sake of not forgetting what it is, I decided not to do it in spite of attempting it once.

On a separate note. I managed to overload the cpu of this camera or maybe triggered something that crashed it: I recently added a 4th RTSP stream (my NAS recording, Home assistant entity, Motion sensing, Facial recognition) and I noticed the streams all die 10hrs after a reboot. I am reducing the streams back to 3 to see if it behaves better as I had 3 for quite sometime without any issues. When it crashes, the doorbell is still up and connected through wifi. It just no longer rings my physical doorbell so it seems like video processing application crashed within the device. Rebooting the device recovers everything but only for another ~10h.

Edit: Confirmed that my problem is fixed... There is a limit to how many streams the cam can reliably support and it appears to be 3.
 
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3cit

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Does the RCA doorbell support ONVIF (to get it to record to Hikvision NVR)? They don't say anything about ONVIF on their website.
So technically, you are supposed to be able to record the RCA Doorbell feed from the Hikvision, since its an IP Cam. Look at the pages 135 and 136 of the user manual on how to add IP cams with RTSP feeds.

User Manual: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjO4p6FyfriAhUrVt8KHXDnBI8QFjABegQIBhAB&url=https://us.hikvision.com/en/products/more-products/discontinued-products/network-video-recorder/ds-7700ni-sp-series-nvr-ds-7716ni-sp16&usg=AOvVaw3cpqchHv1zDY7XpYxuN3f6
The information is included... in this thread! :)
In one of the early posts. It is TP is "UDP", Port is "554" and Stream Path is: "(ip)/Streaming/Channels/101/"

Easy shortcut to the three known clones clones:

EZVIZ: http://www.amazon.com/EZVIZ-DB1-Doorbell-Connected-Vertical/dp/B07JNWP5M2
RCA: http://www.amazon.com/RCA-Doorbell-Security-Camera-Improved/dp/B07GN355R6
LaView: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B07LFP9C9C
So all of these together, I was able to connect my RCA to my hikvision NVR.
I had to creat a custom protocol. Using rtsp, udp and port 554.
The credentials were admin and "code under UR code". It doesn't matter if you changed the encryption code, you have to use the original code.

So in custom protocol, rtsp, udp, port 554
URL is rtsp://***.***.***.***/Steaming/Channels/101/

Then in camera setup you use manual, the IP address, admin/original PW, management port 554 and the custom protocol you setup originally

Screen Shot 2019-07-20 at 10.09.02 AM.png Screen Shot 2019-07-20 at 9.00.06 PM.png
 
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Hi, I am having great success with this doorbell, I have the EZVIZ DB1 model. It seems to be very solid on 5ghz and constantly records to my blue iris server. I just wonder if anyone has managed to utilize the ifttt feature at all? I have download home assistant (hassio) onto a vm but am really struggling to find info on how to achieve this, if anyone has any pointers I would really appreciate it as would like my Google homes to make an announcement when the bell is pressed!

Thank you
 

JaredRS1

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I figured out what my problem was... an old (circa 1975) transformer that was only putting out 10v. Replaced with new transformer (16v leads used) and it works perfectly!
Did replacing the transformer help with the heat issue too? I installed my Laview version over the weekend, and also noticed it gets very hot (Although it was about 100 deg here this weekend). Im wondering if its my old transformer.

Everything is working perfectly, its just much warmer than i would expect.
 

NickTheGreat

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I figured out what my problem was... an old (circa 1975) transformer that was only putting out 10v. Replaced with new transformer (16v leads used) and it works perfectly!
Did replacing the transformer help with the heat issue too? I installed my Laview version over the weekend, and also noticed it gets very hot (Although it was about 100 deg here this weekend). Im wondering if its my old transformer.

Everything is working perfectly, its just much warmer than i would expect.
I put in my LaView last night and it worked fine. Then went offline for a few hours. Now seems to be working well today.

Still doesn't ring the old chime inside the house, though.

Should I upgrade my transformer? It's an old 515T, 10V transformer. I suppose it'd be cheap, and it is fairly accessible really.
 

fredkruger

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Has anyone with EZVIZ DB1 upgraded to firmware v5.2.4 190708?
When I use Hik-Connect and press playback from a PIR notification message, it comes up with "video playback failed. Error code:"
I'm sure it worked ok with the previous firmware...
It does however work ok with EZVIZ app..

I'm using Hik-Connect (Android) because I have other hikvision cameras.
 

lucasCam

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How are people wiring this up to bench test it? I'm going to pick one up but would like to test it before wiring it all together
 

cinnabuns

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Has anyone with EZVIZ DB1 upgraded to firmware v5.2.4 190708?
When I use Hik-Connect and press playback from a PIR notification message, it comes up with "video playback failed. Error code:"
I'm sure it worked ok with the previous firmware...
It does however work ok with EZVIZ app..

I'm using Hik-Connect (Android) because I have other hikvision cameras.
I don't have Hik-Connect but I am using a 3rd party NVR (Blue Iris). It's still working after upgrading to 190708. So any NVR that just needs the RTSP stream should still be able to access it the same way as before.
 

mathwizmf

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I recently purchased and installed this video doorbell (RCA HSDB2A) and am having some interesting issues, so if anyone may have had a similar problem I'd be interested in hearing what fixed it.

In the middle of the night (with Night Vision enabled), my camera begins to send me frequent PIR alarms lasting for about an hour and 20 minutes (almost exactly the same time between first and last PIR 2 nights in a row), but then stops and freezes entirely. BI doesn't work, RCA app can't connect, nothing.

In the morning, I can still see the IR lights on even though it's daylight. I originally tried pressing the reset button - which did absolutely nothing. I then cut the breaker to it for ~15 minutes to allow the camera to completely die.

Afterwards, the camera will boot up fine and function normally. If I try to select the PIR alarms from the night there is no video to display. The doorbell feels warm in the morning - warmer than the ambient temp. Not sure if this is a sign of my issue or a symptom of it being frozen with the IR lights on.

In BI I can see that it looks like the image was getting this almost washed out interference look to it with white vertical lines of varying thickness and opacity overlaid (can upload images later if needed).

I read some amazon reviews with seemingly similar issues - some of which said that they moved their WiFi router closer and if fixed the issue... This seems unlikely to me personally.

My guess is it's power or heat related - both of which prevalent only at night due to the IR lights being on. Heat makes less sense in this regard to me though since the doorbell gets some direct sunlight during the day and I'm assuming gets much hotter. Power seems odd as well though because it's not like it immediately starts having issues when the IR lights kick in.

Swapping my doorbell transformer isn't ideal since it's nearly impossible to get to, but I'm thinking that's the most likely culprit. It's putting out 14V AC, but I have no idea what it's rated for.

Any thoughts or suggestions?
 

rafale

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I recently purchased and installed this video doorbell (RCA HSDB2A) and am having some interesting issues, so if anyone may have had a similar problem I'd be interested in hearing what fixed it.

In the middle of the night (with Night Vision enabled), my camera begins to send me frequent PIR alarms lasting for about an hour and 20 minutes (almost exactly the same time between first and last PIR 2 nights in a row), but then stops and freezes entirely. BI doesn't work, RCA app can't connect, nothing.

In the morning, I can still see the IR lights on even though it's daylight. I originally tried pressing the reset button - which did absolutely nothing. I then cut the breaker to it for ~15 minutes to allow the camera to completely die.

Afterwards, the camera will boot up fine and function normally. If I try to select the PIR alarms from the night there is no video to display. The doorbell feels warm in the morning - warmer than the ambient temp. Not sure if this is a sign of my issue or a symptom of it being frozen with the IR lights on.

In BI I can see that it looks like the image was getting this almost washed out interference look to it with white vertical lines of varying thickness and opacity overlaid (can upload images later if needed).

I read some amazon reviews with seemingly similar issues - some of which said that they moved their WiFi router closer and if fixed the issue... This seems unlikely to me personally.

My guess is it's power or heat related - both of which prevalent only at night due to the IR lights being on. Heat makes less sense in this regard to me though since the doorbell gets some direct sunlight during the day and I'm assuming gets much hotter. Power seems odd as well though because it's not like it immediately starts having issues when the IR lights kick in.

Swapping my doorbell transformer isn't ideal since it's nearly impossible to get to, but I'm thinking that's the most likely culprit. It's putting out 14V AC, but I have no idea what it's rated for.

Any thoughts or suggestions?
After a few weeks of running very smoothly, I too started having issues.

One is the tendency of the doorbell to change wifi AP, to one that has a lower signal still on 5GHz. I then get a couple of dropped frames on my NVR but then it comes back up no problem.
Another one happens once every few days where the stream dies and I once noticed the same IR light remaining on in the morning with the camera seemingly frozen.
I have my AC input on a switch now and do a power cycle whenever I drop any frames for more than 1s on my NVR with my home automation system but I get a log input when this happens.
Given the local weather, I tend to think that this is a heat issue causing errors on both the wifi and the cpu and the number of streams I am pulling from the cam is also not helping.
 

David L

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I installed the ONE Halo LaView's version a couple of weeks ago, very happy with this purchase, I have friend/family members with Ring, Ring Pro and Nest and I have to say this camera has a sharper image, less false alarms and the PUSH motion notifications are instance, one second or less using the LAVIEW ONE App (this is locally with-in our WiFi network on Android phones running Oreo version 8.0.0), have not tested offsite (out of local network) speed of notifications yet, though we have gotten a few from deliveries so they work. I so far have been lucky running this with a mechanical chime on a 16v 10VAC transformer with no problems, chime works fine. This unit does run a bit hot but we have been 100 plus degrees feels like temp. here with high humidity. Wonder if a higher wattage transformer will help? 30VAC? Aug./Sept. will be the real test of time, unit comes with a 2 year warranty.

Side note: I called Tech. support on both the RCA and EZVIZ and chatted with Nelly's before purchase with all of my questions but I seemed to have gotten more direct info out of LaView, although neither admitted to RTSP feeds or camera type (Hikvision) but I felt more comfortable with LaView's ONVIF promise since I was told they were Beta testing already before release. Plus they were the only one who listed future ONVIF support on their site.

GREAT NEWS: On July 30th got a firmware v5.2.4 build 190716 update notice stating ONVIF support is now available, which I was told would happen around the end of the month from LaView's Chat/Techs/Sales staff (This is the main reason I bought from LaView). I am excited about this ONVIF addition since it should open a huge door to a variety of NVRs/NASs that will work. Looking forward to adding a Synology Surveillance Station NAS for 24/7 recording.

Question; Has anyone connected their Halo One to a NAS via ONVIF yet, if so what make/model #?
Also, has anyone identified which Hikvison model number is used for these Doorbells?
Conformant Products - ONVIF
Surveillance Station IP Camera Support List | Synology Inc.

ONVIF LAVIEW HALO ONE.jpg
 
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fredkruger

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Anyone know where to manually download the previous firmware for EVIZ DB1 doorbell as I have some problems and would like to go back. Can't seem to find anything on the internet..
 

enduser99

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I think you are basing your opinion on a lot of other opinions and conjecture. I have had great experience with the RCA device. It does come with ALL the goodies unlike LaView. It has 3 different angles mounting brackets. 3 different colored faceplates, the power pack, the resister for lack of doorbell, a level, a nice masonry drill bit, and a little drill bit for the smaller holes. Also has a little screw driver for mounting the faceplace security screws. My first RCA device had pink video artifacts and RCA/Voxx issued a replacement without any issue. Nobody has been able to find firmware for any of these HSDB2 devices no matter the oem label. Also it appears it doesn’t matter. They all seem to be the same. When a LaView firmware was applied to the RCA it had the same outcome. Nothing is different. I honestly believe they are all identical hardware with slight visual differences on aesthetics. The LaView doesn’t appear to come with as many accessories. Also there is a mate up in Canada that found one that doesn’t appear to be branded. So check that out. I believe when onvif comes out for LaView it will be on the others as well. While RTSP doesn’t seem to be “supported” by RCA you also don’t see it listed as a feature on any of the other ones either. Nobody has taken the time like I did to reach out to their respective support companies to ask about it. So I wouldn’t assume that they are or are not supporting it.
This LaView video shows that all the parts included with the RCA video doorbell are also included in the LaView model except for the additional color face plates.
 

David L

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This LaView video shows that all the parts included with the RCA video doorbell are also included in the LaView model except for the additional color face plates.
That is Correct, LaView ONE Halo comes with all of the accessories except for the 2 extra face plates, RCA offers. White would not of been my choice but the face plate can easily be painted.
 

Deadeye

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So here's an update to the fiasco I'm having with my LaView Doorbell / review.
Overall the hardware install for this doorbell was laughably easy. Everything in this video () right up until 5:46 is a breeze. It's the software configuration that is a nightmare. From 5:46 to 5:52 of the video took me about two days to muddle through.

I got a replacement thinking that perhaps there was an error with the sticker (wrong password, bad QR code, etc) only to discover that I was in the same situation. It just kept telling me that my "device password was incorrect" even though my phone was able to connect to the doorbell's wifi with no issues.




I tried moving my router closer and renaming my wifi and password to something ludicrously simple, but that still didn't help (still kept telling me that the device password was incorrect, even though it copied it correctly to my clipboard, tried typing it manually as well and still didn't accept it).

I was able to add the device to my account but I had to dig up my wife's old iPad and use the iOS version of the app. I still had issues with the iOS app, but it at least found the doorbell and was able to add it to my WiFi.

The next issue was trying to view the video feed and it asked me to enter the password on the back of the doorbell to decrypt and view the feed. Of course, that password didn't work and I have no idea why (I've tried it with uppercase and lowercase letters). The app had the option to reset the password, so when I tried that route, it e-mailed me a code and I entered that code into the app when it asked and.........nothing. The app just went back to the settings page. So I was unable to unencrypt my video feed because the provided password didn't work, and I had no way to reset it (that would work). I was just about to take it off the wall and return it for a refund when I found an option in the app settings to turn off "Image Encryption". Unfortunately, it asks you for the same encryption password on the back of the doorbell, which of course doesn't work. The good news is that the app is horribly written, so if you just hit "cancel" and exit the settings page, it will still save your settings and de-encrypt your video feed! So I was successful in setting up my LaView camera and able to view the feed (when not encrypted) after a couple of days of jumping through hoops, and with absolutely no help (or even a response) from the LaView support team. I don't really care if the feed is encrypted or not as I could care less if anyone else has access to the feed of my front porch.

The device has a pretty severe fish-eye lens that can really distort the image (made it impossible to see the logo on a shirt of someone who approached my door), but the hardware seems great otherwise.


IR is fantastic, and the only thing that makes this camera one to avoid is the software. I've configured the detection range to the shortest possible 5ft because if you use anything else, it will go off when cars drive by..........about 30 feet away. This isn't a huge issue as I really only want it to notify when people approach my door. As for the notifications, they work pretty well. It is very reliable as it goes to my phone every time it detects movement. Where it fails again is when someone actually pushes the button. It is supposed to notify you when someone rings the doorbell (my mechanical doorbell barely makes a noise when the button is pressed, but I'm guessing that's because I need a more powerful transformer as 16v doesn't appear to be enough), and it only goes to my phone when I'm on the same wireless network, and even when I'm at home on the WiFi it only alerts about 20% of the time, so that feature is essentially useless.
I even got my Hikvision NVR to see the feed from the RTS feed, but I ran into a disappointing limitation. When I try to set up a motion detection event through the Hikvision NVR (as I was planning on ditching the LaView app and just using the Hikvision app for everything), it tells me that "The camera does not support the function." I REALLY wish I knew that it didn't support motion detection as that is pretty much the only reason I bought it. Perhaps you can't do motion detection with RTS and it requires ONVIF, I'm not sure, but this issue really bites. I'll probably keep it until something better comes out and I'll just have to learn to live with the LaView app and just record everything (instead of just events) to the NVR, but this would have been a definite deal-breaker if I'd had known.

Another fun "feature" is that when I first tried setting it up, it asked me to test the signal strength to my router, so when I clicked that button it loaded a utility that tested your signal strength, but everything was in Chinese (I assume). Since I can't read Chinese, I had no idea if my signal strength was suitable, but I moved the router right next to the doorbell just to be safe.


Also, EVERY TIME I open the app, I get "Operation failed, failed to get the device list, please check your network" with a retry button. If I close the app and open it again, it then works......every......single.......time.


Occasionally when I try to playback a video, I just get an Operation Failed error and some files just aren't playable.


The last thing I didn't like about this camera is that there is no room behind it for the marrettes so right now, I have the wires sticking out to the sides of the doorbell until I can find time to chisel out a hole to tuck them into (my old cheap button doorbell even had room for two small marrettes.


I would rate this model an "avoid" for the software issues, no ONVIF, and overly difficult setup.

*UPDATE*
As I was typing up this review, I noticed that there was a new firmware update for the doorbell which ADDS ONVIF SUPPORT! I just took the update and it indeed now supports ONVIF. I just readded it to my NVR using ONVIF instead of RTS and I can now use the motion detection through my NVR instead! If they could fix the notification reliability when someone pressed the doorbell button to allow me to answer my door from anywhere, I would move this up to a "Buy" (even with the difficult setup, you really only need to do that once).
 

Ford

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So here's an update to the fiasco I'm having with my LaView Doorbell / review.
Overall the hardware install for this doorbell was laughably easy. Everything in this video () right up until 5:46 is a breeze. It's the software configuration that is a nightmare. From 5:46 to 5:52 of the video took me about two days to muddle through.

I got a replacement thinking that perhaps there was an error with the sticker (wrong password, bad QR code, etc) only to discover that I was in the same situation. It just kept telling me that my "device password was incorrect" even though my phone was able to connect to the doorbell's wifi with no issues.




I tried moving my router closer and renaming my wifi and password to something ludicrously simple, but that still didn't help (still kept telling me that the device password was incorrect, even though it copied it correctly to my clipboard, tried typing it manually as well and still didn't accept it).

I was able to add the device to my account but I had to dig up my wife's old iPad and use the iOS version of the app. I still had issues with the iOS app, but it at least found the doorbell and was able to add it to my WiFi.



The last thing I didn't like about this camera is that there is no room behind it for the marrettes so right now, I have the wires sticking out to the sides of the doorbell until I can find time to chisel out a hole to tuck them into (my old cheap button doorbell even had room for two small marrettes.


I would rate this model an "avoid" for the software issues, no ONVIF, and overly difficult setup.

*UPDATE*
As I was typing up this review, I noticed that there was a new firmware update for the doorbell which ADDS ONVIF SUPPORT! I just took the update and it indeed now supports ONVIF. I just readded it to my NVR using ONVIF instead of RTS and I can now use the motion detection through my NVR instead! If they could fix the notification reliability when someone pressed the doorbell button to allow me to answer my door from anywhere, I would move this up to a "Buy" (even with the difficult setup, you really only need to do that once).
I have installed many of these and everything worked exactly as designed each time.

As the replacement unit is behaving the same way, most reasonable people would say the issues lie somewhere other than the unit or the app.

The folks here have tried to help you but it didn't seem to take.

And in regards to the amateur-hour wiring installation, why don't you enlarge the hole (like to 3/4" or so) where the bell wire comes through so you can tuck the wire nuts into the newly enlarged space?

I rate this model a 'BUY' because of the features, ease of deployment, reliability, ability to be cloud independent, good apps with instant notficatations and reasonable price.

Right now there are only 2 gaps preventing an 'INSTA-BUY' rating: 1. ONVIF support with 2 way audio in all branding firmwares and 2. lack of a POE interface option.
 
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Deadeye

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As the replacement unit is behaving the same way, most reasonable people would say the issues lie somewhere other than the unit.
And in regards to the amateur-hour wiring installation, why don't you enlarge the hole (like to 3/4" or so) where the bell wire comes through so you can tuck the wire nuts into the newly enlarged space?
Yeah, it's probably not the hardware (the physical hardware seems great), but it's likely issues with the software. There's so many issues that I've seen that it seems pretty obvious that they don't really test their software very well. There's WAY too many bugs in their software to be confident that it's anywhere near stable. I also went through the Amazon reviews (or it may have been the reviews for the android app, I can't recall exactly) and found that others have had issues setting up their doorbells with the Android app and had to find an iOS device just to set it up, so at least I know that it's not just me.

As for the wiring, I was trying to set it up in a rush as the replacement just came in just before I was heading away for a week and I REALLY wanted to get this camera up and running before I left so I could keep an eye on packages delivered. I know I could just pop a hole but I'm not sure if the wires run from above or below and if I drill and hit my wires, there's no way I could repair them in the wall, so I need to be very careful, but I'll fix it eventually. I'm just saying it would be nice if they had designed a cavity just big enough for two small marretts.
 
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