RCA / LaView (Hikvision) Floodlight Camera HSFLC1 / LV-PWFL182-U

bookemdano

Young grasshopper
Joined
Feb 5, 2018
Messages
64
Reaction score
15
Even though this isn't a doorbell per se, it shares many similarities with the "HSDB2" Hikvision Doorbell and is rebadged by some of the same folks.

I've been after something like this for a long time. I currently have a "Nightwatcher" floodlight camera I bought many years back at Costco. It still works fine (even has nifty motion-following motorized tracking) but the built-in camera is VGA and only records to a MicroSD card. Also not a great FOV so sometimes it misses things because the motion detect->swivel takes too long.

I figured with the entry of the Ring floodlight camera that Hikvision might create something similar and alas they have (it even has some of the same specs--110db siren and a lens with a 140deg FOV). Looks like it was released last year. But there is no discussion here or elsewhere on the web about this camera. So I thought I'd start a thread and share what info I've found.

I found the RCA HSFLC1 late last year on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/RCA-Security-Flood-Light-Camera/dp/B07CJW32HQ) and put it on my wishlist. But at $179 it was a little too spendy for me to take a chance on. I figured it was a Hik though because I also found a LaView version (https://www.amazon.com/LaView-Floodlight-Motion-Activated-Security-Two-Way/dp/B07L1DD15H) for the same price--with a black housing being the only outward difference.

Now as usual, RCA states in the Q&A section of the amazon listing that there is no ONVIF/RTSP support, but I knew to take that with a grain of salt since they say that about their doorbells too and it's obviously not the case (at least for RTSP). I was reassured when I looked at LaView's site. In their list of FAQs it states:

Can I connect the floodlight camera to an NVR/ DVR?

Yes. You can connect ONE Nova to select LaView NVR’s and DVR’s as an IP Camera. When added to the NVR/DVR, the ONE Nova will occupy one channel on the recorder and keep all of its footage on the recorder’s hard drive. You can enable more recording schedule options such as 24/7 continuous recording or weekday recording from the recorder’s menu.
The following models are compatible with the LaView ONE Nova Floodlight Camera:
- LV-N9508Q8E, LV-N9516D6E, LV-N9608C8E, LV-N9616D6E, LV-N9808C8E, LV-N9916C6E NVR
- LV-T9708MHS, LV-T9304YHS, LV-T9308YHS DVR
NVR’s from other manufactures may not support LaView ONE Nova Camera. Please contact corresponding tech support team to find more information.
I wanted the RCA though because of the white housing. Brandsmart currently has it on sale for $129.88, and if you buy it from their ebay store then it's free shipping, so I pulled the trigger on Monday and it just arrived this morning.

In the meantime I found it (and the LaView version) on the FCC registry and found the "external photos" interesting in that they show a black camera with a blue M logo (HSFLC1 LED Floodlight with Wi-Fi Camera External Photos APPENDIX 1 Voxx Accessories Corp.). I didn't recognize the logo, but just this morning I pulled up the LaView version on Amazon and saw in the "Customers who viewed this item also viewed" section the version with that logo! It's called the Momentum Aria (https://www.amazon.com/Momentum-Outdoor-Floodlight-Motion-Activated-Security/dp/B079338W77), and best I can figure is that Momentum is either another rebadger or perhaps even a subsidiary of Hikvision itself. (EDIT: Browsing the user manual and app for the Momentum version, they charge for cloud access and their app doesn't look like the usual Hikvision clone apps, so I would stay away from that one and stick with the RCA or Laview).

Thanks to chadsturgill's posts about the HSDB2 doorbell I was able to get the RTSP stream set up on Blue Iris. Similar to the HSDB2 there is no accessible web interface, but I can pull it up in Hikvision's iVMS-4200 software. For reference:

The RTSP URL is rtsp://ipaddress/Streaming/Channels/101/

Username is admin and the password is the "Verification code" printed on the white label on the right side of the camera housing (where the QR setup code is).

The problem I am having is that the video in BI is not stable--it frequently gets stuck and loses contact, resuming it 10-30 seconds later. I read about people having that issue with the HSDB2 also, and I think I read that a firmware update fixed it. Indeed there is a new firmware available for the HSFLC1 (mine shipped with 5.2.4 build 180605 and build 180725 is showing as available. I haven't installed it yet because it mentions adding a logo to the video and I don't really want that. But I may have no choice unless the jerky BI video is a WiFi issue (haven't investigated that yet). EDIT: My UniFi controller reports the floodlight cam signal strength is at 99% / -48dbM, so it appears that is not the problem.

EDIT2: Video is stable in BI as of now. Not sure if the cam just needed time to settle in or if I changed something that made it work. I did lower the framerate to 12fps using iVMS-4200 at one point, so maybe that was it. I can try more experimenting later, but before I do I want to see if I can keep this thing stable for a while. Looks promising though!

I would feel a lot better about flashing the firmware if I could dump the existing FW or find a copy of it out on the net. No such luck though. Looks like LaView may have even newer firmware (their FAQ shows a photo of a build 180913).

Anyway, that's enough for now. Anyone else seen or used one of these before?
 
Last edited:
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.

flynreelow

Known around here
Joined
Dec 12, 2016
Messages
1,198
Reaction score
1,086
Please upload sample video to youtube.

Thanks!
 

Aocam

n3wb
Joined
Jan 27, 2019
Messages
28
Reaction score
12
Location
Ontario
Does anyone else have this camera and can comment on it. It has the features that I am looking for but would like to get some more user reviews?
 

flynreelow

Known around here
Joined
Dec 12, 2016
Messages
1,198
Reaction score
1,086
Does anyone else have this camera and can comment on it. It has the features that I am looking for but would like to get some more user reviews?
these needs to be hardwired to power 120v. Just to let you know
 

flynreelow

Known around here
Joined
Dec 12, 2016
Messages
1,198
Reaction score
1,086
I am not sure. I dont have it. I have installed many of the ring versions, so im sure this one is very similar without the cloud fee.
 

bookemdano

Young grasshopper
Joined
Feb 5, 2018
Messages
64
Reaction score
15
There are a couple of pretty thorough reviews on amazon if you're interested.

I haven't actually installed mine yet. It's powered on but I'm waiting for the BI support folks to finish remoting into it to try to get 2-way audio working.

So I can't comment yet on how the motion detection is. The lights seem plenty bright. The firmware mine came with doesn't have the stupid RCA logo burned into the video, but I notice that it wants to do a firmware upgrade and the logo is one of the "features"... so I'm avoiding it for now. Unlike the HSDB2 doorbell cam which has it placed on the black fisheye frame, the RCA logo on this one actually covers up part of the image--super lame.

I keep hoping someone will buy the LaView version and report back on it. I think it's most likely identical except for the black housing.
 

pal251

Getting comfortable
Joined
Mar 15, 2014
Messages
1,012
Reaction score
133
Even though this isn't a doorbell per se, it shares many similarities with the "HSDB2" Hikvision Doorbell and is rebadged by some of the same folks.

I've been after something like this for a long time. I currently have a "Nightwatcher" floodlight camera I bought many years back at Costco. It still works fine (even has nifty motion-following motorized tracking) but the built-in camera is VGA and only records to a MicroSD card. Also not a great FOV so sometimes it misses things because the motion detect->swivel takes too long.

I figured with the entry of the Ring floodlight camera that Hikvision might create something similar and alas they have (it even has some of the same specs--110db siren and a lens with a 140deg FOV). Looks like it was released last year. But there is no discussion here or elsewhere on the web about this camera. So I thought I'd start a thread and share what info I've found.

I found the RCA HSFLC1 late last year on Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/RCA-Security-Flood-Light-Camera/dp/B07CJW32HQ) and put it on my wishlist. But at $179 it was a little too spendy for me to take a chance on. I figured it was a Hik though because I also found a LaView version (https://www.amazon.com/LaView-Floodlight-Motion-Activated-Security-Two-Way/dp/B07L1DD15H) for the same price--with a black housing being the only outward difference.

Now as usual, RCA states in the Q&A section of the amazon listing that there is no ONVIF/RTSP support, but I knew to take that with a grain of salt since they say that about their doorbells too and it's obviously not the case (at least for RTSP). I was reassured when I looked at LaView's site. In their list of FAQs it states:



I wanted the RCA though because of the white housing. Brandsmart currently has it on sale for $129.88, and if you buy it from their ebay store then it's free shipping, so I pulled the trigger on Monday and it just arrived this morning.

In the meantime I found it (and the LaView version) on the FCC registry and found the "external photos" interesting in that they show a black camera with a blue M logo (HSFLC1 LED Floodlight with Wi-Fi Camera External Photos APPENDIX 1 Voxx Accessories Corp.). I didn't recognize the logo, but just this morning I pulled up the LaView version on Amazon and saw in the "Customers who viewed this item also viewed" section the version with that logo! It's called the Momentum Aria (https://www.amazon.com/Momentum-Outdoor-Floodlight-Motion-Activated-Security/dp/B079338W77), and best I can figure is that Momentum is either another rebadger or perhaps even a subsidiary of Hikvision itself. (EDIT: Browsing the user manual and app for the Momentum version, they charge for cloud access and their app doesn't look like the usual Hikvision clone apps, so I would stay away from that one and stick with the RCA or Laview).

Thanks to chadsturgill's posts about the HSDB2 doorbell I was able to get the RTSP stream set up on Blue Iris. Similar to the HSDB2 there is no accessible web interface, but I can pull it up in Hikvision's iVMS-4200 software. For reference:

The RTSP URL is rtsp://ipaddress/Streaming/Channels/101/

Username is admin and the password is the "Verification code" printed on the white label on the right side of the camera housing (where the QR setup code is).

The problem I am having is that the video in BI is not stable--it frequently gets stuck and loses contact, resuming it 10-30 seconds later. I read about people having that issue with the HSDB2 also, and I think I read that a firmware update fixed it. Indeed there is a new firmware available for the HSFLC1 (mine shipped with 5.2.4 build 180605 and build 180725 is showing as available. I haven't installed it yet because it mentions adding a logo to the video and I don't really want that. But I may have no choice unless the jerky BI video is a WiFi issue (haven't investigated that yet). EDIT: My UniFi controller reports the floodlight cam signal strength is at 99% / -48dbM, so it appears that is not the problem.

EDIT2: Video is stable in BI as of now. Not sure if the cam just needed time to settle in or if I changed something that made it work. I did lower the framerate to 12fps using iVMS-4200 at one point, so maybe that was it. I can try more experimenting later, but before I do I want to see if I can keep this thing stable for a while. Looks promising though!

I would feel a lot better about flashing the firmware if I could dump the existing FW or find a copy of it out on the net. No such luck though. Looks like LaView may have even newer firmware (their FAQ shows a photo of a build 180913).

Anyway, that's enough for now. Anyone else seen or used one of these before?
No video samples?
 
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.

Martin Paul Sr

Young grasshopper
Joined
Jun 6, 2018
Messages
65
Reaction score
23
Location
San Jose
They all look pretty different.
How did you know they're the same Hikvison?
https://www.amazon.com/RCA-Security-Flood-Light-Camera/dp/B07CJW32HQ
https://www.amazon.com/LaView-Floodlight-Motion-Activated-Security-Two-Way/dp/B07L1DD15H
https://www.amazon.com/Momentum-Outdoor-Floodlight-Motion-Activated-Security/dp/B079338W77

The last one (Momentum) looks like the FCC external photos, and is also sold by Walmart and Home Depot:
HSFLC1 LED Floodlight with Wi-Fi Camera External Photos APPENDIX 1 Voxx Accessories Corp.

So I reckon the Hikvision's iVMS-4200 software is to discover the device and configure the WiFi since there's no web interface?
Anyway I'm in the market for any floodlight cam that does RTSP because I won't use anything I can't add to Blue Iris.
Is this the only one you know of?
I might like two of them, one for the backyard and one for the side entrance to the garage.
 
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.

bookemdano

Young grasshopper
Joined
Feb 5, 2018
Messages
64
Reaction score
15
They all look pretty different.
How did you know they're the same Hikvison?
https://www.amazon.com/RCA-Security-Flood-Light-Camera/dp/B07CJW32HQ
https://www.amazon.com/LaView-Floodlight-Motion-Activated-Security-Two-Way/dp/B07L1DD15H
https://www.amazon.com/Momentum-Outdoor-Floodlight-Motion-Activated-Security/dp/B079338W77

The last one (Momentum) looks like the FCC external photos, and is also sold by Walmart and Home Depot:
HSFLC1 LED Floodlight with Wi-Fi Camera External Photos APPENDIX 1 Voxx Accessories Corp.

So I reckon the Hikvision's iVMS-4200 software is to discover the device and configure the WiFi since there's no web interface?
Anyway I'm in the market for any floodlight cam that does RTSP because I won't use anything I can't add to Blue Iris.
Is this the only one you know of?
I might like two of them, one for the backyard and one for the side entrance to the garage.
Yes they have some cosmetic differences. But I am pretty sure they are the same unit--main clue being that on the FCC registration for the RCA (aka Voxx) the external photos show the Momentum version (I mentioned this in my first post). Though I would stay away from the Momentum version as it specifically mentions a paid cloud service. I have no idea if that's merely an optional thing or if theirs runs custom firmware and doesn't offer RTSP. For that matter I can't confirm the LaView has RTSP either because I haven't used it myself nor found any reviews. All I can confirm is that the RCA version does offer an accessible RTSP stream, and its settings are identical to the RCA HSDB2 2nd gen doorbell device.

There's no requirement to use iVMS-4200, although there are probably some settings in there you can mess with if you want. Otherwise, the WiFi is configured via the RCA (or LaView etc.) app. There's a QR code on a label on the cam and you scan it using your phone's camera. It walks you through it. The main settings for the light & cam are all controlled via the app.

The RTSP has been rock solid stable for me (after some weird drops the first hour or so, but that could have been a Blue Iris problem). I have not done the firmware upgrade because it adds a garish RCA logo in the image (see amazon reviews for an example of what it looks like). I still haven't actually installed mine on the house yet. Waiting for good weather!

Yes, this Hikvision model is the only floodlight cam I know of that offers an RTSP stream and requires no cloud service. I've been looking for this exact device for years and happy it finally exists.
 
As an Amazon Associate IPCamTalk earns from qualifying purchases.

Martin Paul Sr

Young grasshopper
Joined
Jun 6, 2018
Messages
65
Reaction score
23
Location
San Jose
Thank you!!
I can always try the Momentum version from my Local WalMart and see if the same RTSP URL works and whether a cloud service is required.
I'm familiar with the phone app/QR code process from other devices.
I like a web interface better, especially on cams that have an Ethernet port in addition to WiFi, like those I got from from Amcrest (rebranded Dahua?).
Oh well I guess the world is going all to mobile apps eventually.
If I don't like it's easy to return.
I like the black color and look of that one as well.
Of course I'll let update the thread if and when I find out.
 

bookemdano

Young grasshopper
Joined
Feb 5, 2018
Messages
64
Reaction score
15
Great! Yeah I've been hoping someone will try the LaView version as well--I'm really surprised that it still has zero reviews on Amazon whereas the RCA version (about the same price) has a bunch.

Yes, and just to confirm there is no web interface on the RCA version. I've done a port scan and nada. So initial setup must be done via the app (and also I think that's the only way to configure the behavior or the lights). Once it's on the network you can use iVMS-4200 if you'd rather.

Looking forward to your report about the Momentum version. Like you say, it's an easy return if it turns out to not have RTSP available.
 

Martin Paul Sr

Young grasshopper
Joined
Jun 6, 2018
Messages
65
Reaction score
23
Location
San Jose
Now that I look closer, I can see the Momentum and the LaView versions have a far weaker mounting design than the RCA.
In fact some of the bad reviews about the Momentum on Amazon have to do with the fact that the bracket-to-junction is held together by one center screw.
Then the whole assembly is hung on by one screw on top of the round base, and did not keep water out of the junction box unless sealed with caulk or something.
The RCA version has two adjacent screws to mount the bracket and then the thing is mounted by three external screws around the outside of the base.
Looks much stronger and waterproof.
I need have a look at my current ordinary floodlight and how it's mounted.
 

Martin Paul Sr

Young grasshopper
Joined
Jun 6, 2018
Messages
65
Reaction score
23
Location
San Jose
A question about your RCA -- is there a switch to turn the lights on for hanging out in the backyard at night?
Or is the only way to do that with the mobile app?
 

bookemdano

Young grasshopper
Joined
Feb 5, 2018
Messages
64
Reaction score
15
No physical switch, and in fact I'm not even sure if you can switch them on manually even via the app. I'm not home to experiment right now, but the only light settings I see in the RCA app are a brightness adjustment and a toggle called "Light Linkage" (the description of which says "After opening, when people or animals are detected in night vision, they will turn on the lights to remind them."). That is on by default. What I'm not sure about (and will test) is if I switch that off, does that mean the lights will come on permanently between dusk and dawn, or does that mean the lights don't come on at all.

I'll let you know.
 

Martin Paul Sr

Young grasshopper
Joined
Jun 6, 2018
Messages
65
Reaction score
23
Location
San Jose
I'm sure you can turn the lights on and off by the app.
I looked and the instructions pdf and the button for it is on the Live View screen, the last on labeled "Light".
I was just hoping after getting it on Blue Iris I could lose the app, but since it's needed to control the lights manually, no such luck.
I'd love to know what turning off "Light Linkage" does as you say above.
 

Martin Paul Sr

Young grasshopper
Joined
Jun 6, 2018
Messages
65
Reaction score
23
Location
San Jose
@bookemdano - did you ever find out what turning off the "Light Linkage" setting does?
I got busy and didn't get around to ordering mine yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll go with the same RCA you did.
We're certain it will do RTSP and know the URL, and it's looks like it has a much sturdier mount.
 
Top