Review-Dahua DB-11 Video Door Bell

Dramus

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I'm liking the idea of a doorbell cam more and more, but, after reading this thread from start to now, the DB11 doesn't appear to me to be nearly ready for prime time. I see some people have gotten them to mostly work most of the time, but, to my way of thinking mostly working most of the time is not acceptable for a security device. Erratic performance, failures, glitches, etc. must be the exceptions, and rare ones, at that, rather than expected behavior.
 

copland

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Anyone having any issues with the DB-11 defaulting to b/w. I have configured it numerous times and after a couple of days it switches to b/w and stays on that setting no matter what time of day. I can switch it back to color, but the setting never holds for more than 24-48hrs. I've reset the camera and that didn't help any.
 

Cameraguy

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Anyone having any issues with the DB-11 defaulting to b/w. I have configured it numerous times and after a couple of days it switches to b/w and stays on that setting no matter what time of day. I can switch it back to color, but the setting never holds for more than 24-48hrs. I've reset the camera and that didn't help any.
That happened to mine and hard reset fixed it
 

Rollo

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I'm liking the idea of a doorbell cam more and more, but, after reading this thread from start to now, the DB11 doesn't appear to me to be nearly ready for prime time. I see some people have gotten them to mostly work most of the time, but, to my way of thinking mostly working most of the time is not acceptable for a security device. Erratic performance, failures, glitches, etc. must be the exceptions, and rare ones, at that, rather than expected behavior.
I certainly wouldn't use a doorbell camera as the only camera in an area, but where it really shines is that they are usually mounted so low down compared to other cameras that they get a good face image even if someone is wearing a hat or a hood.

Even with a glitchy camera (i.e. every doorbell camera) it still has a lot of value added due to that.
 

Dramus

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Even with a glitchy camera (i.e. every doorbell camera) it still has a lot of value added due to that.
Nah. I've already got far too much tech around the house I have to babysit ;) When somebody comes out with one that isn't a constant maintenance issue I'll consider it.

It is gonna have to be wireless, though. I examined it from every angle and there is no reasonable way to get Ethernet anywhere near that location.
 
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For those with mechanical chimes who are irritated by the doorbell ringing 10 times in a row, I have solved it by putting a relay and esp board in between the doorbell and the chime. Blog below has a good write up with lots of options. I modified it slightly, the board ignores the next 9 signals it gets from the doorbell.

Ideally I wouldnt have to spend more money and time to fix it, but this does give me some more options and talks to my home assistant setup much easier.

DIY Smart Doorbell for just $2, no soldering required » Frenck.dev
 

swooosh83

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For those with mechanical chimes who are irritated by the doorbell ringing 10 times in a row, I have solved it by putting a relay and esp board in between the doorbell and the chime. Blog below has a good write up with lots of options. I modified it slightly, the board ignores the next 9 signals it gets from the doorbell.

Ideally I wouldnt have to spend more money and time to fix it, but this does give me some more options and talks to my home assistant setup much easier.

DIY Smart Doorbell for just $2, no soldering required » Frenck.dev
Could you post the code when you get a chance? I was thinking about doing the same thing with an Arduino mini.
 

Galaxy Explorer

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Is the DB11 the Aston Martin of internet doorbells? :)

I am researching various internet connected doorbells, though largely put off by the video subscription requirements that are often necessary for Nest/Google/Ring and generally the inferior video quality. I am asking for a general concensus on whether the DB11 is the best choice for tech enthusiasts?

(I'd much prefer the Dahua VTO2000A however it requires the use of VTH screen which I don't want, just a simple chime.)
 

catcamstar

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Is the DB11 the Aston Martin of internet doorbells? :)

I am researching various internet connected doorbells, though largely put off by the video subscription requirements that are often necessary for Nest/Google/Ring and generally the inferior video quality. I am asking for a general concensus on whether the DB11 is the best choice for tech enthusiasts?

(I'd much prefer the Dahua VTO2000A however it requires the use of VTH screen which I don't want, just a simple chime.)
As "experienced" VTO user ([Review] VTO2000A & VTH1550CH & VTNS1060A Intercom Kit), I can confirm you just can't simply compare the DB11 and the VTO2000A. The latter indeed has a VTH touchscreen, maybe you don't want it (and I thought it would be redundant too as all tablets/phones in house have the "live feed" & push notifications"), but you know what? The day the cleaning lady / babysit wants to see who's ringing, you'll regret you don't have the VTH.
For me, opting for a wifi cam/doorbell would not be good, as I'm also using the VTO in 24/7 recording mode on my NVR (so I can also hear what people are saying before/after ringing the bell).
And sizes differ too, the VTO looks much more "professional" to me.

Choices choices :p
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Galaxy Explorer

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As "experienced" VTO user ([Review] VTO2000A & VTH1550CH & VTNS1060A Intercom Kit), I can confirm you just can't simply compare the DB11 and the VTO2000A. The latter indeed has a VTH touchscreen, maybe you don't want it (and I thought it would be redundant too as all tablets/phones in house have the "live feed" & push notifications"), but you know what? The day the cleaning lady / babysit wants to see who's ringing, you'll regret you don't have the VTH. For me, opting for a wifi cam/doorbell would not be good, as I'm also using the VTO in 24/7 recording mode on my NVR (so I can also hear what people are saying before/after ringing the bell).
And sizes differ too, the VTO looks much more "professional" to me.
CC
With your experience using VTO, would it reliably function without the VTH screen, by purely relying upon P2P push notifications? I am also interested to know whether it's possible to configure an output to trigger when someone pushes the call button, which could be connected to a conventional door chime/bell.

With respect to the DB11, based on feedback on this forum, it would seem possible to record the video to an NVR (though not tried it myself). I do agree with you the VTO has a professional look, though to your point it's not a fair comparison with a consumer doorbell product agasinst a professional video intercom product.
 

catcamstar

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With your experience using VTO, would it reliably function without the VTH screen, by purely relying upon P2P push notifications? I am also interested to know whether it's possible to configure an output to trigger when someone pushes the call button, which could be connected to a conventional door chime/bell.

With respect to the DB11, based on feedback on this forum, it would seem possible to record the video to an NVR (though not tried it myself). I do agree with you the VTO has a professional look, though to your point it's not a fair comparison with a consumer doorbell product agasinst a professional video intercom product.
To my knowledge P2P stands apart from push notifications? I do not have P2P activated (as it brings your device into the Dahua "cloud", and your network is exposed), whilst the push notifications do still work (for that, I only have TCP2195 outbound enabled on my firewall)! It is a best practice not to work with P2P anyhow. I haven't tried the VTO without the VTH, I can try that this evening to see if push still comes through.

For the chime: VTH does have some alarm out pins, I found once a tutorial on how to mechanical chime on those outputs (Connecting VTO2000A to a mechanical chime)

Indeed, make a (preferably objective) comparison for your infrastructure, tick all the boxes (maybe VTO2000A does look professional, it does need that "special" POE switch (VTNS), newer models of VTO2xxx seem to work on traditional POE), but also note the chainability (eg 2 VTO - 1 VTH for in you would have, like me, an electrical gate at the street), or, if you would need (like me for that gate) a relay to trigger "open sesame" through the iDMSS app.
Good luck!
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silencery

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Is the DB11 the Aston Martin of internet doorbells? :)

I am researching various internet connected doorbells, though largely put off by the video subscription requirements that are often necessary for Nest/Google/Ring and generally the inferior video quality. I am asking for a general concensus on whether the DB11 is the best choice for tech enthusiasts?

(I'd much prefer the Dahua VTO2000A however it requires the use of VTH screen which I don't want, just a simple chime.)
I've spend a lot of time searching. You can see my direct experience and updates on the DB11 here Dahua DB11 Summary - is this best doorbell for now?. For residential, DB11 or HSDB2A seem to be the top non-cloud based choices for now. However, that's not saying much.

I'd love to see a side by side comparison between the two.
 

catcamstar

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I've spend a lot of time searching. You can see my direct experience and updates on the DB11 here Dahua DB11 Summary - is this best doorbell for now?. For residential, DB11 or HSDB2A seem to be the top non-cloud based choices for now. However, that's not saying much.

I'd love to see a side by side comparison between the two.
I am more than happy to compare the two, if I would have the two :)
 

catcamstar

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(I'd much prefer the Dahua VTO2000A however it requires the use of VTH screen which I don't want, just a simple chime.)
If I unplug my VTH, my VTO screams "the line is busy now", so no dial-out nor push notifications without the VTH screen, but that might be a configuration thing (as my VTH is still configured in the VTO). From a german forum, I know that people with SIP do have eliminated the VTH, but I cannot comment on that.

Hope it helps!
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Galaxy Explorer

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If I unplug my VTH, my VTO screams "the line is busy now", so no dial-out nor push notifications without the VTH screen, but that might be a configuration thing (as my VTH is still configured in the VTO). From a german forum, I know that people with SIP do have eliminated the VTH, but I cannot comment on that. CC
Thanks for investigating this for me. It would seem the video door intercom solution requires VTO/VTN combination.

As it's a new installation and typically we don't have "wired" doorbells in the UK, I have decided to opt for the DB11 with matching DS11 chime extension. I shall wire in CAT network cabling to future proof the installation, assuming that a POE doorbell (rather than intercom) will become available eventually.
 

Jack66

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Hello everyone ,

I am new to the forum
I am French so sorry for my english ..

i would like to have some information about this door bell db11 ....

- can we use gdmss with the db11? because I already have 2 cameras and a nvr

- the ds11 chime is compatible with the db11 and gdmss?

- Is there a wifi monitor screen compatible with the db11?
 
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