Review-Dahua IPC-HDBW4231F-E2-M Dual Starlight Cam

[Nickg]

after almost 2 years without issue, my dual camera seems to be dropping connection a lot. I keep getting the "failed to open video" error at least once a week now . I have tried changing IP , different port on NVR , connecting to a POE switch, auto reboot every week. Nothing seems to help.
It started with once every three months, to once a month and now once a week. Is this camera failing? i dont know what else to try.. Any ideas?

 

[looney2ns]

after almost 2 years without issue, my dual camera seems to be dropping connection a lot. I keep getting the "failed to open video" error at least once a week now . I have tried changing IP , different port on NVR , connecting to a POE switch, auto reboot every week. Nothing seems to help.
It started with once every three months, to once a month and now once a week. Is this camera failing? i dont know what else to try.. Any ideas?

Check the cable connection at the camera, it could be corroding or have moisture in it.
WaterProofing Connections

 

[wittaj]

I think since this camera is pushing thru 2 camera feeds it is even more susceptible to wiring and connection issues as they age, especially if dielectric grease and other waterproofing wasn't done.

 

[Nickg]

Dielectric grease and fusion tape was used. I will verify the connection to make sure everything is in order.

 

[BCMguy]

I just pulled mine down, crimped on a new connector, greased it, and weather sealed it and still no joy on the second camera feed. What's interesting is it's still pulling 5+ watts from the switch. Just isn't sending video out.

 

[wittaj]

I just pulled mine down, crimped on a new connector, greased it, and weather sealed it and still no joy on the second camera feed. What's interesting is it's still pulling 5+ watts from the switch. Just isn't sending video out.

Interesting. Are you using Explorer? If not, try explorer and delete the plug-in add-on and let it download again from the camera and see if that gets it going. I lost camera two (I thought) and it came back when I did this. It still had the red IR glow at night, so I figured it was getting power and deleting and redownloading the plugin got it going.

 

[BCMguy]

I have been using BlueIris for viewing - I'll have to try the plug in route on IE. I went without ever installing the plug in.

 

[BCMguy]

No luck via IE, for either channel. BI still shows channel 1, but no video/no signal from channel 2. She might be dead...

 

[wittaj]

No luck via IE, for either channel. BI still shows channel 1, but no video/no signal from channel 2. She might be dead...

OK one last thing to try. With a recent BI update, I have one camera that will give the stream not found black screen. If I go in and do the find/inspect, even though it pulls up all the exact same info, the camera works again.

 

[BCMguy]

Thank you - I tried just that and no luck. I swapped between Dahua and the find/inspect default, as well as several other options with no luck. I appreciate everyone's advice!

 

[flynreelow]

did you try RTSP yet?

 

[BCMguy]

BI pulls the RSTP feed, so no joy on that. Unfortunately

 

[flynreelow]

BI pulls the RSTP feed, so no joy on that. Unfortunately

I realize that. But to make sure it's not a weird BI error, I recommended you try that same feed in VLC.

 

[Nickg]

Check the cable connection at the camera, it could be corroding or have moisture in it.
WaterProofing Connections

update : opened up the camera and checked connection . Low and behold, no waterproofing was done. . The connector was corroded and i`m sure would have failed soon enough.

I don`t know why i chose to skip this step for this particular camera Maybe i was thinking that in this particular spot that this camera was not susceptible to water infiltration?(its under a roof).
It didn`t show signs of water damage so i`m suspecting it was condensation forming on the connector.

lesson learned...

 

[sebastiantombs]

With outdoor mounted cameras you don't need direct water exposure to get corrosion. The random humidity combined with heating and cooling through the day will eventually cause enough condensation to cause corrosion. Every outdoor RJ and power connector needs to be properly protected to prevent that from happening.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Yes, most cams will have waterproof, leakage is very rare to see. So have to protect the RJ45 port well, normally use a waterproof junction box or wall mount would be great. But still have to seal the connector well.

 

[Nickg]

ok, after re-sealing and dielectric grease last week ,the camera was working fine. Today, the camera is giving me " failed to open video" again . What would be the next step in testing and trying to resolve this?

 

[wittaj]

Probably another attempt at cleaning and resealing.

You may have cleaned it enough to get it going, but now the dielectric grease and re-sealing trapped existing water or water vapor that then caused the problem again.

You probably need to bring the camera in and thoroughly clean the connection and then place it in a sealed bag with silica packs for several days to further try to dry it out and then re-attempt.

Or swing for the fences since you now know it isn't the camera and cut off the connector and put a new one on, but that will take some planning and figuring out what to do so that you line the wires up correctly.

 

[Nickg]

my idea is... bring the camera inside and swap with the one in the garage. Leave it for a couple of weeks and if it doesnt fail , i know its the cable ..

 

[Nickg]

Probably another attempt at cleaning and resealing.

You may have cleaned it enough to get it going, but now the dielectric grease and re-sealing trapped existing water or water vapor that then caused the problem again.

You probably need to bring the camera in and thoroughly clean the connection and then place it in a sealed bag with silica packs for several days to further try to dry it out and then re-attempt.

Or swing for the fences since you now know it isn't the camera and cut off the connector and put a new one on, but that will take some planning and figuring out what to do so that you line the wires up correctly.

connector was already replaced last week . Thats why im a little surprised it failed again. i thought i had it figured out..