Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal

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Thanks you both.
Yes I do have direct to disk and frame rate is 15FPS. This morning I was able to get BI CPU to 80% by reducing max bit rate to 4096 on all 12 cameras.

So the Dahua 2MP daytime quality itself is good compared to Reolink 5MP?
Dahua's 2MP Starlight cameras provide daytime image quality roughly 2 to 3 times better (more detailed) than Reolink. I had a Reolink bullet outside once. Hated it.
 

aristobrat

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So the Dahua 2MP daytime quality itself is good compared to Reolink 5MP?
My 2MP Starlights are as crisp and clear in the day as my Dahua 6MP and 8MP. All three look great. Use the IPVM Camera Calculator V3 to see the diff in image quality.

Do your reolinks support VBR? That can lower the bit rate too. My 8MP cam using VBR has a normal bitrate of just over 1000kbps.
 

kbgator

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You guys are great. Thank you.

I have a return request into Reolink and their support is trying to pretend that it’s my settings. I’m pushing them to just complete the return.

12 Dahua 2MP cameras at $130 each is pricey. Do you know anywhere they sell packs of these?
 

kbgator

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My 2MP Starlights are as crisp and clear in the day as my Dahua 6MP and 8MP. All three look great. Use the IPVM Camera Calculator V3 to see the diff in image quality.

Do your reolinks support VBR? That can lower the bit rate too. My 8MP cam using VBR has a normal bitrate of just over 1000kbps.
For VBR I don’t see it in the Reolink 410-5MP menu. I lowered the Bit Rate to 1024 just now to see what that would do.
 

looney2ns

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You guys are great. Thank you.

I have a return request into Reolink and their support is trying to pretend that it’s my settings. I’m pushing them to just complete the return.

12 Dahua 2MP cameras at $130 each is pricey. Do you know anywhere they sell packs of these?
Buy once cry once. $130 per cam isn't pricey in the cam biz.
https://store.ipcamtalk.com/
EmpireTech Andy
 
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aristobrat

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For VBR I don’t see it in the Reolink 410-5MP menu. I lowered the Bit Rate to 1024 just now to see what that would do.
That sucks they don’t support VBR. VBR lets the bit rate run low when not a lot of activity is happening and then ramps up when there is. Setting yours to a constant 1024 to see the effect in BI is ok, but you can’t leave it there because it’ll degrade image quality when a lot is going on. That’s a big strike against Reolink IMO.
 

kbgator

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That sucks they don’t support VBR. VBR lets the bit rate run low when not a lot of activity is happening and then ramps up when there is. Setting yours to a constant 1024 to see the effect in BI is ok, but you can’t leave it there because it’ll degrade image quality when a lot is going on. That’s a big strike against Reolink IMO.
Agreed. Thank you
 

Victor1985

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I don't think it will matter to most folks, but max FPS looks to be 30 (vs 60 on the 5231).

Also looks like it only supports one 1080p stream, so folks running a NVR + Blue Iris (or a NVR and want to use an app like TinyCam to stream directly from the camera) will have to work with D1 resolution (not 1080p). Sounds like they may have stepped the processor down to help knock the price down?

Video quality looks great and for $50 cheaper than the 5231, I'm curious to see how these sell!!!
What is D1 res? Is it 750p? I cant imagine anyone not using NVR + TinyCam or Iris+TinyCam for viewing. Is this a concern?
 

aristobrat

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What is D1 res? Is it 750p? I cant imagine anyone not using NVR + TinyCam or Iris+TinyCam for viewing. Is this a concern?
Thanks for catching that, that turned out not to be the case... I just updated that post. This camera supports multiple devices connecting to its one 1080P stream at the same time, so using a NVR/Blue Iris + TinyCam at the same time shouldn't be a problem.
 

Victor1985

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I got it, installation was a breeze, I like the mounting simplicity, and the initial login that required me to set strong password made me feel safe that these will not be the preferred target of hackers looking for mass targets..



You could say I am happy....

hikvision DS-2CD2132

View attachment 31058

Dahua the next night:
View attachment 31059
Does Dahua (this model) comes with color night vision?
 

awsum140

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Color night vision, with any camera, depends on the light level and sensor sensitivity. I can "force" my 2231 to a color image at night, but there's a street light about 200 feet away in front of it, but out of the field of view.
 

kbgator

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Guys - the 2231 mounting size (with or without the mounting bracket) is just way too big for my use.

I had selected the Reolink bullet cameras because its mount size (B10/B9, 69MM) was an exact replacement for the previous SamsungSV cameras I had.

Please don't flame me, but is there another camera than the Dahua 2231 that you would recommend that would be more the size of these bullet mounts?
 

awsum140

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Anything but Reolink garbage! There are numerous Dahua models, bullets if you must have a small foot print mount, that make Reolink and all the other, similar, brands look like the junk they are. Try a IPC-HFW4231E-S for example. I get usable color video at night with a streetlight about 150 or 200 feet behind the camera.

Low end junk like Reolink, SV3C and most others, son't send enough key frames, have sub-par sensors and junky optics.
 
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