Review - Dahua IPC-HFW7442H-Z 4MP Ultra AI Varifocal Bullet Camera

[steve1225]

Does This cam in video Structuralization mode process IVS tripwires/intrusions with human/vehicle filtering?
Or You can only choose between IVS and video structuralization without possibility to use booth (even with some limitations)?

 

[Wildcat_1]

@steve1225 you choose between IVS OR Video Structuralization.

Does This cam in video Structuralization mode process IVS tripwires/intrusions with human/vehicle filtering?
Or You can only choose between IVS and video structuralization without possibility to use booth (even with some limitations)?

 

[rahhazar]

can you please add the link to Dahua 7442-Z4 for ANPR.
what i found on amazon was Loryta IPC-HFW7442H-Z4 4MP

thanks

 

[rsoxhater]

I updated the firmware on this camera to the newest version provided by Andy. I'm seeing alot of greying out on video capture now in OpenALPR. Is anyone else seeing or experiencing this? It seems to only happen to cars in the right lane, cars captured in the left lane seem to be perfectly fine. It doesn't happen to every car.

 

[looney2ns]

I updated the firmware on this camera to the newest version provided by Andy. I'm seeing alot of greying out on video capture now in OpenALPR. Is anyone else seeing or experiencing this? It seems to only happen to cars in the right lane, cars captured in the left lane seem to be perfectly fine. It doesn't happen to every car.

Did you reset the cam to factory defaults after the update? Set it back up from scratch, don't import a settings file.

 

[rsoxhater]

Did you reset the cam to factory defaults after the update? Set it back up from scratch, don't import a settings file.

I just ran the first firmware he sent, then was showing an algorithm mismatch error in the settings and he sent me another one to apply which resolved that mismatch error. I haven't done a factory reset, I don't think he said it had to be done, but I can give that a try. There is a multitude of new options on the camera, I'm wondering if one of them is somehow messing with the openalpr feed.

 

[rsoxhater]

I just ran the first firmware he sent, then was showing an algorithm mismatch error in the settings and he sent me another one to apply which resolved that mismatch error. I haven't done a factory reset, I don't think he said it had to be done, but I can give that a try. There is a multitude of new options on the camera, I'm wondering if one of them is somehow messing with the openalpr feed.

I should also add, the camera froze up 2 times, and I had to power cycle via unplugging the camera and back in which is why we did the firmware upgrade.

 

[rsoxhater]

I did a bit more investigative work on this - See the video here. On the left hand side is the openalpr config, and on the right is the dahua live view. It seems to be specific to openalpr. I have an open ticket with them already, but I am wondering if one of the new settings is messing with the openalpr feed. There is a new version of openalpr version available as well.

newwindsor-ny

newwindsor-ny.tinytake.com

 

[m00st]

I did a bit more investigative work on this - See the video here. On the left hand side is the openalpr config, and on the right is the dahua live view. It seems to be specific to openalpr. I have an open ticket with them already, but I am wondering if one of the new settings is messing with the openalpr feed. There is a new version of openalpr version available as well.

newwindsor-ny

newwindsor-ny.tinytake.com

Looks like OpenALPR has a hard time decoding the video signal from the camera. Could be the network link, but probably the encoding parameters (e.g. VBR/CBR, H264 vs H265, frame rate, I frames etc). You may want to try changing those parameters and see if that does anything to the grey picture on OpenALPR.

 

[Wildcat_1]

@rsoxhater long time, hope you are well !

No issues seen on multiple 7442's here with OALPR or others BUT as @looney2ns mentioned, definitely do a factory default and then after that I would check your encode settings again too. Looks like interframe issues from the quick screen grab above which can be caused during capture or in the case of OALPR processing. If you want me to jump on your system and take a look just ping me. Happy to help

I did a bit more investigative work on this - See the video here. On the left hand side is the openalpr config, and on the right is the dahua live view. It seems to be specific to openalpr. I have an open ticket with them already, but I am wondering if one of the new settings is messing with the openalpr feed. There is a new version of openalpr version available as well.

newwindsor-ny

newwindsor-ny.tinytake.com

 

[rsoxhater]

Looks like OpenALPR has a hard time decoding the video signal from the camera. Could be the network link, but probably the encoding parameters (e.g. VBR/CBR, H264 vs H265, frame rate, I frames etc). You may want to try changing those parameters and see if that does anything to the grey picture on OpenALPR.

It just started with the firmware upgrade on the camera, before there was no issue. I am going to play with the connection strings today and see if there is any difference, and also try the new version that has been released of the openalpr. Also will try a factory default and then reconfigure the settings.

 

[rsoxhater]

Sorry for the delay on getting back to you guys, the camera seems to have completely died now, instead of just the regular freezing up and able to be power cycled. Have to get a bucket truck to get it down.

 

[biggen]

Ouch. Not even a power cycle brings it back? When you did the reset did you also reset the network settings?

Configure a computer on the same network as the camera to a 192.168.1.x address and see if you then can access the default camera IP of 192.168.1.108.

 

[rsoxhater]

So a bit more information on this. Tuesday I had our building and grounds guys throw the breaker to the pole, which killed power to the switch. This should have power cycled the camera the same as unplugging it from the switch. No change at all, camera was still down.

The previous two times I had put a ladder up to the pole and pulled the wire going to the camera and then put it back in, which brought the camera back up. Today I put a ladder up there to verify the wire was good (it was). While I was up there, I pulled the wire out to the camera and put it back in, and the camera back online. I'm going to replace the switch there, maybe there is an issue with that, but the other camera on the pole has no issues and its connected to the same switch, but uses external power, not POE. Path of least resistance before bringing in a bucket truck to get to the camera, and police to stop traffic.

On another, better note, I fixed the Open ALPR grey issue. With the new firmware, changing the connection string from generic to H.264 over RTSP using TCP fixed it, and its no longer greying out. Other connection modes would connect but get the greying out issue.

 

[looney2ns]

So a bit more information on this. Tuesday I had our building and grounds guys throw the breaker to the pole, which killed power to the switch. This should have power cycled the camera the same as unplugging it from the switch. No change at all, camera was still down.

The previous two times I had put a ladder up to the pole and pulled the wire going to the camera and then put it back in, which brought the camera back up. Today I put a ladder up there to verify the wire was good (it was). While I was up there, I pulled the wire out to the camera and put it back in, and the camera back online. I'm going to replace the switch there, maybe there is an issue with that, but the other camera on the pole has no issues and its connected to the same switch, but uses external power, not POE. Path of least resistance before bringing in a bucket truck to get to the camera, and police to stop traffic.

On another, better note, I fixed the Open ALPR grey issue. With the new firmware, changing the connection string from generic to H.264 over RTSP using TCP fixed it, and its no longer greying out. Other connection modes would connect but get the greying out issue.

I would replace that wire as well while you are up there.

 

[rsoxhater]

I would replace that wire as well while you are up there.

Yes, if the new switch doesn't help it then I'll do the wire as well, but will need the whole bucket truck and police setup. Unfortunately I can't get a fluke on both ends of the wire, but with it on one side it didn't show any shorts.

 

[dex90]

Post # 2 - Reserved For Initial Pics & Vids

1. I noticed that while you were on your porch, the camera AI counted you as +3 humans. Does that mean it doesn’t save your image to a database in order to detect same/returning person later? (Figured out while writing and re-reading this thread that I probably need ZFR model for that.)

2. Is the tested camera different from the HFW7442H-Z4 version only by max focal length 32mm instead of 12mm?

3. Was just reading a reply from Andy and he told me these kind of AI cameras require special types of NVRs to get all the AI functions working: “Pro 4.0 AI NVR”
I didn’t quite understand if that meant any “AI” marked NVR? Like:
US $270.49 5% OFF|New AI Network Video Recorder 4216 I 16Channel 1U AI Network Video Recorder ， free DHL shipping|Surveillance Video Recorder| - AliExpress or
US $701.0 5% OFF|New AI NVR Ulrta Smart 5216 16P I 16Channel 1U 16PoE AI Network Video Recorder ,free DHL shipping|Surveillance Video Recorder| - AliExpress (more expensive)
Which one did you use? Is it worth going for the more expensive one for home use (more bandwidth, more computing power I assume but there was no CPU information)?

I think this camera will be perfect to control the road as I can mount it only 60ft from middle of road and only 25 degrees angled from facing plates straight on. Should work excellent day and night and is probably an overkill for my conditions but I didn’t find the Z version in Andy’s shop, only Z4. ZFR is definitely not for me as I need to keep ANPR more. Sigh, would be nice to have both

This looks exactly what I want:

Black & Whitelists can be built and saved to the AI NVR with ALARM OUT options when a plate is picked up matching one of the lists

I am in a dead-end alley and it would be amazing if I could get an alert for every unknown car that doesn’t have owner in our alley. This is a sort of a database building. There just isn’t one for faces/people for this model it seems.

4. Just to be sure: I don’t need any 3rd party subscription or making any API calls over internet for simply saving/analyzing the license plates and saving (not recognizing!) images of people walking by?
Foud it later in thread, thank you!

AI processing is on camera so you don’t need internet for the AI in cam to work

 

[samplenhold]

but I didn’t find the Z version in Andy’s shop, only Z4.

Don't worry about what is listed on his web sites. Send Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY ) an email at kingsecurity2014@163.com and see if he has it or can get it.

 

[Wildcat_1]

Let me try and answer all your questions:

1) People Count

The camera will look to detect a 'human' wherever possible therefore if it gets 1 cap of you face on, 1 on the profile and one turning while you walk away it will do it. It increments the counts as it goes. In the case of a camera that does NOT feature Face Recognition (remember this one does not) it has no database to compare against. If you went with the Z(FR) model you would GAIN Face Recognition but LOSE ANPR so you would have to weigh this up to your target requirements or needs​

2) Difference To Z4

No, there are actually 2 key differences between the 1 I tested and the Z4:​

• First is the focal length in that the Z model is 2.7mm to 12mm and the Z4 is 8mm to 32mm.
• Second difference is the max aperture Z and even ZFR support f1.2 whereas Z4 is constant at f1.6

With regards to your comment on finding Z vs Z4, just reach out to Andy and he'll be able to assist. With that said, my advice to you is that IF you have any doubts about distance (which is key for ANPR if you intend to use it that way) then I would highly recommend going up to the Z4 to give you the extra zoom and tighter FOV.​

3) AI

The Dahua AI algorithm is proprietary and processing of the specific AI features (Object Filtering, ANPR, Video Metadata, Face Detection, Face Recognition (if ZFR model) is completed both on camera OR on AI NVR in realtime. These benefit from the AI NVR as it can tap into the AI algorithm directly. With that said, as I've mentioned before IF all you are interested in is 'end of stream' video to pass through another platform such as Milestone, OpenALPR, Blue Iris with Plate Recognizer etc then those don't care what is being done on camera (within reason) as those platforms will process the stream live. Therefore you can configure capture parameters (IVS rules, exposure settings etc etc) on cam and let the end of stream processing platform interface that. Just bear in mind most external platforms have a cost for certain services or tiers AND in a number of cases you are passing data through a cloud processor for offsite recognition. This may not be a dealbreaker for you but for dark site and other critical security work this of course IS an issue.​

​

HOWEVER if you want to do things like local, realtime AI based blacklist and whitelist processing utilizing these AI cams or AI processing on NVR such as Face Recognition DB work then you want to pair with an AI NVR. You also then unlock features such as being able to trigger off of particular plates, search for a specific face across caps etc.​

​

Its certainly your choice as to which NVR you go for based on budget, features and final choice in camera(s). I would recommend the 5216 BUT the link you sent is for the -i model which has extra AI features (ability to process non Face Recognition cams for Face Recognition). If you have a number of cams and see that as a benefit then that NVR is a great choice BUT be aware that the regular 5216 would happily interface these AI cam features and would be cheaper. Just remember you would NOT have the extra feature of being able to process non Face Recognition cam streams for Face Recognition.​

ANPR & Face Recognition Alerts

Alerting / triggering on listed vehicles or faces (with appropriate cam and NVR) is absolutely doable. However remember the key is in the database. When starting with no plates or faces you'll get alerts all the time however as you populate it the alerts will be cleaner and more on point. You can even pair up with a PTZ and have it be called to a preset based on plate number existing on a list if you wanted. The other advantage you have is that you can import and export plate info as well.​

HTH

1. I noticed that while you were on your porch, the camera AI counted you as +3 humans. Does that mean it doesn’t save your image to a database in order to detect same/returning person later? (Figured out while writing and re-reading this thread that I probably need ZFR model for that.)

2. Is the tested camera different from the HFW7442H-Z4 version only by max focal length 32mm instead of 12mm?

3. Was just reading a reply from Andy and he told me these kind of AI cameras require special types of NVRs to get all the AI functions working: “Pro 4.0 AI NVR”
I didn’t quite understand if that meant any “AI” marked NVR? Like:
US $270.49 5% OFF|New AI Network Video Recorder 4216 I 16Channel 1U AI Network Video Recorder ， free DHL shipping|Surveillance Video Recorder| - AliExpress or
US $701.0 5% OFF|New AI NVR Ulrta Smart 5216 16P I 16Channel 1U 16PoE AI Network Video Recorder ,free DHL shipping|Surveillance Video Recorder| - AliExpress (more expensive)
Which one did you use? Is it worth going for the more expensive one for home use (more bandwidth, more computing power I assume but there was no CPU information)?

I think this camera will be perfect to control the road as I can mount it only 60ft from middle of road and only 25 degrees angled from facing plates straight on. Should work excellent day and night and is probably an overkill for my conditions but I didn’t find the Z version in Andy’s shop, only Z4. ZFR is definitely not for me as I need to keep ANPR more. Sigh, would be nice to have both

This looks exactly what I want:

I am in a dead-end alley and it would be amazing if I could get an alert for every unknown car that doesn’t have owner in our alley. This is a sort of a database building. There just isn’t one for faces/people for this model it seems.

4. Just to be sure: I don’t need any 3rd party subscription or making any API calls over internet for simply saving/analyzing the license plates and saving (not recognizing!) images of people walking by?
Foud it later in thread, thank you!

 

[dex90]

Thank you @Wildcat_1 for your extensive explanation. I already placed order with Andy for HFW7442H-Z4 and IPC-T5442T-Z. I will test both without NVR when I get them, by then I should complete the cable work as well and order more 5442's and NVR. Probably I will go with 5216-16P-I. I think the 2 cameras above are the optimal combination for a decent home surveillance system. In the future I want to try a PTZ with very big optical zoom and I also hope for larger than 1/1.8’’ 4MP night time camera. Maybe with 4/3’’ sensor that doesn’t break the bank.

I would not be able to learn so much about how to pick the right cameras if not for this forum and all you guys, thank you for all the reviews and feedbacks.