Review: IPC-LPR237B-IR / Equivalent of Dahua ITC237-PW6M-IRLZF1050-B - ANPR, Traffic & Access Control Camera

[Wildcat_1]

Who’s up for a new review ? YES ? Ok, lets jump into traffic cams and dedicated ANPR.

@EMPIRETECANDY Amazon link HERE

Quick Update: @EMPIRETECANDY model of this camera which you should use if ordering from him is IPC-LPR237B-IR.

Intro

This is a review of the Dahua ITC237 ANPR, traffic and access control camera. This unit comes courtesy of @EMPIRETECANDY in exchange for a fair, honest, open, unbiased, no holds barred review.​

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A little background as we dive into this traffic cam. I’ve used many manufacturers (including Dahua) traffic cams for different purposes/installations and the one thing I need to make sure all understand before we dive in is that these are generally very different from the standard security cams that most people will purchase for their systems. The reason being is that these cams have a specific purpose and for some represent a 1 or 2 trick pony. Now thats not to say its a bad thing because what they do (in my experience) they do very very well. However they do have some limitations in comparison to the more general cams for general security purposes and I will dive into those differences in this review.​

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For those interested in ANPR (7x42, 8442 etc) OR have previously setup LPR (using the popular 5241-Z12 and its predecessor 5231-Z12) stay tuned, I think you’ll enjoy what these cams bring to the table.​

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For reference, these cams process the image a little differently than traditional or AI cams. While they still look for targets (vehicle then plate) before looking to process, they augment that by using a plate structure algorithm that is embedded. In my experience this leads to better plate acquisition as it can resolve most plate formatting related issues that usually ‘get in the way’ of a cam or system detecting and meta tagging a ‘real’ plate hit. I also find this allows for a little more flexibility in install with regards to FOV.​

The Camera

You’ll notice some different specs here since this camera is focused on traffic and access applications. Therefore DORI is replaced with speed and distance of vehicle recognition + lane guidance (width detection) + parking functionality + access control. These range of cameras, while having fewer overall setup options, those options that are there need more careful configuration but can lead to very powerful results when dialed in correctly.​

Mounting Options

The J style rotating mount is included so the only other ‘standard’ options are below:​

PFA162 - Mount Adapter Housing Bracket​

PFA150 - Pole Mount​

PFA143 - Junction Box​

Onto the specs

This is part of the Dahua Traffic & Mobile Camera range so its primary and secondary functions are ANPR and Access Control respectively. Supports recognition of Vehicle Type, Logo, Color, Plate, No Plate (can flag and alarm). Can also detect vehicle path (towards or away from camera)​

Camera Details

Image Sensor - 1/1.8” STARVIS™ CMOS + 1/1.8” STARVIS™ CMOS​

Effective Pixels - 1920(H) x 1080(V), 2 Megapixels​

RAM: undocumented​

ROM: undocumented​

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Electronic Shutter Speed - 1/50s~1/10,000s​

Minimum Illumination​

Color: 0.002Lux@F1.3;​

B/W: 0.002Lux@F1.3;​

0Lux (IR on)​

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IR Distance - Up to 30m (98.43 ft)​

IR On/Off Control - Auto/Manual​

IR LEDs - 6​

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Lens Information

Focal Length​

10mm~50mm​

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Max. Aperture​

F1.3 (constant)​

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Field of View​

H: 46.6° ~ 10.62°​

V: 40.6° ~ 9.3°​

D: 22.7° ~ 5.3°​

AI Recognition

Vehicle Capture Accuracy​

>99%​

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Vehicle Plate Recognition Accuracy (under ANPR functionality)​

>95%​

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Capture Range​

8m - 30m (26.25ft to 98.43ft)​

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Lane Detection (roads, highways etc)​

6m - 7m (19.69ft to 22.97ft)​

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Vehicle Capture Details​

Speed - Up to 49 Mph (78 Kmh)​

Network Connectivity

I wanted to call this out as this cam support 1gig connects without issue


Breakdown Of Posts

As usual I will be covering configuration, ANPR setup for critical capture, tips and tricks on how to best utilize and obviously a rundown of image quality in day/night capture scenarios. Initial vids and pics in post 2, new web GUI (this features a modified v3.0 menu) pics in post 3, feature breakdown and testing in post 4, tips and tricks on how to make these features work and other settings / menu functions in post 5 and a summary of findings / recommendations in post 6.​

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Will also post a link in the LPR forum back to this review for those interested.​

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As always, I hope all of you and your families continue to stay safe, sane and well.

 

[Wildcat_1]

Initial Pics & Vids Post

Some product pictures first, starting with (left) footprint comparison to 7442 & 5231-Z12​

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Closeup of the mount. Great mount for those that haven't used it that allows you to rotate at the top (head end) and has a cable channel too​

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Daytime Testing - Taking ANPR For A Spin

As promised, here is the daytime testing of ANPR. I've left this as primarily jump cuts so you can see in real-time how the camera processed vehicles moving through the FOV. I puposefully used the same angle as the 8442 for consistency of those that followed both reviews BUT this is not an angle I would recommend when I install traffic cams. However, I wanted to push this to crazy lengths with angles and reduce its time to process target. Couple of notes:​

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• I've labelled each video so you can see what the camera is processing itself in real-time, standalone
• I've included video and images that once read and processed by the camera are also met-tagged back to the NVR too so you get the option to review both. Remember this tagging only takes place on recognized plates so this shows the power of this cam as every plate was recognized and accurate regardless of angle and speed of target
• Initially shipped with international FW so 'vehicle signs' weren't always correct but plates were accurate every time. Will be loading the US firmware next
• I also show what the camera see's how it looks for target then plate and adjusts confidence level of capture dynamically on the targets path through the FOV
• Black & White listing on cam is supported as is the ability to have it alarm on a particular plate and to use fuzzy logic to identify a plates 'around' a match you are looking for such as dropping first digit from a plate or identifying 4 digits only and having the camera 'look out' for vehicles in that set of parameters
• You also have the ability to set for vehicles that make multiple passes in x period of time which is great
• You also have the ability to have drivers or passenger face superimposed in each cap. In some cases these were so good I had to remove. To give you an idea of what this looks like however, I left one in that was a little lower quality at 5:24 in the video so you get the idea

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Anyway, for your ANPR viewing pleasure, here is 5 minutes of what this cam can do on-board (without assistance) when giving an FOV and its favorite target.......Vehicles.​

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Take a look at the results, personally, I'm impressed.​

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Night Time ANPR Testing​

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Here is the night time footage. I put the cam through different approach / exit angles in testing and test its ANPR capabilities at night​

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ITC V3.0 Menu Walk Through For This Camera
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Also listed in it's own post HERE with details on what to know, features, limitations in the menu etc​

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[Wildcat_1]

Post #3

 

[Wildcat_1]

Post #4

 

[Wildcat_1]

Post #5

 

[Wildcat_1]

Post #6

 

[sebastiantombs]

Price??? And I can't wait to see night time performance!

 

[Wildcat_1]

Price??? And I can't wait to see night time performance!

My guess is that based on previous experience this would be slightly above the 7442 from a price point. As soon as I have that I'll post above along with associated links. Yes will test day/night and ensure distance is there as well I'll even throw in some curveball tests just for you @sebastiantombs to push this cam to the limit, stay tuned

 

[wittaj]

I am sure @Bitslizer would like to see a test from 240 feet, through the neighbors dining room window, off the china chest mirror, out the the side window, to a street two streets away in a snow storm off the parked car sideview mirror is probably asking too much (just teasing bits LOL - I am fond of your creative ways to capture images and glad to have helped you fine tune some things as well)

 

[Arjun]

Enough to create a large gapping hole in your pocket. Even an Apple Air Tag will not help in this matter

Price??? And I can't wait to see night time performance!

 

[samplenhold]

Adorama shows close to a grand

Not the same cam.

 

[Wildcat_1]

Not the same cam.

That’s right, this cam I’m reviewing is different model

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Thanks to @Wildcat_1 we will name this camera a shorter name, dhaua ones too long, maybe a IPC-ANPRXXX, haha
A good choice for business parking or traffic using and home users who have good budget, it's a ANPR cam.
Normal home users use the IPC-HFW5241E-Z12E, B5442E-Z4E.

 

[samplenhold]

Thanks for the work you will be doing on this cam.

As you move forward with this review, please elaborate on what the cam can do plate-wise when not using an NVR but something like BI. If certain functionality requires a Dahua NVR, please state so. If the functionality could be available using some other software solution other than BI (like the DSS Video Management System listed on the link that @Arjun supplied), that would be nice to know also.

 

[wittaj]

You gotta get wildcat in the name! Or name Smart IR after him or something for all he has done!

 

[Wildcat_1]

You gotta get wildcat in the name! Or name Smart IR after him or something for all he has done!

hahahah I like it @wittaj thanks for the vote

 

[Wildcat_1]

Thanks for the work you will be doing on this cam.

As you move forward with this review, please elaborate on what the cam can do plate-wise when not using an NVR but something like BI. If certain functionality requires a Dahua NVR, please state so. If the functionality could be available using some other software solution other than BI (like the DSS Video Management System listed on the link that @Arjun supplied), that would be nice to know also.

Will do. The beauty of these traffic cams is they can do many functions standalone on cam but I will be sure to call out those that either need or benefit from an NVR etc.

 

[Wildcat_1]

All, quick update. Started capturing day footage today so am currently editing the ton of vid caps I got. I'm going to show what is possible on-board with the cam (utilizing OBS to show what the cam saw) and how it processed plate pic caps then following up with the NVR vid cap as well for each plate processed. I'm purposefully placing this at a slightly tougher angle to push the camera and to have this line up with the position the 8442 was in for comparison. More to come on this but I have to say, right now on-board cam processing of plates is not only quick but impressive (given the angle) and most importantly on point. Stay tuned !

 

[sebastiantombs]

@Wildcat_1 Thanks for all your efforts with this one and with all the others you've done not to mention SMD. I envy your skillset and the equipment you have or have access to.

 

[Wildcat_1]

All, as promised I posted the first daytime ANPR video up in Post 2. Placing as a separate post here too in case pages change so people have the info readily available:

Daytime Testing - Taking ANPR For A Spin

As promised, here is the daytime testing of ANPR. I've left this as primarily jump cuts so you can see in real-time how the camera processed vehicles moving through the FOV. I puposefully used the same angle as the 8442 for consistency of those that followed both reviews BUT this is not an angle I would recommend when I install traffic cams. However, I wanted to push this to crazy lengths with angles and reduce its time to process target. Couple of notes:

• I've labelled each video so you can see what the camera is processing itself in real-time, standalone
• I've included video and images that once read and processed by the camera are also met-tagged back to the NVR too so you get the option to review both. Remember this tagging only takes place on recognized plates so this shows the power of this cam as every plate was recognized and accurate regardless of angle and speed of target
• Initially shipped with international FW so 'vehicle signs' weren't always correct but plates were accurate every time. Will be loading the US firmware next
• I also show what the camera see's how it looks for target then plate and adjusts confidence level of capture dynamically on the targets path through the FOV
• Black & White listing on cam is supported as is the ability to have it alarm on a particular plate and to use fuzzy logic to identify a plates 'around' a match you are looking for such as dropping first digit from a plate or identifying 4 digits only and having the camera 'look out' for vehicles in that set of parameters
• You also have the ability to set for vehicles that make multiple passes in x period of time which is great
• You also have the ability to have drivers or passenger face superimposed in each cap. In some cases these were so good I had to remove. To give you an idea of what this looks like however, I left one in that was a little lower quality at 5:24 in the video so you get the idea

Anyway, for your ANPR viewing pleasure, here is 5 minutes of what this cam can do on-board (without assistance) when giving an FOV and its favorite target.......Vehicles.

Take a look at the results, personally, I'm impressed.