Review- EmpireTech IPC-T54IR-ZE-S3 4mp Varifocal Turret

I went ahead and applied the firmware from @EMPIRETECANDY's site. Remember there are two .bin files to apply (in order - they are labeled as such) as all went uneventful and camera seems to be working fine. FYI that after the first .bin file, the (new) Maintenance Center has a Red "1" (number) on it letting you know that you "Algorithm version does not match. Please update firmware.bin."


Clicking on System Info, I saw the following changes going from his firmware from late last year, to the "test" version, and to the latest from his site:
Device: IPC-T54IR-ZE-S3 SAME SAME
SN: 9F0EA64P####### SAME SAME
ONVIF: 22.12 (V3.1.0.1403710) 23.12(V3.1.0.1734191) SAME
System Version: 3.100.15OG000.0.R Build Date:2023-11-27 V3.142.0000000.0.R, Build Date: 2024-05-16 V3.142.15OG000.0.R, Build Date: 2024-05-16
Web Version: V5.01.0.15332205 V5.01.0.1879124 SAME
Algorithm Version: V3.5.26.0 V4.5.9.0 SAME
Security Baseline Version: V2.3 V2.4 SAME
This was new
H5Player Version V3.01.1 SAME

I.e. the only that changed from the test version a few weeks back was the System Version with the "150G" ... which I presume is something specific to @EMPIRETECANDY's builds.

I'm kinda curious to play around with ABR - per @EMPIRETECANDY post here:
Supports ABR when AI Coding is selected. This is a new thing, so i asked for some further explainaton .
ABR is a bitrate strategy that saves bitrate in simple scenes and improves image quality in complex scenes. Ultimately, the storage space is guaranteed not to exceed the value set for the average bitrate within 24 hours in a single cycle.
It sounds like this is an "improved" version of VBR?
 
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ABR is also a new thing for the S3 camera.

ABR is a new bitrate strategy. It will save bitrate in simple scenes and improve image quality by using the saved bitrate in complex scenes. Ultimately, the storage space is guaranteed not to exceed the value set by the average bitrate within 24 hours in a single cycle.
 
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I installed the two new firmware .bin files in the order indicated from here -- Download Firmwares -- on several IPC-T54IR-ZE-S3 cameras on June 22, 2024. I added a rule for Intrusion, set the Sensitivity at 7, Action boxes checked for Appear and Cross, Direction set on Both, Target Filter is On, Effective Target checked for Animal, Time Plan set on Full Time, Record Enabled, Post Record set at 100, and Snapshot Enabled.

Below is the Device Info after the two .bin files installed:

Device Model: IPC-T54IR-ZEB-S3 (the "B" represents the black model)
SN: 9M0486FPXXXXXXX (the last seven numbers/letters have each been replaced with an "X")
Audio Input: 1
ONVIF Version: 23.12(V3.1.0.1734191)
System Version: V3.142.15OG000.0.R, Build Date: 2024-05-16
Web Version: V5.01.0.1879124
Algorithm Version: V4.5.9.0
Security Baseline Version: V2.4
H5Player Version: V3.01.1

It didn't take too long for two different cats and one fox to be recorded this evening. It is going to make things much easier for me to watch for pit bulls, Rottweilers, and German Shepherds.

This is a major ungrade! :clap:
 
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FYI that I just upgraded camera #2 (from @EMPIRETECANDY's original software) and don't appear to have any issues.
Based on my limited testing (and what others have said), it looks like a solid release - nice work @EMPIRETECANDY

One thing I noticed (before doing the upgrade) is under "Storage", the new software has two new columns for the SD Card that say "File System: Private File System" and "Level: U3" which I assume is just a little more information rather than anything truly new. I did click Format to see if anything new there (didn't actually do it) but it just asks you to confirm to format it.

Also, under Camera->Encode, this camera had settings of H.264H, Smart Codec, 15 FPS, VBR, Quality 5, 8192 Max Bit Rate
The new software changed that to AI Coding (Smart Codec doesn't exist anymore) using ABR with 6144 Max and 8192 Average (LOL that Average is higher than Max) - there is no Quality option for ABR.

I'm going to play around with this a bit more - I reverted back to VBR on camera #1 because the SD card was filling much faster with ABR ... and it looks like here it is at least double the size.
 
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I have IVS Tripwire set to Human (audible alert to DMSS app at night) and IVS Intrusion set to Animal (no audible alert to DMSS). I've noticed that the Tripwire alert gets tripped sometimes by animals and sends me an audible alert to my phone in the middle of the night. I have Sensitivity set to 5...would reducing it help?

Update: I lowered Sensitivity down to "4". I'll see how it goes. I keep having this skunk roaming my yard and setting off the Human detection, and he in no way looks humanoid.
 
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I had an issue with racoons triggering the human IVS too. I turned sensitivity down to 4 and increased the minimum target size also. Have to see how this goes. Seems that the Dahua Engineers have not updated the human IVS when they added animal IVS. False human triggers does not happen very often, but with the addition of animal IVS triggers thought it would be better.
 
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Oneup said:
I had an issue with racoons triggering the human IVS too. I turned sensitivity down to 4 and increased the minimum target size also. Have to see how this goes. Seems that the Dahua Engineers have not updated the human IVS when they added animal IVS. False human triggers does not happen very often, but with the addition of animal IVS triggers thought it would be better.
Click to expand...
I haven't played with the minimum target size setting. My concern is that making it larger will omit humans far away who appear smaller...is that a concern or does Dahua account for that?
 
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You have to account for the size in your FOV. For long distance in a FOV, you can setup 2 different intrusions and set size accordingly. Just remember, for intrusion boxes, they say you need the target in the box for at least 2 sec.
 
Oneup said:
You have to account for the size in your FOV. For long distance in a FOV, you can setup 2 different intrusions and set size accordingly.
Click to expand...
Got it. I'm going to see if I can get to where I need to be with just the Sensitivity setting, and then address the target size if needed.

Oneup said:
Just remember, for intrusion boxes, they say you need the target in the box for at least 2 sec.
Click to expand...
Is that true if both Appear and Cross are checked?
 
EMPIRETECANDY said:
Yes, this is the latest new fw add to the S3 cameras. NVR5xx-EI also support the animal searching, working bit good.

Download Firmwares – EmpireTech (empiretech01.com) firmware already update to our website for downloading.

View attachment 197024
Click to expand...

See the attached screen capture video. I upgraded my T54IR-ZE-S3 to the latest version (May 16) but now I see this slight refresh/blink/hesitation every 6 or 7 seconds. I'm not sure if there is a new setting in the latest firmware I need to change or what. I didn't see this issue in version 3.100.0000000.6.R with build date of 2023-08-02. And where can I find 3.100.0000000.6.R if I want to go back?

1719934436618.png

View attachment WEB - Google Chrome 2024-07-02 11-23-16.mp4
 
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FYI FWIW @Sybertiger that I've seen something like this too ... doesn't seem to always happen, but haven't figured out any "pattern"

I initially assumed it had something to do with i-Frame's (since it's a loss of sharpness)... but (semi-similar to you) since you have it set to 15 (and are doing 15fps), it seems odd that would be it.
 
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Well, I haven't set up a new cam in a while, had an older cam die and replaced it with this one...

For the life of me, I can't find where to set the focal length. Could be a browser problem. Tried Edge in compatibility mode, but it wouldn't even let me type a login. Using both Edge and Chrome I can't find the focal length setting.

Help? Thanks. (and yes I did a search that came up with nothing)
 
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