Swann 4K Ultra HD is on sale cheap at Costco. Unfortunately, most Swann cameras are not ONVIF-compliant. Has anyone hacked this IPC?

huamai

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Price of about $69.95 USD ($1,399 MXN) is attractive enough to buy one or two of these Swann 4K Bullet Cameras (Model SWNHD-887MSFB-US). These models are on sale at Amazon.com for nearly twice the price $134.99 and I have been sold relabeled Dahua and Hikvision products from the US Amazon website that cannot be flashed or otherwise serviced by Dahua North America.

For any of my fellow conspiracy analysts here, Amazon Web Services (AWS) operates several Dahua and Hikvision cloud surveillance services in the US, including Hik-Connect, HikCentral, and COS, according to company documents and legal filings. This means Amazon's infrastructure powers a significant proportion of internet-connected Dahua and Hikvision systems, deemed a national security threat by several Federal agencies and twice by Congress. I am less threatened by Chinese spying than US Big Tech, but to each their own.

Any user experience with this model? Has anyone hacked it to be ONVIF-compliant?

I think the Swann NVR's use an IP range 172.16.1.1-254 so you need a good IP Scanner to locate the camera and change its IP address to be compatible with your LAN setup.

Thanks for looking and many thanks for answers!
 

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DanDenver

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Security. Its like putting a cheap lock on your front door. Great way to save money until someone tries to break in.
 

garycrist

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887s can be a crap shoot when it come to the lens fogging. It is the IR coating shedding.
2 out of 3 failed.
 
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looney2ns

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I would avoid the swann cameras.
If you purchase Dahua Cams or Hik cams from our trusted vendor, they can be upgraded if need be.
This would be international versions of Cameras, not US versions.
Dahua won't talk to an end user, no matter where you purchase them from. Sounds like you have been purchasing "hacked" china region cams, avoid them.
As far as support, you will get support right here on this forum.

Our vendor on Amazon: Link
Our trusted Vendor on IPcamtalk: Link
Same vendor sells Cameras and NVRs here: Link
 
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mat200

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Price of about $69.95 USD ($1,399 MXN) is attractive enough to buy one or two of these Swann 4K Bullet Cameras (Model SWNHD-887MSFB-US). These models are on sale at Amazon.com for nearly twice the price $134.99 and I have been sold relabeled Dahua and Hikvision products from the US Amazon website that cannot be flashed or otherwise serviced by Dahua North America.

For any of my fellow conspiracy analysts here, Amazon Web Services (AWS) operates several Dahua and Hikvision cloud surveillance services in the US, including Hik-Connect, HikCentral, and COS, according to company documents and legal filings. This means Amazon's infrastructure powers a significant proportion of internet-connected Dahua and Hikvision systems, deemed a national security threat by several Federal agencies and twice by Congress. I am less threatened by Chinese spying than US Big Tech, but to each their own.

Any user experience with this model? Has anyone hacked it to be ONVIF-compliant?

I think the Swann NVR's use an IP range 172.16.1.1-254 so you need a good IP Scanner to locate the camera and change its IP address to be compatible with your LAN setup.

Thanks for looking and many thanks for answers!

Hi @huamai

I believe Swann is now using Raysharp as OEM ..


We should have a few threads iirc on them here ..
 

DanDenver

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They are not THAT bad a camera.
Right up till the police tell you that the blurry night images are unusable to help them identify or find the perp.

I guess the exception would be if they are installed in a well lit warehouse or used inside your house where it is well lit. Some people may live directly under an outside light pole, which might help a little in a few cases.
 

huamai

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Appreciate all your replies and reviews. The Costco sale was this week was to end over this weekend. By the time I did my preliminary research and went to the local Costco in Los Cabos this Saturday Morning, they were sold out. Not only in this store, but all the Costco Stores in Mexico! I was not even able to buy online. However, I feel better after reading your comments that I may have dodged a bullet, or at least a bad bullet camera from Swann. We do have one or more hurricanes pass through each year, and your reports of condensation and moisture make these Swann products a non-starter here, even if there is an alleged "auto Defog Mode". At least my old Zhejiang Dahua exterior IPC Bullets have survived hurricanes without signs of moisture condensation inside the glass.
 

huamai

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I would avoid the swann cameras.
If you purchase Dahua Cams or Hik cams from our trusted vendor, they can be upgraded if need be.
This would be international versions of Cameras, not US versions.
Dahua won't talk to an end user, no matter where you purchase them from. Sounds like you have been purchasing "hacked" china region cams, avoid them.
As far as support, you will get support right here on this forum.

Our vendor on Amazon: Link
Our trusted Vendor on IPcamtalk: Link
Same vendor sells Cameras and NVRs here: Link
Yes, the two Dahua Cams I bought from Amazon in 2016 were indeed designed for one market, China, and were subsequently flashed with English-language firmware. I called Dahua North America support and they actually talked to me, identifying these by their serial numbers as made for the Chinese market, not supported by them. They were cordial enough to send me links to support from the Chinese manufacturer. They are useful now only as paperweights. Thanks for the links to your trusted vendors.
 
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DanDenver

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Yes, the two Dahua Cams I bought from Amazon in 2016 were indeed designed for one market, China, and were subsequently flashed with English-language firmware. I called Dahua North America support and they actually talked to me, identifying these by their serial numbers as made for the Chinese market, not supported by them. They were cordial enough to send me links to support from the Chinese manufacturer. They are useful now only as paperweights. Thanks for the links to your trusted vendors.
Is this sarcasm? I can't tell. Honestly asking!
 

garycrist

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All I know is that so far I have caught a bunch of kids out door bell ringing @ 2 AM. The pictures I published
can be found here but, everyone in town recognized the poor lad. At the distance I use that cam (less than 10 ft.)
it works great. I have used them during the daytime and the cops used the video and audio 2 times successfully.

I use a layered strategy with my Andy cams for distance and the Swanns for up close.
 

Frogman

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Has anyone come across the specification for this camera (Swann 887MSFB)?.

I have a few Swann cameras but I’m considering upgrading to a system with better nighttime performance (Dahua maybe). I’d like to compare the sensor size so I can more easily justify getting some new, more capable cams.
 

mat200

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Has anyone come across the specification for this camera (Swann 887MSFB)?.

I have a few Swann cameras but I’m considering upgrading to a system with better nighttime performance (Dahua maybe). I’d like to compare the sensor size so I can more easily justify getting some new, more capable cams.

Swann .. always had challenges finding specs on their new OEM cameras .. when they were using Hikvision it was easier
 

wittaj

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Has anyone come across the specification for this camera (Swann 887MSFB)?.

I have a few Swann cameras but I’m considering upgrading to a system with better nighttime performance (Dahua maybe). I’d like to compare the sensor size so I can more easily justify getting some new, more capable cams.
I would be shocked if they were much bigger than 1/2.8" sensors, but probably 1/3" sensors which are poor for 4K, but great for 720P
 
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