Videostream suddenly not working

[cosmo798]

Hi.
I have two Dahua cams (alongside of two Reolink) running on BlueIris via TP-link POE switches.
The Dahua cams are dome cameras bought from Andy who I found on this forum.

This setup has been working flawlessly for about 3-4 years but yesterday one of my Dahua cams stopped showing up on the stream.
I couldn't reach the camera via the web-GUI (192.168.x.x) - it didn't respond. (I checked my other Dahua cam and it worked like it should).
I checked the network cable with a tool and it looks like it's working.

So I reset the camera and it got the default IP-adress (192.168.1.108).
I added a new admin pass after logging in to the Web-GUI for the first time so the reset did defiantly happen.

Now I can access the web-GUI but it won't load any videostream. I've added it to blue iris as a new cam but nothing works. The video on the Web-GUI doesn't show either.

Anyone knows what can be the issue? Or what should I try next?

Thanks a million!

 

[TonyR]

Is this the IPC-HDBW5541R-ASE you had back in Dec. 2020?

If so and there's a microSD card installed, power down the camera, remove the card and power it back up.
You might have to perform another hard reset.

Can you bypass the in-place cable temporarily with another working cable? Not sure of the tool you used to "check" the cable which may not expose a problem with the cable or its RJ-45 terminations.

 

[cosmo798]

It’s a ipc-t2431T-AS - just found the order confirmation in my inbox.

There is a SD-card slot next to the reset button behind a cover that has two screws, when I looked I thought it was empty - I’ll have to take a second look.

Are you saying the Cams OS is booted from the SD-card?

Yes, I can try with a fresh network cable to rule that out. I tested it with a cable tester (

https://www.amazon.se/deleyCON-Test...4&psc=1&mcid=74c8c6b8c98230729278c76e042f278b

)

I’ll try the things you said tonight and get back with how it went.

Thank you for replying and trying to help - I appreciate it!

 

[TonyR]

Are you saying the Cams OS is booted from the SD-card?

No, but defective uSD cards have caused strange issues with some cameras.

Yes, I can try with a fresh network cable to rule that out. I tested it with a cable tester (

https://www.amazon.se/deleyCON-Test...4&psc=1&mcid=74c8c6b8c98230729278c76e042f278b

)

I use a tester like that on cables that I've terminated myself and it generally only shows swapped/shorted or open connections and depends on just enough continuity to light up an LED with a 9 volt DC battery, no modulation anywhere near that of an active network cable so it may not always "tell the tale" of a defective or marginal cable.

EDIT 7/8/24 @ 1236 CDT: while there, inspect the Ethernet connections for corrosion due to moisture, especially if any of those connections are outdoors; that can cause the issues you're seeing as well.

 

[cosmo798]

So I just got home and I did the following:
Checked the camera for a SD-card: No SD-card is in the device
Changed to a new network cable: Tested with 2 different cables that I know works
= No change in behavior from the camera.

Reset the device once again, with a new network cable.
= No change in behavior from the camera.

Tried different ports on my POE-switch (that I know works due to the fact that other cameras are connected to those ports)
= No change in behavior from the camera.

I can't see any corrosion from the Ethernet connectors on the camera - they look intact and like new.

I think it's weird that I can access the web-GUI and also ping the device successfully - but no camera feed comes up.
I can also change settings (like password, IP-adress etc) successfully.
I do feel that the web-GUI is a bit more buggy (sometimes info don't show and I need to refresh the page) than my other cameras webGUI, checked and they are on the same version for both the system version and web version.

Is the camera broken or could there be another solution? Can you update the firmware somehow and hope that it's a solution?

Once again, I'm really grateful for all the help and suggestions.

 

[TonyR]

Can you post a screenshot of the cam's Blue Iris "settings" => "Video" tab => "configuration" page?

Insure both streams, main and sub, are enabled and configured in the cam's webGUI and insure the RTSP port is 554.

Then try the following URL's in VLC; be sure to put 2 "/" after "rstp:", as forum software won't allow 2 to be displayed consecutively:

Main stream:

rtsp:/Cam-User:Cam-Password@Cam-IP:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0

or sub stream:

rtsp:/Cam-User:Cam-Password@Cam-IP:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=1

 

[cosmo798]

VLC test:
VLC couldn't open the MRL "then the code you provided" (Yes I added a / and changed to correct username, password and IP-adress)
Blue iris settings are attached. Also provided a screenshot from the Web-GUI how it keeps "loading" the stream.

And just to be clear - I haven't changed anything in BlueIris (or updated). Everything worked two days ago and has been working for 2-3 years.

The error message BI is showing is: Error 8000274c (Failed to connect) 0

EDIT:
It feels like the camera is loosing connection very often, but that's just a feeling.

 

[TonyR]

VLC couldn't open the MRL "then the code you provided" (Yes I added a / and changed to correct username, password and IP-adress)

If VLC won't open that video stream it's unlikely that BI will.
Not sure what's amiss here....a head scratcher for sure.

 

[cosmo798]

If VLC won't open that video stream it's unlikely that BI will.
Not sure what's amiss here....a head scratcher for sure.

Yeah I agree. Did the VLC test with the other identical Dahua I have and it worked like a charm. So something is fishy!
I'll keep the camera indoors tonight, see if a night indoors might magically make it work again. Also sprayed some dust removal on all the connectors, felt like the right thing to do..

Also I'll see if someone else on the forum has any idea what could be the cause and what to try next.
If I weren't able to access anything I would have given up but seeing that I can reset it, change settings and access the web-GUI makes me hopeful.

But as I said I do feel that the connection drops on it, when accessing the Web-GUI I often have to reload the page and changing settings is sometimes giving me errors and after reloading the page it works.

 

[wittaj]

Not all corrosion can be seen and deoxit does wonders and has brought cameras back to life to many members here.

 

[cosmo798]

Not all corrosion can be seen and deoxit does wonders and has brought cameras back to life to many members here.

Just bought some deoxit to try. Unfortunately this didn't help either.

Should I just call it and order a new camera? Or is it possible to update the software so I can try that route?