Dâniel Fraga

What cameras do you use? Brand and model?

Just to inform you that Kyle from Empire Security replied my message and at the same day he sent another camera even before I send the defective unit back. So for me, based on my own experience, Empire Security is very serious and a nice place to buy. I never received such a treatment from an online store so I'm very impressed. Thanks Kyle.

I bought a Dahua HFW2100 from Empire Security and it arrived fine, but it's losing ethernet connectivity. I changed cable, tested with another router, changed the 12V power supply and the problem remains. So it seems this unit is defective. I sent e-mail to Empire Security asking if I can send it back for replacement and I am waiting for the answer. Has some Empire Security customer here who used their RMA? I bought from them because they're recommended in another forum. Thanks. UPDATE: Just to inform you that Kyle from Empire Security replied my message and at the same day he sent another camera even before I send the defective unit back. So for me, based on my own experience, Empire Security is very serious and a nice place to buy. I never received such a treatment from an online store so I'm very impressed. Thanks Kyle.

Ok. I changed cables and the problem remains. Sometimes it doesn't "make link" and sometimes it doesn't assign an IP. Anyway, I'm replacing this with another one. When it arrives I will post here again to confirm the problem has gone. Thanks.

Is somebody using Dahua HFW2100 with a TP-Link WDR4300 router? It seems a bad combination, because this router will not detect the camera wired to it sometimes. I have problems with this router wired to my desktop, which uses a e1000e intel adapter... Maybe the auto-negotiation of this router is so bad it leads to these problems? To sum up: sometimes the router detects the camera's IP and sometimes it doesn't... Unfortunately I don't have another router here to test. I changed cables and the problem remains. Is there someone using the same router or maybe another one from TP-Link and having issues? Thanks.

Thanks for answering. I'm doing some more tests. If I found the solution, I'll post it here.

Well, it seems the problem is with the camera. I tried with another router (from another brand) and the problem remains. There's something wrong with this camera when powered by a 12V power supply (I'm still waiting for the TL-POE150S I bought to arrive). Is there anybody out there who uses this camera with a 12V power supply and have the same problem? Maybe a defect with this one? Basicaly it works for a few hous, then the ethernet link goes dead. Sometimes it goes back again when I power it off and on, but it seems the camera stays in a state where it refuses to "talk" to the router. Should I have any hope when powering it thru POE or maybe it will show the same behaviour?

Can Dahua HFW2100 be powered by passive POE injector? I bought one from TP-Link (it's really simple, just the DC IN, POE and LAN) and the camera doesn't turn on. I'm usuing a CAT5E cable (20 meters). I'm using a standard 12V power supply too (5A). Can this camera be powered this way or I have to use a POE switch? Thanks.

Ok, thanks for the explanation!

Hi Max. There's no model number. I bought it for a very cheap price ($5). It's like this: http://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB-471454125-adaptador-injetor-poe-tp-link-_JM I think I'll put a POE switch... because I also have a problem with the router (TP Link WDR4300) not talking with the camera... Those chinese devices are full of problems.

Yes, I tried the firmware update and the problem remains. It uses a 12V (1.5A). I think I'll try to put a switch in between the router and the camera.

It didn't came with any power adapter. Just the camera itself. Maybe a "OEM" version? As far as I know, we should only use 48V with active POE, not passive POE right?

But there's someone here saying he can power up this camera with a "toy" PoE... Here it's the citation: http://www.networkcameracritic.com/?p=882 "I have the Q-See QCN7001B incarnation of this camera. Two things: 1) I’m powering this camera through a TRENDnet Gigabit PoE Injector (TPE-113GI). Works perfectly, so whomever is claiming at Empire Security Cameras that injectors don’t work may have ulterior motives".

I think this one is not the latest firmware. Mine is: 2.100.0001.0.R, build : 2012-10-31 (HFW2100) I think someone posted it in this thread.

Yes, but the abnormal framerate is only at the beggining of the video. After that it goes back to normal. Now I put everything at the same settings and it's ok. Even using VBR. So it's better now. Thanks. If I have any news, I will reply here.

Yeah, but IP Cam Viewer is useful when I want to see the image anywhere. MPlayer plays fine the DAV files. The problem is not MPlayer. There's nothing special about the DAV files. Let me explain better: 1) I can see the streaming fine using ffplay (no problem here) 2) I can play the recorded DAV files on the FTP using MPlayer (no problem here) 3) the problem happens when General and Motion have different settings... they generate DAV files which are incorrect. Maybe the firmware gets confused or has a bug which causes this issue. There's an example of this happening with other user. See this video: vv4EGKjOcRc You can see the car arriving slowly, then the video gets normal. I'm sure when this video was recorded the General and Motion settings were different one from another. Try to put different settings there in General and Motion (for example 10 fps, 1024kbps in General and 30 fps 4096 kbps in Motion) and you will notice the DAV files get recorded with this problem. It is not related to the player, because it happens with ALL players. It is a issue with the firmware, but unfortunately Dahua will not support end users For now, the workaround is to use the same exact settings between General and Motion. If I find a better solution I'll post it here. Thanks.

Hi dexterash. I noticed that this only happens when General and Motion have different bit rate and different fps. Now I'm using H264, 1280x720, 30 fps, VBR, quality (4), 4096 kbps bit rate for General and Motion and everything seems fine. I changed the settings because I would like to use IP Cam Viewer for Android on my tablet and this software seems to struggle to keep with this settings... But at least now it is recording fine. Anyway, if I change something on General, I have to also change Motion, because if they are different, I notice this "speed" issue. I play the DAV files with MPlayer for Linux. I also tried ffplay and it gave me the same result. But at least I found a workaround, in other words, keep General and Motion with the same exact settings. What settings do you prefer for General and Motion? Thanks.

Buellwinkle thanks for answering. I just send the files to mu FTP server. I don't use any NVR software. The only way to fix it is to change all settings to CBR (Constant Bit Rate).

A possible solution is to use only CBR instead of VBR. This camera (or the firmware) seems unable to handle different VBR/CBR, bitrate configurations between General and Motion settings.