cctv_007

I'm going to try General_IPC-HX5(4)XXX_Eng_N_Stream3_V2.420.0000.8.R.20150202.bin tomorrow. I'll let you know once I test it.

In theory, this could be done quite easily. All you need is a portable internet connection (cell with data), a network camera, and power. But as mentioned by boogieman, the practicality of it all is where the challenges come up. Power is the biggest issue. A cell with data turned on sending a continuous data stream will not last very long, the camera itself needs power (12v @ 2-3w) will require a big battery. Then there's the issue of concealment. All these batteries will be hard to hide "in plain sight". What you're looking for is something custom built for this type of application. It would likely be small, low power, have built-in SIM card slot and battery capacity for a "reasonable" viewing window. You're looking for a Super Secret Stealth Spycam with remote viewing ... LOL! Anything worthwhile in this category will be big $$$.

DH_HCVRxx04HG(P)-X_Eng_N_V3.200.0001.19.R.20140901.zip ....................... http://tinyurl.com/ovdux2z

You are correct... as the demands go up, so does the price from Chinese internet sources. It's basic economics. Pretty soon, the cost benefits of buying direct will be null and the cost will adjust accordingly.

I agree with vcka... I contacted Dahua for support with my camera when I bricked it. They offered basic support, but suggested I contact the reseller directly. It was purchased on Ali Express and in every sense appears to be a proper Dahua not a copy. It has all the proper packaging, stickers, model information etc. Only issue is that it was meant for distribution in China. Sites like Ali Express are selling these cameras outside the "intended" region. Internet access does that! The reality is that the Chinese market is opening up to the rest of the world and people are drawn to potentially save alot of money on products made and sold in China. Once products gets into distribution and are marked up by resellers for various markets the price doubles and triples what the retail price is in China. The reseller industry charges this much because they add value in support, warranty and services, but for many are only interested in the bottom dollar price for the product. In their case these Chinese retail avenues are great. Dahua sells more product and the only person likely to suffer from this is the customer when they are stuck and need support. For some it's a risk worth taking. Anyway, this thread is getting off-topic and maybe anew thread on the merits of Chinese direct Internet sales would be more apropos.

Cool! That's not exatcly the same experience I have been having, but it's very interesting. Thanks!

I'm not sure what you are referring to, but I don't recall anyone asking for firmware from real cameras to open it up for others. Nor do I think anyone has stated that they are trying to help Chinese copy real software. The binaries that provide the functionality for the camera have not been de-compilled or reverse engineered. We have just been exploring the structure and operation of the cameras. It's no different than logging into your print server, digital billboards, Apple TV, or any other Linux based device to see how it's put together. I bought a few cameras and I believe them to be the real deal but the fact remains that support sucks big time! Just because I bought them from from Chinese resellers does not make them fake. These products are in high demand and many people don't want to pay 3 times the price giving a cut to distribution, resellers and integrators. Sure you get support from these channels, but most support is mediocre at best and many people are capable of supporting themselves if the information is made available. As a person who like to take things apart and see how they work, I have spent some time looking into the inner workings of these little computers. I bricked one of my cameras on my first attempt to update it and took it upon myself to figure out how it all works. I've since realized that my cameras are locked to Chinese firmware and due to my inquisitive nature will figure out how it's done. There are tons of posts and threads on other manufacturers cameras and how to unlock Chinese firmware. It's no different than people unlocking their cell phones, tablets etc. The point is that sharing information that we learn from our own efforts is a good thing. These cameras have many issues that the manufacturer should and could address if they cared about the quality of their products. A company who does not share firmware updates publicly is only encouraging people to dig deeper. Had I had access to firmware when I bricked my camera, I would have reloaded it and been done with it. But because it wasn't, I was left to fend for myself and get things resolved. There is nothing "special" about these cameras that has been disclosed in these forums beyond what can reasonably be discovered with an ounce of common sense, a little time and the desire to do so. I'm not expert in any of this stuff and I was able to figure all this out with minimal effort. As far as the statement "With all back door openings to there software being posted to everyone"... There are no backdoor openings being posted to everyone and if there was it would be in the interest of the company to know about them and fix them. They ARE a security company by the way!

I think by process of elimination that I am getting close.

Very nice vcka! What I'm after is trying to get to the root cause of what is blocking the General release ENG Firmware files from loading on the camera without modification. The camera seems to have something that blocks English firmware from running. It will load just fine, but the sonia process fails on a language check. This behavior would indicate that there is a setting outside the firmware partitions that is checked for what language is allowed to run on the camera. Many of the cameras off AliExpress seem to be locked to Chinese on the newer firmware. I posted a simple work around, but it would be nice to understand what is blocking it from running, then to correct it and be able to load regular firmware without modification.

I have an IPC-HDW4300C so I'll test it out on there a little later tonight. The service that does the upgrade varies from firmware to firmware. Some version block firmware by language or compatibility, but ultimately it can all be corrected quite easily if you make a mistake. ConfigTool on port 3800 is the simplest way to load firmware and will work even if the web UI is down. I will be working on a list of firmware and a compatible camera list to facilitate the process.

Try by ConfigTool:3800 Yes... the config tool on port 3800 is the best method. Another workaround is to load an older firmware first. (Eg. General_IPC-HX5(4)XXX_Eng_N_V2.210.0000.21.R.20140613.bin) This one works well because it does not block any new firmware loads through port 37777 but I would still recommend you use the ConfigTool on port 3800.

You can get a lot more information on this and other Dahua related details including links to firmware from my other thread @ viewtopic.php?f=19&t=44928 But for now here is the simplest way I know to-date to load the newest firmware on IPC-HFW4300S-V2 and other Chinese Dahua cameras ordered on AliExpress.... I'm still working on a permanent fix that will last after another firmware update, but I've had many emails about this so I thought I'd post a quick update. 1. Use the config tool or web UI to load the newest firmware (General_IPC-HX5(4)XXX_Eng_N_Stream3_V2.420.0005.0.R.20141205.bin) 2. Your camera will appear bricked (no web ui) but the only issue preventing it from working is the language settings (which prevents sonia from loading) 3. Login into the camera with Telnet (user: admin / password: 7ujMko0{web ui password} 4. You will need to perform a few edits, so you need to make mounts read/write \> mount -o remount rw /usr \> mount -o remount rw /mnt/custom 5. Rename files \> mv /usr/data/Strings/English.txt /usr/data/Strings/SimpChinese.txt \> mv /mnt/custom/English.txt /mnt/custom/SimpChinese.txt 6. Edit files with vi ---> /usr/data/Strings/i18n & /mnt/custom/i18n. Change the following: "DefaultLanguage" : "English", ------> SimpChinese "DefaultVideoStandard" : "NTSC", "DevStringFiles" : [ "StringsEn.txt" ], "HTMLStringFiles" : [ "webEN.json" ], "Languages" : [ "English" ], ------> SimpChinese "VideoStandards" : [ "NTSC" ], "WebStringFiles" : [ "webEN.lang" ] (Tips for using vi: press "i" for insert then ESC when done editing, then type :w to write then type :q! to exit) type reboot to restart the camera and you will have a working New English firmware. These changes will need to be repeated if you upgrade to another firmware since these partitions are erased an re-flashed during an upgrade. I'm really trying to get to the root cause of why the camera seems hard-coded to Chinese and I will update as I uncover more information. Thanks, Rob

Here's what I believe to be true at this point. 1. There doesn't appear to be any env variables set in uboot that affect language. 2. The following img are part of the firmware bin file check.img <----- this is possibly related but I have not fully investigated custom-x.ubifs.img dhboot.bin.img kernel.img partition-x.cramfs.img pd-x.ubifs.img romfs-x.ubifs.img user-x.ubifs.img web-x.ubifs.img 3. The mtd partitions are: mtd0: 00100000 00020000 "U-Boot" <---- Uboot mtd1: 00100000 00020000 "hwid" <----- loaded with env variables from uboot mtd2: 00100000 00020000 "updateflag" <---- ??? Is this the key to solving this issue? contains binary data. Will review mtd3: 00100000 00020000 "partition" <---- loaded from img in firmware update mtd4: 00340000 00020000 "custom" <---- loaded from img in firmware update mtd5: 00340000 00020000 "product" <---- loaded from img in firmware update mtd6: 00580000 00020000 "Kernel" <---- loaded from img in firmware update mtd7: 00800000 00020000 "romfs" <---- loaded from img in firmware update mtd8: 00800000 00020000 "web" <---- loaded from img in firmware update mtd9: 01980000 00020000 "user" <---- loaded from img in firmware update mtd10: 00400000 00020000 "syslog" mtd11: 00400000 00020000 "config" <----- connected to HWID (see /usr/etc/checkHWID.sh) May be indirectly related mtd12: 00400000 00020000 "backup" Somewhere outside the data that is flashed by the firmware, exists a language/China flag that is used and compared to when running the newer firmware.... The hunt continues....

This is driving me nuts!!!!! So I can get the newest firmware to run V2.420.0005.0.R.20141205 by changing 2 files in 2 locations. mv English.txt to SimpChinese.txt in /usr/data/Strings & /mnt/custom modify i18n & change language to SimpChinese in /usr/data/Strings & /mnt/custom These changes will allow all the new firmware to work, but I still can't find the root cause. Somewhere outside the partitions that get flashed by the firmware, there is a flag that makes the camera "require" chinese firmware.... If you load any 2.42 version of English firmware, you will need to fake it by renaming the key files to Chinese. I want to find what the Chinese flag is on the camera so I can change it and then load English firmware without modifications. Arghhhhh!

Can you print the output of dd if=/dev/mtd/1 bs=4096 count=1 2>&1 I was chasing a lead in this area early this week, and I just had another thought. I'd like to close the loop on this one.