Hi everyone. I'm a newbie on this site, as well as to surveillance systems in general. Recently, I've been researching this site for information on getting an IP camera with a built-in microphone connected to an existing NVR that I have.
In short, although I got it to work partially, I eventually gave up. But, I wanted to pass along some of my findings that may be useful and/or save someone time and headaches.
This is a long post, so I hope you bear with me. Also, I hope I'm not rehashing something that's already been beaten to death.
First, A Little Background...
I purchased a SWANN NVR model NVR8-7200 in March 2014. It came with 4 SWANN bullet IP cameras (model NHD-820) which I mounted outside. I then purchased 4 SWANN NHD-831 dome IP cameras (model NHD-831) which I mounted inside. This completed my 8 camera system.
Current Configuration:
NVR - SWANN NVR8-7200 Cameras - NHD-820 (4 Bullets) + NHD-831 (4 Domes)
Now, On With My Adventure...
I was very happy with the system. Then SWANN introduced their NHD-815 bullet camera which has the added feature of a built-in microphone. I was delighted as I thought I could replace my front door NHD-820 with a NHD-815 that came with the added audio feature.
After many failed attempts at getting my NVR to recognize the camera, I learned that the NHD-815 only works with the SWANN NVRx-7300 series, not the NVRx-7200 series (bummer).
Fast Forward...
I then learned that the SWANN 7200 series is actually a rebranded HikVision (DS-7608NI-E2/8P/A), yet the 7300 series is not a rebranded HikVision. Hence, the NHD-815 was incompatible with my NVR.
I then decided to purchase a HikVision DS-7608NI-E2/8P to see if I could get the NHD-815 to work. If that worked I had planned to switch out the SWANN NVR and install the HikVision NVR for all of my cameras.
For my test HikVision NVR, I purchased and attached a variety of cameras:
DS-2CD2632F-IS, DS-2CD213F-IS, DS-2CD2032-I (The SWANN NHD-820 equivalent), NHD-831 (a spare I already had), and NHD-815 (the target camera) (Note: I also purchased a 9-Port POE switch to test the cameras attached via my LAN).
The HikVision NVR found all of the cameras as Plug-n-Play, except the NHD-815.
Eventually, I was able to get video from the NHD-815, but no audio. Additionally, my HikVision NVR would only accept the camera manually via the ONVIF protocol and not via the camera's protocol (rtsp://:554/h264Preview_01_main). The NHD-815 protocol was obtained by using the Onvif Device Manager on my PC.
A Discovery...
The SWANN NHD-815 and ReoLink RLC-410 appear to be the same.
While playing around with different camera tools, I ran across the ReoLink Client software. Strangely, the ReoLink Client on my PC would recognize the NHD-815 when attached to my network and produced both video and audio. ReoLink did not recognize any other SWANN or HikVision cameras attached directly on my network. This led me to believe that the SWANN NHD-815 and ReoLink RLC-410 may be the same camera produced by the same manufacturer. I decided to buy a RLC-410 and try it.
The two cameras are identical physically and use the same protocol. However, the main difference is the RLC-410 allows you to login via the web and tweak it, whereas the NHD-815 does not. For some reason SWANN disabled the web interface to the NHD-815. More importantly, I can assign the RLC-410 a static address of the HikVision NIC (e.g., 192.168.254.6), but the NHD-815 is always assigned a random IP address dynamically at 192.168.1.x by the NVR. (Note: Address 192.168.1.x was never accessible via my LAN. It was only internally known by the NVR). Thus, every time the NHD-815 was disconnected (or powered off) it would get assigned a different IP address, requiring me to find its IP address using the trick I got from this forum, and then manually add the camera each time (painful).
(See http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=35962&p=220793&hilit=hitting+camera+through+nvr#p220793 for the trick).
The Bottom Line...
The RLC-410 performed the same as the NHD-815 on my HikVision NVR. In other words, I could only get video, but no audio and I could only add it manually using the ONVIF protocol. Outside the NVR I could get video and audio on both cameras.
Accepting Defeat...
My main goal was to get audio from the built in microphones of the NHD-815 and/or RLC-410. I could only get video, which gave me nothing different than my original SWANN NHD-820 cameras (other than 3MP). Actually, things were worse because:
No audio (as mentioned);
Although 30 fps was transmitted when the camera was in full screen (main stream), the NVR would only transmit 7 fps in a reduced window (sub-stream). This caused a jittery, poor quality effect;
There is a 2-3 second delay of the image in sub-stream;
The date/time stamp remains white and washed out on light backgrounds. This is unlike the HikVision black letters on light and white letters on dark backgrounds; and
Motion detection did not work even though the NVR allowed me to enable it. (Note: the camera is performing motion detection, but the NVR is not picking it up, thus not triggering a recording).
What's Next?...
My SWANN NVR configuration has served my needs so far, but I have lost confidence with the company. I personally feel that any IP camera from SWANN should work (Plug-n-Play) on their NVRs. Since that is not the case, then when I need to replace a camera I may be out of luck when my current SWANN cameras are no longer available. That means I would have to buy a whole new NVR and cameras. And, if I stick with SWANN I may be repeating that process over and over. (Note: I've already had one SWANN camera fail while it was still under warranty).
So, I decided to go ahead and replace my system with all HikVision equipment. Mainly because I discovered that the HikVision NVR has more features than the SWANN NVR, and all HikVision IP cameras appear to be plug-n-play with full functionality. A replacement camera and/or NVR shouldn't be a problem in the future (I'm hoping!).
Therefore, I am going with the following HikVision setup:
NVR: DS-7608NI-I2/8P (The newest model) Cameras: DS-2CD2042WD-I (4 Bullets) + DS-2CD2732F-IS (4 Domes)
Lesson Learned...
My greatest lesson is to be careful when buying rebranded video surveillance systems. If possible, I'll go with the OEM, not the rebrand. I'll pass this lesson on to family and friends.
Fortunately, my budget allowed me to try this expensive experiment. But, I learned a lot about video surveillance systems and networking. An NVR using 3rd party IP cameras is not that simple. I expected an experience similar to buying an A/V receiver and using 3rd Party devices on it. That, obviously, didn't happen.
I hope this was informative ... Thanks for listening (reading??)
