Dahua IPC-HFW2100 bricked - can it be rescued?

[mroek 0]

Hi,

 

During the night one of my HFW2100-cameras had gone wonky, and refused to supply any video stream. It was possible to get into the web interface, but no video stream there either, just some message (with a big font in the video window) in chinglish stating something along the lines of "resource limited". When trying to get into some of the other menus, popups with messages about "config read failed" appeared.

 

My initial thought was that the internal flash memory had been corrupted, and since I saw that newer firmwares had appeared online (on this forum in the Dahua firmware thread), I tried upgrading the firmware (from the web interface). This seemed to work, at least the camera came back online with the new version, but unfortunately there were still error messages regarding the config.

 

I then tried to reset the camera with the physical reset button on the back, which was a big mistake. The web interface is no longer available, but I can login via telnet. However, the connection is lost after a short while, probably because the camera crashes and goes into a reboot loop. I can see that it tries to start the main executable sonia, but I hink this is what kills it. This is the list of the running processes:

 

# ps

PID Uid VSZ Stat Command

1 root 2812 S init

2 root SW [posix_cpu_timer]

3 root SW [softirq-high/0]

4 root SW [softirq-timer/0]

5 root SW [softirq-net-tx/]

6 root SW [softirq-net-rx/]

7 root SW [softirq-block/0]

8 root SW [softirq-tasklet]

9 root SW [softirq-hrtimer]

10 root SW [softirq-rcu/0]

11 root SW< [desched/0]

12 root SW< [events/0]

13 root SW< [khelper]

14 root SW< [kthread]

26 root SW< [kblockd/0]

27 root SW< [cqueue/0]

28 root SW< [kseriod]

35 root SW< [khubd]

84 root SW [pdflush]

85 root SW [pdflush]

86 root SW< [kswapd0]

87 root SW< [aio/0]

88 root SW< [cifsoplockd]

89 root SW< [cifsdnotifyd]

686 root SW [mtdblockd]

692 root SW< [dm_spi.0]

774 root SWN [jffs2_gcd_mtd7]

778 root SWN [jffs2_gcd_mtd8]

819 root 2816 S /utils/telnetd

826 root SW< [motord]

830 root 2276 S /utils/upgraded

831 root 10348 S /utils/syshelper 120

964 root 2812 S /bin/sh /etc/init.d/appd

973 root 1596 S pppd

1005 root 2816 S /bin/sh

1006 root 2816 S -sh

1009 root 2816 R ps

 

If I try to manually launch sonia, I can see that it fails with a segmentation fault:

 

# /usr/bin/sonia

 

[libdvr] libdvr.so Build on Dec 19 2012 at 10:36:51.

[libdvr] SVN NUM: 4322.

[libdvr] no new hwid scheme!

00:34:23|[libInfra] warn Some [ONVIF2.2] files are not commit to SVN server. It compied wtih local modified files.

00:34:23|[libInfra] info check include version:manager

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Component 81001

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Database 78701

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/ezutil 4497

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/gtest 42100

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Infra 94250

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Json 64221

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Lua 518

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Manager 95833

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Memory 63431

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Branches/P_Include_Ultimate_2011.05.09/NetProtocol 82093

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Pal 94690

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/RPCServer 82105

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Stream 80720

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Utils 70561

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Zlib 82304

00:34:23|[libInfra] info check include version:Infra

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Component 91309

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Infra 94250

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Memory 63431

00:34:23|[libInfra] info URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Utils 88482

00:34:23|[libInfra] error check include version failed

00:34:23|[libInfra] error manager URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Component 81001

00:34:23|[libInfra] error Infra URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Component 91309

00:34:23|[libInfra] error manager URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Utils 70561

00:34:23|[libInfra] error Infra URL: http://10.6.5.2/svnpl/Renascence/Include/Trunk/Utils 88482

00:34:23|[libInfra] error check include version failed, assert

[libaudio] libaudio build @ Aug 4 2012 15:54:42

[libaudio] svn info:·¾¶: Trunk URL: http://10.6.5.2/svn/Camera_api/libaudio_DM365/Trunk °æ±¾¿â¸ù: http://10.6.5.2/svn/Camera_api °æ±¾¿â UUID: 83ec8bce-ee28-0410-b94f-c8a3b29becdd °æ±¾: 5569 ½ÚµãÖÖÀà: ?¼ ×îºóÐ?jÄ×÷Õß: wang_kefu ×îºóÐ?jI?: 5569 ×îºóÐ?jÄʱ¼ä: 2012-08-04 15:39:00 +0800 (Áù, 2012-08-04)

[libaudio] FRAME_SIZE=1600

[libenc] =========libenc version @V0.06_HD@20100820 build time: Apr 17 2012:20:12:59========

[libenc] build options:tags2.0 SUP_MJEG

00:34:23|trace main( /usr/bin/sonia)

00:34:23|trace ******************app lib info******************

00:34:23|[libInfra] info [*] Function 1.1.0.116752 Built in 2013/ 5/16 [*]

00:34:23|[libInfra] info [*] Function 1.1.0.116752 Built in 2013/ 5/16 [*]

00:34:23|[libInfra] info [*] Manager 1.0.0.105127 Built in 2013/ 3/ 9 [*]

00:34:23|[libInfra] info [*] Function 1.1.0.116752 Built in 2013/ 5/16 [*]

00:34:23|[libInfra] info [*] Storage 1.0.0.0 Built in 2013/ 5/17 [*]

00:34:23|[libInfra] info [*] Function 1.1.0.116752 Built in 2013/ 5/16 [*]

00:34:23|[libInfra] info [*] Function 1.1.0.116752 Built in 2013/ 5/16 [*]

00:34:23|trace ******************app lib info******************

00:34:23|[libInfra] trace CThreadManager::CThreadManager()>>>>>>>>>

00:34:23|[libInfra] info [*] Infra 1.0.0.94251 Built in 2012/12/22 [*]

00:34:23|[libInfra] trace CThreadManager::CThreadManager()>>>>>>>>>

00:34:23|[libInfra] debug ThreadBody Enter name = NetFramework, id = 1011, prior = N64, stack = 0x406a1e24

00:34:23|[libInfra] debug ThreadBody Enter name = NetFramework, id = 1012, prior = N64, stack = 0x408a1e24

00:34:23|[libInfra] debug ThreadBody Enter name = NetFramework, id = 1013, prior = N64, stack = 0x40aa1e24

00:34:23|[libInfra] debug ThreadBody Enter name = NetFramework, id = 1014, prior = N64, stack = 0x40ca1e24

00:34:23|info R3Server Start @port[42323]

00:34:23|[Manager] trace CMagicBox::config '/var/tmp/pd/ProductDefinition'

[libfvideo] ############: g_videoin_channels = 1

00:34:23|[libInfra] debug ThreadBody Enter name = TimerManager, id = 1015, prior = N1, stack = 0x40ffee24

[libdvr] info->deviceType:IPC-HFW2100

[libdvr] devalias:IPC-HFW2100

[libdvr] armrate = 270

[libdvr] @@@@ buf = TZC2LV05000081

[libdvr] thread_led_helper_hf3030 create success

[libdvr] PID (thread_led_helper_hf3030 |pid = 1019 ):

[libdvr] getproc_ifnet6:589

[libdvr] get value from /proc/net/if_inet6

[libdvr] 00000000000000000000000000000001 bef44798 bef447a4 bef447a0 bef4479c lo

[libdvr] get value from /proc/net/if_inet6

[libdvr] 20010250300000010000000000010002 bef44798 bef447a4 bef447a0 bef4479c eth0

[libdvr] get value from /proc/net/if_inet6

[libdvr] fe800000000000009202a9fffe0b2e73 bef44798 bef447a4 bef447a0 bef4479c eth0

[libdvr] set success

[libdvr] set success

pppoe enable have Disabled!

Start Upnp Mini Server success! listen port: 49152

DHBonjour: Registered service[0x4047ef00] name 'TZC2LV05000081', type '_http._tcp.', port 80

==============> libWireless version: 1.0 - Complie time Nov 19 2012 13:33:54 SvnVersion = 4167<=============

[libWifi]hotplug_thd pid=1025--../wifi_lib/wifi_api.c(3397)wlan_hotplug_thd

[libWifi]watch_thd pid=1026--../wifi_lib/wifi_api.c(4284)wlan_watch_thd

DHBonjour: Callback: Registered

[libdisk] WARN : before----------------

[libdisk] Open /sys/bus/mmc/devices/ failed

[libdisk] Find 0 device

[libdisk] WARN : before----------------

[libdisk] Snap a hotplug

umount: Invalid argument

==>videoout_channels=0

 

 

[libfvideo] =========libfvideo Build on May 16 2013 at 16:24:48.=========

[libfvideo] SVN NUM: 9011.

 

[libfvideo] priv->caps.multiOptions 1

##: analyse = 1

msghander->msgkey 269422157, /tmp/msgPipe

------: msgInit Create DSpborad ----

[libfvideo]: create key sucess /tmp/msg2ato648

msgget sucess

[libfvideo]: FUN-> lib_send_data_to_dsp, pthread_id : 1031

[libfvideo] priv->caps.whiteBalance 2

[libfvideo] maxWidth 1920,maxHeight 1080

[libfvideo] WARN (../../src/videoin/chips/imx03x/videoin_imx03x.c|videoin_create_series|839): Failed to open device errno=2

[libfvideo] ERROR (../../src/videoin.c|do_videoin_creat|738): videoin_create failed,fchip=3

=========================== TRACE START ===================================

Tid:1010, Exception type : SIGSEGV

PC:[0x0003af70] (0x0003aee8--0x0003af8b) Unknown

PC:[0x402947c0] (0x0003aee8--0x0003af8b) __default_rt_sa_restorer_v2 + [0x0]

PC:[0x003d845c] (0x0003aee8--0x0003af8b) Unknown

PC:[0x003d89a4] (0x003d80b4--0x003d86df) Unknown

PC:[0x003d8cb4] (0x003d86e0--0x003d8a1b) Unknown

PC:[0x00400358] (0x003d8a1c--0x003d8ebf) Unknown

PC:[0x004003f8] (0x00400338--0x004003cf) Unknown

PC:[0x00035a14] (0x004003d0--0x0040042b) Unknown

PC:[0x4027dbec] (0x00035104--0x00035f17) __libc_start_main + [0x104]

PC:[0x00034a80] (0x4027dae8--0x4027df53) Unknown

=========================== TRACE END ===================================

#

 

Any suggestions that I can try, or should I just admit defeat and shed a few tears?

[MaxIcon 0]

Can you FTP a new copy of sonia onto the cam? I spent a bit of time with a different Dahua and was unable to get FTP running on it, but I'm no expert in these matters.

 

If you think there's some corruption at the hardware level, you could rename the existing sonia and copy a new one so it goes into a new location. I don't know if there's a TFTP serial interface on the 2100 like there is on the 3300, but if there is, that might be helpful.

 

If all else fails, there's the famous Dahua trash-can warranty.

[icamera 0]

 

I have one Dahua dome camera bad out of box....

 

Let this be a lesson to everyone.

Buy your cameras from places which stand behind their products with a return policy (COSTCO).

 

Otherwise you have to incur the financial loss from someone elses poor sense, workman quality, or lack of support.

 

If all else fails, there's the famous Dahua trash-can warranty.

[buellwinkle 0]

When I telnet'ed into the camera I'm pretty sure there wasn't an ftpd running as I was trying to figure out how to change the logo on it for fun but possibly ssh. Also, much of the camera's OS was on a zipped mounted file system that is read only meaning you can't write to individual files but you can write over the entire volume and remount it. At best I thought you can take an image on an SD card and copy it over, but this model does not have an SD card slot.

 

The best use of a bricked HFW2100 honestly is as an IR illuminator. They have a pretty bright LED illuminator and if I bricked one, that's what I would do. And it's setup to light up a night independent of camera functionality and small enough. Check the price of a PoE IR illuminator from Raytec for $400, makes this a bargain. When life deals you lemons, make lemonade.

[icamera 0]

Difference in $400 illuminator Raytec vs Dahua ipc coverage?

 

Any pics? Do they charge $400 because they can or is it any better at illuminating?

 

Thats a steep price for illumination.... I did not think leds were so expensive.... Must have nice profit margins.

 

The best use of a bricked HFW2100 honestly is as an IR illuminator. They have a pretty bright LED illuminator and if I bricked one, that's what I would do. And it's setup to light up a night independent of camera functionality and small enough. Check the price of a PoE IR illuminator from Raytec for $400, makes this a bargain. When life deals you lemons, make lemonade.

[mroek 0]

Can you FTP a new copy of sonia onto the cam? I spent a bit of time with a different Dahua and was unable to get FTP running on it, but I'm no expert in these matters.

 

If you think there's some corruption at the hardware level, you could rename the existing sonia and copy a new one so it goes into a new location. I don't know if there's a TFTP serial interface on the 2100 like there is on the 3300, but if there is, that might be helpful.

 

If all else fails, there's the famous Dahua trash-can warranty.

It is possible that there is a physical fault on the internal flash memory, if so there really isn't much to do.

 

I could probably get a new copy of sonia onto the camera, but not in the location where it normally resides. The file system is read-only, so to do that you'd need to flash the entire filesystem to the correct address in the flash. That's easier said than done, but not impossible if you have the knowledge.

 

There is a tftp-daemon running on the camera, but I'm not sure if it is meant to work on IP or serial/rs232. And even if I knew, I'd also need to know which file it would want.

[mroek 0]

When I telnet'ed into the camera I'm pretty sure there wasn't an ftpd running as I was trying to figure out how to change the logo on it for fun but possibly ssh. Also, much of the camera's OS was on a zipped mounted file system that is read only meaning you can't write to individual files but you can write over the entire volume and remount it. At best I thought you can take an image on an SD card and copy it over, but this model does not have an SD card slot.

 

The best use of a bricked HFW2100 honestly is as an IR illuminator. They have a pretty bright LED illuminator and if I bricked one, that's what I would do. And it's setup to light up a night independent of camera functionality and small enough. Check the price of a PoE IR illuminator from Raytec for $400, makes this a bargain. When life deals you lemons, make lemonade.

Well, I won't go bankrupt from this, so I might just have to take you up on that advice.

I'm considering whether I should replace the camera with a 3200S instead. A bit more resolution, but still pretty small.

[buellwinkle 0]

Raytec RM25 sells for about $300 and spec wise, comes in a 50 degree illumination angle, that may be the closest illumination angle to the HFW2100. It's rated at 14M (45'). Now upgrade to the PoE version of the RM25 and the price jumps to about $400 and I may be understating the price. Why is it expensive, because it won't break after a few months, LOL.

 

Should you buy a 3200S, yes, if you need more illuminators, LOL. Seriously, for a better value get the Hikvision mini IR bullet, $169, you can run it at 1080P or 3MP and get it from a U.S. distributor/reseller, so you get a warranty with it and is the same size as the HFW2100. You can even telnet into it, same user/password as the browser user/password, why you want to telnet I don't know but you can.

[mroek 0]

Should you buy a 3200S, yes, if you need more illuminators, LOL. Seriously, for a better value get the Hikvision mini IR bullet, $169, you can run it at 1080P or 3MP and get it from a U.S. distributor/reseller, so you get a warranty with it and is the same size as the HFW2100. You can even telnet into it, same user/password as the browser user/password, why you want to telnet I don't know but you can.

Sounds good, but I'm not in the U.S, so I'd probably better look for a different source. Thanks for the tip, anyway.

There is one possible drawback compared to the 3200S, and that is the lens focal length. The 3200S goes down to 3.6 mm, while the Hikvision is 4 mm with the shortest lens option.

[msecure 0]

Well, I won't go bankrupt from this, so I might just have to take you up on that advice.

I'm considering whether I should replace the camera with a 3200S instead. A bit more resolution, but still pretty small.

Where are you located? Is cost of sending just the board back to Shenzhen very high?

[mroek 0]

Well, I won't go bankrupt from this, so I might just have to take you up on that advice.

I'm considering whether I should replace the camera with a 3200S instead. A bit more resolution, but still pretty small.

Where are you located? Is cost of sending just the board back to Shenzhen very high?

I'm in Norway. I don't think it is worth the trouble, to be honest.

[MaxIcon 0]

While the Hikvision bullet is compelling for the price, its low light performance isn't as good as the Dahua's, if that's important to you. If you use 1/60 sec max exposure to avoid motion blur, the night shots tend to be noisy. Turning on WDR to avoid overly dark daytime shadows makes it worse.

 

The Dahua has a softness in shadows during the daytime that I find annoying, so it's a trade-off. I picked the Hiks for my latest project because of the terrible Dahua support and soft shadows.

[mroek 0]

I guess noise is a tradeoff you have to make for increased resolution. Smaller pixels on the same sensor size tend to be more noisy.

 

The web interface on the Hiks looks a lot more polished than the Dahuas, though. Does it work without having to install annoying browser plugins, and with other browsers than IE? That's a serious shortcoming of the Dahuas, I think.

[buellwinkle 0]

For my Mac, I had to install the Hikvision Mac Plugin and works well on Safari.

 

The picture quality to me is better on Hikvision. For example, color accuracy, nr and sharpening artifacts are better. Dahua's noise reduction is much stronger which give it a nicer looking image at night but at the expense of detail. I'm OK with noise at night if the detail is there for surveillance purposes. For webcam purposes, Dahua would be far better because the night image is clean. I think you would be happy with either but which is better depends on your tastes. What frustrates me on Dahua is I can't turn the IR LEDs off.

[shockwave199 0]

What frustrates me on Dahua is I can't turn the IR LEDs off

This can be done in the hik bullets?

[MaxIcon 0]

You can only turn the Hik IR off by setting it to day mode, which also puts the IR filter in. On the Dahua, you can't turn the IR off at all without unplugging the board - it stays on even in day mode.

 

I'd like to see all these new cams set up like my Vivoteks, where you can control IR, IR filter, and color mode all independently.

 

The Hik does use a plugin on PCs.

[buellwinkle 0]

The new ACTi have IR LED on/off and day/night as separate options too. The Hikvision is turned off by putting in day mode as Maxicon says, but that's what most would want to do anyway, at least me where I have reflections issues on my Dahua a night and would prefer it stay in day mode. Not even sure you can unplug the IR leds from Dahua and still have it work.

[shockwave199 0]

That's great to know that about the IR. What's the drawback of IR staying on in day mode, picture wise? I've seen footage of a dahua camera in day mode at night and it looks like it's just available light coming in- a good picture. Is it just minus the IR, you take care of the spider problem?

[buellwinkle 0]

For me its reflection, so at night I can leave it in day mode by see the IR LEDs reflecting back, yes even with the IR cut filter on. But this may be a rare case as they are in a condo and I have my cameras mounted inside facing out. What's nice about the mini IR bullets from both companies is for me they fit in the window frame, so I can close the blind over them.

[mroek 0]

Just a quick update:

 

It was possible to connect to the camera with Dahua's ConfigTool (but I had to use port 3800, not 37777), but the ConfigTool can't retrieve any info about the camera. However, it is possible to upload a new firmware to the camera, but it doesn't help. The camera just reboots every two minutes.

 

I can see that the firmware is actually being updated, because if I try different firmwares, and then telnet into the camera, I can see that files change size and date.

 

I have also disassembled the camera and gained access to the serial port. I can see the diagnostic output when it boots, and I can also see that U-boot tries to look for a file on a TFTP-server. I haven't been able to halt it in U-boot, it just proceeds with uncompressing the kernel and booting Linux. I then get a regular console. Here's what the output from the serial port looks like when it boots:

 

Checking DDR......OK

 

UBL Version: 1.43t(DM368 30/5/2012)

Oscillator: 24MHZ

ARM Rate: 270 MHZ

DDR Rate: 216 MHZ

BootMode: SPI

Starting SPI Memory Copy...

DONE

 

 

U-Boot 1.3.6 (jerry) (May 30 2012 - 11:05:27)

 

DRAM: 128 MB

SF: Got idcode 01 20 18

SF: Detected S25FL128P with page size 256, total 16 MB

In: serial

Out: serial

Err: serial

Ethernet PHY: GENERIC @ 0x05,id:221513

total gio 2

gio[22]=1

gio[25]=1

Loading...

TFTP from server 192.168.254.254; our IP address is 192.168.1.108; sending through gateway 192.168.1.1

Filename 'upgrade_info_7db780a713a4.txt'.

Load address: 0x80100000

Loading: *

Retry count exceeded.

Failed to get info.txt

==>use default images

## Booting kernel from Legacy Image at 80800000 ...

Image Name: Linux-2.6.18_pro500-davinci_evm-

Image Type: ARM Linux Kernel Image (uncompressed)

Data Size: 1938236 Bytes = 1.8 MB

Load Address: 80008000

Entry Point: 80008000

Verifying Checksum ... OK

Loading Kernel Image ... OK

OK

 

Starting kernel ...

 

Uncompressing Linux............................................................................................................................... done, booting the kernel.

 

[libdvr] libdvr.so Build on May 20 2013 at 15:45:44.

[libdvr] SVN NUM: 4491.

[libdvr] no new hwid scheme!

claststate V1.0 for dm365times=0 @@@; usdate = 0x90160158

mode: normal

Tue Jan 11 00:05:25 2000 0.000000 seconds

==============>PPPOE2.4.5:Complie time May 6 2013 14:11:09 SvnVersion = 2526<=============

get username * password error!

insmod for iSCSI

./usr/etc/app.sh: line 23: echo####application exit:139, system will reboot!: not found

#

 

It is of course possible that this is a hardware fault.

 

I haven't reached a decision if I should go for 3200S or the Hikvison yet, I'd really like to play with a Hikvision first. Does anyone know if there is some publicly available demo of this camera?

[MaxIcon 0]

Not even sure you can unplug the IR leds from Dahua and still have it work.

 

I haven't tried it on the 2100, but on the HFW3300C, you can unplug the IR board and everything works normally. The 2100 is pretty similar functionally, but it would take testing to be sure. I'll be doing this as soon as I uninstall my 2100, probably this weekend.

 

All of my cams leak a bit of IR into the image when the filter is in.

 

mroek, you might want to try it with the IR board disconnected, just in case it's causing a hardware fault. My 2100 has lost all but 6 IR LEDs, and Blue Iris logs a few dozen network dropouts a day on the camera. It was very reliable early on, and the network drops seem to have started about the same time my LEDs started dying.

 

I recently bought 2 Hik 3MP bullets to run in 1080p, and specifically chose them over the 2MP Dahua for these main reasons:

 

- Better daytime image, better night time image despite higher noise

- Better tech support and readily available firmware

- Better software overall, though some things like BLC are better on the Dahua

- Lower price

- Easier to find vendors

 

Downsides to the Hik:

- Noisier in low light than the Dahua, but with better image detail

- Questionable 3MP spec, but 1080p does the job, so no major issue there. If the 3MP image was wider than the 1080p I'd run it there, but it's a smaller HFOV. I could use about 10 more degrees.

[mroek 0]

Thanks for the tip, but unplugging the IR-board makes no difference. At this point, I am quite convinced that there is some hardware fault with the sensor board. The kernel itself is running fine, but it seems to be having issues talking to the sensor board.

 

Regarding the Hiks, if there are publicly available firmware updates, then that's clearly an advantage.

 

I'm curious about what you say about HFOV. Is the image actually wider in 1080p than in 3MP-mode?

 

Is it possible to make the text overlay stay in one color? I actually don't like the feature where it changes color on individual letters in the overlay according to the background.

 

Do you happen to know if the Hiks has the same lens mount as the Dahuas? It seems the Hiks has a 4 mm as the widest lens option, and I'd like to have some more.

 

One of the reasons I like Dahua, is that I'm very fond of Rory's (on Bahamas Security) LiveVue-application. It is a simple desktop application that just shows the stream from multiple cameras (but only Dahua is supported, I think).

[buellwinkle 0]

Dunno what you mean that 4mm is their widest lens option, I have one that came from Hikvision with a 2.8mm lens and have 2 with 12mm lenses on their way.

 

Aks Rory to include a choice to mix Hikvision and Dahua in the same app.

[MaxIcon 0]

Yes, the HFOV is smaller at 3MP, for some strange reason, and the 3MP is scaled and zoomed in compared to the 1080p, despite claiming more pixels. Here are some screen caps and measurements on this:

viewtopic.php?p=224748#p224748

 

You can't change the dynamic lettering colors, as far as I know. ETA: You can make them smaller, contrary to what I said before. I'm doing that now so they don't cover as much of my view.

 

The lens is a standard M12 lens, but swapping M12 lenses is a lot trickier than C and CS lenses, due to a lack of standards. Traditional lens calculators don't work well for M12 lenses. The Hik bullet's a good example - the actual FOV is closer to what you'd get from a 3.2mm lens. The Dahua 3300C varifocal lens gives almost exactly the same FOV at its closest setting of 3.2mm.

 

Two different 4mm lenses on the same camera may give two different FOVs, and some lenses won't fit on some cams at all, depending on the lens mount spacing and IR filter body size. It's a jungle, and vendors need to start offering lens options to the user that are characterized on their cameras.

Edited July 20, 2013 by Guest

[mroek 0]

Dunno what you mean that 4mm is their widest lens option, I have one that came from Hikvision with a 2.8mm lens and have 2 with 12mm lenses on their way.

 

Aks Rory to include a choice to mix Hikvision and Dahua in the same app.

Regarding the lens options, I was just looking at the specs here:

 

http://www.hikvision.com/en/Products_show.asp?id=7326&showid=1

 

Seems to indicate 4/6/12 mm as the options.

Sure I could ask Rory to include Hikvision, but I believe he has created the app with Dahua's SDK, so it might not be easy. I think he's very busy also, because I have waited for a very long time for a new version with some bugs fixed. I'm not complaining though, after all he's provided the app for free.