Help identifying Chinese OEM camera to cross-flash FW?

[JSComSurv 0]

We inherited a system that was using a bunch of cheap Digital IDView cameras and DVR's. We replaced the DVR's with encoders and switched to the Avigilon VMS. However, the 20 or so existing IP (Digital IDView IV-LC-D533MP) cameras are pretty garbage, mostly limited by the firmware's shoddy ONVIF support.

 

They are just some Chinese OEM camera with a sticker on them, so chances are there is another manufacturer that uses the same cameras with better firmware. Any ideas on how to identify/acquire compatible firmware for these cameras?

[MaxIcon 0]

A good starting place for this is to get the firmware info from the cam, then google it in quotes. This will tell you if there are other brands or support sites that make it available. It might take only googling sections or different combinations of the firmware string, for instance.

 

If you have firmware update files, those file names can be a google resource for finding other vendors selling the same or rebranded cams. Likewise, if you have PDF manuals, you can search for specific strings from the manual or look at the Properties section of the PDF to see if there's something unique to search on.

 

For instance, with Dahua, one of my cam's firmware reports as this:

 

Software Version 2.400.0000.0.R, build : 2013-12-31

WEB Version 3.2.4.161826

ONVIF Version 2.3

 

If you google "2.400.0000.0.R", you'll see threads with links to various download sites.