Dahua IPC-HDB3200C auto exposure setting

I have the Dahua IPC-HDB3200C camera and the auto exposure mode is not usable. It is fine for BRIGHT sunlight but during dusk/night/dawn periods, the picture is way too dim to pitch black.

I would like a feature to set maximum exposure to say, 1/30 or 1/60 and the camera should be able to adjust to give the overall picture a level of brightness.

How are other people dealing with this issue??

The picture to my camera can be monitored here: rtsp://guest:guest@71.198.38.41:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=1

PS. I live in GMT-8 timezone.

Your link isn't working for me...

You need to paste that link into something like VLC player. In VLC player, choose the option "Open Network Stream"

I am happy to report that I have obtained updated firmware which fixes the Auto Exposure Algorithm and it works very well in total darkness and early in the day. Auto Black and White also seems to be working.

Things working well in this firmware (I'll update continuously):

- Auto exposure is working well

- Auto Back and White mode is working

- Firefox with quicktime installed will show video now (Guessing RTSP)

Things working not so well in this firmware:

- [update: Seems to be consistently working now, false alarm] FTP uploads on motion events sometimes is less than 20 seconds (consistently 20secs in older firmware)

- [update: Seems to be working now, false alarm] FTP upload sometimes does not rename the .dav_ and .idx_ files to the version without underscore

- Motion trigger may be false/more sensitive

The firmware version is:

Device Type IPC-HDB3200C

Software Version 2.103.0000.0.R, build : 2012-07-24

WEB Version 3.0.0.0

Please note that I have done limited testing but I have already noticed that video motion detection may have some false triggers and FTP upload does not complete and rename the file from 07.09.07-07.09.07[M][0@0][0].dav_ to 07.09.07-07.09.07[M][0@0][0].dav (without the underscore).

Reporting back your findings here would be helpful to feedback to Dahua.

Without further ado, the firmware and config tool can be found on my Skydrive.

Config Tool for updating camera: http://sdrv.ms/O6HvAS

PAL firmware: http://sdrv.ms/O6HJb3

NTSC firmware: http://sdrv.ms/Qyj6Fo

Extract the firmware and choose General_IPC-HX3XXX_Eng_x_V2.103.0000.0.R.20120724.bin as the update file.

Cheers!

Excellent, much appreciated. I spent a while last night looking and nobody had firmware for this.

I have an April build of firmware and my FTP is simply not firing, no matter what, though I'm hopeful it's a network issue (will know tonight). EDIT LATER: Yep, that was it, a network issue, FTP firing now.

Is there a way to backup the current firmware? I know the web client has backup, but I assume it's for web config.

Your reseller should be able to provide the current firmware to you. If you find it, let me know as well so I can archive it.

Your reseller should be able to provide the current firmware to you. If you find it, let me know as well so I can archive it.

Thanks again

I am happy to report that I have obtained updated firmware which fixes the Auto Exposure Algorithm and it works very well in total darkness and early in the day. Auto Black and White also seems to be working.

 

Things working well in this firmware (I'll update continuously):

- Auto exposure is working well

- Auto Back and White mode is working

- Firefox with quicktime installed will show video now (Guessing RTSP)

 

Things working not so well in this firmware:

- FTP uploads on motion events sometimes is less than 20 seconds (consistently 20secs in older firmware)

- FTP upload sometimes does not rename the .dav_ and .idx_ files to the version without underscore

- Motion trigger may be false/more sensitive

 

The firmware version is:

 

Device Type IPC-HDB3200C

Software Version 2.103.0000.0.R, build : 2012-07-24

WEB Version 3.0.0.0

 

Please note that I have done limited testing but I have already noticed that video motion detection may have some false triggers and FTP upload does not complete and rename the file from 07.09.07-07.09.07[M][0@0][0].dav_ to 07.09.07-07.09.07[M][0@0][0].dav (without the underscore).

 

Reporting back your findings here would be helpful to feedback to Dahua.

 

Without further ado, the firmware and config tool can be found on my Skydrive.

 

Config Tool for updating camera: http://sdrv.ms/O6HvAS

PAL firmware: http://sdrv.ms/O6HJb3

NTSC firmware: http://sdrv.ms/Qyj6Fo

 

Extract the firmware and choose General_IPC-HX3XXX_Eng_x_V2.103.0000.0.R.20120724.bin as the update file.

 

Cheers!

My firmware is late April (I got your firmware but haven't installed yet) and my FTPs are being renamed properly.

I have had some issues with motion detection. I have a zone trained right now on the road, and the sensitivity required to trigger an event based on cars often also triggers an event without any movement. I know why: When I watch the camera it occasionally brights/darkens the image very slightly and this apparently can fire the motion detection event.

I've also noticed while watching real-time AND in the videos that are recorded that sometimes at the bottom of the screen is a fuzzy flicker about every 1-2 seconds (looks like ultra high compression, but just at the bottom). JPEGs saved to the FTP at the same times as these flicker events are 100% clear without the problem.

Anyway, in short it looks like I'll end up with a bunch of extra data I don't want, since I'd rather save media that has no real movement in it than risk losing stuff that does.

I updated my post. Issues seem to resolved themselves.

I updated my post. Issues seem to resolved themselves.

Have you noticed the brightening/darkening in real-time that I mentioned, throwing off false motion events?

Yes, i did notice some of those events especially now that Auto exposure mode is working much better. Like you said, better to capture more events than to loose something.

My false positives are a lot better today. The default for this camera is CBR and I think it works a lot better than VBR. On variable bit rate I get a lot of flickering at the bottom of the screen, which isn't there on CBR at all.

The only false positives i'm having today are clouds moving over my detection area. I do believe that a better detection algorithm could be designed to ignore cloud movements, but it's not a huge deal. I think I've keyed in pretty close what I want to grab all movement without over-blowing it.

Yeah, I only use CBR so i didn't see the artifacts that you experienced.

gold, have you noticed the camera deleting files? I Have mine set not to auto-delete. A few days ago I noticed that day's folder gone. Today at 4:30 I had three days straight worth of stuff and now at 5:30 the past two days are just gone, along with most of today--but not quite all. There is a file kicking around from 7:00 am (both the dav and its JPG folder from the same time frame), and then around 1:00 pm, but then everything is wiped up to around 5:00 PM. No mention in the log of this. I'm pretty certain nobody in the house has done it, and given that i have that folder from 7:00 am and 1:00 pm, it's just a bit weird.

Worse-case I write a script to move files around every once in a while but that seems like it shouldn't be necessary.

...Actually, I just changed permissions of that FTP user to deny delete on files and folders. If this happens again I should then know for sure whether the camera is doing this or not.

UPDATE: OK, well the renaming of the dav_ to dav requires delete permissions, so I'll just have to manually rename those and/or associate the player application with dav_ files while I test this.

I asked my vendor for a firmware update for my IPC-HFW3200CN and the file looks to be the same as was posted here. One thing that I noticed is that it now has WDR and some other new features. Did you notice this on the HDB3200C?

I always thought WDR was there originally but not sure it worked as advertised. Now auto exposure is acceptable at night and works great. What other new features did you notice? I didn't notice any...

I am happy to report that I have obtained updated firmware which fixes the Auto Exposure Algorithm and it works very well in total darkness and early in the day. Auto Black and White also seems to be working.

You totally rock! Thanks for posting it. This is the same exact firmware that is shipping on cameras that I received in February 2013 (2.103.0000.0.R.20120724).

Updated current cameras without loss of exisiting settings.

So I've been lurking the forums for a bit and recently began setting up my new camera. I purchased a ICIP-B3000AF from ICRealtime. This appears to be just a rebranded Dahua 3300C that came with old firmware on it. Is it possible to use Dahua firmware on an ICRealtime camera? I'm waiting to hear from IC's techs regarding obtaining newer firmware but thought I'd ask.

I can't speak for ICRealtime, but one of my Dahuas is a K&D rebrand. The only difference is there's a sticker on the camera with the K&D model and SN. The firmware reports the Dahua model number, serial number, and software versions, and it takes Dahua upgrades with no problem.

The QSee versions are different, though, with their own custom firmware. One person reported they could change their Dahua to the QSee firmware, but it wouldn't let them change back.

YMMV, as always!

I contacted ICRealtime and they stated there currently wasn't any newer firmware for my 3300 even though the firmware installed is dated 2012-05-07. I'm hesitant to try the Dahua firmware dated 2012-07-24 as I don't want a brick on my hands but I just might be tempted to give it a shot.

Can you post what the firmware reports for the model number and software versions? I'd be interested in seeing that.

Here it is:

Software Version 2.100.0000.6.R, build : 2012-05-07

WEB Version 3.0.0.0

SN ICIPB3000AF1211W********

Also, when the ActiveX pop-up comes up, it says IC Real Time.

Yeah, that looks like Dahua firmware, tweaked for ICR (based on the SN). Presumably the line before (Device Type) calls it by the ICRealtime model number, not the Dahua model number.

Upgrading to non-ICR firmware is a gamble - it may succeed, it may fail with an error message and not do anything bad, or it could brick the cam.

They should have the newer version available - 2012-07-24 has been out for some time now, and there's a newer version that hasn't really hit the streets yet.

Why on earth are they telling me I have the newest firmware then... This upsets me because the ONLY reason I purchased it from ICRealtime was for their supposed "excellent support."

When I called to inquire about newer firmware, I was told by the tech that THEY were the manufacturer and THEY would know if there was new firmware available.