PoE Digital CCTV systems
Discussion
TwistingMyMelon said:
Depends on how competent you are @ setting up etc Hiki are trade only and that is reflected in the config/options setting up. Still pretty straightforward
Reolink are aimed @ consumers so easier to config and setup, with apropriate support channels etc
Hiki are owned by the Chinese Government....make of that what you will
Well I managed to set up my Dahuas after a whole load of battles with acronyms like TCP/UDP/SSL etc…. But it was a ball ache I’d rather not do again. Reolink are aimed @ consumers so easier to config and setup, with apropriate support channels etc
Hiki are owned by the Chinese Government....make of that what you will
We’ve had two attempted break-ins in ten days and while our Dahua system shows clearly what happened there’s zero chance of identification as they all wore balaclavas (apart from the stupid f
ks wearing branded clothing). I’m not sure better resolution and better night vision makes much difference, so probably better alerting and a more user friendly interface is just ahead in the priorities. Is the Hikvision app decent? The Dahua one is functional but horribly clunky and terribly unreliable.
Just want to chime in that the ubiquiti setup i've installed has been pretty much faultless and the app and motion detection have been good.
It's like the Apple of CCTV - pretty much plug and play, but it's not the best quality and is expensive when you factor in the NVR. However if you are replacing your whole internal network (router, switch, wifi access points, cameras) then it's a pretty good ecosystem to be in and quite easy to set up.
It's like the Apple of CCTV - pretty much plug and play, but it's not the best quality and is expensive when you factor in the NVR. However if you are replacing your whole internal network (router, switch, wifi access points, cameras) then it's a pretty good ecosystem to be in and quite easy to set up.
I looked at Ubiquiti when I needed mesh wifi but ended up with simple BT Whole Home. So I’m not really in an Ecco system. I tried to stay in the Simplisafe ecosystem so my cctv was linked to my alarm but the camera quality is crap and not up to the job due to the size of the house and ranges involved.
I’ve actually found a decent demo of the Hikvision app on YouTube and it looks pretty good. Am I right in thinking that I can use Dahua cameras with the Hikvision NVR as well? That way I can just buy a Hik NVR and a top quality ColorVu or Darkfighter camera and still spend less than Reolink.
I’ve actually found a decent demo of the Hikvision app on YouTube and it looks pretty good. Am I right in thinking that I can use Dahua cameras with the Hikvision NVR as well? That way I can just buy a Hik NVR and a top quality ColorVu or Darkfighter camera and still spend less than Reolink.
un1eash said:
I'm using HiLook colourvu cameras and NVR. It's the consumer range from HikVision and pretty much identical in setup and use minus a few features.
How’s the app and user experience? I’ve actually just bitten the bullet and gone for a Hikvision NVR, a ColorVu camera and a Darkfighter one as well. Hopefully the Dahua cameras work with it. Crumpet said:
How’s the app and user experience? I’ve actually just bitten the bullet and gone for a Hikvision NVR, a ColorVu camera and a Darkfighter one as well. Hopefully the Dahua cameras work with it.
I find the app great and easy to use. I've setup a ddns so I can access the NVR direct without going through the HiLook server. You get all the alerts on the app and can playback recordings. On the highest resolution I get about 3 weeks from 3x 5mp cameras on a 2tb hard drive.
I can also access my Pyronix alarm in the app.
So I ended up with the Hikvision setup, a Colorvu cam and a Darkfighter. Easy enough to set up, only managed to get a couple of the old Dahuas working via ONVIF (was a bit of a pain changing the camera IP addresses) but the user interface is slick and reliable. Works every time, unlike the crappy Dahua system. The cameras themselves are a massive step up.
un1eash said:
I find the app great and easy to use. I've setup a ddns so I can access the NVR direct without going through the HiLook server.
You get all the alerts on the app and can playback recordings. .
Interested in this , can you expand on what you had to do, bear in mind I may be too simple to grasp this.You get all the alerts on the app and can playback recordings. .
I've setup a free ddns hostname with https://www.noip.com which basically points directly to my NVR so I can access it from anywhere as if I was on the local network. So locally it's 192.168.1.119 but I can just browse to xxx.ddns.net from anywhere.
I went with noip as it's free, you just have to reconfirm by email each month you still want it active. It's real simple to setup on the NVR and app.
Theres plenty of videos online but I think this is the one I followed. https://youtu.be/1r0mee8AYXQ
I went with noip as it's free, you just have to reconfirm by email each month you still want it active. It's real simple to setup on the NVR and app.
Theres plenty of videos online but I think this is the one I followed. https://youtu.be/1r0mee8AYXQ
un1eash said:
I've setup a free ddns hostname with https://www.noip.com which basically points directly to my NVR so I can access it from anywhere as if I was on the local network. So locally it's 192.168.1.119 but I can just browse to xxx.ddns.net from anywhere.
I went with noip as it's free, you just have to reconfirm by email each month you still want it active. It's real simple to setup on the NVR and app.
Theres plenty of videos online but I think this is the one I followed. https://youtu.be/1r0mee8AYXQ
Cheers I'll have a look, as I said, it may well be above my pay grade, and not something I'll manage to set up, and I've no issues with my current Hikvision set up, it works well, but is it secure ?I went with noip as it's free, you just have to reconfirm by email each month you still want it active. It's real simple to setup on the NVR and app.
Theres plenty of videos online but I think this is the one I followed. https://youtu.be/1r0mee8AYXQ
Anyway I'll check it out.
I'm looking to have a POE CCTV system (with DVR) professionally installed (The house was wired with cat6 for this purpose when it was built), and the installer has quoted for a Dahua system.
How are people getting on with Hikvision and Dahua apps?
It seems that, in a lot of cases, the initial install is easy/successful (and so the installer goes away content and happy) but over time, customers continually experience intermittent issues with the app/cameras losing connection (despite being hard-wired
) or the app crashing when trying to access videos.
Unreliable CCTV is a waste of time, and the whole point of a wired system is that it shouldn't drop out.
Back in 2017 I had one Hikvision camera connected (internally, for a home office) but the app was terrible (issues as above) and then on checking the reviews on the appstore, there was lots and lots of people saying they were experiencing the exact same issues I was. The installer couldn't do anything saying it was the app that was at fault, so we didn't proceed with installing a full Hikvision system as we had intended to. Confidence totally lost.
Fast forward to now, this new installer has suggested the Dahua system, but checking the app store reviews is like deja vu from checking the Hikvsion app 7 years ago:
"90% of the time the app times out before displaying the video feed"
Lots of comments that the app works ok when connected to the same (home) network, but won't connect when away from home (which is arguably when you would most want to access it!)
There's also a review from a professional CCTV reviewer also saying that the cameras/setup are fantastic, but "the app has made me look like an idiot in front of a once loyal customer".
another installer said:
"My company has fitted nearly 1000 Dahua systems in the last couple years and the general feedback from my customers is that the cameras are great however the app is really bad and ruins the system. It's clunky, not user friendly or easy to use and just doesn't work a lot of the time.........l have Sadly started to lose all confidence in the product which is a shame as the picture quality is great it's just the app that really lets it down badly".
Are there any other Cat6 compatible systems I've not considered?
(I'd also rather not buy a Chinese system, but looks like they are the main players in this industry
)
How are people getting on with Hikvision and Dahua apps?
It seems that, in a lot of cases, the initial install is easy/successful (and so the installer goes away content and happy) but over time, customers continually experience intermittent issues with the app/cameras losing connection (despite being hard-wired
) or the app crashing when trying to access videos.Unreliable CCTV is a waste of time, and the whole point of a wired system is that it shouldn't drop out.
Back in 2017 I had one Hikvision camera connected (internally, for a home office) but the app was terrible (issues as above) and then on checking the reviews on the appstore, there was lots and lots of people saying they were experiencing the exact same issues I was. The installer couldn't do anything saying it was the app that was at fault, so we didn't proceed with installing a full Hikvision system as we had intended to. Confidence totally lost.
Fast forward to now, this new installer has suggested the Dahua system, but checking the app store reviews is like deja vu from checking the Hikvsion app 7 years ago:
"90% of the time the app times out before displaying the video feed"
Lots of comments that the app works ok when connected to the same (home) network, but won't connect when away from home (which is arguably when you would most want to access it!)
There's also a review from a professional CCTV reviewer also saying that the cameras/setup are fantastic, but "the app has made me look like an idiot in front of a once loyal customer".
another installer said:
"My company has fitted nearly 1000 Dahua systems in the last couple years and the general feedback from my customers is that the cameras are great however the app is really bad and ruins the system. It's clunky, not user friendly or easy to use and just doesn't work a lot of the time.........l have Sadly started to lose all confidence in the product which is a shame as the picture quality is great it's just the app that really lets it down badly".
Are there any other Cat6 compatible systems I've not considered?
(I'd also rather not buy a Chinese system, but looks like they are the main players in this industry
)monthefish said:
I'm looking to have a POE CCTV system (with DVR) professionally installed (The house was wired with cat6 for this purpose when it was built), and the installer has quoted for a Dahua system.
How are people getting on with Hikvision and Dahua apps?
It seems that, in a lot of cases, the initial install is easy/successful (and so the installer goes away content and happy) but over time, customers continually experience intermittent issues with the app/cameras losing connection (despite being hard-wired) or the app crashing when trying to access videos.
Unreliable CCTV is a waste of time, and the whole point of a wired system is that it shouldn't drop out.
Back in 2017 I had one Hikvision camera connected (internally, for a home office) but the app was terrible (issues as above) and then on checking the reviews on the appstore, there was lots and lots of people saying they were experiencing the exact same issues I was. The installer couldn't do anything saying it was the app that was at fault, so we didn't proceed with installing a full Hikvision system as we had intended to. Confidence totally lost.
Fast forward to now, this new installer has suggested the Dahua system, but checking the app store reviews is like deja vu from checking the Hikvsion app 7 years ago:
"90% of the time the app times out before displaying the video feed"
Lots of comments that the app works ok when connected to the same (home) network, but won't connect when away from home (which is arguably when you would most want to access it!)
There's also a review from a professional CCTV reviewer also saying that the cameras/setup are fantastic, but "the app has made me look like an idiot in front of a once loyal customer".
another installer said:
"My company has fitted nearly 1000 Dahua systems in the last couple years and the general feedback from my customers is that the cameras are great however the app is really bad and ruins the system. It's clunky, not user friendly or easy to use and just doesn't work a lot of the time.........l have Sadly started to lose all confidence in the product which is a shame as the picture quality is great it's just the app that really lets it down badly".
Are there any other Cat6 compatible systems I've not considered?
(I'd also rather not buy a Chinese system, but looks like they are the main players in this industry )
I've recently gone for a Unifi setup (US company) and am very happy with it. The Cloud Key drives the App and is an NVR - it can be used to manage Unifi APs too. My setup is:How are people getting on with Hikvision and Dahua apps?
It seems that, in a lot of cases, the initial install is easy/successful (and so the installer goes away content and happy) but over time, customers continually experience intermittent issues with the app/cameras losing connection (despite being hard-wired
) or the app crashing when trying to access videos.Unreliable CCTV is a waste of time, and the whole point of a wired system is that it shouldn't drop out.
Back in 2017 I had one Hikvision camera connected (internally, for a home office) but the app was terrible (issues as above) and then on checking the reviews on the appstore, there was lots and lots of people saying they were experiencing the exact same issues I was. The installer couldn't do anything saying it was the app that was at fault, so we didn't proceed with installing a full Hikvision system as we had intended to. Confidence totally lost.
Fast forward to now, this new installer has suggested the Dahua system, but checking the app store reviews is like deja vu from checking the Hikvsion app 7 years ago:
"90% of the time the app times out before displaying the video feed"
Lots of comments that the app works ok when connected to the same (home) network, but won't connect when away from home (which is arguably when you would most want to access it!)
There's also a review from a professional CCTV reviewer also saying that the cameras/setup are fantastic, but "the app has made me look like an idiot in front of a once loyal customer".
another installer said:
"My company has fitted nearly 1000 Dahua systems in the last couple years and the general feedback from my customers is that the cameras are great however the app is really bad and ruins the system. It's clunky, not user friendly or easy to use and just doesn't work a lot of the time.........l have Sadly started to lose all confidence in the product which is a shame as the picture quality is great it's just the app that really lets it down badly".
Are there any other Cat6 compatible systems I've not considered?
(I'd also rather not buy a Chinese system, but looks like they are the main players in this industry
)- Cloud Key 2 Plus Gen 2 - PoE NVR
- G5 Turret Ultras (PoE)
There are more substantial pieces of kit if you need more cameras, and their higher end stuff can do ANPR.
I have found the setup very reliable, including the app. The cameras are a very good quality for the price. My comparison is against WiFi Ring equipment/apps which I still use.
I think the main downside is that the app is less developed than you would find with Ring. Things like parcel alerts and alert snoozing can't be done within the app (although you might be able to achieve through the OS that you use). The main thing is that it's all very snappy and easy to use.
The Hikconnect app is a bit clunky, not very polished, and you are connecting through their (Chinese) servers. There are ways of connecting directly to your NVR but you need dynamic DNS forwarding. I'd expect Dahua to be similar. They are ok and quite usable, but just not very polished and playback etc is clunky.
As above the UNifi Protect app is now very polished, the best I've used. Now they have decent cameras, G5 Turret, they are a good option. Just a bit pricer than the others.
As above the UNifi Protect app is now very polished, the best I've used. Now they have decent cameras, G5 Turret, they are a good option. Just a bit pricer than the others.
megaphone said:
There are ways of connecting directly to your NVR but you need dynamic DNS forwarding.
Do you have any further details on this please? I use a Synology NAS with 2 Hikvision PoE cameras and also have a static IP WAN address. Hopefully it's just a bit of configuration chages to make?? 
K50 DEL said:
I installed a 4 camera Reolink system into my house a couple of years ago now and have had zero issues with it.
I'd recommend the brand without hesitation, simple to setup, control and maintain.
Totally agree with this having the same system. We have 5 poe cameras, a doorbell, and a couple of cameras on wifi, and they all integrate with the phone and pc apps without issue.I'd recommend the brand without hesitation, simple to setup, control and maintain.
S6PNJ said:
megaphone said:
There are ways of connecting directly to your NVR but you need dynamic DNS forwarding.
Do you have any further details on this please? I use a Synology NAS with 2 Hikvision PoE cameras and also have a static IP WAN address. Hopefully it's just a bit of configuration chages to make?? You'll need to access your router settings and set up port forwarding to the LAN IP of the NAS. It looks like its port 5000-5001 TCP, but do some research.
Then use your public IP, eg https:// 123.xxx.xxx.xxx:5001 for access.
If you just want to access it within your local network then you shouldn't need to forward any ports, just use the LAN IP of the NAS to access it in eg https://192.168.0.xxx:5001
Edited by megaphone on Friday 17th May 09:36
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