Subscriber Discussion

Dahua Cameras Question

NS
Nick Sanko
Mar 28, 2013

Has anyone used their product? Just looking for some input in their product.

Dahua Security

Rv
Rogier van der Heide
Mar 28, 2013

There was some Dahua hyjacking in this topic.
You can find some personal statements there.

Personally, I have no experiance with it.

Avatar
Brian Rhodes
Mar 28, 2013
IPVMU Certified

Hey Nick:

I know that John and Ethan have tentatively discussed testing Dahua in upcoming shootouts, in part due to the line's popularity with many installers. I think you'll find a number of IPVM members with firsthand experience with the products, and at least one outspoken member willing to answer your questions in detail.

BH
Bohan Huang
Mar 29, 2013

We rebrand and distribute select Dahua cameras under the TruHD brand here in Australia with our superior warranty and support terms along with our VMS servers specifically tailored to them. We also in-house develop auto configuration tools to assist installers migrating from analogue (our main market).

Dahua is a world top 10 by revenue CCTV manufacturer (2nd in China behind Hikvision - but in my biased opinion the products are better) similar to the size of Samsung in terms of volume - they, like Hikvision, are experiencing growths rates ~50% in the last few years. You can expect product quality and reliability similar to the tier 1 players like Axis, Bosch, Samsung, Avigilon, Arecont etc... at lower prices. They are however more interested at the moment to work as an OEM so support/warranty will depending on the ability ot dedication of your chosen distributor/rebrander. Their strength is in the cost effectiveness stability of their NVRs/DVRs - we have deployed close to 100 of their 16ch 2MP NVRs since they were released a year ago with no returns/RMAs.

All their HD IP cameras are Onvif compliant - we have tested them with Milestone, Genetec, HD Witness and Luxriot. The cameras also support generic streaming of both the main stream and sub stream via RTSP URLs permitting basic integration with most software.

Their weakness is in software/VMS and edge storage. Most of their mainstream products have microsd card slots but at the moment support only basic motion or constant recording on a schedule with no trickling integration with Milestone/Genetec etc... However we believe this will change quickly in the next two years as their SDK is workable and all that is needed is for the VMS players to develop the drivers.

Two highlights of their lineup are the HDBW3202 - a modular 2MP dome with SMD IR LEDs and a motorised 3-9mm autofocus lens and

I have been lobbying for Dahua cameras to be reviewed by IPVM, but John has pointed out that no one is here to support end-users in the US. I have offered to help but of course John is right in saying that he wants local support as a prerequisite for the sake of US customers.

There about 20 odd rebranders of Dahua in the US I believe - including Swann, EyeSurv, QVis, AData, XTS, TechPro, Empire, EDGE, ICRealtime, MACE, GEN IV and Q-See

John: Perhaps you can get some ICRealtime, Swann or Q-See gear reviewed?

BH
Bohan Huang
Mar 29, 2013
BH
Bohan Huang
Mar 29, 2013

The second product highlight I left unfinished mid sentence is the SD6983A-HN: a rather uniquely shaped, nice looking 3MP PTZ with a WDR sensor, 20X optical zoom autofocus lens, and 100M adaptive IR illumination (we have seen it working to 50M - our demo unit was installed in a position that could not see things further then that without being blocked by building/trees).

MI
Matt Ion
Mar 29, 2013

Just to chime in a bit: Dahua are like most other manufacturers - fairly wide product line, a few real gems, a bunch of mediocre stuff, and the occasional dog. We've been using a number of cameras and DVRs now under the EYEsurv brand from Nelly's Security in the US - their owner is a member here, and personally provides some of the best product support I've ever dealt with (hey, just had to get a little plug in there!).

And in fairness, LPS has recently started bringing gear in from Nelly's, re-selling it here under our own brand and acting as his Canadian distributor (or re-distributor?). While that may make my opinions on them seem a little biased, I'd frame it this way: we deal with a lot of high-end customers and high-end systems, and I've been a staunch detractor of cheap gear and standalone recorders in general, based mainly on previous experience. Sean sent me some demo equipment - a few different cameras and a 4-channel FULLD1 DVR - and I was impressed enough to recommend it to the boss. In the past, he too would usually recommend against standalone recorders as well, unless a customer was on a super-tight budget, in which case they'd usually get whatever was cheapest and readily available from ADI, with no brand loyalty whatsoever... but testing the Dahua gear changed his mind as well, to the point where we're actually offering it as a lower-cost product line vs. the more expensive Vigil systems we normally work with and would previously rarely deviate from.

In short: yes, we sell it too, but we wouldn't if we didn't believe in it. Yeah, we like the stuff that much. And we LOVE Nelly's service and support. And in keeping with my first paragraph, Nelly's does carry only a few Dahua models, ones that Sean has tested and considers "worthy" (for lack of a better word), so a lot of the chaff is already weeded out.

Our latest big project, recently completed, is a 600-seat restaurant that now runs a total of 52 cameras with two more on the way... most are Axis 1.2MP and CNB analog domes, and Axis 720p covert cams... but for most back-of-house areas, where's there's sufficient light, we used the Dahua (EYEsurv) 1080p mini-domes. They're unobtrusive and low-profile, suitable for the lower ceilings in those areas, and give us a lot more flexibility in installation and the option to go to higher resolution where it's needed, over the analog domes we would have used there normally. And again, this being a customer that actually pays attention to the function and quality of their surveillance systems, we used the cameras feeling confident that they would be happy with the results.

JH
John Honovich
Mar 30, 2013
IPVM

Bohan, Matt, thanks for the detailed comments.

A few updates on our end. We know have a Dahua contact (or at least someone who returns are emails). We want to test Dahua branded cameras, just to be safe and not to have any confusion / second guessing with resellers/distributors.

Bohan, thanks for sharing the link about them being at ISC West. Interesting, they have a big prominent booth, bigger than Arecont's and almost as big as Panasonic's.

As for testing, we will likely do it in May after all the trade show stuff is over and we complete the panoramic and covert shootouts.

BH
Bohan Huang
Mar 30, 2013

John: Please make sure they lend you a HDBW3202 (or HDB3202 if you do not like integrated IR) - this is likely the most interesting model for the widest audience.

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Undisclosed
Apr 01, 2013

Interesting .......will wait for Dahua shootout results.

NS
Nick Sanko
Apr 01, 2013

Thanks for the insight guys, definitely some great minds making very good use of the discussion section of IPVM.

JH
John Honovich
Aug 10, 2013
IPVM

Just to update this thread, here are our Dahua camera test results.

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