Dahua 4K IR PTZ Tested

Published Aug 21, 2017 16:00 PM

4K has made its way to IR PTZs. In this report, we examine the Dahua 6AE830VNI [link no longer available], a 4K PTZ with 30x optical zoom, 200m (~650') integrated IR, and 1/1.7" 4K sensor, to see how it performed in daytime and night time scenes.

Note that this report is the first in our tests of 4K IR PTZs. We will also be releasing a test report of Hikvision's 4K IR model [link no longer available], and a shootout comparing the two.

Summary

In our tests, the Dahua 6AE830 IR PTZ had two key performance issues:

  • Significant nighttime focus issues: Like other IR PTZs we have tested, the 6AE830 frequently takes several seconds to focus or fails to focus at night with IR on. This was present in both 3-5lx and <1lx scenes.
  • Drastic drop in effective details: At high zoom levels/long focal lengths, the Dahua 4K PTZ effectively produced 60-70% less effective PPF compared to theoretical (based on horizontal pixels ÷ field of view width). Effects were lessened, but still present at lower zooms (~25-30% less).

Because of these issues, users should be especially careful when specifying this (and other) 4K IR PTZ models, as details delivered will likely not live up to calculations.

Positives include:

  • Solid VMS integration but H.265 support problems: The camera integrated without issue to Avigilon, Exacq, Genetec, and Milestone, with all four VMSes able to configure presets and tours from the VMS, as well. Note that H.265 was not supported by any of these VMSes.
  • Moderately lower bitrates with H.265: For those using recorders which support its H.265 streams (Dahua NVRs, Axxon Next, etc.), H.265 bitrates were moderately lower than H.264 in our tests, ~20%. Note that Dahua's Smart H.264/5+ smart codec is not supported in this model.

Pricing

The 6AE830VNI sells for ~$2,500-2,700 USD online. This pricing is slightly lower than Hikvision's 4K IR model, the DS-2DF8836AEL-W, which sells for ~$2,700-2,900 online. Few other 4K IR PTZ models are available for comparison. 

Size Comparison

The Dahua 4K PTZ is similar in size to most IR PTZs we have tested. However, it is notably smaller than the Hikvision DS-2DF8836AEL-W (below). Both of these are much larger than typical non-IR models, however, such as the Axis Q6155-E. All three are shown below:

IR LEDs

The 6AE830VNI switches sets of LEDs based on zoom level to fit its angle of view, shown below:

Despite changing LEDs/power, we experienced regular overexposure issues in our tests. For example, with the subject approaching at ~100', the camera has not yet switched to wider angle/lower power LEDs based on zoom level, overexposing the subject, with no details of his face or clothing available. This occurred at multiple zoom levels in our tests, but was less of an issue at longer ranges (though focus issues further reduced details, detailed below).

Significant Nighttime Focus Issues

Like other IR PTZs we have tested, the 6AE830VNI suffers from significant nighttime focus issues, taking several seconds to focus when tracking subjects or changing presets, and sometimes failing to focus properly at all. 

 

We did not experience any daytime focus issues during testing, with focus adjusting quickly when moving the camera to another preset or tracking.

 

IR Range

In our tests, the camera reached its specified 200m/~650' IR range, but nighttime focus issues made it difficult to track subjects or switch presets.

For example, in the image below, the subject can still be easily detected at ~550', with rough details available (left). However, even with the subject not moving, the camera failed to autofocus properly multiple times, resulting in soft focus.

Image Quality

The image below shows daytime, low light, and dark images from the Dahua 4K PTZ. Details were solid day and night (shown at ~350'  in these examples), with the subject recognizable at all three light levels.

Note: Comparisons to Hikvision's 4K IR model, the Hikvision DS-2DF8836I5V-AELW, in these scenes will be shown in an upcoming 4K PTZ shootout.

Much Lower Effective PPF Than Actual

However, like other PTZs but worse, the Dahua 4K produces lower effective PPF than actual due to issues in long focal length lenses (see our test). In past tests, all PTZs tested experienced this drop, with most averaging ~50% reduced effective PPF at max zoom, though some maintained details better than others, such as the Axis Q6155-E (see our test) which reduced details by ~30%.

For example, the daytime image shown below is captured at ~230 PPF, but produces details effectively similar to only 60-70 PPF. This is an especially drastic drop in effective detail, ~60. Users should take this into account in their calculations.

These effects were less pronounced at lower PPF levels. For example, the image below shows the subject in a wide FOV, at ~60 PPF, but effectively delivering ~45.

In addition to the pixel density issues, the image delivered was darker, including obscuring the subjects eyes and right side of the head.

Bandwidth

The 6AE830 includes H.264 and H.265 streaming, but does not include smart codecs now common in Dahua fixed cameras.

H.265 bitrates were moderately lower than H.264 in all scenes tested. However, this stream was not supported in any VMS tested (Exacq, Genetec, Milestone) via direct driver or ONVIF. 

Bandwidth consumption was measured while tracking which impacts and explains why bandwidth consumption is higher than 4K fixed cameras:

Note: Bandwidth comparisons to Hikvision's 4K IR PTZ model will be included in an upcoming shootout report.

Presets/Tours

The 6AE830 is capable of 300 presets, far more than most operators utilize, as well as 8 preset tours and 5 patterns ("replay" of PTZ movements recorded by an operator). 

Additionally, presets were accessible and could be created/edited via Avigilon, Exacq, Genetec, and Milestone (shown below in Exacq as an example). 

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