Huawei: Hikvision / Dahua "Strategy Is Just To Provide Cheap Cameras"

By Charles Rollet, Published Jan 24, 2019, 06:54am EST

At the Intersec 2019 show in Dubai, IPVM spoke with the show's "exclusive artificial intelligence sponsor" Huawei who recently declared their intentions of becoming a top 3 global provider in video surveillance. By contrast, Hikvision's President has already publicly stated that he thinks Huawei will quit video surveillance in a few years.

Huawei representatives explained to IPVM their own approach, contrasting it to what Huawei described as Hikvision and Dahua's "strategy...just to provide cheap cameras."

huawei hikvision dahua cheap 2

Inside this note, we share Huawei's remarks to IPVM, analyze and contrast Huawei's approach to Dahua and Hikvision.

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Comments (23)

Undisclosed Integrator #1

01/24/19 03:14pm

Kayfabe?

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Undisclosed #2

IPVMU Certified | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #1 | 01/24/19 03:36pm

the Incredible Hik vs. Huawei the Giant?

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #1 | 01/24/19 10:21pm

Not sure if you are joking but there has been animosity between Dahua and Hikvision for years so it does not surprise me that similar should exist with Huawei. Also, Huawei is famous for its 'wolf culture' which would be consistent with their blunt assessment of their domestic rivals.

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Undisclosed #2

IPVMU Certified | In reply to John Honovich | 01/24/19 11:30pm

Not sure if you are joking but there has been animosity between Dahua and Hikvision for years so it does not surprise me that similar should exist with Huawei.

Let’s hope not.  IMHO, much of the damage Hikua did to the North American market was collateral; due to the disruptive price war between Hik and Dahua.  

Although Huawei doesn’t want to be a bottom feeder, they may be forced into a domestic war on foreign soil, vs. Hikua, to meet their goals.

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Sean Nelson

Nelly's Security
01/25/19 04:02pm

I believe it is a failed strategy for a chinese surveillance manufacturer to try to compete in the so called "High End" market at this point in time. Maybe if Huawei makes a remarkably better product but is only marginally more expensive than a typical Hikvision product, they could probably succeed.

In all honesty, i dont see any Chinese designed equipment being remarkably better than what Hikvision has made so for that reason I dont think Huawei is gonna be anything worth hooting and hollering about.

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Sean Nelson | 01/25/19 10:36pm

I believe it is a failed strategy for a chinese surveillance manufacturer to try to compete in the so called "High End" market at this point in time. 

In fairness, Huawei is not even trying in the US. Where they are focusing is 'The Belt and Road', Middle East, Africa, etc.

For those markets, their ability to do whole city projects might be advantageous against surveillance 'only' providers.

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Undisclosed Integrator #3

01/25/19 06:36pm

I think hikua strategy is to provide cheap pricing, but I also believe they strive to give good quality and performance at cheap pricing.

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Undisclosed Manufacturer #4

01/26/19 03:18am

Agreed.  It's ridiculous for anyone to claim that Hik or Dauhua would be anything if they weren't the cheapest options.  Comparing their products to the likes of Axis (or any other tier 1 Western brand) is completely pointless if they're not the cheapest.

They seem to make decent hardware, though their firmware is terrible (v-u-l-n-e-r-a-b-l-e), but no one will in the NA market will choose their product over an Axis or Bosch (et al) unless there is money to be saved.

I think Huawei got it right.  We'll see how their strategy works out for them.

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Undisclosed Integrator #3

01/26/19 05:11am

Totally disagree here and I don't sell nor promote hikua.  Axis is a good product, but overpriced.

I'm talking about hikua picture quality and performance for the most part stands toe to toe with Axis and Western Tier 1 brands and in some cases beats them.

I would LOVE to see a pepsi/coke blind test.  IPVM???  :)

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Undisclosed Manufacturer #4

In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #3 | 01/26/19 05:42am

Appreciate the response here.  I don’t deny that Hikua have been able to achieve some solid images.  My point is that, especially in light of the weakness of their firmware and all the vulnerabilities that have been disclosed, is there really anyone in the US that would choose Hikua over Axis, Sony, Bosch, Hanwha (et al) IF they were all the same price?

I assert that if pricing were all equal, Hikua would rarely be chosen, if ever.  Their strategy to be the cheapest is what has driven their success thus far. 

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Undisclosed Integrator #3

In reply to Undisclosed Manufacturer #4 | 01/30/19 12:02am

IPVM, how about a blind taste test?  What cameras provide the best performance?  Lets put these "assertions" to the test shall we?

I assert hikua provides great cameras.

I do no assert they provide great NVRs or VMS's.

Note:  This article is about cameras.

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #3 | 01/30/19 01:10am

IPVM, how about a blind taste test? What cameras provide the best performance? Lets put these "assertions" to the test shall we?

Can you clarify? I am confused. We evaluate 'best performance' on an ongoing basis, e.g.:

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Undisclosed Integrator #3

In reply to John Honovich | 01/30/19 01:19am

A lineup of cameras where SI/End Users see the performance of same views/action/situation.  Have them vote on which camera produces the best performance A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, or I? without letting them know which manufacturer it is. 

Have manufacturers donate their cameras for this blind test just for this instance.  The ones who donate obviously are confident in their cameras.

This would be great to remove any perceived bias by IPVM or its readers.

Where to do this?

ISC WEST.

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #3 | 01/30/19 01:26am

"Have manufacturers donate their cameras for this blind test just for this instance."

What? We own hundreds of models of cameras across dozens of manufacturers. We don't need donations.

This would be great to remove any perceived bias by IPVM or its readers.

I think even most people at Hikvision and Dahua do not think we bias our tests against them, given that e.g., Hikvision wins shootouts periodically.

That said, if they did believe we were biased than they could simply still believe we misconfigured their cameras on purpose to 'lose'.

IPVM does shootouts, they are widely respected for their thoroughness and objectivity, so this is not something that makes sense doing.

Figuring out which cameras are 'best' is vitally important and we do this. Doing a dog and pony show is not.

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Undisclosed Integrator #3

In reply to John Honovich | 01/30/19 01:43am

I was not speaking for myself, I know the deal.  

I also thought doing this at ISC West would be great for IPVM.

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #3 | 01/30/19 02:14am

I also thought doing this at ISC West would be great for IPVM.

Booth logistics make this infeasible, the cost to rent a booth that could fairly setup so many cameras and condiitons would be $100,000+. How many camera models do you include? How do you control lighting? How do you fairly show differences over longer ranges? WDR? etc.

We publish fair test reports. Industry people can and do read them. 

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Undisclosed Integrator #3

In reply to John Honovich | 01/30/19 02:21am

Booth logistics make this infeasible, the cost to rent a booth that could fairly setup so many cameras and condiitons would be $100,000+.

 - Ah, so you take the Taiwanese approach ie spend less on marketing.  That's fine, I just thought it could garner a tremendous amount of exposure for IPVM.  Surely, there are a ton of SI's and Integrators who have never heard of IPVM.  Last year's booth surely would not have caught most people's eye.

How many camera models do you include? How do you control lighting? How do you fairly show differences over longer ranges? WDR? etc.

 - These questions I figure IPVM would be better then anyone else could answer best.

 

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #3 | 01/30/19 02:25am

- Ah, so you take the Taiwanese approach ie spend less on marketing. That's fine, I just thought it could garner a tremendous amount of exposure for IPVM. Surely, there are a ton of SI's and Integrators who have never heard of IPVM. Last year's booth surely would not have caught most people's eye.

We sponsored the bags last year and are doing it again this year. Happy to spend on marketing.

I simply disagree on your recommendation. I think it's both impractical and not valuable. I do appreciate your input, thanks.

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Undisclosed #2

IPVMU Certified | In reply to Undisclosed Integrator #3 | 01/30/19 02:37am

IPVM, how about a blind taste test?

It doesn’t even have to be blind...

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Undisclosed Integrator #3

In reply to Undisclosed #2 | 01/30/19 02:43am

Love it....Kavalan?  Hibuki?  Nikka?  Glenliviet?

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Phil Shanahan

01/28/19 11:01am

Am I correct in saying Huawei used to rebrand Hikvision cameras and are now making their own? I wonder what this will mean for Genetec, will they u-turn on blocking Huawei cameras as long as they are not the OEM Hikvision models? I also wonder if Hauwei's cameras will be any better in terms of security than Hikvision

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John Honovich

IPVM | In reply to Phil Shanahan | 01/28/19 11:57am

what this will mean for Genetec, will they u-turn on blocking Huawei cameras as long as they are not the OEM Hikvision models?

From the beginning, Genetec applied this to Hikvision and Hikvision's OEMs as well as Huawei separately. Whether or not Huawei OEMs from Hikvision, they are still covered under Genetec's blocking.

I also wonder if Hauwei's cameras will be any better in terms of security than Hikvision

We don't know. We have not tested any Huawei cameras, partially because they are not for sale in the US, partially because Huawei has not historically pushed their own video surveillance products much. Does anyone know where we can buy Huawei IP cameras?

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Undisclosed #2

IPVMU Certified | In reply to John Honovich | 01/28/19 03:49pm

Does anyone know where we can buy Huawei IP cameras?

Besides Xinjiang?

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