Blue Iris

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-12-14T19:17:54+00:00

Sounds like your patience was appropriately rewarded. Good to hear.

Thanks for the update.

Statistics: Posted by Pogo — Thu Dec 14, 2023 7:17 pm

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-12-14T17:46:12+00:00

Just for completion . . . . it turns out that the issue with the camera was firmware. After agreeing to a reduced price for assistance, the provider investigated my network (remotely) and discovered there wasn't anything wrong . . . . except that the wifi camera needed a firmware update. Once they did that, it worked just fine. Realizing it wasn't my issue, NOTHING was charged for the work.

Thank you to those who assisted and provided me a bit of guidance and education. I shall now be investigating other IP camera options as well.

Rick G

Statistics: Posted by RickG — Thu Dec 14, 2023 5:46 pm

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-11-30T22:03:01+00:00

No cloud storage/service or phoning home required for even the most basic ONVIF compliant IP cameras. Even the cheap little TP-Link Tapos being discussed in another thread qualify.The ones being discussed here are well beyond the ONVIF 'minimum' for being considered compliant. As such they will work with any NVR meeting the minimum ONVIF standards. This include any number of software/PC based NVR solutions (such as Blue Iris) as well as the dedicated hardware platforms. Granted, many have proprietary features designed for their particular camera systems, but all will support the main ONVIF requirements necessary to be considered 'comformant' if not compliant. Some brands play pretty loose with all the buzzword acronyms and terminology. ONVIF is no exception.

The above said, using P2P for remote access does take the ONVIF situation beyond its typical bubble by the need to communicate encrypted information between devices for remote connectivity and functionality. As things currently stand, it's a pretty secure way to do it for most folks. Others feel the need to implement additional layers of security, especially with more frequent (or constant) use of remote access to their personal networks.

Good luck with your 'case'. Hopefully it will get sorted out effectively and amicably.

Statistics: Posted by Pogo — Thu Nov 30, 2023 10:03 pm

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-11-30T17:59:33+00:00

Pogo,

Yup . . . . you found the camera I purchased. Contacted them today and explained the challenge and plead my case. We shall see where that leads to.

The Dahua N41BD42-W looks and lists features exactly like the one I've got. I presume this wouldn't need to "phone home" via internet like some of the others? It would be a truly standalone wife camera if necessary and not require cloud storage?

Sounds very promising to me!

RickG

Statistics: Posted by RickG — Thu Nov 30, 2023 5:59 pm

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-12-01T00:41:22+00:00

I'm intrigued by your situation and your rather unique problem of having a camera under warranty that will not be supported by the retailer without additional fees -- exorbitant ones at that. After a little more curiosity being aroused, I'll guess this is the camera you purchased. https://www.cctvcameraworld.com/wireles ... ullet.html

The good news is, it's still an OEM Dahua device. The bad news is, it is likely a 'gray market' unlabled device with outdated firmware that if upgraded to the latest version wouldn't necessarily 'brick' the camera, but you would need to learn Chinese (literaly) to use any of its features as that is the firmware that would be flashed. The practice of buying 'no label' OEM Dahua for rebranding is not unusual with several well known retailers doing so in an honorable fashion. The retailer involved here is looking more and more likely to not fall into that catagory.

If that is indeed the camera you purchased and is still covered under any type of warranty/return policy, return it at the earliest opportunity as defective and demand a full refund without hesitation. If they fight the refund, fight back. Worst case, demand a replacement unit. They'll either comply, or you'll find out just how fast their 'support' becomes 'free' when being faced with having to issue a refund for a bad product. Or they just hang up and you know exactly where you stand as a 'valued customer'. Their lack of support without additional fees is simply unacceptable by any reasonable standards and I would personally dump them on that principle alone. If you like the camera otherwise, buy a legit Dahua at half the price which will come with an international support structure along with a network of thousands of happy Dahua users always willing to assist in forums like these.

https://us.dahuasecurity.com/product/n41bd42-w/ (The 2.8mm version)

If you are already stuck with the camera, and to not stray too far away from the foundation of this particular forum, there are a few other things that can be done to further identify what may be prohibiting it from being used with Blue Iris -- at least in wi-fi mode.

Accurately identifying the camera would be a start. Your particular method at least identified it as a Dahua device, but obviously not the correct one -- unless of course it has been flashed with incorrect firmware somewhere along the line, or has a very stripped down version of the same basic board as identified -- or both. (Identifying it will also provide a much more solid position from which to handle retailer push back should such be necessary.)

Cross-reffing the current firmware and build to known Dahua documentation could help define where the camera stands in relation to other versions, good, bad, or upside down...., provided this actually is a Dahua camera.

Two other tools in particular can further analyze both the hardware and the firmware of the camera. The first would be ONVIF Device Manager. The second would be nmap.
Both are powerful tools. Each present a bit of a learning curve with ONVIF Device Manager being the most intuitive of the two while nmap is more involved, but also more capable. If you are running a network and setting up device address reservations and such you should be able to find your way around both. They're free and open source with no baggage. On the other hand, none of this may be worth your while, but here are the links nonetheless.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/onvifdm/

https://nmap.org/

Again, revisiting the wi-fi setup section in the webUI configuration menus may provide the answers. Finding where to set up SSID and wi-fi login credentials seems like it would be a fairly prominent and detailed feature.

I apologize for even asking this question, but are you running an active 2.4gHz band on your WAN?

It also occurs to me that your mystery 'wi-fi' connectivity without actually being on your WAN is likely P2P via the DMSS app and your hotspot. That would explain the lack of port 80 and port 554 while the others are still active. Just thinking out loud now...

And DHCP may actually be your friend until everything gets sorted out.

Here to help.

Good luck.

Statistics: Posted by Pogo — Thu Nov 30, 2023 1:41 pm

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-11-30T01:52:55+00:00

No . . . not my camera. That is a PoE camera, 8 MP . . . . mine is truly a wifi camera and only 4 MP. It does pick up sound, but doesn't have a speaker. No light nor sound sirens. Excellent night vision. Seems to be good quality when functioning.

I would like to primarily access the camera with BI. But when I need to set parameters, it's predominantly by having the wired connection and using the web interface to access those features. Camera World has PC software that will also do some of what BI does, but exclusively for their cameras as best as I can tell. The PC software is called SmartPSS. It's ok I guess. I think their intention is that one also purchases their NVR for connecting their cameras. But I'm no longer convinced it would work on my network without paying a few hundred dollars more for "networking assistance" to get it to function properly.

With regards to firmware. . . . yes there is a page that gives the firmware version, but CCTV Camera World explicitly recommends against updating the firmware, and cautions that doing so will void the warranty and may require re-flashing the camera.

Statistics: Posted by RickG — Thu Nov 30, 2023 1:52 am

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-11-29T23:50:07+00:00

Is this your camera?

https://www.dahuasecurity.com/de/produc ... 1-AS-PV-S3

Statistics: Posted by Pogo — Wed Nov 29, 2023 11:50 pm

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-11-29T22:38:04+00:00

> My LAN router identifies the camera as: DH-IPC-HFW3849T1-AS-PV-S3 . . . . and I looked it up, and it seems to be mis-identified because it reports many features that are not
> available on the one I purchased.

The good news is, it would be a Dahua camera of some variation given that model number. The bad news (or maybe also good news?) is, it's not a wi-fi camera.

We need more identifying information about the camera. Dahua makes cameras for lots of retailers. Yours would seem to fall into that catagory.

Is there a firmware version readily listed in the web UI of the camera with an option to check for updates?

And are you primarily accessing the camera through its web UI, or via DMSS?

Statistics: Posted by Pogo — Wed Nov 29, 2023 10:38 pm

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-11-29T22:10:12+00:00

You are correct, this is from CCTV CameraWorld.

The Port scanner can see ports: 80, 110, 119, 143, 554, 563, 993, 995 . . . when ethernet is connected. Hmmmm, I now see that not only port 80, but also port 554 disappears when it is connected only by wifi: 110, 119, 143, 563, 993, 995. BI can find port 80 and 554 and whatever else it needs as long as the wired ethernet card is running.

My LAN router identifies the camera as: DH-IPC-HFW3849T1-AS-PV-S3 . . . . and I looked it up, and it seems to be mis-identified because it reports many features that are not available on the one I purchased.

My "wifi" camera is not PoE . . . . it requires an external power supply, but also requires a wired connection to set the camera up for wifi service.

Yes, it is in Static mode, and that is where the static IP is set. My LAN reserved IP addresses are for static . . . . but reserving those hasn't solved anything, but hasn't created problems either.

As for ports listed from the camera when operating via wired connection:
TCP: 37777
UDP: 37778
HTTP: 80
RTSP: 544
HTTPS: 443

It seems that while the camera, in wifi only mode, successfully joins my LAN . . . it refuses to provide access to a login request and a query request from BI. . . . or from anything else for that matter. HELP!

I am puzzled how their app (DMSS) can get through via the internet and the serial number, even when the camera is in wifi only state. It must be able to log into the camera some how.

Currently I'm learning how to use the camera as a wired camera, its strengths and weaknesses, etc, etc, before I continue on to setting up a full system. But I first need to identify a camera that will work on my LAN when it doesn't have access to a WAN. I live in the country and my internet access is quite good via an ATT hotspot. That hotspot travels with me from time to time, but the household LAN is left intact. My situation is not too dis-similar from the other active thread today. That thread is teaching me that choosing an IP camera for use without internet access or cloud access presents a real challenge. I chose the camera from CCTV CameraWorld to investigate because it doesn't require internet access. It's quite pricey, has good night vision even without an IR lamp, but geez . . . . making it work as a wifi camera on my LAN should NOT require another $200/hr to get it working. This barrier is preventing me from considering an NVR from them. (enough belly-aching)

Statistics: Posted by RickG — Wed Nov 29, 2023 10:10 pm

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-11-29T20:11:50+00:00

I'm unable to find that camera anywhere, though Avalonix appears to be a CCTVCameraWorld product?

So with access to the camera via ethernet, have you exhausted all of the configuration options that could possibly be associated with its wi-fi parameters? Browser access for wi-fi may not necessarily use port 80 by default (which isn't unusual for IP cameras). 81, 85, 8080 may be there as alternates for http, but may also be user selectable.

And if other ports are indeed open/available via wi-fi, port 554 is basically all you should actually require to add and configure the camera to stream to Blue Iris -- given the appropriate RTSP stream path, of course. A list of both wired and wi-fi ports lsted by your port scanning methods may provide some clues.

Another great approach for wi-fi analysis and port scanning is Analiti Speed Test WiFi Analyzer. Best tool out there for tis type of thing, not to mention for wired network device identification and port scanning as well. Free with only minor annoyance ads and only a few bucks annually to make them go away and uncork a few more features. Anyone responsible for any type of wi-fi opration(s) should have it in their hip pocket. https://analiti.com/

Statistics: Posted by Pogo — Wed Nov 29, 2023 8:11 pm

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-11-29T19:04:26+00:00

Have you made sure the static IP addresses are not in the DHCP window ?

My first thought was that it could be a POE camera and you are unplugging the ethernet cable...

Statistics: Posted by TimG — Wed Nov 29, 2023 7:04 pm

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-11-29T17:50:47+00:00

I'm not sure what is going on.

I used BI recommended port scanner and found an interesting observation. When the ethernet is plugged in . . . . port 80 (and many more ports) is seen. However, when it is unplugged . . . . port 80 goes missing, but the remainder are still there.

On my LAN router I've even reserved both static IP addresses for the wired and wifi ethernet cards on that camera . . . and the LAN router sees them both with the ethernet plugged in, and just the one when it isn't.

I've successfully added a "weather station", a wifi network printer, ROKU televisions and sticks, etc . . . to my LAN without issues. No obvious firewall issues.

The supplier's mobile app can tunnel past my troubles via the internet into the wifi card of the camera via the camera's serial number. So the wife card of the camera is definitely accessible even when the ethernet is unblugged ! But port 80, where the web browser seems to be located for logging into the camera, and where BI tries to gain access, just isn't available in wifi only mode.

Does this help at all? Where should I be looking for trouble spot?

Statistics: Posted by RickG — Wed Nov 29, 2023 5:50 pm

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-11-29T03:02:48+00:00

ICMP traffic blocked on the wi-fi side of the network? Or maybe even at the the camera's firmware?

Statistics: Posted by Pogo — Wed Nov 29, 2023 3:02 am

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-11-27T23:17:20+00:00

Well . . . . this camera has an IP address for ethernet and an IP address for wireless. I can access the camera via either IP address using a web browser as long as the ethernet is plugged into the camera. The moment it is removed, then the wireless IP address no longer responds to a web browser. Rebooting without the ethernet plugged in doesn't help. So no . . . I can't access it in just wifi mode. My LAN can see the IP address . . . . but it doesn't respond to a "ping" . . . but simply times out. I'm thinking there is an easy fix for this, but I'm loathe to pay the supplier $200/hr for "networking" assistance to make it work. I'm hoping someone on this forum has had to solve this problem before.

Statistics: Posted by RickG — Mon Nov 27, 2023 11:17 pm

Re: IPC WC4MP New Installation

2023-11-27T21:00:11+00:00

Hi Rick, just my thinking what I would do, normally cameras have a built in web page you access through a browser, can you access this while only on wifi?

Most cameras end up with different IP addresses when cabled / wireless, could it be that?

Statistics: Posted by joe — Mon Nov 27, 2023 9:00 pm