- Sep 29, 2014
- 282
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Good morning all. The Top-201 was a great format. Has anyone found a more reliable/better quality camera in the size? Or if not quite that small, just a little larger?
Top 201 alternative and reliable
- Thread starter Optimus Prime
- Start date
Consider the Amcrest IP2M-841, a re-branded Dahua. It is ONVIF compatible, provides RTSP, is 1080p, IR, 2-way audio plus mike in/speaker out, has pan/tilt/digital zoom, record to micro SD card, wired or wireless and has alarm in/out, great with Blue Iris, VLC, etc. Comes with wall/ceiling mount, 1/4"-20 tripod mount female insert on bottom. Available in black or white for under $40 !
I've installed 4 of the V2 versions and 3 of it's lower-res (720p) cousins in the last 4 years and all have functioned with no hiccups.
I currently use 3 of them with Blue Iris; 1 on front porch to look at deliveries, 1 in garage and 1 in sunroom to watch the dogs; one of the 2 is operating on Wi-Fi. I have also set one up with Tinycam Pro on a Sony smart TV (Android).
VERY hard to beat for $40, IMO.
EDIT #2 of 4/1/21: V3 does NOT provide relay I/O nor jacks for an external mic and speaker.
I've installed 4 of the V2 versions and 3 of it's lower-res (720p) cousins in the last 4 years and all have functioned with no hiccups.
I currently use 3 of them with Blue Iris; 1 on front porch to look at deliveries, 1 in garage and 1 in sunroom to watch the dogs; one of the 2 is operating on Wi-Fi. I have also set one up with Tinycam Pro on a Sony smart TV (Android).
VERY hard to beat for $40, IMO.
EDIT #2 of 4/1/21: V3 does NOT provide relay I/O nor jacks for an external mic and speaker.
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Jessie.slimer
BIT Beta Team
I have the poe version of this camera. How is the wifi on yours? Reliable enough for surveillance? Or just good enough for watching non critical things?
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- Sep 29, 2014
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@TonyR Your post is great and bad timing. The post I made two minutes before this one (Wireless IP cam for temporary projects) mentions a WiFi camera I own that I absolutely hate and constantly gives me issues. It so happens to be the Amcrest IP2M-841. I picked it up from home depot a few years ago. What settings are you using for it in BI? Mine constantly stutters and drops connections. I have a very robust Mesh WiFi in my house, so connection back to my rack is not an issue.
Also, this camera is 10x the size of the Top-201. The Top-201 is only 1.5" x 1.5" x 0.75"
Also, this camera is 10x the size of the Top-201. The Top-201 is only 1.5" x 1.5" x 0.75"
All mine are rock steady, even on Wi-Fi. In BI I use the drop downs for "Dahua" and "Main Stream RTSP"
BTW, if they are from "a few years ago", have you updated the firmware? The latest is 2/17/20.
EDIT @ 454 PM CST: FWIW, my 841's cams have their own wireless access point, nothing else is connected to it; it's an Asus RT-N66U wireless router configured as an AP (static LAN IP, it's DHCP server disabled).
I also have a TOP-201 so I know how it compares to the IP2M-841 in size. In your first post you said "...if not quite that small, just a little larger ..."
Perhaps you should state some maximum dimensions as apparently we differ on what "a little larger" is.
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It has been rock steady; all 3 are not critical. IMO, they are terrific for non-critical surveillance which is why I recommend and use them.
Jessie.slimer
BIT Beta Team
Do you by chance use substreams on yours? If so, would you mind sharing what url you are using? I'm having a hard time getting mine set up on substreams. I've tried the standard dahua string as well as the onvif.
No, only main stream; I haven't upgraded my BI5; it's 5.2.5.0 from 5/12/20 so it's not capable of both.
I hope to soon and maybe then I can offer some insight.
sebastiantombs
Known around here
I just set up an 841 on my system. It's wired, not WiFi, and I'm using the substream. Not sure if it'll help, but here's the config that worked for me.
I let BI decide what camera type to use, generic/ONVIF. Substream is "/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=1&unicast=true&proto=Onvif" without the quotes of course.
I let BI decide what camera type to use, generic/ONVIF. Substream is "/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=1&unicast=true&proto=Onvif" without the quotes of course.
Jessie.slimer
BIT Beta Team
That's the same setup as mine. I also tried the url from the substream guide.
It was working fine before I started using substreams. Now, I lose rtsp connection until I delete the substreams again.
sebastiantombs
Known around here
That's weird. Mine has been solid as a rock for almost two months since I installed it. It's only watching an area of the basement, but no dropouts at all. Nice little camera for the money without a doubt.
- Sep 29, 2014
- 282
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@TonyR
"have you updated the firmware? The latest is 2/17/20."
Yes
"Perhaps you should state some maximum dimensions as apparently, we differ on what "a little larger" is."
Fair enough, let's define a little larger as no more than 1" bigger in any direction.
Thanks for your feedback. I also see the config above and will look at that as well.
"have you updated the firmware? The latest is 2/17/20."
Yes
"Perhaps you should state some maximum dimensions as apparently, we differ on what "a little larger" is."
Fair enough, let's define a little larger as no more than 1" bigger in any direction.
Thanks for your feedback. I also see the config above and will look at that as well.