Can a Dahua camera be connected directly to an IC Realtime NVR POE port?

Jan 28, 2024
2
4
TX
I have an IC Realtime NVR model NVR-FX08POE-1U4K1 supplied by a dealer as part of a whole-house Control4 installation. There are seven cameras connected, leaving one POE port open. I want to connect a new camera to that port without going through the dealer and paying his big markups on IC Realtime gear. I understand that IC Realtime products are Dahua rebrands, so I'm thinking about buying either Dahua or a Dahua rebrand, eg. Amcrest.

Does anyone know for sure if this will work? The IC Realtime site linked below says NO! They repeatedly indicate that 3rd party cameras must be attached to an external POE switch. Is that true, i.e. is there some kind of firmware lock that denies connections to non-IC Realtime cameras? Or does it just mean that I'd have to make some manual settings changes to the camera first, so that the NVR can connect to it?

 
In case anyone stumbles across this thread in the future, here's the answer to my question: contrary to IC Realtime's official documentation that says third party cameras won't work unless connected via an external POE switch on the LAN side, I bought an Amcrest 8 MP turret camera (IP8M-72599EW) and it works perfectly in ONVIF mode, connected directly to a built-in POE port on my IC Realtime NVR. Initial setup was almost as easy as with IC Realtime cameras: the "Device Search" found the new camera, and I was able to add it with just a couple of minor configuration steps that wouldn't have been required with the native cameras. It's obvious that the two brands of cameras are produced by the same company: the cameras and the software are nearly identical. And yet the price of the Amcrest was just a fraction of the price of similarly spec'd IC Realtime cameras.