$99 Amcrest 1080p ProHD from Foscam

T

tom95521

Young grasshopper
Apr 24, 2015
47
6
N. California
I *think* Amcrest is a slightly better quality than Foscam cameras based on AwkwardHamster youtube review. I ordered a couple for indoor use to replace my old Foscams 9821s. Amcrest was apparently founded by the owners of Foscam so it might not be much better. I'm hoping the hardware and software have been improved.

USA
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=BzVkY&m=3aiLxQCMjtpGqBt&b=5Q_i.5xiZoKX6OohhP2XZw

Canada
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=BzVkY&m=3aiLxQCMjtpGqBt&b=HS2BGy1sju59sY5.iiJZmA

Tom
 

Attachments

  • amcrest.png
    amcrest.png
    47 KB · Views: 49
Last edited by a moderator:
From the user reviews it seems to be better. Let us know how it goes.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk
 
The quality is much improved compared to the older Foscams. Digital (not optical) hardware zoom has fewer artifacts compared to regular software zoom. Color accuracy improved and low light noise level is acceptable (frame rate suffers at low light levels probably due to longer exposure or noise reduction algorithm). Wifi antenna internal but seems to work well. So far I am impressed with the Amcrest cameras. They will replace 2 of my Foscam 9821 720p interior cameras. I have some Huisun 10x mini bullets on order to replace my 2 exterior Foscam 9821 installed in domes.

Tom
 
These cameras use dahua firmware, not sure about the optics...but likely dahua as well...since its run by the foscam folks, I would stay away...though the camera should be decent...
 
fenderman said:
...since its run by the foscam folks, I would stay away...though the camera should be decent...
Click to expand...

+1 on that. Wonder if it can be purchased from anyone other than foscam? Probably at a better price too?
 
Larebear said:
+1 on that. Wonder if it can be purchased from anyone other than foscam? Probably at a better price too?
Click to expand...
I haven't seen a dahua 2mp tabletop pt camera...They had a 720p in their whats new section but I haven't seen it sold.
 
Only time will tell. Not a big Foscam fan. I own 4 Swann (Hikvision) bullets that have been super reliable.

Amcrest nmap.


Starting Nmap 7.00 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2015-11-24 19:00 PST
Nmap scan report for AMC000LNRF2ZHJA166 (192.168.1.94)
Host is up (0.00055s latency).
Not shown: 994 closed ports
PORT STATE SERVICE
23/tcp open telnet
80/tcp open http
554/tcp open rtsp
3800/tcp open pwgpsi
5000/tcp open upnp
49152/tcp open unknown
MAC Address: 4C:11:BF:DE:XX:XX (Zhejiang Dahua Technology)


Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.16 seconds
 
I picked up two from HomeDepot (around $68 each). And yes, I started out like everyone else with Foscam...8910's. Resolution just wasn't what I wanted with that model of Foscam.

I wanted something that had wifi built in (I have a rather robust wifi, so I wasn't worried about that). I replaced the Foscam in my front entryway with the Amcrest ProHD. Night recording is much better in regards to quality. Works fine with Blue Iris, even the PTZ control.

I was actually looking at a POE Hikvision, but then I'd need a POE injector/switch, and a wifi bridge. I saw the sale from HomeDepot, so I ordered 2, figured if it didn't work, I'd just go to the store and return it. Only tested night recording so far. Will see how daytime recordings look.
 
The PTZ speed of motion is precise in the browser plugin/chrome app but in Blue Iris the diagonal directions do not work and also it is not as precise. It's like the start then stop command timing is too long. Same with UI2, BI iOS app (probably Android too). The firmware has some advanced features like snmp monitoring, time of day profiles, and wdr.

Tom
 
daytime recording is good too. Now I have to slap a microsd card in there and get it to record to there as well as BlueIris.
 
Seems like a helluva deal at Home Depot but looks like they're sold out and awaiting another shipment. Might be willing to order a couple of them at that price.
 
finally played around with some settings. I noticed my BI machine was chewing thru 4Mbps bandwidth and about 10% CPU (I7-3770 CPU). I'm a total camera rookie, so I was wondering why it stayed at that even if I changed the FPS on the Amcrest to 15. The Amcrest was defaulting to 30FPS, 1080p, 4096 bitrate. I dropped it to 15FPS, 2048 bitrate. Then I changed it in BI as well. I also set BI to direct to disc recording and utilized the date/time overlays in the Amcrest (to save a little on the CPU which is now at 5%). The BI machine is also my Plex server and download machine.

Still haven't done the MicroSD card yet.
 
typo said:
finally played around with some settings. I noticed my BI machine was chewing thru 4Mbps bandwidth and about 10% CPU (I7-3770 CPU). I'm a total camera rookie, so I was wondering why it stayed at that even if I changed the FPS on the Amcrest to 15. The Amcrest was defaulting to 30FPS, 1080p, 4096 bitrate. I dropped it to 15FPS, 2048 bitrate. Then I changed it in BI as well. I also set BI to direct to disc recording and utilized the date/time overlays in the Amcrest (to save a little on the CPU which is now at 5%). The BI machine is also my Plex server and download machine.

Still haven't done the MicroSD card yet.
Click to expand...
FYI, You dont have to adjust fps in blue iris, it auto adjusts, it doesnt care what you set it to..it will change it. The better cameras act the way yours does, where fps and bitrate can be set independently.
 
one issue with the Amcrest is that when recording in night mode, I get a slight barrel type effect due to the IR lights illuminating in a circle
 
I just did my first firmware update on my Amcrest cams. I was a little worried because of my past experience with Foscam firmware updates. Very simple one click install. Camera downloaded the firmware and installed in less than 2 minutes. I did refresh the web page to login again about 30 seconds after the completed message on the screen. This was using the Chrome app. Zero problems. Very nice.

https://amcrest.com/downloads/IP2M-841B Change Log.txt

Tom
 
yeah, mine just upgraded too

I popped in a 32gb memory card yesterday. It recorded to it fine, so now I have BlueIris recording and the camera storing a copy as well. It has more clips as it doesn't have masking features like BlueIris
 
not having luck getting BI to play an alert sound thru the camera speaker when motion is detected (just a simple beep)

I know 2 way audio works as the Chrome App Amcrest App allows me to speak thru the speaker. BI is recording audio fine from it.
 
My first question would be why by crap like that?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom