Yes there are folks here that tear the firmware apart and look at the code line by line. Andy's firmware is generally the better firmware when compared to what Dahua puts on their website.
Try to find another vendor that has the relationship with Dahua that Andy does - you won't find it. They are constantly wining and dining Andy and flying him to their HQ and let's him sell new models before they let anyone else sell them, including Dahua themselves. Find me a model being sold by another reseller that Andy hasn't sold first.
You will find that the firmware we get from him is actually better and more recent than what is on the Dahua website because many members here provide feedback to Andy and then Dahua makes modifications to the firmware and sends back to him and then he sends out to his customers.
These have been great improvements that Dahua doesn't even update their firmware and add to their website. So many of us are running a newer firmware than those that purchase Dahua cameras through professional installers.
- Smart IR on the 5442 series is one such improvement. We have had it for years, but their other customers do not have this. This infrared adjusts based on the object in the frame to eliminate the washed-out face at night.
- Autotracking on the 49225 and 49425 PTZ is another. If you purchase this camera anywhere else OR update this camera with the latest firmware on Dahua website you will lose autotracking - tell me how that is an improvement over Andy's firmware...
- We got the next version of AI SMD 3.0 prior to anyone else as well.
Look at the threads here where members are actually testing firmware and improving it for Dahua - find a Dahua dealer with that type of relationship that Andy has with Dahua - I don't think you will find it. Look at the Dahua 4k camera on the 1/1.2" sensor as an example -
Dahua provides cameras to Andy to sell before Dahua even made it available and look at all the improvements being made to the firmware from input from customers right here on this site. And the kicker is, we are not Dahua's target market - it is the professional installers...
In the last 3 years, there have been at least 4 models that were brought here first by Andy. Do a search for World's First Review here and you will see the reviews.
I hear you about browsers, but if you want full functionality, these camera manufacturers have designed the firmware around Internet Explorer. Folks here that tear the firmware apart can see how the firmware responds from different browsers. Sometimes you get lucky and it works with other browsers, but many times they don't. In the World's first review thread for this camera, one of the members that tears firmware apart noticed these things and still recommends Internet Explorer even for new cameras (he would prefer that not be the case either but none of us designed the hardware or firmware)....
I've been using Chrome since I bought my first Dahua camera from Andy last year (the good 'ol 4231's). I was able to log in, see menu options, do the config, save, logout....all done. Always wondered how folks were able to see the AI detection boxes livestream and other stuff which I thought...
ipcamtalk.com
Ironically security cameras are not very secure, which is why we isolate them from the internet and do not give them internet access. Many of us use an old laptop that is not connected to the internet or or LAN to set the camera up initially.
So you have to decide do you want better cameras (that you can isolate from the internet) and deal with plug-ins or do you want to go with cloud based that don't require plug-ins but need internet access to work and thus leaving yourself open to all the hacking and backdoor vulnerabilities in these types of devices... Better to simply not give the camera access to the internet and minimize the risk.
That plug-in file is fine. That file allows you to see the live stream and some of the features of the camera.
Keep in mind how the "unknown Publisher" or "potential virus" messages are generated (just called virus moving forward in the rest of this post for simplicity).
It is not a virus, rather it is whatever antivirus you are using has flagged it as a potential virus. Some programs look at the total number of users and below a certain number, it is flagged. These specialty type files/programs get false positives all the time.
You can check the file with
VirusTotal , an antivirus website owned by Google that runs it thru a lot of different antivirus algorithms.
As far as this camera with night performance, keep in mind this is a full-color camera that means it cannot see infrared, so if you do not have enough light or are unwilling to use it with the built-in white LEDs, then it is the wrong camera. Too many buy full-color cameras thinking they are magic and can see in zero darkness and that is not the case.
A great camera put in a wrong field of view or trying to do too much with it will result in poor performance.
