IPC-T5442T-ZE IPC-T5442TM-AS IPC-T5842T-ZE SMD 3.0 Smart IR Latest New Firmware From EmpireTech

[Zimberto]

Going thru the router is the problem.

Cameras connected to Wifi routers (even hard-wired) are problematic for surveillance cameras because they are always streaming and passing data. And the data demands go up with motion and then you lose signal. A lost packet and it has to resend. It can bring the whole network down if trying to send cameras through a wifi router. At the very least it can slow down your entire system.

Unlike Netflix and other streaming services that buffer a movie, these cameras do not buffer up part of the video, so drop outs are frequent, especially once you start adding distance. You would be amazed how much streaming services buffer - don't believe me, start watching something and unplug your router and watch how much longer you can watch NetFlix before it freezes - mine goes 45 seconds. Now do the same with a camera connected to a router and it is fairly instantaneous (within the latency of the stream itself)...

The same issue applies even with the hard-wired cameras trying to send all this non-buffer video stream through a router. Most consumer grade wifi routers are not designed to pass the constant video stream data of cameras, and since they do not buffer, you get these issues. The consumer routers are just not designed for this kind of traffic, even a GB speed router.

Is this the case here? I assume the dav files are not streamed but simply copied when they are complete. No?

I'm thinking there may be a problem if the destination storage needs time to wake/spin up and the camera doesn't handle that well.

 

[kammi]

@wittaj @looney2ns Would it suffice if I purchased an unmanaged switch (like TL-SG105) and plug in the camera, my NAS server, and the router on the switch? As I understood, the camera data would go through the switch to the NAS, but I could still be able to log in to the camera and view the stream from any device that is connected to the router, right? All the devices would be on the same local IP subnet, of course.

If it matters, my NAS server is actually a Raspberry Pi 4B.

 

[chasepack]

@wittaj @looney2ns Would it suffice if I purchased an unmanaged switch (like TL-SG105) and plug in the camera, my NAS server, and the router on the switch? As I understood, the camera data would go through the switch to the NAS, but I could still be able to log in to the camera and view the stream from any device that is connected to the router, right? All the devices would be on the same local IP subnet, of course.

If it matters, my NAS server is actually a Raspberry Pi 4B.

Yes it'd work fine.
Think of the switch as expanding the number of LAN ports on your router.

How are you powering your cameras? POE or wall power? Factor POE capability into the switch if you want the convenience of it.

 

[kammi]

Yes it'd work fine.
Think of the switch as expanding the number of LAN ports on your router.

How are you powering your cameras? POE or wall power? Factor POE capability into the switch if you want the convenience of it.

I am using PoE. Unfortunately, I did not anticipate that I would need a multi-port PoE switch so I have a single-port PoE injector at the moment.
I also wonder if people use TCP or UDP along with RTSP (I use always TCP).

 

[looktall]

my NAS server is actually a Raspberry Pi 4B.

How's that working out for you?

 

[kammi]

How's that working out for you?

So far it has worked pretty well. It boots from an external SSD, which acts also as the / mounting point. Besides these few times of corrupted DAV recordings, it works like a charm (I think the issue is not because of the RPi 4B itself). I use WireGuard to access the NFS mount remotely to view the motion-triggered footage. Even over the internet connection, it is very fast.

I am planning to save the video stream on the RPi 4B 24/7, while the camera would save the motion-triggered events on the microSD. That is why I wonder if TCP RTSP is much more demanding than UDP RTSP for the CPU of the camera to handle. Sadly, I cannot monitor its CPU usage anywhere.

 

[chasepack]

Yes it'd work fine.
Think of the switch as expanding the number of LAN ports on your router.

How are you powering your cameras? POE or wall power? Factor POE capability into the switch if you want the convenience of it.

Nothing wrong with injectors other than more bits and pieces to connect into the wire spaghetti.
Depending on how many CCTV and end devices one is using, it is possible to hit the power limit of a POE switch if not mindful.

say the SD4A425DB-HNY which has a max power draw of 20W... or running an outdoor WIFI mesh router off POE is another 15-20W.... the 65W or 130W POE router runs out of headroom really quick.

 

[cd36]

Andy, I see in another thread of yours where you have a PDF showing the latest firmware available for each camera, you have a newer firmware available for the 5442 series that you never posted about. It is from April of this year (2023).

Any update on what is new and improved in this version? Thanks,

 

[roymickton]

So far it has worked pretty well. It boots from an external SSD, which acts also as the / mounting point. Besides these few times of corrupted DAV recordings, it works like a charm (I think the issue is not because of the RPi 4B itself). I use WireGuard to access the NFS mount remotely to view the motion-triggered footage. Even over the internet connection, it is very fast.

I am planning to save the video stream on the RPi 4B 24/7, while the camera would save the motion-triggered events on the microSD. That is why I wonder if TCP RTSP is much more demanding than UDP RTSP for the CPU of the camera to handle. Sadly, I cannot monitor its CPU usage anywhere.

Home Assistant can monitor camera CPU usage with;

sensor.(name of camera)_processor_usage

Both my cameras 5442-Z and Color4K-T are using 25% usage apparently without any Smart Features turned on.

 

[kammi]

Home Assistant can monitor camera CPU usage with;

sensor.(name of camera)_processor_usage

Both my cameras 5442-Z and Color4K-T are using 25% usage apparently without any Smart Features turned on.

Thanks for the tip! Looks like the CPU usage is 25-60% if the IVS is on and the bitrate is 6144 kbit/s with the full resolution (I do not know how to manually update the value in Home Assistant so the measurement frequency is low).

 

[Mike A.]

Home Assistant can monitor camera CPU usage with;

sensor.(name of camera)_processor_usage

Both my cameras 5442-Z and Color4K-T are using 25% usage apparently without any Smart Features turned on.

Using what? The Dahua integration?

 

[Zimberto]

Andy, I see in another thread of yours where you have a PDF showing the latest firmware available for each camera, you have a newer firmware available for the 5442 series that you never posted about. It is from April of this year (2023).

Any update on what is new and improved in this version? Thanks,

All I can say is that I installed it and it's working as before - so no major disasters. But, yes, each new firmware version should have release notes. @EMPIRETECANDY ?

 

[roymickton]

Using what? The Dahua integration?

ONVIF integration

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

All I can say is that I installed it and it's working as before - so no major disasters. But, yes, each new firmware version should have release notes. @EMPIRETECANDY ?

Not have too much upgrade, mainly the new onvif version, function no further upgrade.

 

[mike123]

@looney2ns @EMPIRETECANDY I tried this firmware upgrade on my IPC-HFW5442T-ASE but I get the following error:

Update package invalid and update failed. Device will reboot immediately.

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

@looney2ns @EMPIRETECANDY I tried this firmware upgrade on my IPC-HFW5442T-ASE but I get the following error:

Update package invalid and update failed. Device will reboot immediately.

what is your currently firmware date?

 

[mike123]

@EMPIRETECANDY
V2.800.0000000.16.R, Build Date: 2020-10-24

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

@EMPIRETECANDY
V2.800.0000000.16.R, Build Date: 2020-10-24

OK Send me a DM, i will get you some other firmware to try.

 

[bojanpotocnik]

@EMPIRETECANDY I was so happy when you announced your website, as this means having all latest firmwares at one place - empiretech01.com/pages/download-firmwares , instead of searching this forum (and getting confused in multiple threads) every time.

Or so I thought. After I updated my camera with the FW from your site, it lost the model information Which firmware shall we use, and do you intend to make your website the source of the latest firmwares? Thank you

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Yes, just use 20220818, that 2023 version is without Smart IR.