Review-Dahua IPC-MW4231A-E2 Starlight Dual Lens Dashcam

[looney2ns]

Courtesy of Andy at @EMPIRETECANDY EmpireTech Andy we have the Dahua IPC-MW4231A-E2 Starlight Dual Lens Dashcam to checkout.

I received this camera in exchange for a fair and honest review.

It will be available for approximately $170 shipped from Empire Technology Co., Ltd - Small Orders Online Store, Hot Selling and more on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group and https://amzn.to/2wunK9a

> 1/2.8” 2Megapixel progressive scan STARVIS™ CMOS
> H.265&H.264 double-stream encoding
> 25/30fps@1080P(1920×1080)
> WDR(120dB), Day/Night(ICR), 3DNR,AWB,AGC,BLC
> Multiple network monitoring: Web viewer, CMS(DSS/PSS) & DMSS
> 2.1mm(Rear),2.8mm(Front) Fixed lens
> Micro SD memory

This is in Dahua's Mobile IP product line.
Product Page: IPC-MW4231A-E2

Data Sheet download: https://www.dahuasecurity.com/asset...704/DH-IPC-MW4231A-E2_Datasheet_201806281.pdf

User Manual download: https://www.dahuasecurity.com/asset...IPC-MW4231A-E2_Operation-Manua-_20180628-.pdf

Compared to the 5231Z



Inside the vehicle lens and IR. It is adjustable somewhat, vertical and horizontally and rotatable.



Road view lens.



The M12 connection.



The male M12 connection that I made up. Sourced from Fleabay.



The knurled nut on the Cams M12, is just a tad too large in diameter to capture the threads on the male M12. They fit together good and snug, so in most case's shouldn't a be a problem.


A work in progress.



SD card slot and factory default reset.

 

[looney2ns]

Been playing with this for a couple of days now. Some thoughts.

• In the car video very good during daytime, Night time it's ok.
• Front cam did not switch to B&W during night test.
• Cannot download ch 2 (inside view), when attempting, it always downloads Ch1 instead.
• I can view Ch2 in Chrome and IE webgue, just can't export.
• SmartPSS, can't view nor export Ch2.
• Takes approx 50 seconds after applying power to boot and start recording.
• The FRONT Lens in this sample is either installed wrong or defective. (see video)
• Audio is very good with full range.
• Both channels work in Blue Iris and TinyCam Pro

All camera settings are at factory defaults except for time and channel title.

Still examples of inside shots, since I can't download the ch2 video.



Lens issue without wind shield. Sorry for my shakiness.

 

[looney2ns]

Post 2 updated.

 

[j4co]

It does not do speed overlay in picture ?

 

[looney2ns]

It does not do speed overlay in picture ?

No, it only has typical setup like a standard Dahua security cam.
Its intended use is with Dahua's mobile IP NVR's. So I assume, those NVR's would offer further features. But I've not checked into that.

 

[looney2ns]

Update on this. So I removed the SD card to see if I could get the files for Ch2 that I've not been able to export. Windows reported the file structure of the card as damaged. I ignored windows, but many of the files that I had been able to view, did not show up on the card at all.
So, I re-inserted the card and windows complained again. I let Windows do it's "fix". Those same files were still not visible.

I format the card with Windows, and proceed to put the card back into the cam. Here's a gotcha. There is a very thin gap between the actual SD card slot, and the case. Yep, you guessed it. The card disappeared into the guts of the cam. I missed the card slot by this much.

So now I start looking closely at how this cam comes apart. I had avoided dis-assembling it because it didn't look fun at first glance, it wasn't.

So while retrieving my SD card, I dig the glue off the threads of the camera that locks the lens in place, and mess with the lens to see if focus is simply off. Yep, it was, by an 1/8 of a turn. I think I have it focused correctly now, and that appears to resolve the picture quality issue of the front camera. Still can't access the Ch2 (inside car) videos.

I'll do another test drive with the lens corrected.

 

[looney2ns]

Another drive test video after focusing lens, as noted above.

 

[jmcu]

Nice job.. thanks @looney2ns. Not very impressed with the dash cam. Daytime looks ok but seen much better footage with other DC around the same price point, this one I won't be getting.

 

[Purduephotog]

Thanks for the post. I was looking (After getting egged and a few other incidents) of buying two 8mp cams and installing them via weatherproof housings. I'd rather have that, and video, than deal with the cops claiming they can't do anything. At least I know I could put the stuff up on the web for our 'neighbors' to see....

 

[ohliuw]

What a shame! It seems too much of a hassle for a DC.

Is there a way to install it using some sort of 3G adapter to be able to access it remotely?