Review: IDahua DH-ITC-437-PW6M-IZ-GN / LPR-437 - ALPR/ANPR - Traffic & Access Control Camera

[Wildcat_1]

Intro

I’m pleased to announce we have another Traffic / Access camera to look at, the DH-ITC-437-PW6M-IZ-GN / LPR-437. You’ll recall that I reviewed its 2MP brother last year HERE. The 2MP was no slouch at ALPR/ANPR work and I’m excited to see how this 4MP variant (using the tried and true sensor / optic pairing) does. As I’ve stated many times, megapixels are not the thing to be focused on and you should never chase them. However, more resolution for detailed plate work is always welcome, so we’ll see how this one does. A big THANK YOU as always to @EMPIRETECANDY for providing this unit in exchange for a fair, honest, unbiased and no holds barred review.​

​

I’m taking a different approach with this review, namely that I’m combining the review + a tutorial where I show you how to dial in at each step and the benefits of doing so. Hope people like this approach too.​

​

I’ll attempt to answer any and all comments as always BUT please keep those to the main topic of this thread.​

​

Lets go….​

The Camera

Remember this is strictly a Traffic & Access camera ONLY. This does not feature regular IVS or other Smart rules you see me talk about on other cameras. Apart from the sensor itself (and associated details), it claims similar specs and similar accuracy (I’ll be putting that to the test). This camera DOES feature 6x IR illuminators but they only have a simple brightness control, NO individual near vs far which is a shame. There are some very cool updates to this camera such as the GUI being slightly re-designed BUT critically we now have control over the database plate algorithm used….ON THE FLY ! No more changing to region specific FW with associated and locked algorithms, this is a HUGE benefit of this new version/FW.​

​

The camera comes with a 10-50mm vari-focal lens which gives you just about enough reach for most situations although would be great to see the 60mm lenses added from the Z12 variants in the other ranges at some point. As you’ll see in the video, setting your FOV and Capture Area is critically important as I advocate for all the time and you really need to plan your deployment location well so that you can look to capture as many plate angles in a crisp fashion as possible. Choke points are another huge consideration (stop signs, barriers, exit points of roundabouts, narrowing of roads causing vehicles to sloe down etc etc) as these can assist more than anything. Remember that these Traffic cams benefit from seeing full vehicle BUT can capture plates without it as they are constantly processing the seen for a plate algorithm match.​

​

Post 2 - Pics & Videos, Post 3 - Special Features / Functions / Tips & Tricks, Post 4 - Bug List (new), Post 5 - Wrap Up​

Without further ado lets get onto the specs

——

Shipping FW Version

2022-07-18 Main FW with 2021-08-04 Plate Algorithm


Mounting Options

The mount options for the ITC437 are:

• PFA121 - 4 hole junction box

Remember my tip about using PFA121 & PFA122 junction boxes and quick switching the plates (4 hole vs 3 hole), very useful here too. Just remember this one needs the PFA121 (4 hole plate)


Onto the specs

This is part of the Dahua Traffic & Mobile Camera range so its primary and secondary functions are ANPR and Access Control respectively. Supports recognition of Vehicle Type, Logo, Color, Plate, No Plate (can flag and alarm). Can also detect vehicle path (towards or away from camera)​

Camera Details

Image Sensor - 1/1.8” STARVIS™ CMOS​

Effective Pixels - 2688(H) x 1520(V) OSD Black Strip Excluded, 4 Megapixels​

RAM: undocumented​

ROM: undocumented​

Electronic Shutter Speed - 1/50s~1/10,000s​

Minimum Illumination - 0.002 Lux (with illuminators on)​

IR Distance - Up to 30m (98.43 ft)​

IR On/Off Control - Auto/Manual (1x brightness control, no near / far controls)​

IR LEDs - 6​

Lens Information

Focal Length
10mm~50mm

Field of View
H: 40.55° ~ 9.33°
V: 22.7° ~ 5.3°
D: 46.6° ~ 10.63°


AI Recognition

Vehicle Capture Accuracy​

99%​

​

Vehicle Plate Recognition Accuracy (under ANPR functionality)​

95%​

​

Capture Range​

8m - 30m (26.25ft to 98.43ft)​

​

Lane Detection (roads, highways etc)​

6m - 7m (19.69ft to 22.97ft)​

​

Capture Vehicles​

Speed - Up to 37.28 Mph (60 Kmh)​

Intro Wrap Up

I’ve found a couple of bugs already that I am passing back to Dahua devs along with some of the enhancements I want to see. This video review with tutorial takes a lot longer to put together so hopefully people find the format useful and please do consider subscribing and liking, I do appreciate it. Thanks​

 

[Wildcat_1]

Post 2 - Video Review / Tutorial
Remember as always to select highest quality. In this case due to YouTube pushing to conform standards it will be 1440p

Day Time Video + Tutorial

 

[Wildcat_1]

Post 3

 

[Wildcat_1]

Post 4

 

[Wildcat_1]

Post 5

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

Thanks @Wildcat_1 this is a very professional ANPR camera, so it's only for the high requirement about the speed,car brands, License plates.

 

[Timokreon]

When you're stating you should see the full vehicle, is this meaning not to be blacked out like a 5241 or similar camera?
Also, not to be zoomed in as tight as well?

I'm still messing around with mine..

 

[JNDATHP]

What is the price?

 

[Nunofya]

Intro

I’m pleased to announce we have another Traffic / Access camera to look at, the DH-ITC-437-PW6M-IZ-GN / LPR-437. You’ll recall that I reviewed its 2MP brother last year HERE. The 2MP was no slouch at ALPR/ANPR work and I’m excited to see how this 4MP variant (using the tried and true sensor / optic pairing) does. As I’ve stated many times, megapixels are not the thing to be focused on and you should never chase them. However, more resolution for detailed plate work is always welcome, so we’ll see how this one does. A big THANK YOU as always to @EMPIRETECANDY for providing this unit in exchange for a fair, honest, unbiased and no holds barred review.​

​

I’m taking a different approach with this review, namely that I’m combining the review + a tutorial where I show you how to dial in at each step and the benefits of doing so. Hope people like this approach too.​

​

I’ll attempt to answer any and all comments as always BUT please keep those to the main topic of this thread.​

​

Lets go….​

The Camera

Remember this is strictly a Traffic & Access camera ONLY. This does not feature regular IVS or other Smart rules you see me talk about on other cameras. Apart from the sensor itself (and associated details), it claims similar specs and similar accuracy (I’ll be putting that to the test). This camera DOES feature 6x IR illuminators but they only have a simple brightness control, NO individual near vs far which is a shame. There are some very cool updates to this camera such as the GUI being slightly re-designed BUT critically we now have control over the database plate algorithm used….ON THE FLY ! No more changing to region specific FW with associated and locked algorithms, this is a HUGE benefit of this new version/FW.​

​

The camera comes with a 10-50mm vari-focal lens which gives you just about enough reach for most situations although would be great to see the 60mm lenses added from the Z12 variants in the other ranges at some point. As you’ll see in the video, setting your FOV and Capture Area is critically important as I advocate for all the time and you really need to plan your deployment location well so that you can look to capture as many plate angles in a crisp fashion as possible. Choke points are another huge consideration (stop signs, barriers, exit points of roundabouts, narrowing of roads causing vehicles to sloe down etc etc) as these can assist more than anything. Remember that these Traffic cams benefit from seeing full vehicle BUT can capture plates without it as they are constantly processing the seen for a plate algorithm match.​

​

Post 2 - Pics & Videos, Post 3 - Special Features / Functions / Tips & Tricks, Post 4 - Bug List (new), Post 5 - Wrap Up​

Without further ado lets get onto the specs

——

Shipping FW Version

2022-07-18 Main FW with 2021-08-04 Plate Algorithm


Mounting Options

The mount options for the ITC437 are:

• PFA121 - 4 hole junction box

Remember my tip about using PFA121 & PFA122 junction boxes and quick switching the plates (4 hole vs 3 hole), very useful here too. Just remember this one needs the PFA121 (4 hole plate)


Onto the specs

This is part of the Dahua Traffic & Mobile Camera range so its primary and secondary functions are ANPR and Access Control respectively. Supports recognition of Vehicle Type, Logo, Color, Plate, No Plate (can flag and alarm). Can also detect vehicle path (towards or away from camera)​

Camera Details

Image Sensor - 1/1.8” STARVIS™ CMOS​

Effective Pixels - 2688(H) x 1520(V) OSD Black Strip Excluded, 4 Megapixels​

RAM: undocumented​

ROM: undocumented​

Electronic Shutter Speed - 1/50s~1/10,000s​

Minimum Illumination - 0.002 Lux (with illuminators on)​

IR Distance - Up to 30m (98.43 ft)​

IR On/Off Control - Auto/Manual (1x brightness control, no near / far controls)​

IR LEDs - 6​

Lens Information

Focal Length
10mm~50mm

Field of View
H: 40.55° ~ 9.33°
V: 22.7° ~ 5.3°
D: 46.6° ~ 10.63°


AI Recognition

Vehicle Capture Accuracy​

99%​

​

Vehicle Plate Recognition Accuracy (under ANPR functionality)​

95%​

​

Capture Range​

8m - 30m (26.25ft to 98.43ft)​

​

Lane Detection (roads, highways etc)​

6m - 7m (19.69ft to 22.97ft)​

​

Capture Vehicles​

Speed - Up to 37.28 Mph (60 Kmh)​

Intro Wrap Up

I’ve found a couple of bugs already that I am passing back to Dahua devs along with some of the enhancements I want to see. This video review with tutorial takes a lot longer to put together so hopefully people find the format useful and please do consider subscribing and liking, I do appreciate it. Thanks​

Where is the review?

 

[Wildcat_1]

Where is the review?

Did ya not read my response in the ITC 237 post , as I said there, was waiting for YouTube's re-encoding dance that they do EVERY time. Posting shortly now thats complete

 

[Wildcat_1]

Day review + tutorial now live in Post 2

 

[Timokreon]

Great review. It's going to be interesting to see how you dial in night settings that still allow the great day captures, considering not having a day/night setting on this camera.
That's my biggest problem at the moment, I either get great day captures and so so night, or vice versa. But, still dialing in things.

I'm also unable to get 15,000 bit rate unless I set to 30 FPS. Is this a bug, or only on my unit?

Also @Wildcat_1 , please review my mail message to you.

 

[Timokreon]

What is the price?

Amazon has it for $599.99, but I see @EMPIRETECANDY has it on his spring sale coming up.

 

[Timokreon]

One other thing that has been brought to my attention today, snow.

Is there anything that can be done, besides move to a warmer climate, settings wise to help pick up plates better?

 

[EMPIRETECANDY]

@Wildcat_1 add more details on how to setting this ANPR, because ANPR cams most people never use it, so we ask wildcat for helping more on setting guide.

 

[keiththevp]

Day review + tutorial now live in Post 2

So I was only getting like 50% plate hit when I first started using the 437 ... I reset all specs to default, made the capture area very small ... like 2 ft tall by 20 ft wide gate opening, zoomed the camera in about 75% and cleaned up the focus, I also set the shield to block everything in the FOV that is not in the capture area. What I kept seeing is the camera trying to get plates way before the capture area or way outside the focus area which made them blurry, as soon as I made the camera only capture in the window that was in crisp focus it hit accurately every time. I now get 100% clear plates and detection both front and rear during the day. I have not tested night yet since making these changes, however if my night tests are not as successful as day what do you recommend I change? And even though I am getting great day results now do you suggest I try the settings you put in your review video or "don't fix it if its not broken kind of thing" I will get some captures to post as well so you can let me know what you think of the clarity of the plate. I do notice it can be a bit blurry in the window on the bottom left but the one that comes up in the main screen and top left corner of the main screen are always very clear.

Forgot to add my camera is setup on a 20 ft wide gate opening choke point that is 110 ft away from the camera, mounted about 10 ft high at a downward pitch of about 10 degrees, hence why when it tried to grab plates from 130 plus feet away it was having problems

 

[Robert G.]

I have been working to dial this camera in for a while.

I am 165 ft away from where I am taking the photos and the angle is not great either, which is why I choose to shoot so far away. This is far beyond the specs of what this camera should be capable of.

I capture 95%+ of the plates in the daytime.

We are coming into 'spring' and a lot of cars are filthy, many you can't even read the plate in real life as they are just covered in mud. I think currently I get maybe 60% of plates at night (the clean cars) and hopefully that will improve as people wash their cars.









I am using a supplemental IR light to help the light on the camera.

The vehicle make/model are totally useless with this camera. They obviously have not put much work into it as it will detect cars (in North America) that are clearly not makes of vehicles that are even sold in North America.

One gripe I have is the camera will not switch from night/day & day/night quick enough. I generally consider anything 1 hour after sunrise to be light and anything 1 hour before sunset to be night.

I know there is some software out there for Dauha camera where you can have some external software make changes? I can't seem to find it at the moment, if you know what that software is please let me know so I can try and change the day/night modes the way I want rather than relying on when the camera thinks it is light enough to switch to daytime.

 

[Nunofya]

I have been working to dial this camera in for a while.

I am 165 ft away from where I am taking the photos and the angle is not great either, which is why I choose to shoot so far away. This is far beyond the specs of what this camera should be capable of.

I capture 95%+ of the plates in the daytime.

We are coming into 'spring' and a lot of cars are filthy, many you can't even read the plate in real life as they are just covered in mud. I think currently I get maybe 60% of plates at night (the clean cars) and hopefully that will improve as people wash their cars.

View attachment 156363

View attachment 156364


View attachment 156365


I am using a supplemental IR light to help the light on the camera.

The vehicle make/model are totally useless with this camera. They obviously have not put much work into it as it will detect cars (in North America) that are clearly not makes of vehicles that are even sold in North America.

One gripe I have is the camera will not switch from night/day & day/night quick enough. I generally consider anything 1 hour after sunrise to be light and anything 1 hour before sunset to be night.

I know there is some software out there for Dauha camera where you can have some external software make changes? I can't seem to find it at the moment, if you know what that software is please let me know so I can try and change the day/night modes the way I want rather than relying on when the camera thinks it is light enough to switch to daytime.

How high is the camera mounted and what's the speed of the cars on that road?

 

[Robert G.]

How high is the camera mounted and what's the speed of the cars on that road?

The camera is mounted under the roof of a 2 story house, so maybe 20ft off the ground.

The vehicles I am capturing are either leaving or soon stopping at a 4 way stop. So their speeds are maybe 20km (12mph) on average.

The road is quite busy, I capture about 3000 - 4000 vehicles per day.

I use the ITSAPI feature and have it send all matches/photos/info to a webservice so I can store/query/view everything.

 

[Timokreon]

Dialed my 437 in better. Still room for improvement, but getting better.