Review-I'll be the guinea pig for the new SD59225U-HNI PTZ.

[Jaxon]

So the auto-tracking is now working much better than before. It picks up an object and follows it around. I still need to do more testing with the camera in different weather/lighting conditions, but most definitely much more optimistic about it now.

Thinking out loud, but what happens if I send the camera to another pre-set? I would hope that the auto-track wouldn't be in effect until I set it up again for that pre-set. Does that sound right?

Do you guys hear what sounds like...musical notes coming from the camera as it tracks you? My kids were playing with it, and called it a "creepy and possessed camera"

I wonder what the next parcel delivery guy is going to think when this thing follows him around the property? LOL

Edit - typos

 

[Cameraguy]

So the auto-tracking is now working much better than before. It picks up an object and follows it around. I still need to do more testing with the camera in different weather/lighting conditions, but most definitely much more optimistic about it now.

Thinking out loud, but what happens if I send the camera to another pre-set? I would hope that the auto-track wouldn't be in effect until I set it up again for that pre-set. Does that sound right?

Do you guys hear what sounds like...musical notes coming from the camera as it tracks you? My kids were playing with it, and called it a "creepy and possessed camera"

I wonder what the next parcel delivery guy is going to think when this thing follows him around the property? LOL

Edit - typos

Haha awesome.. as for the preset.. it shouldn't track on another preset unless you hsve a smart plan set for that specific preset..

 

[Frank van der Heide]

So the auto-tracking is now working much better than before. It picks up an object and follows it around. I still need to do more testing with the camera in different weather/lighting conditions, but most definitely much more optimistic about it now.

Thinking out loud, but what happens if I send the camera to another pre-set? I would hope that the auto-track wouldn't be in effect until I set it up again for that pre-set. Does that sound right?

Do you guys hear what sounds like...musical notes coming from the camera as it tracks you? My kids were playing with it, and called it a "creepy and possessed camera"

I wonder what the next parcel delivery guy is going to think when this thing follows him around the property? LOL

Edit - typos

Which settings did you do to make you more optimistic about the autotracking? Care to share?

And yeah, i have also that creepy squeaking sound when it follows me. It almost sounds like it's doing it under protest ;-)

 

[Jaxon]

Which settings did you do to make you more optimistic about the autotracking? Care to share?)

Yes, no problem sharing at all. In a nutshell here's what I did. Defaulted the camera, and then configured as shown in my previous post. Then I made the changes as described by Cameraguy. Prior to that, the auto-track didn't work worth a damn. Once it even went ballistic and started going berserk, rotating and spinning (again music??? coming from it?)

After that, (now) it's actually not too bad. If you want, I will share updated screenshots later. Though I'll likely hold off on this for a few days, after I mess around some more.

The auto-track feature itself isn't without it's issues. For example, it will focus on the front hood of a car that parks instead of a preferably on the windshield. Or sometimes the algorithm gets fixated on a tree in the back ground instead of following the person. I've tempered my expectations for these kinds of "issues", as they can be improved with future firmware updates. With that said though, in my yard, it's working OK now. I just need more time to see different conditions - when trees grow leaves, wind blows, and summer sun causes all kinds of moving shadows etc.

Also, I still don't know what at least 2/3 of the camera settings actually do. The built-in help is near useless. I still intend to look at getting the day/night profiles or event sensitivity etc dialed in. I'm patient though, so one battle at a time.

And yeah, i have also that creepy squeaking sound when it follows me. It almost sounds like it's doing it under protest ;-)

I really don't like that the camera plays music when it's tracking. I wonder if that can be disabled?

 

[CCTVCam]

Like to ask a few questions as I can't really read through all 67 pages!

1. Do we now know for definite what the CMOS used is?

2. Do we know the chipset that supports this?

3. On the SD Card front, have you considered the Speed Class - I'm sure BI is limited to around 10mps from what I've read, although this is low for 4K. So just wondering if maybe the write rate is higher? One answer might be to try a High Speed or maybe High Endurance U1 / V30 Class card. I would Suggest a High Endurance U3 / V60 or V90 to be safest, but I've yet to see High Endurance at that speed.

4. How does this camera compare to the current favourite turret HDW5231R-Z ?

 

[Cameraguy]

Like to ask a few questions as I can't really read through all 67 pages!

1. Do we now know for definite what the CMOS used is?

2. Do we know the chipset that supports this?

3. On the SD Card front, have you considered the Speed Class - I'm sure BI is limited to around 10mps from what I've read, although this is low for 4K. So just wondering if maybe the write rate is higher? One answer might be to try a High Endurance U1 / V30 Class card. I would Suggest U3 / V60 or V90, but I've yet to see High Endurance at that speed.

4. How does this camera compare to the current favourite turret HDW5231R-Z ?

I can answer one question in regards to the sd card.. Here is what I use and works great
SanDisk Extreme 32GB microSDHC UHS-3 Card - SDSQXAF-032G-GN6MA [Newest Version] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XWMQ81P/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_VmxVAbVQ79ZSV

 

[CCTVCam]

Not a high endurance card though. Great for backup in the event purely of NVR failure and provided it is fixed promptly. Not suitable if frequent recording is likely to be made or is likely to be used instead of an NVR eg in a door bell camera. The speed rating is good though and should be fine as a purely emergency backup medium.

 

[Jaxon]

1. Do we now know for definite what the CMOS used is?

Not sure

2. Do we know the chipset that supports this?

Not sure

3. On the SD Card front, have you considered the Speed Class - I'm sure BI is limited to around 10mps from what I've read, although this is low for 4K. So just wondering if maybe the write rate is higher? One answer might be to try a High Endurance U1 / V30 Class card. I would Suggest U3 / V60 or V90, but I've yet to see High Endurance at that speed.

MY SD Card is the Samsung 64 Pro+: UHS-I Speed Class 3 (U3) and Class 10 with read & write speeds of up to 95MB/s & 90MB/s.

It's only when an event is triggered does the feed flash black for a moment. I didn't think this card was the cause, but your saying it's a possibility? Wish I had another one to try to see. My hunch is that it's not the card, but I remain open until the cause it known. I've sent an email to Andy with links to some videos. He hasn't replied yet, so maybe he's sent the request up the food chain.

4. How does this camera compare to the current favourite turret HDW5231R-Z ?

Well, that's an interesting question. I'm not qualified to answer based on tech or specs, but I can share my limited experience opinion. The PTZ is more flexible in that can pan, tilt and zoom and that sweet 30X optical zoom. However it's 3X the cost, very large and to my wife, "makes the house look like a prison".

As far as night capabilities go, both are exceptional with the PTZ being a little better. My opinion is the HDW5231R-Z daytime video is actually slightly better, though not enough to matter. Just a little more crisp.

Ultimately I think one should choose based on installation requirements and budget. If I had to do it again, I'm leaning on the side of multiple HDW5231R-Z and HFW5231E cameras over the PTZ.

 

[looney2ns]

I really don't like that the camera plays music when it's tracking. I wonder if that can be disabled?

Music Seriously? That's the servo motor's operating.

 

[Jaxon]

I record locally on the PTZ to a Samsung 64GB PRO+ microSDHC. I also have Blue Iris set to continuous recording as well, but no triggers or alerts.

The blip shows on both the local playback as well as Blue Iris.

Update!
Andy got back to me, and the black screen blips are a known issue. He's hoping a future firmware update will resolve the issue.

 

[reverend]

This is the camera that keeps on giving - yesterday it got full high res video of a drug deal going on right outside the house at an angle my fixed cameras don't cover. Amazingly these idiots do this in full daylight directly opposite a policeman's home. Go figure.

However it's not all good - the wife woke me at 5:50 this morning saying something was happening as the motors had been running for two minutes straight and I saw this:

It seems it initially chased the cloud of smoke then got stuck facing downwards - when I tried pushing it past it's limits on manual control it was fine in the past but for this autotracking it seems it got totally stuck in a loop it couldn't get out of.

I manually rebooted and it recovered fine.

Firmware version of the camera and PTZ are both the latest.

 

[CCTVCam]

It looks as though it could do with some kind of motor temp sensing with a shutdown as ptz's are all of a sudden looking a bit of a fire hazard. Alternatively some kind of safety stop based on a failure to change position after X tries (before the whole unit gets hot).

Have you looked inside to see what damage has been caused? A reboot may have fixed the stuck position, but if there's been smoke, then something has got burned. Alternative is it could just be hot air causing steam like moisture if it's very cold in your location. Think I'd be inspecting it if that doesn't void the warranty in the process, and then possibly looking at a warranty return.

 

[reverend]

Oh it's not smoke from the camera - it's from next doors heating and the wind just blew it in front of the camera.

 

[looney2ns]

This is the camera that keeps on giving - yesterday it got full high res video of a drug deal going on right outside the house at an angle my fixed cameras don't cover. Amazingly these idiots do this in full daylight directly opposite a policeman's home. Go figure.

However it's not all good - the wife woke me at 5:50 this morning saying something was happening as the motors had been running for two minutes straight and I saw this:

It seems it initially chased the cloud of smoke then got stuck facing downwards - when I tried pushing it past it's limits on manual control it was fine in the past but for this autotracking it seems it got totally stuck in a loop it couldn't get out of.

I manually rebooted and it recovered fine.

Firmware version of the camera and PTZ are both the latest.

Yes, others have reported this issue occurring to theirs. I've not had the pleasure of that bug.....yet.

 

[reverend]

Well it's a very random way of approaching it but I've sorted the problems with the noise of the PTZ in action transferring through to my house by using 2 rubber washers on each of the 4 screws (one either side of the metal washer) and then using a 2mm sheet of Silent Coat noise dampening material stuck to a sheet of closed cell foam between the wall and the mount.

It looks a bit messy at the moment and needs tidying up but the material and rubber washers are absorbing most of the vibrations and it's had the knock on effect of making the camera sound quieter outside too (I guess mounting directly on the flat brick of our home was amplifying the noise!)

I'll do the same when the new PTZ comes by default in case it's a quirk of our house build

 

[looney2ns]

@looney2ns can you play with your zoom speed, maybe set it at 30 and see if it helps your tracking.. im trying to figure out if that is a main contributer to effective ivs tracking.. thanks man

@Cameraguy
Ok, I've played with this quite a bit, and yes it is somewhat better, but I still get a lot of these:

 

[Cameraguy]

@Cameraguy
Ok, I've played with this quite a bit, and yes it is somewhat better, but I still get a lot of these:

Yea i still get those type of clips also.. not sure what your intrusion box looks like.. i found putting a small one towards the left side of the screen helps get the camera moving and lock onto object.. try a small diamond where the car first enters picture

 

[Cameraguy]

@Cameraguy
Ok, I've played with this quite a bit, and yes it is somewhat better, but I still get a lot of these:

I think playing with the target sizes has alot to do with it too.. its definitely a process. I wish i would have kept a log of trial and error..

 

[bigredfish]

@Cameraguy
Ok, I've played with this quite a bit, and yes it is somewhat better, but I still get a lot of these:

You dont suppose its picking up the shimmer on the water as motion do you?

 

[reverend]

You dont suppose its picking up the shimmer on the water as motion do you?

Very likely - in my view I have the windscreen of my car and the camera quite often sits tracking motion of the clouds on windy days as it thinks the contrast is objects moving (and technically it is!)

Like you say lots of trial and error with these things!