HIKVision CCTV - fault or just a limit of motion detect?

Joined
10 Sep 2013
Messages
2,101
Reaction score
1,318
Location
Cheshire
Country
United Kingdom
Long story short - I do mostly AV and aerial installation, but also a little CCTV when I have to. However, it's not enough to be fully conversant with all the little glitches and their fixes, so I'm hoping for a bit of guidance from the collective here.

The background is that a friend and his wife have been pestering me to install something for them for about 3 years. My expectation was they'd want one of these Ebay systems, and I don't have time for that hassle. Anyway, I thought if I quote for some higher-end HIKvision ColorVu cameras and a 4 channel NVR then they'd be put off. Blow me, they went for it. Damn.

I had a feeling it was going to be a tricky installation. The system was installed in May, and I've been back several times to tweak camera positions or faff around with some or other setting. I knew that would be the case. They've never had CCTV before so it's all new tech to them.

The latest call though has me scratching my head. For lack of a better description, there appear to be jump cuts in some of the motion-detected video.

They got the CCTV because of security worries about their little dog getting pinched. Now though they've taken to watching the wildlife at night in the gardens. Foxes and hedgehogs. Occasionally a small critter will stop to smell the roses so to speak, and then appear to vanish like the motion detect stopped detecting. Does that make sense?

I have seen tis myself on the remote playback via my Android phone.

The kit list is: 3x HIKVision ColorVu 4MP IP turret cams and a DS-7604NI-K1/4P 4ch with PoE NVR.

The NVR is connected to their home router via direct Ethernet (plusnet router on ground floor mains ring) whilst the NVR is on the 1st floor ring.

Other info: he said that sometimes the cameras are out of sync. I haven't seen this myself, so I'm not sure it that's an accurate description or it's finger trouble or a real issue.

I've requested that they reboot the router and the NVR. The results are still the same he says. I've also asked that they try a higher sensitivity setting on one of the cameras. Currently the setting is 2/5, so they'd go to 3/5. No results back from this yet.

It's entirely possible that I have screwed up a setting somewhere, but where, I have no idea. I have motion detect zones set on all cams, and line crossing intrusion too. Has anyone come across something similar, and if so, what was the fix?
 
Sponsored Links
It might be that the motion detection algorithm does not react to an object that is apparently changing size without actually moving across the image.

The image of a small animal that moves towards or away from the camera would change size but not position.
 
Personally I never use motion as sometimes you miss something before or after the event , have you set a NTP setting on the machine to keep the time correct ?
 
It might be that the motion detection algorithm does not react to an object that is apparently changing size without actually moving across the image.

The image of a small animal that moves towards or away from the camera would change size but not position.

Cheers Bernard.

I understand what you mean by changing in size but not position.
Screenshot_20210917-144228_Hik-Connect.jpg


Here's a shot of foxy having a sniff at a bush (oo-er). You can just make out his rear haunches and tail. The head and from legs are obscured from view. It had walked along the fence line, so across the field of view before stopping.
 
Sponsored Links
Personally I never use motion as sometimes you miss something before or after the event , have you set a NTP setting on the machine to keep the time correct ?

Thanks for the suggestion.

Let's assume NTP hasn't been set. Would I do this other three cameras and the NVR or just the NVR do you think?
 
Without checking your system its hard to say for certain.

playback from an NVR direct to screen should have the least issues.
What is the bandwidth being used? (see diagnostics, this will give you an idea if your close to any limits).
What up load speeds do you have on the network and download to your phone.

However motion detection recording clips in itself saves HDD space can mean missing parts.(need to look at time recorded prior and after an event)
Usually the clips time line can be zoomed in to see the start and finish time, the question is the event missing footage in the middle or has the event stopped recording.

If its recorded onto the NVR 247 selecting playback by searching for activity is much easier way, of seeing more footage ie start to end.
 
Good stuff
I wondered about whether this was a glitch in the playback feed to smartphones / tablets. However, the disappear trick happens at exactly the same time it's played regardless of the start point. My gut tells me that this is missing footage rather than some footage that got obscured because of an Internet speed glitch. Would that be a sensible conclusion, or am I missing something fundamental here that affects CCTV but not so much YouTube and streaming? I will check on the local monitor though when I call to site.

You mentioned bandwidth limits for upload speed. Is this simply their Internet service limit for uploads, or is there more to it than that? Do I need to factor in anything else?

Recording motion detection with a higher sensitivity got them lots of activity, but that became a complaint. Okay, so we turned it down, but now there's a chance that something stationary for a while will drop off the motion detection activation; is that about it?

I can increase the pre and post padding I think. Probably post is more useful.
 
Last edited:
I wonder if the number of pixels affected by the fox was too low to invoke the motion detection.

I agree with secureiam that recording everything, ( not waiting for motion ) and then manually scanning for the incident is the best way.
 
Each DVR/NVR has bandwidth limits, there are a few threads on here.

sounds like the motion is activated your getting your motion recorded, but its cut short you can change the settings usually on how much is recorded prior and after activation this may help.

bandwidth on a 4ch is 40Mbps, the more active a scene is the higher the bandwidth will be.
you can see how much is being used in system, maintenance, diagnose, view stats, you can reduce the bandwidth by greater compression, lower quality, lower frame rate lower resolution.

so consider a 7 camera system
there is 2 x 6MP, 3 x 4MP, 1 x 2MP and 1 x 3MP door bell.

4 Channel NVR isn't big enough
8 Channel is big enough to fit 7 cameras on, but can it cope with incoming bandwidth at 80Mbps limit.
16 Channel seems like over kill but has 160Mbps limit

The latest stats show 96Mbps for this system so we would need 16 channel NVR or look at reducing the bandwidth from one or more cameras by at least one or more of the above methods already suggested.

I guess that is why some think we are expensive for CCTV.
You

You have to decide on what you want the cameras for and then specify the cameras to do that function, then find the right NVR/DVR to accommodate, ideally with some expansion room for the future.

If you want to see someone is on your property is different to having an identifiable image of someone on the property.
 
I wonder if the number of pixels affected by the fox was too low to invoke the motion detection.

I agree with secureiam that recording everything, ( not waiting for motion ) and then manually scanning for the incident is the best way.

Hi Bernard,
You've all mentioned having the recorder set to record permanently, but then to "search for a specific event". I take it then there's some better way to set up the NVR so that it flags what would be motion detections as markers on the time line? What's the feature I'm looking for for that?
 
You can set the Hikvision NVR to record permanently AND detect movement. On playback you see the movements highlighted but if that fails you can still scan between them.
 

DIYnot Local

Staff member

If you need to find a tradesperson to get your job done, please try our local search below, or if you are doing it yourself you can find suppliers local to you.

Select the supplier or trade you require, enter your location to begin your search.


Are you a trade or supplier? You can create your listing free at DIYnot Local

 
Sponsored Links
Back
Top