Best Indoor WiFi Camera?

[benm]

Hi!
I have a DS7608-NI NAS and some fixed Hikvision external IP cameras. I now need an indoor camera which might need to be WiFi as I can’t get a physical connection to it.
I found a couple below but they seem to be quite old and not sure if they are able to write constantly to my NAS or only with alerts, etc. reviews aren’t great either
Also not sure if there is other compatible options like Hilook or similar?
Can you please help me?

DS-2CD2443G2-IW (W)

Hikvision 4 MP Indoor Audio Fixed Human Body Detection Cube Network Camera DS-2CD2443G2-IW (W)

www.hikvision.com

DS-2CV2Q21G1-IDW (W)

Hikvision 2 MP Indoor Fixed PT Network Camera DS-2CV2Q21G1-IDW (W)

www.hikvision.com

​

 

[benm]

Im just looking some more and can see you can add third party cameras to hikvision nvrs. Im wondering if this is better, and if anyone knows of any compatible wifi cameras which can constantly record and ideally have smart events etc (i know unlikely)

 

[johnfitzy]

In the past I have used indoor Wi-Fi Ez-Viz cameras connected to my Hikvision NVR (I have since stopped recording from these because I no longer found it necessary).

The Ez-Viz cameras are cheap and since Ez-Viz is related to Hikvision, they support the Hikvision protocol... you can see one on my network here that could be connected... when I did have it connected, I could record 24/7 and motion alerts (not smart events, just basic motion) would be sent to the NVR:

EZVIZ Indoor Security Camera 1080P WiFi Baby Monitor, Smart Motion Detection, Two-Way audio, 40ft Night Vision, Works with Alexa & Google Assistant(C1C)

I have used other Ez-Viz cameras like this as well... the exception is the doorbell models... they used to support the Hikvision protocol on the NVR, but that seemed to stop working some time ago.

 

[benm]

Hi John. Thanks so much for this it’s fantastic advice. I will go with one of these and will set up 24/7 recording. Just hope it doesn’t max out my WiFi!.
Quick question please. I see you said I could configure basic motion through the hikvision NVR. But can I also set up more advanced alerting on the ezviz app and it sends the alerts through the hikvision control centre?
Thanks again

 

[johnfitzy]

Just hope it doesn’t max out my WiFi!

I've read that Wi-fi cameras can quickly overwhelm the router... it's not the amount of traffic, max bitrate for these cameras is only 2048 or 4096 Kbps... it's the constant traffic... when I tried to temporarily set up several (I think it was 7) Wi-Fi cameras connected/recording 24/7 to a DS-7608NI-I2 NVR, I got mediocre results. I think with 1, 2, or even 3 cameras, you will be fine.

I see you said I could configure basic motion through the hikvision NVR.

The cameras do not have a web GUI interface, so motion detection must be configured through the EZ-Viz app or iVMS-4200... once motion detection is configured, the NVR did receive the motion events... Also, rather than using the EZ-Viz app, you can add these cameras directly to Hik-Connect (one or the other, EZ-Viz app or Hik-Connect app, not both at the same time).

In any case, it's a cheap camera, so it's not very risky to try one and see if it meets your needs!

 

[JB1970]

I've also used the EZVIZ WiFi cameras a few times. There's a bit of a learning curve to get them going initially with a Hikvision NVR:

• Create an Ezviz account
• Download and open the Ezviz app
• Run the setup in the app to discover and add the WiFi in the camera
• Once connected to the WiFi - delete it from the Ezviz app
• Add the camera to the NVR using its IP. Do not use the admin password you created when adding it to Ezviz. The 'password' is actually the verification code
• You can add the camera to iVMS to get rid of the 'Ezviz' watermark

Some items that you try to change such as NTP server will just keep switching back. Hik-Connect will continuously turn itself back on (easy enough to remove the DNS to block it)

 

[benm]

That’s interesting thanks very much.
What would be the process if I want to use the Ezviz detection/alarms but still record (and playback?) to Hikvision nvr?
Perform the same steps but don’t remove from the Ezviz app?

 

[JB1970]

That’s interesting thanks very much.
What would be the process if I want to use the Ezviz detection/alarms but still record (and playback?) to Hikvision nvr?
Perform the same steps but don’t remove from the Ezviz app?

You can still remove it from the EZVIZ app. Motion detection can be set up from the NVR in the usual way. Otherwise you end up in a situation getting push notifications from both apps. I have one in my garage permanently recording to the NVR.

 

[benm]

But i understand it’s only the basic events that can be set up from the nvr?

 

[JB1970]

But i understand it’s only the basic events that can be set up from the nvr?

The camera I'm using only has Basic events (motion detection). If you're using an NXI model NVR you may be able to use the NVR for AcuSense.

Hikvision used to do their cube cameras in a WiFi version but don't anymore and I'm not aware of any other available Hikvision WiFi cameras. The Ezviz is a cheap full HD WiFi camera but it does the job.

 

[benm]

I’m getting a Ezviz camera which is able to pan and track people on alert - but this needs to be set up using the Ezviz app.
So can I configure this but still have it record to the hikvision NVR and it log/playback events etc?

 

[JB1970]

I’m getting a Ezviz camera which is able to pan and track people on alert - but this needs to be set up using the Ezviz app.
So can I configure this but still have it record to the hikvision NVR and it log/playback events etc?

I haven’t tried that model so wouldn’t know

 

[benm]

Hi
So I now have the camera!
I’ve added to hikvision and it’s recording continuously to my NVR.
It’s also recording events in the EZVIZ app but not highlighting as events in hikvision.
If I try and add basic hikvision events then no events are recorded anywhere! Strange.
I might have to live with getting a better alert (and tracking etc) on the EZVIZ app then playing back manually on hikvision.
I guess I could try removing the camera from the EZVIZ app then trying to do the hikvision basic events again. But I don’t seem to be able to get that working!

 

[JB1970]

TBF sometimes it’s difficult enough getting a Hikvision camera to work correctly with a Hikvision NVR due to various firmware anomalies. It’s a while since I set up basic events on an EZVIZ and I might be remembering incorrectly so do try it via ivms 4200 as that may work better (for altering settings etc)

 

[johnfitzy]

TBF sometimes it’s difficult enough getting a Hikvision camera to work correctly with a Hikvision NVR due to various firmware anomalies.

I have/had several different Ez-Viz models... they all seem to have different features supported by the Hikvision protocol.

I’m getting a Ezviz camera which is able to pan and track people on alert - but this needs to be set up using the Ezviz app.
So can I configure this but still have it record to the hikvision NVR and it log/playback events etc?

I would try starting over and re-activating/connecting to Wi-Fi using the Hik-connect app... then use iVMS4200 to configure any settings (like auto tracking) that are not available in the Hik-connect app... you may get better results... if not, it's easy to revert back to the Ez-Viz app...

Just keep in mind you can only connect the camera to one app at a time.

 

[JB1970]

starting over and re-activating/connecting to Wi-Fi using the Hik-connect app

I’ve not tried it myself but I’m sure someone mentioned that the EZVIZ app is needed to set the WiFi up on an EZVIZ camera. Although the process is similar Hik-Connect wouldn’t recognise the EZVIZ camera for WiFi setup purposes. I’m not sure if that’s the case.

 

[johnfitzy]

Although the process is similar Hik-Connect wouldn’t recognise the EZVIZ camera for WiFi setup purposes.

It's been a while since I tried, but I seem to remember being able to use Hik-Connect to set an Ez-Viz camera up from scratch... It's really up to a new/recent user to try and see what happens now

 

[JB1970]

It's been a while since I tried, but I seem to remember being able to use Hik-Connect to set an Ez-Viz camera up from scratch... It's really up to a new/recent user to try and see what happens now

I wonder if it’s model dependent or perhaps something got addded in one of the many Hik-Connect updates. I have a spare one unopened I’ll check it later…