ak_camguy

These cameras come with a setting to store to a NFS share. This works great, except it doesn't purge the data. After a week of HD recording I have almost used up 500GB of storage. At this rate I would need a ton of storage in order to keep a month's worth of data... My question is how do you purge this data? I know most NVR's have a setting to purge after so many days... But I can't seem to find anywhere within the camera to delete footage after so many days. I am using a script to purge the data now and it works fine... But I would have thought this would have been a feature already built into the camera settings somewhere. Thanks!

Yes. I have my cameras all running hik firmware that I purchased from costco.

Thanks Max. I haven't read up on the bugs in the new software to see if its going to cause an issue for me or not. I will wait until I receive the cams and go from there. Thanks for the feedback.

I already ordered two of these cameras from amazon because they were half the price... $88 shipped per camera. I assume these are going to be Chinese based cameras? Will Firmware 5.1.6 work on these cameras? That's what I am currently running and I want to keep my cameras all at the same level if possible. Also, do I need to do anything to enable English on these cameras? Sorry if this has been asked already, but I imagine for this price point many others are going to be interested in these cameras as well.

Something you guys are doing must be wrong... I use IVMS-4200 PCNVR and it records the files to the drive, allows me to do live view, setup grids for motion detection etc etc. I haven't ran into a single issue with this software. I am running 2 hik bullet cameras and just purchased two more. I am able to view the live feed and playback from my samsung S5. I had issues with IVMS-4500, so I downgraded back to 4200. Make sure you are port forwarding port 8000 in order to use the mobile app, as that's the port it uses... For example. PCNVR server is setup using 192.168.1.100, make sure you allow port 8000 on our router and map it to 192.168.1.100. Good luck!

Well, I got the firmware loaded just fine. However, I still don't see any option to delete files once the device is full.... Any know where that setting is located? Had to poke around in the settings.... It's located under the record schedule. Take care fellas!

I currently am running 5.0 firmware as it was the only firmware at the time that would work flawlessly with my NFS and CIFS shares. The downside is that my cameras do not auto delete content in this firmware version and my NAS always fills up. I have had to write some custom scripts to fix this issue and it seems in the newer versions they have fixed this issue and added face detection and a few other items. I went to hikvisions ftp site and they no longer carry 5.1.6.... So if anyone could link a good working copy I would appreciate it. I need an English version. Much appreciated! ****Good old google******* http://www.wrightwoodsurveillance.com/stuff/English%205.1.6.zip

Yes you can save directly to a NAS. That is how I am doing it today... Pros: Doesn't require a dedicated computer/server Cons: Requires knowledge of NFS (network file system) configuration on cameras to connect to NFS share on NAS and can be a pain to initialize (format) the hard drive the first few times. Unable to view multiple cameras at once. If you want to monitor a camera you have to log into each individual camera and view the playback from each camera. My Setup: I personally have a server and a NAS. Hikivision cameras can backup to like 6 different resources effectively on a Gigabit network. I use the Server/workstation to view multiple camera feeds and the NAS is a backup in case someone were to steal my viewing station or if the drive dies on my viewing station. (both my systems use raid and western digital red drives, so I am not really concerned with it bringing down the raid array). I started just like you, and for 2 camera's its not too bad... You get more than that and it becomes a nightmare. good luck!

I "was" using a shared folder on my laptop called door. I then went into the camera and set it up to use the ip and /door for the location. IE: 192.168.1.10 /door SMB/CIFS Username:enterusername Password: enterpassword Worked fine... However, my 2TB NAS never worked with any firmware I had tried and it was just basically becoming a paper weight. I finally decided to downgrade to Firmware 5.0 and my 2TB NAS works flawless now! I have tried 5.1, 5.0.2, and now finally 5.0 I am sticking with Raptor 5.0 Firmware as it seems the most stable.

Habsfan: These are the camera's you want. I bought those exact ones. http://www.costco.com/Swann-HD-1080p-NVR-IP-Add-on-Bullet-Camera-2-pk.product.100039914.html

You need to clear your cache in your browser... Reset back to factory settings. IE: Tools, Internet Options, Advanced>Reset (Restore Advanced Settings). Tools>Internet Options> General> Delete>Delete. Try that... I would downgrade to 5.0 personally 5.1 seems buggy.

I work in IT and I have been wanting a CCTV system, but have been waiting for IP Camera's for quite some time... Now that they are reasonably affordable and much better picture quality for the $$ you spend, why would someone justify spending money on an analog system over digital? Is it purely cost? I guess I am curious because I honestly don't understand... I have yet to find an analog camera that gives good enough clarity of someone to help identify them if needed. I have a couple friends who still use analog systems in their business and to be honest, I don't think they would actually be able to convict anyone unless they were caught in the act and the police arrested them on site. Here is an example of a cheap system that a few people around town run.... http://www.costco.com/Swann-8-Channel-Full-D1-Real-Time-Security-System-with-500GB-Hard-Drive-and-4-High-Resolution-Cameras.product.100028117.html

I am a satisfied customer with the SWANN bullet Hik branded cameras. I have two with the hik 5.1 software and I am extremely happy with them. I just wish they would support 2TB NFS/CIFS on the storage section. My 500GB NAS works fine, but the minute I throw 2TB drives in the same NAS the cameras fail. I am 100% its a timeout limit set in the camera while building the meta files. Other than the bigger hard disk problem, the cameras function great. Just wish they would fix this feature.

CIFS worked fine with my 500GB NAS. This is how I configured my camera.

I utilize a NAS device to backup all of my cameras. I was on really old software and I had problems with the camera's stopping to record data once the hard disk was full. In the new software they allow you to overwrite so that shouldn't be a problem anymore. I would suggest a 500GB drive/drives to be on the safe side. I have had problem with drives any larger. You could build a cheap 500GB Raid1 NAS for about $300, including the 2 hard drives.

I don't have that option.... *EDIT* Ok, updated one of my camera's to 5.1 and now I get the option to overwrite. I also notice it supports CIFS. I am trying to utilize CIFS as NFS hasn't been super reliable. I am trying to get the camera to save to my 2TB NAS now. I will give an update afterwards. Thanks again! *FINAL EDIT** Ok, 5.1 up on all cameras. It still wont mount my 2TB NAS device through NFS or CIFS. Gets to about 80% and then says "error". My 500GB NAS works fine. Hopefully the overwrite option will fix my issues.

It was in my last post.... Very bottom. The other thing I am having an issue with is that after the disk drive on my NAS fills up the cameras stop recording. The only way I can get the cameras to record again is to Format using the camera software again.... Anyone else having this issue? I have the Costco version of these cameras. I am willing to flash one with the original Hikvision software if someone would send me a link on how to go about doing it. I have used TFTP before for cisco routers and such, but never done a camera.

Thanks... So what is weird, the camera software gave me the error that it failed to initialize. But if I look on my 2TB NAS, it is still creating files... I have 20 datadir folders for my 2TB NAS, I only have 5 datadir folders for my 500GB NAS. After it completes the 20 datadir folders on my 2TB NAS, it still wont say normal... So I really think its something to do with the disk size and their software. I have 3 seperate NAS devices. Two are 2TB NAS devices, and one is 500GB. Only the 500GB NAS seems to work. Pretty lame considering I bought a high end NAS with Raid5 capability only to find out it will work with 500Gb or less drives. I also am using Gigabit switches with Cat6, so I know its not a networking issue. I am pretty sure its a time out issue with the software and the NAS. If It doesn't complete in a specific time frame then it just shows as uninitialized. I think Hikivision needs to make that timeout longer for bigger drives. *Edit* I just emailed Hikvision and hope they pass this info along to the right team. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I wanted to say thank you for your cameras. They are the best quality cameras for the price and I would recommend them to everyone I know if your team could resolve the storage issue with your next firmware release. When using the storage feature it looks like your datadir folders are created based off 100GB increments. IE: If I have a 500GB drive, your camera knows to create 5 Datadir folders on the specified NFS device. I have 3 NAS devices all utilizing NFS on a Gigabit network with all devices using Gigabit network cards. Two utilize 2TB drives and one utilizes 500GB drives. The only NAS I can successfully get your cameras to work with is the 500GB NAS device. This seems to be due to a timeout limit set in the camera software. Basically, the 2TB NAS device is using NFS. I can see where your camera creates the required 20 datadir folders based on my NAS size. It then tries to copy files to the NAS device. It gets to DataDir10 and then your camera software reports under the Progress section, "unable to initialize disk". I login to my NAS and the funny thing is your camera is still creating the files on my NAS device. It eventually creates all the required files but when I go back into the camera software it will never say "Normal" for the status. I am a Computer Engineer by trade and work with enterprise class devices and have done extensive testing with your cameras and multiple NAS devices. It seems to be a timeout issue with the software not creating the files in time for your camera software to do its health check. I would be willing to help assist your team with testing. I have 3 NAS devices and I have swapped the 500GB drives into each NAS one by one and they all work fine if the drives are only 500GB. If I try a known good NAS device and swap the 500GB drives out with 2TB drives the camera system will not complete the process. Sorry for the lengthy email. I know your company is busy, but this would be a great feature to start supporting bigger drives as most people are using 2TB+ drives today. I have shared this information with other hikvision camera owners over at this forum. http://www.cctvforum.com It seems I am not the only one experiencing this issue. It seems to be fairly common with any model hikvision camera and the storage feature. Please feel free to contact me. I am using multiple Hikvision SWNHD-820CAM cameras that you re-brand for Costco. Firmware Version 4.0.9 130419 Encoding Version 4.0 build 121228

Can someone confirm that they are actually able to get their cameras working with a 2TB or larger disk? I have a raid1 2TB array and it will constantly fail at around 40% and give the famous "unable to initialize" error. I have another laptop that only has a 500GB drive, it builds quickly and works fine. So, It acts like its a size issue related to the camera software somehow. That's the only thing that makes sense currently.

Thanks for the info! I will leave it be from now on and see if it ever fills up the 500GB I have available. Thanks again.

Ok, So I have a couple different NAS devices and found out that you have to use the full path. It looks like these cameras do not support NFS4. Hopefully that helps some of you techies out there.

I was curious about this myself so I tried... Doesn't work. The codec that hikvision utilizes VLC doesn't recognize. I went with the screen capture software method.

I am from Alaska. I am using the camera software to capture the video. No editing done at all. I am using the storage option within the camera software. I kept the defaults for pre-record and post record of 5 seconds. I was utilizing blue iris prior, but it is very hardware intensive for HD cameras. This way is really quick and easy to get videos saved and backed up on a NAS device. I also found that most valid video clips are 16+mb, so it makes it rather easy to identify what is valid and what is not. I am a computer engineer by trade so I have some scripts that copy these specific files to another share elsewhere and eventually I will get it where they email me and do some other helpful things. I just haven't had the time to play with it as much as I would like as I have other projects to keep me busy.

I have the 2 bullet costco re-branded Hikvision camera's and I am VERY happy with the quality. I managed to catch the post man today delivering some mail and its impressive video quality. This is just one camera view of a few I have setup around my house. uZTXda8_1Gg Make sure to set to 1080p on youtube.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EMSPW9K/ref=gb1h_tit_c-2_3982_07cd7637?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_t=701&pf_rd_s=center-new-2&pf_rd_r=03Q8RTA2GWPGRSWY7JY3&pf_rd_i=20&pf_rd_p=1646453982 $179.99 I wouldn't go with wireless cam's but that doesn't mean these cant be of value to someone here.