Posts made by Crimp On_62210811129

You are, of course, correct about the RLC-423 being PoE and not WiFi. I sometimes have trouble with the Reolink "Product" display and thought I was selecting WiFi cameras. Sorry.

Have you tried support@reolink.com? It might be different people on the Tech Support help desk than on the community web site?

Just wondering, what port number does Blue Iris find the RLC-423 at?

You can "see" the RLC-423 because it is a WiFi camera that is not wired directly to the NVR for Power Over Ethernet (PoE). The cameras that are connected to the NVR are assigned IP addresses by the NVR which are not in your normal WiFi IP range. (Frankly, I am surprised that the RLC-423 has the same IP as the NVR. My assumption is that it would get an IP address from your router.) This business of the NVR assigning IP addresses to the cameras is a recurring issue on this forum. A number of people have pleaded with Reolink to let the customer decide IP addresses.

The only way I know of to make the cameras "visible" is to have them get IP addresses from your router. i.e. instead of providing PoE from the NVR, install a PoE switch that is connected to your network and connect the RLC-410's to it instead of the NVR. An 8-port PoE switch is about $100.

By-the-way, I can understand what led the NVR designers to do what they did. If the cameras are connected directly to the NVR, (1) it's a LOT harder to hack them because they are physically separate from the main network, and (2) none of the camera traffic goes over the main network. When networks were a lot slower than they are today, a dozen cameras blasting constantly could overwhelm the customer's main network. Today... not so much.

Of course, with the cameras not visible, it also means that customers rely on the NVR and are sort of tied into the ecosystem.

OK, Android phone. Just to be clear, "Do not disturb" means "I do not want to be bothered now." The phone shows nothing, makes no sound, etc. I use this setting ONLY when at the movies and after I go to bed at night.

My Android Pie has a number of settings which control notifications. For example, under Lock screen preferences there is a setting for "Wake screen when you receive notifications." I think this is a phone issue, and not a Reolink issue. Notifications are handled differently by each release of Android, and differently between manufacturers.

My understanding is that notifications are processed differently be each mobile device (phone, tablet, Apple, Android, etc.) and even differently by version of operating system on the device. So, Carl's question is critical. Under what condition are alerts not making a sound: (a) when the phone is on but the screen is locked? (b) when the phone is on, but is "asleep" or set to "do not disturb"? Exactly which phone is this?

Carl,

As always, the support team gives the best advice which Reolink has made available. There are two issues with using sensitivity level to adjust what the camera regards as "motion".

(1) The camera does not report what "level" caused a motion to be detected. i.e. was it "10", "20", "21", ??? If the camera would report, "I tagged this as 'motion' because it rated xx on a scale of 1 to 50", then the user could say, "hey, if I set the sensitivity to xx, then most of these non-events would not register." But, we have NO IDEA what the value was.
(2) The switch from day mode to night mode changes every day of the year. The user cannot be expected to change the time limits for every camera, every week. That is just ridiculous.

I am strongly in favor of introducing a "time" component. If "motion" persists for a defined number of frames, then it truly IS "motion". If not, then it should be ignored. Yes, it is a LOT harder to program than a simple frame-by-frame comparison, but these guys are 'smart', n'est pas?

The Reolink RLC series of cameras are a tremendous combination of hardware at a reasonable price. With the new mounting bracket, the cameras are much easier to install. However, constantly recording "motion" that is not valuable just bugs the heck out of me. Specifically, when something happens that takes less than a second, and the camera produces a 20 second recording. (5 seconds prior and 15 seconds after) Specific examples are (a) a bug or bird flying across the camera, and (b) when the camera changes from "night" to "daytime" mode.

I thought that I had a solution, which is to FTP the records to a server and write a script that deletes every recording so small that it would be under 21 seconds. Alas, that doesn't work because (a) when the camera is in black & white mode the MP4 files are a lot smaller (and there is no way to know when the camera is going to switch modes), and (b) even when the camera is in color mode if significant motion is only in a small part of the screen the compression makes the total recording smaller.

Reolink has never shown interest in providing a way to keep only recordings that "move" for more than a minimum time. Has anyone come up with a way to discard stupid recordings? Like, is there a DOS command that will identify MP4 files by length?

Oh, dear. How disappointing. Publishing a "change log" is pretty much a standard procedure in the computer industry. If there is a document that the support staff can access, most companies simply make the document public or even include it with the new release. (See releases of Wireshark, CCleaner, for example.)

Does Reolink publish a "change log" describing how this version differs from the previous version?

True, the "totally wireless" cameras cannot be connected to the NVR. They also do not support the full set of firmware features that are found on the RLC cameras, such as directly connecting via a web browser, sending motion recordings with FTP, using different schedules for motion recording vs. email notices. I have two of the original Argus battery powered cameras, which I have converted to USB power. They can run forever, but the firmware still has the features Reolink put in to preserve battery life.

I very much doubt that a second registration would be successful. I skipped that step. Would be interesting to try and see if you want to spend the time.

This may seem to be a "drastic" solution. How about deleting storage and cache from the Reolink app. This should remove everything about every camera. That's in Settings->Apps->Reolink. Although it may seem silly, I am not confident that removing and reinstalling an Android app actually clears the saved data.

On my Reolink Android app, when I click on the red "down arrow" to show all of the cameras, and then click on the "gear" symbol for a camera, it brings up a list of options with "Delete" in red letters at the bottom. Have you tried that?

Reolink support also says the 5MP camera has the capability, and I appreciate your confirmation. I will get this model and a cheap PoE unit to power it. I do not have an NVR. I believe the Windows client app is the same whether used to access NVR or individual cameras. My guess is since no other RLC cameras have this capability, the app believes they are "all the same" and doesn't have logic to display different options for different models.

Just checking..... Is there any model of PoE camera that is able to turn off the infrared LED's (similar to the capability in the Argus line)?

I have dealt with my "flying insect" and "spiderweb" issues by installing separate IR illuminators that cover the same viewing area, but draw the insects away from the Reolink camera. No more constant "motion events." However, it is a chore to cover the Reolink LEDs and cut out holes for the lens and light sensor. Would be MUCH easier if the LEDs could simply be turned off programmatically.

Thanks

Oh, yes. I understand that opening the case completely voids the warranty. I am pretty sure that powering my Argus using a USB cord through the test port also voids the warranty. I was totally frustrated at having to restrict the Argus hours of operation to keep from spending a fortune on batteries. Now, I can watch and record all I want.

Will be interesting to see what is inside.

Does anybody happen to have pictures of the "insides" of the RLC-410 camera? i.e. with the case off?
I am looking at a project to make a different housing to conceal the camera, which means removing the case and mounting bracket and getting rid of the LED's. (Yes, I know this voids the warranty.) If I "felt lucky", I would just purchase one and take it apart. Would be convenient to see what it looks like before spending the money.

Oh, my. This is certainly not good. My network router is set up to hand out specific IP's to most devices using DHCP. That way, I have the convenience of knowing which IP goes with which device, but have the flexibility to change them if I want to. For example, I FTP motion files to a server which allows only certain IP's to connect.

On my RLC-410WS cameras, using Reolink Windows client, I can erase individual "squares" of motion detection area, or erase the entire screen. Which cameras and which app are you using?

If the camera works when IP address is provided by DHCP and fails when set to static, then some part of the static address setup is incorrect. For successful networking, ALL parameters are essential (IP address, network mask, gateway, etc.) Have you tried setting the static IP to

exactly

Yes, the camera is supposed to automatically connect to WiFi when power is restored. My cameras do this after a power outage (or a reset). My first guess is that something about the WiFi connection was not "saved". I sometimes get in a hurry when changing things on my Reolink cameras and click "close" (the X in the corner) instead of "OK". It is good that you are testing before climbing a ladder to install the camera.