FYI FWIW that per a suggestion from Andy (to investigate
NR being applied even if set to ZERO per this thread), I tried his 0928 Firmware and ALSO the 0827 Firmware directly from Dahua - NR still being applied in all cases ... even with Gain=ZERO and 2D/3D NR=ZERO.
So while it seems prudent to stuck with the firmware from
@EMPIRETECANDY , I thought it worthwhile to let folks know that I
"took the leap" (LOL I was holding my breath a bit when applying!) and the Dahua firmware does appear to work.
Here is what is reported under Maintenance Center->System Info -> Device Info
0731 Firmware from @EMPIRETECANDY
ONVIF Version 24.12(V3.1.0.2254387)
System Version V3.146.0000000.1.R, Build Date: 2025-07-31
Web Version V5.01.0.2293542
Algorithm Version V5.06.14.0
Security Baseline Version V2.4
H5Player Version V3.01.1
0928 Firmware from @EMPIRETECANDY (recall this "reset" the Gain scale so that 0-100 is about the same as 0-62 on the 0731 Firmware)
ONVIF Version: 24.12(V3.1.0.2288909)
System Version: V3.146.15OG000.0.T, Build Date: 2025-09-28
Web Version: V5.01.0.2309585
Algorithm Version: V5.08.27.0
Security Baseline Version: V2.4
H5Player Version: V3.01.1
0827 Firmware directly from Dahua (will have to check tonight to see where the gain scale is - guessing probably the "full" range like 0731 above - appears to be same as 0731)
ONVIF Version: 24.12(V3.1.0.2288909)
System Version: V3.146.0000000.2.R, Build Date: 2025-08-27
Web Version: V5.01.0.2309585
Algorithm Version: V5.08.27.0
Security Baseline Version: V2.4
H5Player Version: V3.01.1
FYI that in a quick look, I didn't see any difference besides the splash screen looking different and there's a "Product Information QR popup" on the top of the main menu.
It continues to report the device as a IPC-T54PRO-ZE.