Can i improve my NVR5216-4KS2 footage ?

[aabs]

I have had my set up few years now with Dahua NVR5216-4KS2 with the following cameras
DH-SD49225XA-HNR
IPC-HDW5231R-Z
IPC-HDW5231R-ZE

However after a recent late night visitor I was unable to get a decent face picture. I'm not sure if I can improve the settings on my current cameras or use software to improve the footage. I've attached pictures of the footage and typical settings on my cameras The footage shown is from my NVR camera main stream.

 

[wittaj]

It starts with camera settings in the camera GUI.

Getting off default/auto settings and then going with faster shutters of at least 1/120 is a must.

 

[aabs]

It starts with camera settings in the camera GUI.

Getting off default/auto settings and then going with faster shutters of at least 1/120 is a must.

Thanks for your help.
The mode was set to auto.
I've made the changes as per the picture is this what you were referring to ?

 

[wittaj]

Yeah but 1/25 is WAY TOO SLOW

At least 1/120.

But the faster the shutter, the darker the image. You need lots of light. So you may go from color to B/W


In terms of getting the most out of the camera, here is my "standard" post that many use as a start for dialing in day and night that helps get the clean captures and help the camera recognize people and cars.

Start with:

H264
8192 bitrate
CBR
15FPS
15 iframes

Every field of view is different, but I have found you need contrast to usually be 6-8 higher than the brightness number at night.

We want the ability to freeze frame capture a clean image from the video at night, and that is only done with a shutter of 1/60 or faster. At night, default/auto may be on 1/12s shutter or worse to make the image bright.

In my opinion, shutter (exposure) and gain are the two most important parameters and then base the others off of it. Shutter is more important than FPS. It is the shutter speed that prevents motion blur, not FPS. 15 FPS is more than enough for surveillance cameras as we are not producing Hollywood movies. Match iframes to FPS. 15FPS is all that is usually needed.

Many people do not realize there is manual shutter that lets you adjust shutter and gain and a shutter priority that only lets you adjust shutter speed but not gain. The higher the gain, the bigger the noise and see-through ghosting start to appear because the noise is amplified. Most people select shutter priority and run a faster shutter than they should because it is likely being done at 100 gain, so it is actually defeating their purpose of a faster shutter.

Go into shutter settings and change to manual shutter and start with custom shutter as ms and change to 0-8.3ms and gain 0-50 (night) and 0-4ms exposure and 0-30 gain (day)for starters. Auto could have a shutter speed of 100ms or more with a gain at 100 and shutter priority could result in gain up at 100 which will contribute to significant ghosting and that blinding white you will get from the infrared or white light.

Now what you will notice immediately at night is that your image gets A LOT darker. That faster the shutter, the more light that is needed. But it is a balance. The nice bright night static image results in Casper blur and ghost during motion LOL. What do we want, a nice static image or a clean image when there is motion introduced to the scene?

In the daytime, if it is still too bright, then drop the 4ms down to 3ms then 2ms, etc. You have to play with it for your field of view.

Then at night, if it is too dark, then start adding ms to the time. Go to 10ms, 12ms, etc. until you find what you feel is acceptable as an image. Then have someone walk around and see if you can get a clean shot. Try not to go above 16.67ms (but certainly not above 30ms) as that tends to be the point where blur starts to occur. Conversely, if it is still bright, then drop down in time to get a faster shutter.

You can also adjust brightness and contrast to improve the image. But try not to go above 70 for anything and try to have contrast be at least 7-10 digits higher than brightness.

You can also add some gain to brighten the image - but the higher the gain, the more ghosting you get. Some cameras can go to 70 or so before it is an issue and some can't go over 50.

But adjusting those two settings will have the biggest impact. The next one is noise reduction. Want to keep that as low as possible. Depending on the amount of light you have, you might be able to get down to 40 or so at night (again camera dependent) and 20-30 during the day, but take it as low as you can before it gets too noisy. Again this one is a balance as well. Too smooth and no noise can result in soft images and contribute to blur.

Do not use backlight features until you have exhausted every other parameter setting. And if you do have to use backlight, take it down as low as possible.

After every setting adjustment, have someone walk around outside and see if you can freeze-frame to get a clean image. If not, keep changing until you do. Clean motion pictures are what we are after, not a clean static image.

 

[bigredfish]

^^^^
Agree as a starting point. No reason not to run at least 30fps on that PTZ though. Nothing lost

Yes thats the exposure setting on the camera.

You seem to have good light, but still its a 2MP PTZ and will only do so much, and it doesnt quite zoom enough for great facial detail out on the street.
You may be able to get away with 1/60 given your light.

Its always a struggle between faster shutter and darker, nosier image.
Shutter Prio makes it brighter, but tends to add noise as it increases gain.
Try simple Manual setting. I dont use shutter prio anywhere
Then its a matter of playing with gain vs shutter
To fine tune you can go to Custom at the very bottom of the exposure presets. 1/60 is equal to 0-16.67 ms, 1/120 is equal to 0-8.33ms

With the light you have, I would invest in a new 4MP camera that can run in color and zoomed into the street. This allows you to continue to use the PTZ as overwatch and tracking and dedicate a camera to seeing good detail from sidewalk to sidewalk.

EmpireTech IPC-B54PRO-Z4E 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP WizColor Vari-focal Bullet N

4-MP 1/1.8" CMOS image sensor, low luminance, and high definition image. Outputs max. 4 MP (2688 × 1520) @25/30 fps. Built-in multi-core light The max. IR distance is 120 m The max. warm light distance is 80 m. Features AI Rule Assist Deep learning algorithm Alarm: 2 in, 2 out; audio: 1 in, 1...

empiretech01.com

A Z4 model like the new 54PRO would probably get you what you want. I have an older Z4 and not enough light to run color but it does give me good detail in the street at 45-60ft. I could zoom a bit more but this seems to work well

 

[aabs]

Thanks for all your help guys and links to spend more cash but it’s good to see the same user names who were around and giving advice when I set up my system over 5yrs ago.
I haven’t really touched it since then as I remember the PTZ tracking being a pain the get good and the firmware upgrades for the PTZ removing the auto person tracking so decided to leave everything alone and not break something that want broke.
However with my recent capture from the other night and think it has exposed my lack of good quality facial images. Albeit if that can be improved with setting adjustments or new hardware.

 

[bigredfish]

Your settings look pretty good actually. I really don’t think that’s your biggest problem.

* The mask is going to defeat good Face ID anyway

You have two problems to overcome

• 2MP resolution isn’t great for Face ID at night without a shit ton of light or running IR. Light solves most problems and at night few of us have enough in typical street settings to run color for Face ID reliably.
• you have a rather large area to cover with varying distances. If you want Face ID at multiple random points and distances in that scene, you’ll need a tighter zoom (ideally on a better 4MP PTZ) and more light. Various points will be better than others due to the direction and intensity of the light vs target.

Consistent Face ID is typically best achieved with a fixed camera focused on a fixed distance and capturing a relatively small area as shown in my example images using a Z4. Think “choke point”…. AND with enough light to make the face identify able. It takes a lot of light

1- have the PTZ zoom more. I don’t own that older PTZ so not sure how you do that. On newer ones you set a higher value for the tracking ratio, perhaps the same on yours
2- have the PTZ trigger sooner, as soon as possible so that the subject is facing the light source when you are zoomed tight

Of course tight zoom also means more problems with tracking as the camera can overshoot and lose the target easier.

Or you could dedicate say two more cameras like the newer Z4 models I mentioned at the points in the street where they would capture the best light/face shot across the walkway/street distance
(And they would need to be lower, say 7-8 ft high )

Here’s a very good ($1200-$1600) 4MP PTZ with very good street lighting, AND added 100 watt coach lights on the entrance wall, running 1/120


View attachment HOA Ent VPN_ch1_20240101194946_20240101195018.mp4


View attachment HOA Ent VPN_ch1_20231229230933_20231229231017.mp4

 

[aabs]

I’ve already got some fixed cameras and the PTZ just gives an overview and tracks activity.
One of the fixed cameras is overlooking the vehicles iat around 10ft high to give a good overview and clear the cars. So I guess I will try a new camera in this spot first.

I also like the discreteness of the turret cameras apposed to bullet cameras but the face pictures you posted are the results I’m looking for and would be happy to upgrade a couple of my fixed cameras to achieve such results.

The link you provided with empire is out of stock. Is this still a current model which will be restocked or is there a turret version.

Is this the turret version ?

EmpireTech IPC-T54PRO-ZE 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP WizColor Vari-focal Two-way T

Expected to arrive in the United States in 2 weeks 4-MP 1/1.8" CMOS image sensor, low luminance, and high definition image. Outputs max. 4 MP (2688 × 1520) @25/30 fps. Built-in multi-core light, the max. IR distance is 60 m and the max. warm light distance is 50 m. With deep learning algorithm...

empiretech01.com

 

[bigredfish]

I’ve already got some fixed cameras and the PTZ just gives an overview and tracks activity.
One of the fixed cameras is overlooking the vehicles iat around 10ft high to give a good overview and clear the cars. So I guess I will try a new camera in this spot first.

I also like the discreteness of the turret cameras apposed to bullet cameras but the face pictures you posted are the results I’m looking for and would be happy to upgrade a couple of my fixed cameras to achieve such results.

The link you provided with empire is out of stock. Is this still a current model which will be restocked or is there a turret version.

Is this the turret version ?

EmpireTech IPC-T54PRO-ZE 1/1.8" CMOS 4MP WizColor Vari-focal Two-way T

Expected to arrive in the United States in 2 weeks 4-MP 1/1.8" CMOS image sensor, low luminance, and high definition image. Outputs max. 4 MP (2688 × 1520) @25/30 fps. Built-in multi-core light, the max. IR distance is 60 m and the max. warm light distance is 50 m. With deep learning algorithm...

empiretech01.com

No that’s the normal varifocal. 2.8-12mm

The Z4 only comes in bullet form and extends from 8mm out to 32mm. Two and a half times more zoom

Understand you have to make choices.
No one camera does it all. Common mistake. If you zoom enough for tight upper body/face shots you will lose the close in view at your cars.

The normal VF full zoom of 12mm will get you about 25 ft of good face. The Z4 is good out to 60ft but a much smaller field of view