Alternative to Hikvision

[tsutton]

With the ban of Hikvision cameras looming (including rebranded), what brand do you use that is similar to Hikvision in term of pricing & quality?I have tested UNV (Uniview) brand and it's not as good as Hikvision. So what else are out there?Thanks

[Steve21]

There isn’t any ban for most places, the only one actually discussed now is sensitive government sites only

 

And it’s not just hikvision for sensitive locations, that’d include Uni view as it’s Chinese brand too

 

Steve

[ITGURU]

As above, there is no Ban, I've had an official letter from a UK distributor which has come from Hikvision UK.

[Aprice]

I think Hanwha (South Korean) is probably the closest match for a non Chinese system, however its more expensive by quite some margin and in my opinion the image quality of the Hikvision for comparable cameras was far superior. I would say the interface is OK at best.

 

Unifi Protect I think would be suitable for smaller installs, but I wouldn't have the confidence in it for a larger roll out after what happened with Unifi video. Supply of cameras can also be quite iffy at times.

 

Paxton 10 may be an option however the cameras are Hikvision running their own firmware, also this system only records on motion which may fall short.

 

I don't think a ban is looming at the moment for education e.t.c and I think doing so would be a big blow for education, unfortunately I don't really think anyone has a product that is quite as robust for the price. That said I believe steps should be taken on the network to reduce the risk i.e. VLANS, ACLs, Firewall Rules. Really I see no reason why this shouldn't be done for any system, if cameras don't need internet access then they shouldn't have it.

[localzuk]

My fear with installing Hikvision today would be the escalating tensions with China and a wider ban coming in the fairly near term. So, we could end up installing stuff only to be told to swap it out sooner than we expect.

[PotNoodleTech]

I mean - if you're gonna ban chinese stuff then your basically banning everything you now run and own including the Pcs, mobile devices, cisco switches, etc etc.

 

Especially in the CCTV area - name one top 5 tier camera that isn't made in china.

 

I want to move away from my Hikvision DVR, not because they're chinese but because the software interface is rubbish and unreliable.

[dhicks]

So what else are out there?

 

Has anyone tried / looked at using Raspberry Pi based CCTV cameras? I see that there are some designed-for-CCTV cases available, so you pretty much just purchase the appropriate Pi device, along with camera module and probably PoE adaptor, then screw it all together and plug it in. It's the sort of thing that's simple enough when you know what you're doing, but you'd think / hope there'd be someone who could supply and support pre-made Pi cameras.

[localzuk]

I mean - if you're gonna ban chinese stuff then your basically banning everything you now run and own including the Pcs, mobile devices, cisco switches, etc etc.

The issue at hand is that the govt has been consistently increasing its dislike of Chinese company owned CCTV and network, with increasing bans in place. So, planning around those bans getting larger/more strict, especially as the tensions with China are increasing as well, would seem sensible.

[slugshead]

If they're not calling home, what's the problem? It's good value for money and I'm happy to jump on the conspiracy bandwagon. But out of the box (At their price point) the amount of features you get is astonishing.

 

My preference though is Mobotix cameras, the cost of 1 Mobotix you can get 6-8 Hiks...

[Cw2k]

If they're not calling home, what's the problem? It's good value for money and I'm happy to jump on the conspiracy bandwagon. But out of the box (At their price point) the amount of features you get is astonishing.

 

 

The inbuilt facial recognition tech has questionable training. A number of orgs such as big brother watch have been have been sending out FOI requests to education providers to find out if they are using the facial recognition feature of hikvision and Dahua cameras

[andy_b]

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-policing-shot-through-with-chinese-surveillance-technology

[localzuk]

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-policing-shot-through-with-chinese-surveillance-technology

See, this is what I mean about current tensions. The language in that is now looking at the moral side of it - which, realistically, should be down to foreign policy, not individual public sector bodies. So, until such language stops being used, I won't be considering these companies for our usage here - too high risk that the language gets transferred into legislation.

[DrCheese]

So our NVR software is Avigilon, it's by far the best CCTV software I've used - But we have only been buying hikvision cameras for the past 5/6 years because they are the cheapest. The equivalent Avigilon/Axis was always at least triple the cost.

 

But yea I'm getting increasingly uncomfortable about buying them in. Although I don't think we'll be forced to change all our existing cameras, I can definitely see a ban coming for schools. I also don't want to directly fund a company that has no issues with using it's technology for evil. (Don't want to get into politics)

 

Thankfully, Avigilon seem to have realised their pricing was getting silly & now I can get them for around £100 more than a hik, so going forward that'll be what I buy again. But I worry they've only done this because of how cheap Hik are and I'm wary they'll slap the prices right backup when they don't have to compete anymore.

 

But yeah, look at Avigilon if you can - Great Software, Great cameras.

[Wubbalubbadub]

I know someone who’s went to a security convention who said it was confirmed that the government are asking for hikvision to not go in sensitive areas, but no ban for councils or schools.

Obviously this is just hearsay.. but I’m not stopping buying it until I see a ban..

 

The value is just impossible to beat!

 

If you have a firewall.. don’t see why you would be worried!!?

[localzuk]

If you have a firewall.. don’t see why you would be worried!!?

The worry is not about data safety. It is about geopolitics, and potential costs and time down the road. The govt has already ordered ISPs to remove Huawei kit from phone networks, and banned the Chinese manufactured CCTV from "sensitive sites". I don't particularly want to do some work, then be ordered to rip it all out in 12 months, when tensions increase further. Sure, the govt would probably reimburse us for the kit, but its extra work as well.

[FN-GM]

 

If you have a firewall.. don’t see why you would be worried!!?

 

What’s the logic here please? A firewall itself isn’t enough to stop unwanted data going offsite.

[slugshead]

then be ordered to rip it all out

 

Unless the org making this demand pays for a replacement, it's not getting ripped out. It's as simple as that.

[psydii]

Unless the org making this demand pays for a replacement, it's not getting ripped out. It's as simple as that.

 

Most likely, but very much not a given.

 

We’re stocking up on spares just to make sure we can last until its all ten years old and due a refresh under the lifecycle policy (an import ban, or an extension to the ban of new installs at sensitive sites being extending it out to LAs/NHS/Education seems quite possible). That said, we are hoping things don’t deteriorate to the point that it has to be ripped out.

[slugshead]

Yeah seen things in the news today about a few police forces in Wales turning off their Hik kit, might give them a ring and see if I can buy it all at mates rates

[0x9h3]

Hello,

 

Is I.E Tab the Google Chrome plugin needed now a subscription service?!

[Jcx500]

So our NVR software is Avigilon, it's by far the best CCTV software I've used - But we have only been buying hikvision cameras for the past 5/6 years because they are the cheapest. The equivalent Avigilon/Axis was always at least triple the cost.

 

But yea I'm getting increasingly uncomfortable about buying them in. Although I don't think we'll be forced to change all our existing cameras, I can definitely see a ban coming for schools. I also don't want to directly fund a company that has no issues with using it's technology for evil. (Don't want to get into politics)

 

Thankfully, Avigilon seem to have realised their pricing was getting silly & now I can get them for around £100 more than a hik, so going forward that'll be what I buy again. But I worry they've only done this because of how cheap Hik are and I'm wary they'll slap the prices right backup when they don't have to compete anymore.

 

But yeah, look at Avigilon if you can - Great Software, Great cameras.

 

Can second this , Avigilon cameras are spot on.

[mavhc]

You can easily stop traffic going offsite, you just have a vlan that's not connected to the router.

 

I'm surprised someone's not made a camera and made the software open source, you'd get all the savings of not having to develop your software all alone, security credibility, and recommendations from nerds.

[dhicks]

I'm surprised someone's not made a camera and made the software open source

 

My thoughts exactly - I can find a handy-looking CCTV case for the Raspberry Pi, complete with wall bracket:

 

https://thepihut.com/products/pi-zero-camera-case

 

Hardware parts cost, including the case, Pi Zero and camera module,, is around £60, it might be a bit more for a fancier lens. The Pe Zero is currently listed as out-of-stock on Pi Hut, which might explain why it's possibly not as popular a platform for CCTV at the moment.

[jthompson]

Would love to not have to use Hikvision or any other brand that still doesn't work properly in modern browsers. Amazed that there are so few real alternatives. Having to leverage IE-mode plugins or locally installed software (the HikVision LocalServiceComponents is a particularly crummy example) in order to view camera feeds seems to be a hallmark of Chinese CCTV kit. That and weird, non-standard design decisions around user management and passwords.

[psydii]

Do we have thoughts on Ubiquiti kit in this space? https://eu.store.ui.com/collections/unifi-protect Edited February 20, 2023 by psydii