Darkfighter DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3

[Andycots]

Hi, i have the DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3 and Hikvision state it is a Darkfighter, the firmware is on V5.6.14 build 190826, but in comparison to both my DS-2CD2165G0-I cams that are also Darkfighter it seems nowhere near the same quality in low light conditions. Do i have the correct firmware, or is it not a true Darkfighter as described on the Hikvision website.

DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3

Hikvision DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3 2-inch 4MP 4X Powered by DarkFighter IR Network Speed Dome

www.hikvision.com

Andy

 

[Phil]

The datasheet does confirm it as a darkfighter model:
https://www.use-ip.co.uk/datasheets/6727/hikvision_ds2de4a204iwde_2mp_4x_mini_ptz_camera.pdf

We haven't had any other comments or feedback on its performance.
I note that we added it to our webshop in Spring 2018, which seems early for DarkFighter, and that it is now marked as EOL.

Hikvision DS-2DE4A204IW-DE 2MP 4X Mini PTZ Camera

The DS-2DE4A204IW-DE is now End of Life. May we recommend the Hikvision DS-2DE4A225IW-DE as replacement or please feel free to browse our Hikvision category. The Hikvision DS-2DE4A204IW-DE is a 2MP PTZ with a 2.8mm-12mm lens that offers 4x optical zoom and 16x digital zoom. This PTZ is designed...

www.use-ip.co.uk

 

[Andycots]

Hi Phil, my one is a 2DE2A, can you confirm I am on the correct firmware. Cheers

 

[Phil]

5.6.14 is the latest:

HIKVISION UK PORTAL

www.hikvisioneurope.com

 

[homer64]

V5.6.15_Build191211 is now available for the DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3.

 

[macman]

5.6.14 is the latest:

HIKVISION UK PORTAL

www.hikvisioneurope.com

Phil, does v5.6.14 confirm anywhere on the UK portal that it is compatible with DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3?

I ask because a] I can't see the release note; and b] I have been talking only this morning to Hikvision tech support about a bug in v5.6.14 [and 5.6.15] which causes the frame rate to dwindle down to 1-4fps soon after enabling Storage->Lite Storage …and their response was that neither 5.6.14 nor 5.6.15 have been tested by the UK team for the DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3 so they don't list them as being compatible.

Following the UK portal's link to the firmware from their DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3 product page takes you to v5.6.0.

 

[Phil]

If it's some sort of anomaly, then it's best to follow their recommendation.

 

[Dan]

Hi @macman

It's not a model that is regularly available in the UK, all the times we have enquired about it for customers the stock that has been available is in mainland Europe and so we would go by the information that is on the EU portal

The release notes on the EU portal say 5.6.0 is compatible with your model as is v.5.6.14, the notes for v5.6.15 do not mention your model so this may explain the issues you have seen upgrading to those versions.

 

[macman]

Hi @Dan,

I upgraded to v5.6.14 before even testing the camera and I have certainly had the Lite Storage bug since then [and it could also be in the earlier firmware]. I hoped 5.6.15 might fix it but it didn't. But the camera was happy to accept v5.6.15 and doesn't seem to have suffered any injuries.

Now I'm trying to test the v5.6.0 [UK recommended] firmware but when I try "upgrading" to it, I am told: "The version of upgrade file mismatches". Not sure why that might be - unless I'm doing it in the wrong place. I bought the camera from an accredited UK reseller but maybe it's a mismatch between the installed EU version of v5.6.15 and the incoming UK version of v5.6.0?

 

[nesswill]

Now I'm trying to test the v5.6.0 [UK recommended] firmware but when I try "upgrading" to it, I am told: "The version of upgrade file mismatches". Not sure why that might be - unless I'm doing it in the wrong place. I bought the camera from an accredited UK reseller but maybe it's a mismatch between the installed EU version of v5.6.15 and the incoming UK version of v5.6.0?

I can not down-grade either?
D

 

[macman]

Hikvision tell me to try installing v5.6.0 using their TFTP tool which I have downloaded. It could be a long day as I don't have a clue about Windows or the command prompt - and apparently I need to find the control panel and the secret Telnet app. The chance of failure is high - User Error = 81% COF; TFTP = 67% COF - but I have the idiot's guide (far too complicated for this idiot) so onwards and downwards.

 

[macman]

@nesswill - if you want the TFTP tool, I've uploaded it here. If you succeed, maybe you could share your method? NB. This app came via Hikvision UK and may not be the correct version for other regions.

 

[macman]

As feared, I'm stuck on Page 1, Step 1. The ReadMe which comes with TFTP tool says to change the name of the extracted firmware file from "digicap.dav" to "digcap.dav" [search me]. But Windows won't let me change it - at least not by right-clicking and not via the file explorer. Of course, I can change the name in MacOs but if I then try to access it on Windows, it isn't there. In order to see it in Windows I need to expand the .zip file in Windows and rename files right there. It will let me rename folders… but files? No way. I don't even get a little message telling me I don't have permission to rename it. I knew I was right 25 years ago to swear allegiance to the MacOs: I hate this stuff. Now wondering if I'm brave/daft enough to try renaming it via the command line.

 

[macman]

OK - I had to drag the .dav file out of C/ in order to rename it. But nothing seems to be happening. I changed the computer and camera IPs to the recommended number (192.0.0.128) turned off wi-fi and told TFTP to go do its thing - which after 30mins is nada.

SADP is supposed to be able to see the camera, which is now wired directly into the computer - but it sees nada. Tried a patch and a crossover cable in combination with a 12v power supply.

Out of my depth so will sleep on it before giving up.

 

[StewartM]

Hikvision TFTP tool is outdated. The readme is not accurate either. You don't need to rename the file, you can leave it as digicap.dav. Depending on which firmware the camera is on, the server could be set to 192.0.0.128 or 192.168.1.128. Use a regular Ethernet cable and a PoE injector.
Please post a capture of TFTP log.
Hikvision has hardened their security significantly to patch vulnerabilities and prevent reverse engineering the firmware. As of 5.6.11 it looks like some of those security features came into play. The 'Version mismatch' error appears in several other models when trying to downgrade to less secure versions.
If SADP does not see the camera it's possible the camera is 'bricked'. It's easy to fix by re-loading the v5.6.15 using the TFTP app.

 

[macman]

A new dawn and new hope. Many thanks @StewartM for your help, armed with which I am about to rejoin the fray. Just to be clear, whatever IP the server is given must also be given to the camera?

 

[StewartM]

The camera does not need an IP assigned. It will default to 192.0.0.64 or 192.168.1.64 depending on the model/firmware. Trick is to get the server IP set correctly. Try the server at 192.0.0.128 first. It's been a while since I used Hik's TFTP app, I'll try refresh my memory later this afternoon and report back.

 

[macman]

Thanks again. I tried both server IP options and got no response out of TFTP. I may be falling between two stools since the ReadMe and the PDF instructions conflict with each other. So far I have tried:

1. …naming the firmware file ""digicap.dav" [PDF] and "digcap.dav" [ReadMe]
2. …server IP "192.0.0.128" and "192.168.1.128"
3. …powering the camera via 12V PSU and via Ubiquiti POE switch

Next I'm going to try reverting the TFTP folder name to "TFTP" [as supplied in the Hikvision archive] from "TFTP-Auto-Install" as shown in the PDF. Then I will try using a fresh version of the v5.6.0 firmware file.

Should SADP see the camera after I have turned the internet off and plugged the camera into the PC? I assumed it would but it doesn't.

I'm trying to do this in Windows 10 running in emulation on my iMac via the fine and long-established Parallels emulation app. It's possible to leave wi-fi turned on for the Mac side but switched off on the Windows side but I turned both off to be sure.

I have just reconnected the camera to my Mac-side network and it wouldn't come online there in either SADP and iVMS until I changed its IP from 192.0.0.128" to "192.168.1.128". It's now working and I was able to downgrade its firmware from the recently installed v5.6.15 [which was never officially compatible with the DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3] to v5.6.14 [which was officially compatible but has never been tested/endorsed by Hikvision UK]. The bug I'm trying to get rid of is also present in v5.6.14 so I will keep trying via TFTP to downgrade to v5.6.0 [the latest firmware officially endorsed by Hikvision UK]…which may or may not eliminate the bug. At the worst, it will at least go back to the vendor with Hikvision EU-approved firmware inside.

 

[macman]

At least I finally got the camera to show up in Windows SADP so I'm hoping for a home run soon.

Parallels has a number of shared/unshared networking options and Windows SADP didn't respond to the default "Shared Network", nor to the main alternatives, "Bridged" and "Host-only" but when I checked the "Ethernet" sub-class of "Bridged" it worked - with the camera powered via a 12V PSU.

That said, my subsequent running of TFTP was another fail so I will experiment further. I'll try again with the POE switch but the last time I tried it, SADP was able to connect to all six of my currently networked cameras [how come? - my POE switch isn't connected to a router or hub, just directly to my PC] but not the camera I'm trying to force upon it.

 

[StewartM]

Did I mention I'm not a fan of Hikvision’s TFTP tool.
This is my setup and findings:
Camera and PC connected to a Tenda 4 port PoE switch.
View attachment 3352

I suspect the reason mine failed was the digicap.dav file size. I believe there is a 32MB file size limit.
Camera is bricked and won't come up in SADP. Rebooting the camera makes no difference.

Next step is to try a superior TFTP tool. More to come.