Any Experience Using IC Realtime Cameras?

[DLite]

We are getting several quotes on a camera system installation.  One vendor proposed using IC Realtime cameras.  I see there is a C4 driver for this manufacturer, but I can't find this brand mentioned anywhere on this forum.  Does anyone have experience with ease-of-use on these cameras, when it comes to viewing real-time feeds or historical video, and when it comes to creating video clips? 

Thanks

[Control4Savant]

ICR makes great cams. They are Korean made. and NDAA compliant. They have more typical  2.8 fixed turrets or WAY more expensive cams and NVRs. They have a p2p plug and play app thats easy enough to use and the WEB UI is ok too. I have not used them with C4 since switching over to Savant for my new projects but they are the preferred 3rd party for them. 

[JSTRONG]

I just installed 8 IC realtime cameras and NVR including that PTZ that can see an insect on my neighbors house 500 feet away. This week I will install the driver and see how it goes. So far, the phone app is way better than Luma. 

[DLite]

4 hours ago, Control4Savant said:

ICR makes great cams. They are Korean made. and NDAA compliant. They have more typical  2.8 fixed turrets or WAY more expensive cams and NVRs. They have a p2p plug and play app thats easy enough to use and the WEB UI is ok too. I have not used them with C4 since switching over to Savant for my new projects but they are the preferred 3rd party for them. 

 

1 hour ago, JSTRONG said:

I just installed 8 IC realtime cameras and NVR including that PTZ that can see an insect on my neighbors house 500 feet away. This week I will install the driver and see how it goes. So far, the phone app is way better than Luma. 

This is all great to hear!  I did like that vendor best.

What should I expect regarding the network configuration of the cameras?  Is it necessary to put the cameras on their own VLAN?  And, would the NVR go on that VLAN as well, or does it need to stay on the main network, if I want to view feeds from C4 and from the ICR app?  How would firewall rules work in this case?  Sorry for the naive questions. I'm getting a range of recommendations from the various surveillance vendors, and I'm not sure if there is a "gold-standard" approach to this or not.

[JSTRONG]

You can just plug the cams into the nvr. they can also go into your switch. No Vlan required

So far I don't see them sddp in composer, so I had to manually add the IP address. 

[Cyknight]

2 hours ago, JSTRONG said:

So far I don't see them sddp in composer, so I had to manually add the IP address

To be clear, SDDP wouldn't work by default via an NVR (assuming they have SDDP enabled to begin with)

[DLite]

22 minutes ago, Cyknight said:

To be clear, SDDP wouldn't work by default via an NVR (assuming they have SDDP enabled to begin with)

Would there be any downside to manually adding the IP addresses of the cameras, in lieu of SDDP? (I'm assuming IP addresses would be reserved on the router, etc.)

[Cyknight]

3 minutes ago, DLite said:

Would there be any downside to manually adding the IP addresses of the cameras, in lieu of SDDP? (I'm assuming IP addresses would be reserved on the router, etc.)

SDDP allows you to have dynamic IPs, and the system can auto load drivers in (and unsure the correct driver) - end functionality wise there are no differences.

[JSTRONG]

4 minutes ago, DLite said:

Would there be any downside to manually adding the IP addresses of the cameras, in lieu of SDDP? (I'm assuming IP addresses would be reserved on the router, etc.)

Spoke to icr support the cams all need to connect to your network switch and not the nvr if you what to integrate with c4. 

[DLite]

1 hour ago, JSTRONG said:

Spoke to icr support the cams all need to connect to your network switch and not the nvr if you what to integrate with c4. 

I see.  And, this remains true even if you use static IP addresses and attempt to add the cameras to Composer via IP address?

[Cyknight]

3 minutes ago, DLite said:

I see.  And, this remains true even if you use static IP addresses and attempt to add the cameras to Composer via IP address?

As an NVR creates a closed internal LAN, static or not won't matter. Ability to reach cameras behind an NVR depends on the NVR being able to do so, and the driver being written properly to allow it.

The latter is done often enough (see Chowmain's HIKvision driver, Uniview's own driver (or Chowmain's) the Luma drivers and more.

But if the driver isn't written for it, or the NVR doesn't have (matching) options to allow it....

Even if all the above works, there's still the question if things like motion or smart event triggers from those cameras will work properly behind the NVR or not (if they are needed/desired, ie use line crossing on a driveway camera to turn lights on between midnight and 6am)

[DLite]

1 minute ago, Cyknight said:

As an NVR creates a closed internal LAN, static or not won't matter. Ability to reach cameras behind an NVR depends on the NVR being able to do so, and the driver being written properly to allow it.

The latter is done often enough (see Chowmain's HIKvision driver, Uniview's own driver (or Chowmain's) the Luma drivers and more.

But if the driver isn't written for it, or the NVR doesn't have (matching) options to allow it....

Even if all the above works, there's still the question if things like motion or smart event triggers from those cameras will work properly behind the NVR or not (if they are needed/desired, ie use line crossing on a driveway camera to turn lights on between midnight and 6am)

Thank you, @Cyknight. That is a very clear and helpful explanation.

[DLite]

On 7/18/2023 at 12:54 PM, JSTRONG said:

Spoke to icr support the cams all need to connect to your network switch and not the nvr if you what to integrate with c4. 

@JSTRONG: Would you mind sharing the model numbers of the ICR cameras you are using outdoors? Also, did you end up plugging the cameras directly into a network switch or did you just decide to forego the integration?

Thanks!

[JSTRONG]

I first plugged them into the nvr but then support told me they need to go into a network switch to integrate with control 4. You can’t even see them on the touchscreens if they are plugged into the nvr. 
here are my camera models