AMDV4M8 Model only shows 1080P Cameras in B&W(Black and White)?

[fratoe]

We bought unit back in November of 2017. Replacing my old Swann unit. I had 1080P envy. First thing I noticed was the Version 1.14.1 Amcrest Surveillance Pro built on 2016-10-18 had no available updates, so assume that all support for this model was dropped. Initial problem was the time problem, that a search of the form finds a dead post from another user, that has no replies. When I called support and informed them of this problem, I indicated that this is a great system provided that you live in the USA Central Time Zone. Does Amcrest only support the central time zone?
The person on the phone laughed and informed me this was a known issue that they did not intend to resolve. Really, that's strike 1 for support...you just bought a pile of crap. Surprisingly, it was still an upgrade from the Swann support; doesn't say much for this industry.

Now I have been incrementally upgrading select cameras in my 6 channel requirement to 1080P, however each and every one of them (three different vendors tried so far) end up displaying decent resolution, but only in Black and White. I have poured through the forums looking for someone having the same situation; to no avail.

So, did I just buy a second lemon(Swann being first). I like lemons, but only when I can squeeze them for some juice.

I assume that this post will go completely un-answered, because this is an old system and old tech and buggy and not supported. However, I write this so others searching these topics will understand that no only does there appear to be no resolution, the customer support doesn't care about you have your system gets a little older and likes to laugh at customers.

Talked to security folks that use systems at work in our Fortune 500 company. They too laughed, because I had bought this system. Sucker.

Avoid https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0751 ... UTF8&psc=1
like Covid-19, social distance from it!

Have a nice day

[Revo2Maxx]

Hello and Welcome to the Forum Sadly it don't sound like you really want to be here and this is more of a Rant rather then a ask for help...

So you bought this 3 years ago and from the start you have had issues but you say it was an upgrade from your Swann... I guess you did have something nice to say for a moment.... After contact with Support you didn't return and still have this unit to rant here after 3 years?

So I am going to go on a Guess.. This is only a guess and I am only going off what I have on one of my own systems... I have a Brand N DVR that is a TVI unit... Yours yes is a Amcrest CVI unit but where there is an issue for me is my unit is a Quad system aka able to run different type of cameras HOWEVER MINE IN BIG BOLD LETTERS says don't work with CVI cameras... However that is only half true I have a 720 CVI camera on my TVI DVR and it is in B/W while I don't need to use it I have it mounted in an area that I don't have easy access to and rather then me killing myself to replace the camera with another TVI camera that I do have... I just deal with the B/W Picture of the CVI camera.

So I am going to guess that your trying to run different types of cameras on your Amcrest DVR... Sadly I can tell you that on my own CVI Amcrest DVR even though it is said to be a TriBrid system sadly I found that it only works with CVI cameras and up to 2 IP cameras if you take away a CVI ch... I have some 960h cameras for my Brand N system and tried to run on my Amcrest CVI didn't work. SO I asked Amcrest and was told only their 960h cameras work on it and sadly this isn't true either because I have 960h camera from Amcrest and it didn't work on there either...

Then there is another issue at play and while I can't say this is your issue there might be another thing that it could be... ON my system other then my Amcrest systems and while yours is a Model up from my CVI maybe it does have the option. However on my other systems as I was going to say I have the ability to have my camera or my system tell my camera what ever the case maybe to work in B/W only or Color only and or I can setup to run Color for day and B/W for night and set times when these changes happen? While I can't say yours has this ability seeing mine is form Brand N. However only thought I could think over issue of not being the right camera, NOT being set to the right settings or being the wrong brand is that the DVR is set to work in B/W by design of the installer...

Anyway... Do you have any cameras that are from Amcrest? Any that are in Color? and why I just wonder WHY you would have a DVR for 3 years that your saying is only working in B/W and wait for so long to make a Rant on the Forum?

[fratoe]

The Amcrest would run on Windows10, and I could update the home office machine versus running one more machine just to display cameras back on windows7; security risk. Being from the Midwest originally, the wife and I originally found it quaint to have security footage in the time zone of friends and family. It was a security system to help her feel safe as I travelled around the world doing my work. She had brain surgery three years ago and this system even in B&W was good enuf on the select 1080P cameras I was adding for security purposes.

Now she has a Chickadee bird house with birds named Zoom and Zow living right in front of a bullet cam, which was 960H with color, bur wanted 1080P. I did hope and pray and bought a third brand that was only TVI (Aanke), thinking it was worth a shot before starting all over again. Not sure I will be better buyer this time versus last. There is not a lot of good instruction manuals that cover interoperability of items, and I kinda expect some of that with pseudo standards. The 960H colors are fine, but still 960H. Bringing us back to 1080P envy. Other projects around the house to help her recovery took priority, and oh yeah that satellite work had to get done as well.

Well info I have says system I bought should support TVI, it’s a Quadbrid system; perhaps an early one? I have old Swann 960H, Sony Exmar 1080P(destroyed by contractor but B&W), Eweton 1080P 4-1, and now the Aanke 1080Ps. Some variety, but all 1080Ps resulted in B&W video. All 960H are working and in color. Lesson learned - these are pseudo standards.

I’ve been searching through software on phone, iPad, pc, and vga on system...no luck so far, but hoping to stumble on some setting that’s not well documented. Seems documentation in this industry is lacking keeping professional installers employed and valued for their road rash from experience. Like IT people who just want to reinstall the OS versus finding root cause, I imagine they prefer trashing all existing cameras and install all new cameras to match DVR.

Do not own one camera from Amcrest, not likely to want to give them a chance as the quaint time delta has worn off and if she wants color I’ll find a way without giving Amcrest any more of our money. They won’t care, but I will.

[fratoe]

Oops not QuadBrid...says Pentabrid...more is better right...doh

[Revo2Maxx]

Yeah sadly if you want 1080 your going to have to buy Amcrest cameras that support it... While I can't say that no other brand like Dahua wouldn't work. My guess is that Amcrest wants the system to work with their cameras... Heck can't even get my CVI dvr to work with my Amcrest 960h even though I was told it should work with it. Not that I want to use something other then CVI just have a PTZ dome that is 960h that I wanted to move to back of my Garage when I was repairing my PTZ dome that some how fried a Power chip and CAP... It was 5 years old so what do I expect right lol...

[fratoe]

Yes, we still have the PTZ dome camera from Swann working, supplemented that with Ring floodlight. It wasn’t all to some grand plan, so dual coverage at both exposed entries. Like the zoom/pan/tilt, but would like it with 1080P; another project hanging on the edge as the Swann cameras go into year 8 of operation. I mounted that one higher than needed, so need the extension ladder.

Anyway situation explained and no white horses coming to rescue the photographic chickadee parents; I’ll just to try another DVR. Worth a try to see if I was just missing a step to get back the color. I’ll do one more test where I disable all the 960H cameras to see if that is auto flipping some internal mode(s). But then I gotta get up on that ladder and change everything to HD. I don’t want to that just yet. Weekends are precious, this is not what I want to spend time on.

[Revo2Maxx]

Yeah sadly I can't say the same for me.. I have many PTZ cameras on my systems I have most of them as CVBS and 960h but I do have a couple of IP High end PTZ domes that are RS-485 and that is what is lacking on most newer PTZ dome cameras today the ability to control them with a 3 or 2 axis controller keyboard... So I am very Picky on the PTZ's I add to my setup...

So I don't know what PTZ you have or how you have it connected to your systems.. I do know that all my Analog and IP as well but we are talking about the Analog ones at this time have a OSD and in this OSD you can make changes to the camera settings. My oldest PTZ Dome is from 05.. While 96% of my PTZ cameras are Samsung and some might be Samsung OEM but samsung never the less... Maybe someone made a change to your PTZ into B/W on accident..

So if you have your system connected to a Controller over RS-485 to get to the OSD if you have your system connected and on the right CH for your camera.. On some of them it is Preset 95 will bring up the menu and on others it is Call 95 and for some it will bring it up either way lol... Anyway in there once you have your OSD online you would most times find a setting for Special under the camera menu... Then for most of mine it will have first option as Day/Night and you can toggle it to be either day or night or auto. There are some other options as well depending on what you want or need to do.. If it is set to Night or B/W then change it to Day or Color...

Sadly most of the cameras I have looked at that are 2mp or better with PTZ are either low zoom count and my 37x or even my 32x cameras out preform them under most zoom ability and I have an hard time trying to put a lower count zoom in play where I have a high count already...

[fratoe]

The dome was from Swann and works fine for PTZ control with the Amcrest, it’s focus and color are in constant need of adjustments, but good enuf for now.

40 years of microelectronic engineering tells me it’s spot in the Sun is prematurely/accelerating the aging sensors; it’s gonna fail, just a matter of time. Signs are there on hot California summer days.

Never an issue with the PTZ, I have a Sunba in reserve, but still 960H.

[Revo2Maxx]

Yes sadly I have some of my Domes from people don't support them and so I have to source my own repair parts and find belts and things like that way more then I wish I had too... However to find out most companies don't have much info into the Repairing of these as they don't build them they buy them Flash in their info and put on their logo and call it theirs...

To be Honest I am surprised that the Swann works on a Amcrest unit... Seeing it is a Product of Hikvision.. IT might be they were from the other side of the spectrum back in the day when it was bought and they were not yet part of Hik it is hard to tell some Flip Flop so much lol..