Which Dahua camera, recorder or add-on is right for your site?
This guide is for homeowners, small businesses and installers choosing a Dahua CCTV system for the first time, or adding to one they already have. It explains each Dahua range we stock, what it is for, and which recorder it pairs with, so you can narrow a large catalogue down to a short list before you compare individual models.
Answer these seven questions in order. Each one removes part of the range, and by the end you will usually be choosing between two or three models.
Resolution. What do you need to see at each spot: that someone is there, or who they are? Identification needs far more pixels on the subject than an overview does. Our range runs from 2MP up to 12MP, but distance and lens matter as much as the megapixel figure.
Lens. A fixed wide lens suits an overview of a garden or shop floor. A narrower or varifocal lens suits a gate, door or till where you need detail further away. Varifocal and motorised lenses let you change the view after installation.
Night picture: infrared or colour? Infrared gives a black-and-white picture with an invisible light. Colour needs visible light. Smart Dual Light and TiOC cameras switch between the two; Starlight cameras use the sensor itself to cope with low light.
AI needs. Do you want alerts only for people and vehicles, rather than every moving leaf? That points to WizSense. Need more advanced analytics on a commercial site? Look at WizMind.
IP or analogue. New network cable (Ethernet) means IP. Existing coax from an old system means HDCVI is worth a look. See IP or HDCVI.
Recorder channels. Count your cameras, then allow for growth. A recorder with a few spare channels costs little more than one that is full on day one.
Storage. How many days of recording do you need? Resolution, frame rate and recording mode all change the answer, so size it with our CCTV storage calculator rather than guessing.
Prefer to build the system piece by piece? The CCTV kit builder lets you pick cameras, a recorder and a drive together and check they fit.
IP or HDCVI: which system type?
Choose IP for a new installation; choose HDCVI when you want to reuse coax.
IP cameras send video over network cable and are usually powered by PoE (Power over Ethernet), so one cable carries both picture and power. They record to an NVR (network video recorder). The AI ranges, WizSense and WizMind, are mostly found here, along with the highest resolutions in our range.
HDCVI is Dahua's HD-over-coax technology. It carries HD and 4K video, audio and control over coaxial cable, so an older analogue system can be upgraded without rewiring. HDCVI cameras record to a Penta-brid XVR. With PoC (Power over Coax) models, a single coax cable carries power as well as video.
Neither is "better" in every case. A house with coax already running to every corner is often best served by HDCVI. A new build, or a business planning to grow, is usually better on IP. Our Dahua CVI explainer covers the coax side in more detail.
WizSense: AI detection for most sites
WizSense is the range most homes and small businesses should start with.
WizSense cameras use AI to classify what they see, so they can tell people and vehicles apart from rain, foliage, shadows and animals. That matters more than it sounds. A standard motion-detection camera triggers on all of those, and most people end up switching notifications off, which defeats the point of having them.
WizSense is not only a camera range. We stock WizSense IP cameras in dome, turret, bullet and eyeball form, and WizSense recorders too, including Penta-brid XVRs such as the Dahua DH-XVR5108HS-4KL-I3 8-channel WizSense XVR. Matching a WizSense camera with a WizSense recorder lets the system search recorded footage by people or vehicles instead of scrolling through hours of video.
A typical example is the Dahua DH-IPC-HDBW3541EP-AS-0280B-S2, a 5MP WizSense AI dome on a 2.8mm lens: a sensible all-rounder for a driveway, entrance or shop floor.
WizMind is for commercial sites that need more than people and vehicle detection.
WizMind sits above WizSense. It is aimed at projects where analytics are part of the brief: larger sites, retail, car parks and premises where you want to search, count or analyse rather than just get an alert. Our WizMind range includes turret, dome and fisheye cameras, dual-lens PTZ cameras and WizMind NVRs.
Two features come up often on WizMind products: ePoE, which extends how far a camera can sit from the recorder or switch, and AI Codec, which is designed to reduce the storage and bandwidth video uses. Check the individual product page for which features a model includes, as they vary.
HDCVI lets you upgrade an old analogue system to HD or 4K without pulling new cable.
Our HDCVI range covers dome, eyeball (turret), bullet and box cameras from 2MP to 8MP. Within it you will find a few distinct types:
Standard and Lite models: straightforward HD cameras for budget-conscious upgrades, such as the Dahua HAC-HDBW2401R-Z-DP, a 4MP HDCVI infrared dome.
Pro models: higher-specification sensors and features, including Starlight low-light models.
Active Deterrence models: HDCVI cameras with a built-in light and siren warning.
PoC models: powered over the same coax that carries the video, removing the need for a separate power supply at each camera.
Some HDCVI models carry audio over the coax as well, so a built-in microphone does not need extra wiring. All of them record to a Penta-brid XVR (see below).
The trade-off is that the most advanced AI features are concentrated in the IP ranges. If you need detailed analytics, IP is usually the better route, even if it means new cable. For more, read Dahua HDCVI cameras explained, or shop Dahua HDCVI cameras.
Smart Dual Light: infrared or colour
Smart Dual Light cameras give you infrared by default and colour when you want it.
These cameras carry two types of illumination: infrared and a warm white light. Infrared gives a discreet black-and-white picture with no visible glow. The warm light gives a full-colour picture, which is far more useful when you need to describe clothing or a vehicle.
The "smart" part is that the camera can switch between them, staying on infrared most of the night and turning to colour when something happens. That makes it a good fit for residential streets and gardens, where a light that stays on all night would bother neighbours, but where colour footage of an incident is still valuable.
Smart Dual Light is available on both IP and HDCVI cameras in our range. It is a lighting feature rather than a separate tier, so you will find it alongside WizSense AI on many models.
Starlight cameras are for places with poor light that you can't, or don't want to, light up.
Rather than adding a visible light, Starlight models use sensor technology designed to hold on to colour and detail in low light for longer before switching to infrared. They suit sites with some background light, such as street lighting or a lit car park, where the picture would otherwise turn grey and noisy.
In our range Starlight appears mainly on HDCVI cameras and on PTZ cameras. An example is the Dahua HAC-HDBW3231E-ZH, a 2MP Starlight HDCVI infrared dome.
Starlight is a good choice where light levels are poor but steady. If the area is completely dark, a camera with its own light, such as Smart Dual Light or TiOC, will usually give a better result.
TiOC cameras don't just record an intruder; they warn them off.
TiOC (three-in-one camera) combines AI detection, full-colour night vision and active deterrence in one unit. When the camera detects a person or vehicle in an area you've set, it can trigger a built-in siren and a flashing light. On a yard, compound or driveway after hours, that warning often ends the incident before anything happens, which is worth more than better footage of it.
Because the trigger comes from AI detection, the warning goes off for a person, not for a passing cat or heavy rain. That is what makes active deterrence practical rather than a nuisance.
Our TiOC range includes fixed turrets, PTZ cameras and panoramic models. The Dahua DH-IPC-HDW2649TMP-S-PV-0280B-BLACK is a 6MP TiOC Lite WizSense turret, a popular choice for homes. Some models also carry WizColor, covered on the explainer page.
A PTZ camera covers a large area by moving, but it only looks one way at a time.
PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) cameras can be moved and zoomed remotely, or set to follow a route or track a target automatically. They suit car parks, yards, sports grounds and the outside of large buildings where a fixed camera can't see far enough.
Our Dahua PTZ range includes Starlight infrared models, WizSense models with auto-tracking, TiOC PTZ cameras with deterrence, panoramic models that pair a wide fixed view with a zooming lens, and HDCVI PTZ cameras for coax systems. Optical zoom runs from compact models such as the Dahua DH-SD3E405DB-GNY-A-PV1, a 4MP 5x TiOC WizSense PTZ, up to long-range models for large sites.
Two points to plan for. First, a PTZ that is zoomed in on one corner can't see the rest of the site, so pair it with fixed cameras rather than replacing them. Second, PTZ cameras usually draw more power than a fixed camera, so check the PoE budget of your recorder or switch.
Match the NVR to your cameras' AI range, then choose channels and drive bays.
Our Dahua NVRs run from 4 to 32 channels in the standard ranges, and higher for larger projects. Many have built-in PoE ports, so cameras plug straight into the back of the recorder with no separate switch. They fall into three broad tiers:
Lite: dependable recording for systems that don't need AI search. A good fit for small, simple systems.
WizSense: pairs with WizSense cameras to give people and vehicle search across recorded footage. The right choice for most homes and small businesses.
WizMind: for larger or analytics-heavy systems, such as the DHI-NVR5432-XI.
When comparing NVRs, check the number of channels, the number of PoE ports (they are not always the same), the number of hard drive bays, and the maximum camera resolution the recorder supports. An AI recorder only pays off if the cameras feeding it support the matching features.
Penta-brid XVRs: recorders for HDCVI and mixed systems
A Penta-brid XVR records almost any camera you connect to it.
"Penta-brid" means the recorder accepts five signal types: HDCVI, AHD, TVI, standard analogue and IP. That makes an XVR the natural choice for HDCVI systems, and very useful for upgrades where old and new cameras need to share one recorder for a while.
We stock Penta-brid XVRs from 4 to 32 channels, in 1080p, 5MP and 4K versions. WizSense XVRs add AI features to coax systems, and PoC versions such as the 16-channel DH-XVR5216AN-4KL-I3-16P power PoC cameras over the coax.
Check two things before you buy. First, the maximum resolution per channel: a 1080p XVR will not record a 4K camera at full resolution. Second, how many IP channels the XVR supports on top of its analogue inputs, if you plan to add network cameras later.
Dahua video doorbells and AirShield alarms round out a home or small business system.
Video doorbells. Our Dahua doorbell range includes Wi-Fi video doorbells and chimes, letting you see and speak to visitors from your phone. For flats and larger buildings, Dahua's wired door stations and indoor monitors are covered on our Dahua intercom page. Shop Dahua doorbells.
Intruder alarms. Dahua AirShield is a wireless alarm system: a hub, wireless PIR and door detectors, keypads and sounders, available as kits or individual parts. Smoke alarms are in the range too. Its main appeal for Dahua CCTV users is that alarm and cameras can be managed in the same app. See the Dahua alarm buying guide, or shop Dahua alarms.
WizSense vs WizMind vs HDCVI compared
WizSense
WizMind
HDCVI
Technology
IP cameras and recorders (plus WizSense XVRs for coax)
IP cameras and NVRs
HD over coax, recorded on a Penta-brid XVR
Cabling
Network cable, usually PoE
Network cable, PoE; ePoE on some models
Coax; PoC models power over the same cable
Typical use
Homes, shops, offices, small commercial
Larger commercial sites, retail, car parks, analytics projects
Upgrading existing analogue systems without rewiring
AI features
People and vehicle classification, fewer false alerts, search by people or vehicles
Dahua's most advanced analytics; features vary by model
Varies by model; the most advanced AI is in the IP ranges
Yes. WizSense cameras with a WizSense NVR or XVR suit most homes, giving people and vehicle alerts without constant false alarms. Add a TiOC camera where you want a warning light and siren, such as a driveway.
What is the difference between WizSense and WizMind?
WizSense is Dahua's mainstream AI range, focused on accurate people and vehicle detection. WizMind is the top tier, with more advanced analytics for commercial projects. Most homes and small businesses only need WizSense.
Do Dahua cameras work with Hikvision NVRs?
Often, yes, through ONVIF, the common standard most IP cameras and recorders support. Basic live view and recording usually work, but brand-specific features such as AI detection and smart search may not. Compatibility depends on the exact models and firmware, so check before you buy, or ask us.
Can I use my old coax cable with Dahua cameras?
Yes, with HDCVI cameras and a Penta-brid XVR. The XVR also accepts AHD, TVI and standard analogue cameras, so you can upgrade one camera at a time.
Do I need an NVR or an XVR?
An NVR records IP cameras on network cable. An XVR records HDCVI and other coax cameras, and can usually take some IP cameras too. Choose by the cable you have or plan to run.
How much storage do I need?
It depends on the number of cameras, their resolution and how many days you want to keep. Use our CCTV storage calculator for a figure based on your own system.
Tell us what you need to see, how far away it is, and whether you have existing cable. A photo or sketch of the site helps. Our technical team will suggest cameras, a recorder and storage, and will tell you if a simpler system would do the job.
