In this ever-growing world of video surveillance, there are no other brands more famous and reputable than Dahua and Hikvision. If you, as a customer, have just started researching about the numerous surveillance options available in the market, you are bound to end up shortlisting both the aforementioned brands. And that is when you might just behold a dead end before you. It really is difficult to pick one of the two.

Generally speaking, both Dahua and Hikvision are very popular in the market. If you were to ask over the online forums, 50% of the people would recommend Hikvision over Dahua, while the remaining 50% would recommend Dahua over Hikvision. However, popularity alone cannot be the deciding factor. The other aspects of the two brands more or less cancel each other out.

While Dahua and Hikvision are ruling the roost, nobody has yet been able to point out the brand that takes the top spot. So, without further ado, let us begin our quest to expose the undisputed king of surveillance CCTV cameras.

The Differences between Dahua and Hikvision

Global Market Share: It is no surprise that Hikvision rules the global market shares with a 17% forecast in 2017 (reference from IHS). Dahua comes second with a forecast of 5.5%, which is considerably lesser than the former.

The Similarities between Dahua and Hikvision

CCTV Camera Singapore

Now that we have taken a look at the differences between the two top brands, let us comprehend the similarities.

ONVIF and RTSP: The Open Network Video Interface Forum (ONVIF) is an international forum that is responsible for creating a globally recognized standard for the interface of IP-based products. Both Hikvision and Dahua support this protocol. They are also compliant with the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) that grants access to all the non-ONVIF streaming software and hardware.

The Sensors: Both the brands install similar sensors in their products. For instance, both the DS-2CD2042WD-I and the IPC-HFW4421S have the popular 1/3” Progressive Scan CMOS sensor. Since this type of sensor is ideal for 3MP cameras and the two products above have a 4MP output, they are equipped with a 120dB WDR to enhance the quality of the output.

The Minimum Illumination: You would be surprised to know that both Hikvision and Dahua offer the same minimum illumination for their products in a particular class. Let us take the example of the DS-2CD2042WD-I and the IPC-HFW4421S again. Both these cameras can make a minimum illumination of precisely 0.01 lux and 0 lux with infrared switched on. Thus, you can expect optimum video quality in low light from both the products.

The Number of Simultaneous Streams: Most other brands of cameras are furnished with the regular dual-stream technology. Hikvision and Dahua, on the other hand, boast of the triple-stream technology! This means that their cameras can transmit three different resolutions of video streams simultaneously. However, only a select few of their products have the privilege of triple-stream; the others are equipped with dual-stream.

The Lens Variety: Both surveillance brands offer fixed lenses at varying focal lengths. Here, Dahua one-ups Hikvision by offering a better selection of lengths with each of their cameras. For instance, the Dahua IPC-HFW4431E-AS has three focal lengths at your disposal – 2.8mm, 3.6mm, and 6mm. Its Hikvision counterpart of the same class, the Hikvision IP Camera DS-2CD2143G0-IS offers similar focal lengths. (Further Reading: Hikvision vs. Dahua: Comparison of IP Camera DS-2CD2142FWD-IWS and IPC-HDBW4431E-AS)

The Maximum Bitrate: Both Hikvision and Dahua render similar max bitrate in most of their products.

The Prices: The CCTV Cameras, IP cameras, DVR, NVR, etc offered by Hikvision and Dahua are very close in price. As close competitors, Hikvision and Dahua have large variations of the products. Both brands offer really competitive prices compared with other established brands nonetheless.

Concluding Thoughts on Hikvision and Dahua

With so many similarities in the mix and the differences barely discernible between the two brands, it is a tough task to pick the winner.Hikvision, as the market leader, the higher streaming speed coupled with the best hardware money can buy renders top-notch video surveillance at an affordable price. As the inventor of HDCVI technology, Dahua is keeping a fast pace to chase the market leader. You can never go wrong with either Hikvision or Dahua.