ctrlspace
// Excellent optics, uncomfortable questions

Hikvision

Among the best camera hardware available at any price, with genuinely superior low-light sensors and lenses, full ONVIF and RTSP, and local recording. It also carries a security and governance history that a client should decide on knowingly rather than have decided for them.

Why we use Hikvision

  • Image quality, particularly in low light, is a clear step above the consumer brands.
  • Full ONVIF and RTSP, so recording is local and the camera integrates with anything.
  • The professional range covers specialist optics that the consumer brands do not make.
  • Widely available and serviced in Singapore.

Where we do not, and why

  • A significant record of firmware vulnerabilities, including remotely exploitable ones.
  • Restricted or banned from government procurement in several jurisdictions on national security grounds.
  • Where we do install it, the cameras go on an isolated network segment with no internet access at all - which is good practice for any camera and non-negotiable here.
  • The default configuration is not secure and must be hardened at commissioning.

Pros and cons at a glance

Pros
  • Best-in-class image quality, especially at night
  • Full ONVIF and RTSP for local recording
  • Wide professional range and specialist optics
  • Locally available and supported
Cons
  • History of serious firmware vulnerabilities
  • Procurement restrictions in several countries
  • Insecure defaults requiring deliberate hardening
  • Governance concerns some clients will not accept

The technical position

Main protocol
IP over Ethernet, with ONVIF and RTSP
Local control
Yes
Vendor hub needed
No
Home Assistant support
Good, via ONVIF, RTSP and Frigate
Singapore availability
Widely available

Where it fits in a CtrlSpace build

Specified only when a client asks for it or when a particular lens has no alternative. It is always deployed on a segregated VLAN with no route to the internet, recording locally. We explain the background before quoting rather than after.

// Frequently asked

Hikvision, answered plainly

Is it safe to install Hikvision cameras?

It can be, if they are properly isolated - a separate network segment, no internet access, default credentials replaced and firmware kept current. That is good practice for any camera and essential here. Some clients would rather not, and that is a reasonable position we support.

Why do you still offer it at all?

Because the optics are genuinely better than the alternatives in difficult lighting, and some clients already have it installed. We state the trade-off plainly and let the client decide.
// 7 more in this category

See others in cameras and security

PoE · RTSP Reolink Local recording without a subscription PoE · local recording UniFi (Ubiquiti) The network backbone, and cameras that match it PoE · ONVIF Dahua Capable hardware, the same caveats as Hikvision Wi-Fi TP-Link Tapo & Kasa Cheap, convenient, and increasingly closed Cloud only Ring A subscription with a lens attached Cloud only Google Nest Good cameras, an unhappy history Cloud only Arlo Wire-free convenience, everything else is a subscription

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