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Works With Dahua

Dahua Cloud VMS — The Modern SmartPSS Alternative

Tentovision is a cloud-based VMS and a direct SmartPSS alternative that works with your existing Dahua cameras over RTSP and ONVIF — no dedicated Windows PC, no port forwarding, no hardware to replace. Keep your Dahua IPC-HDW and IPC-HFW cameras exactly where they are; swap only the software managing them. You gain cloud backup, browser and mobile access, camera health monitoring, and 20+ AI analytics on top of the Dahua hardware you already own.

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40+
Dahua models supported
5 min
Average setup time
Replaces
SmartPSS & gDMSS
Hero image — Tentovision dashboard with Dahua feeds Tentovision cloud VMS dashboard showing multiple Dahua camera feeds (IPC-HDW, IPC-HFW, SD-series PTZ) with live monitoring, AI analytics overlays, and remote access from browser and mobile
Why switch

Why Dahua users switch from SmartPSS to Tentovision

SmartPSS does its core job — managing a single-brand, single-site Dahua deployment from one Windows machine. But most installations have outgrown it, and Dahua's own software roadmap (SmartPSS, SmartPSS Lite, DSS Express, DMSS) has made staying put confusing. As soon as a deployment spans several buildings, mixes camera brands, crosses the camera ceiling, or falls under a compliance regime that expects offsite retention, the gaps below start to bite. Three limitations push IT managers, CISOs, and integrators toward a SmartPSS migration.

🔒

Locked to Dahua hardware

SmartPSS only manages Dahua devices. Add a CP Plus camera at a new branch or inherit a Hikvision install, and it can no longer give you one pane of glass. After India's BIS mandate reshaped procurement, multi-brand fleets are the norm — and a Dahua-only client becomes a liability.

Tentovision fix: brand-agnostic ingest of Dahua, CP Plus, Hikvision, Axis, and any ONVIF/RTSP camera into one dashboard.
🖥️

Desktop-only, capped & unclear

SmartPSS is a Windows desktop app with no native browser client and a practical ceiling around 256 cameras. It stutters on multi-camera live view, and Dahua now steers users toward SmartPSS Lite or the server-based DSS Express — so the "right" client is no longer obvious.

Tentovision fix: one browser-based platform that scales past SmartPSS's limits with no server licensing.
🌐

gDMSS needs P2P or port forwarding

For remote access, SmartPSS users fall back to the gDMSS Plus (now DMSS) app, which relies on P2P or port forwarding — exposure a CISO wants closed. No camera health monitoring, no AI analytics beyond basic motion, no real multi-site dashboard.

Tentovision fix: browser and mobile access over secure outbound connections, live health alerts, and a unified multi-site view.
Cloud storage

Add Cloud Storage to Your Dahua Cameras — No NVR Replacement

The Tentovision Cloud Adapter connects directly to your existing Dahua cameras and to DH-NVR4xxx, DH-NVR5xxx, and DH-XVR series recorders over the same network — no rip-and-replace. It mirrors the streams your Dahua devices already produce to the cloud, so the local recorder keeps doing its job while a second copy is secured offsite.

  • AES-256 encrypted, Microsoft Azure-hosted cloud recording
  • Flexible retention from 7 days to 10 years
  • Full continuous video — not just motion snapshots
  • Continuous or motion/event-based cloud recording, set per Dahua channel
  • Onboard SSD buffers footage when the internet drops, then auto-uploads the backlog
  • Runs alongside your Dahua NVR — no recorder replacement needed

Channel mapping is direct: a DH-NVR5xxx's channels appear as individual cloud streams, so you choose exactly which Dahua cameras get offsite backup and at what retention. To keep upload bandwidth predictable, the Cloud Adapter sends the camera sub-stream to the cloud while the main stream continues recording locally on the recorder — the same dual-stream split used in the setup guide below.

Explore CCTV cloud storage →
Image — Dahua camera + DH-NVR + Cloud Adapter → encrypted Azure cloud storage diagram Architecture diagram showing Dahua IPC-HFW and IPC-HDW cameras connected to a DH-NVR5xxx recorder and Tentovision Cloud Adapter, streaming encrypted footage to Microsoft Azure cloud storage
Remote viewing

Access Your Dahua Cameras Remotely — Without gDMSS or Port Forwarding

gDMSS Plus (and the newer DMSS app) works for one user checking one site from a phone, but it scales poorly and carries security baggage. Tentovision is a gDMSS alternative built for organisations rather than individual devices.

  • Secure outbound connection — no inbound ports exposed, unlike gDMSS P2P/port forwarding
  • WebRTC low-latency live streaming in any browser or the mobile app (~0.5s latency)
  • Multi-site dashboard vs gDMSS's single-device view
  • Role-based access permissions per user and location
  • Per-channel access — map DH-NVR5xxx channels to specific users

Because viewing runs on the camera sub-stream by default, remote playback stays smooth even on constrained branch-site upload bandwidth, while supervisors still get full-resolution main-stream footage on demand. Mobile push alerts replace the gDMSS polling model, so an IVS tripwire or intrusion event on a Dahua IPC-HFW camera reaches the right person in seconds — with a full audit trail of who viewed what and when.

See the wider cloud VMS →
Image — Tentovision multi-site dashboard with Dahua feeds Tentovision multi-site dashboard displaying Dahua camera feeds from multiple locations on browser and mobile, with role-based access controls and live alerts
SmartPSS alternative

SmartPSS vs DSS Express vs Tentovision: a feature-by-feature comparison

These are the three options a Dahua user actually weighs today. This is an honest comparison — SmartPSS is free and genuinely capable for the job it was built for, and the table reflects that.

FeatureSmartPSSDSS ExpressTentovision
Multi-brand camera support✗ Dahua only✗ Dahua only✓ 100+ brands
Cloud video recording✗✗✓ Azure-hosted
On-premise recording✓ via Dahua NVR✓✓
Hybrid (cloud + local)✗✗✓
AI analytics (ANPR, PPE, People Counting)✗ basic motionAdd-on✓ 20+ analytics
Camera health monitoring✗Partial✓
Deep Dahua-native config (IVS tripwire, SMD)✓ Strong✓ StrongVia ONVIF
Multi-site managementLimited (~256 cams)✓✓ Unlimited
Runs without a dedicated PC/server✗Server needed✓ Browser
Mobile + web browser accessgDMSS app onlyLimited✓ Any browser + app
Pricing modelFreeFree tier (server)Subscription / perpetual

Read honestly, the table tells you when not to switch as clearly as when to. If you run a single Dahua-only site, record locally on a DH-NVR, never need remote access beyond the occasional gDMSS check, and have no appetite for a subscription, then SmartPSS is free, stable, and adequate — and it still wins on deep Dahua-native config (IVS tripwire, SMD) and fully local, air-gapped operation. The case for a SmartPSS alternative appears the moment any of those conditions break: you add a second brand or site, cross the camera ceiling, need offsite backup, want the port-forwarding exposure closed, or want AI analytics on cameras you already own.

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Setup guide

How to connect Dahua cameras to Tentovision (RTSP & ONVIF setup)

Connecting Dahua cameras takes about five minutes. The steps below use standard Dahua addressing; confirm the exact paths against your camera's firmware, since some firmware lines and OEM rebrands vary slightly.

  1. Find the Dahua camera IP address

    Check the device list in SmartPSS, or use the Dahua ConfigTool to scan the subnet. The Dahua factory default IP is 192.168.1.108 if the camera has never been configured.

  2. Enable ONVIF on the camera

    In the camera's web interface, go to Setup → Network → Port → ONVIF (on some firmware, Network → Advanced → ONVIF) and enable it. If prompted, create a dedicated ONVIF user — on several Dahua firmware versions this is separate from the admin account.

  3. Note the RTSP URL

    Dahua uses a specific stream path on default port 554:

    # Main stream rtsp://username:password@IP:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0 # Sub stream rtsp://username:password@IP:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=1

  4. Connect the Cloud Adapter

    Plug the Tentovision Cloud Adapter into the same network switch as your Dahua cameras or recorder. Power it on — a single blue LED indicates network connectivity.

  5. Pair the adapter

    Scan the QR code on the adapter with the Tentovision app to register it to your account. Pairing typically completes in under 60 seconds.

  6. Add cameras

    Use ONVIF auto-discovery to pull cameras in automatically, or enter the RTSP URL manually for any device you'd rather add by hand. Bulk-add supports CSV import for sites with 50+ cameras.

  7. Verify the live feed

    Confirm each live feed appears in the Tentovision dashboard, then set recording mode (continuous, motion, or hybrid) and cloud retention per camera. You're live.

📷 Compatible Dahua cameras

IPC-HDW series (dome), IPC-HFW series (bullet), IPC-HDBW series (turret), SD series (PTZ), and the broader DH-IPC range. 40+ Dahua models tested and supported.

🗃 Compatible NVR / DVR

DH-NVR4xxx and DH-NVR5xxx (network recorders), DH-XVR5xxx and DH-XVR7xxx (hybrid/analog recorders).

⚠ Troubleshooting
  • "No video stream" — make sure the RTSP path uses Dahua's /cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0, not Hikvision's /Streaming/Channels/101 format.
  • "Camera not discovered" — enable ONVIF and create an ONVIF user; on some firmware it must be distinct from the admin user.
  • "Wrong camera appears" — check the channel= number; on a DH-XVR, analog channels use different numbering than IP channels.
  • "Choppy cloud video" — record the sub stream (subtype=1) to the cloud and keep the main stream for local recording.
Deployment

Deploy Tentovision with your Dahua cameras — cloud, on-premise, or hybrid

Tentovision runs your existing Dahua fleet three ways, so the deployment matches the site rather than forcing the site to match the software.

☁️

Cloud

Cloud Adapter + cloud storage

Subscription, with no recorder required. The Cloud Adapter pulls your Dahua camera streams straight to Microsoft Azure, and there's nothing on site to maintain beyond the adapter. If you've inherited a Dahua deployment with an ageing DH-XVR, this retires the local recorder entirely.

Best for: businesses wanting zero hardware maintenance and instant multi-site rollout.
🖥️

On-Premise

Edge device + local SSD

One-time cost, running entirely without internet. Video never leaves the building, and your existing DH-NVR5xxx keeps recording locally as the system of record while the edge device handles management and analytics.

Best for: sites with data-residency or compliance requirements, or unreliable connectivity.
🔀

Hybrid

Local recording + cloud backup

Your Dahua NVR handles instant local playback; the Cloud Adapter mirrors a sub-stream copy to the cloud for offsite resilience — the responsiveness of local storage with the security of the cloud. The most common choice for multi-site enterprises.

Best for: enterprises wanting local performance without giving up offsite protection.

Mix modes across your estate and manage them together with full multi-site CCTV monitoring.

AI analytics

20+ AI analytics on your existing Dahua cameras

Your existing Dahua IPC-HDW and IPC-HFW cameras can do more than just record. Tentovision applies modern analytics to the streams they already produce — no specialist cameras, no hardware swap. A fixed IPC-HDW turret at a shop entrance is enough for people counting and shoplifting alerts; an SD-series PTZ covering a gate feeds ANPR and intrusion detection. Processing runs in the cloud for cloud and hybrid deployments, or entirely on the edge device where footage must stay on site.

🚗

ANPR / License Plate

Read and log vehicle plates at gates, car parks, and loading bays — with watchlist matching.

Vehicle
⛑️

PPE Detection

Flag missing helmets, vests, gloves, masks, goggles, or safety boots on industrial sites.

Safety
👥

People Counting

Automated footfall and occupancy counting across retail, transit, and facility entrances.

Retail
🪪

Face Recognition

Watchlist matching, access verification, and VIP / repeat-visitor identification.

Identity
🔥

Fire & Smoke Detection

Early visual detection of fire and smoke before conventional sensors trigger — including outdoor scenarios.

Safety
🛒

Shoplifting Prevention

Behavioural anomaly alerts at high-risk retail zones — concealment, sweeping, abnormal dwell.

Retail
📊

Crowd Density Analysis

Real-time crowd density heatmaps with safe / critical thresholds for stadiums, transit hubs, events.

Crowd
🚨

Intrusion Detection

Perimeter breach alerts for restricted zones, server rooms, off-hour office areas, R&D labs.

Security
↔️

Line Crossing Detection

Configurable virtual tripwires with direction logic — entry, exit, or both — across any camera view.

Security
⏳

Loitering Detection

Alerts when a person remains in a defined zone beyond a configurable time threshold — ATMs, lobbies, restricted areas.

Security
🎒

Object Left Behind

Detects abandoned bags, parcels, or items in public areas — airports, transit hubs, secure zones.

Security
📦

Object Removed / Theft

Detects removal of monitored items — products, equipment, displays — with timestamped clip evidence.

Retail
🚚

Vehicle Classification

Distinguish cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, buses, and pedestrians in traffic and parking feeds.

Vehicle
🚗

ANPR / License Plate

Read and log vehicle plates at gates, car parks, and loading bays — with watchlist matching.

Vehicle
⛑️

PPE Detection

Flag missing helmets, vests, gloves, masks, goggles, or safety boots on industrial sites.

Safety
👥

People Counting

Automated footfall and occupancy counting across retail, transit, and facility entrances.

Retail
🪪

Face Recognition

Watchlist matching, access verification, and VIP / repeat-visitor identification.

Identity
🔥

Fire & Smoke Detection

Early visual detection of fire and smoke before conventional sensors trigger — including outdoor scenarios.

Safety
🛒

Shoplifting Prevention

Behavioural anomaly alerts at high-risk retail zones — concealment, sweeping, abnormal dwell.

Retail
📊

Crowd Density Analysis

Real-time crowd density heatmaps with safe / critical thresholds for stadiums, transit hubs, events.

Crowd
🚨

Intrusion Detection

Perimeter breach alerts for restricted zones, server rooms, off-hour office areas, R&D labs.

Security
↔️

Line Crossing Detection

Configurable virtual tripwires with direction logic — entry, exit, or both — across any camera view.

Security
⏳

Loitering Detection

Alerts when a person remains in a defined zone beyond a configurable time threshold — ATMs, lobbies, restricted areas.

Security
🎒

Object Left Behind

Detects abandoned bags, parcels, or items in public areas — airports, transit hubs, secure zones.

Security
📦

Object Removed / Theft

Detects removal of monitored items — products, equipment, displays — with timestamped clip evidence.

Retail
🚚

Vehicle Classification

Distinguish cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, buses, and pedestrians in traffic and parking feeds.

Vehicle
⚡

Speed Estimation

Estimate vehicle speed across camera-defined zones — useful for parking lots, industrial yards, campus roads.

Vehicle
🛵

Helmet Detection (Two-Wheelers)

Detect helmetless riders entering campus, factory, or warehouse premises — critical for India compliance.

Safety
↩️

Wrong-Way Detection

Alert when vehicles or people move against the designated flow direction — one-ways, ramps, exits.

Traffic
🚶‍♂️

Queue Length Monitoring

Track queue lengths at counters, checkouts, and entrances — open more lanes before customers walk away.

Retail
🗺️

Heat Maps & Dwell Time

Visualise where people linger across a floor plan — optimise retail layouts, signage, and staff coverage.

Analytics
📈

Demographic Analytics

Estimated age range and gender distribution from anonymised CCTV feeds — for retail planning and footfall insight.

Retail
🚭

Smoking Detection

Detect smoking in restricted zones — factory floors, warehouses, hospitals, fuel stations.

Safety
📱

Phone Usage Detection

Flag mobile phone use in restricted areas — production lines, driver cabs, secure zones, exam halls.

Compliance
🤕

Slip & Fall Detection

Detect persons fallen on the ground and unmoving — alerting staff in healthcare, eldercare, warehouses.

Safety
📏

Social Distancing

Monitor inter-person distancing in queues and shared zones — flexible for health-safety policies.

Safety
🚫

Camera Tampering Detection

Alerts when a camera is blocked, blurred, sprayed, or repositioned — guards against deliberate evasion.

Security
🚦

Traffic Flow Analysis

Vehicle counts, lane occupancy, congestion patterns, and average speed across road segments.

Traffic
⚡

Speed Estimation

Estimate vehicle speed across camera-defined zones — useful for parking lots, industrial yards, campus roads.

Vehicle
🛵

Helmet Detection (Two-Wheelers)

Detect helmetless riders entering campus, factory, or warehouse premises — critical for India compliance.

Safety
↩️

Wrong-Way Detection

Alert when vehicles or people move against the designated flow direction — one-ways, ramps, exits.

Traffic
🚶‍♂️

Queue Length Monitoring

Track queue lengths at counters, checkouts, and entrances — open more lanes before customers walk away.

Retail
🗺️

Heat Maps & Dwell Time

Visualise where people linger across a floor plan — optimise retail layouts, signage, and staff coverage.

Analytics
📈

Demographic Analytics

Estimated age range and gender distribution from anonymised CCTV feeds — for retail planning and footfall insight.

Retail
🚭

Smoking Detection

Detect smoking in restricted zones — factory floors, warehouses, hospitals, fuel stations.

Safety
📱

Phone Usage Detection

Flag mobile phone use in restricted areas — production lines, driver cabs, secure zones, exam halls.

Compliance
🤕

Slip & Fall Detection

Detect persons fallen on the ground and unmoving — alerting staff in healthcare, eldercare, warehouses.

Safety
📏

Social Distancing

Monitor inter-person distancing in queues and shared zones — flexible for health-safety policies.

Safety
🚫

Camera Tampering Detection

Alerts when a camera is blocked, blurred, sprayed, or repositioned — guards against deliberate evasion.

Security
🚦

Traffic Flow Analysis

Vehicle counts, lane occupancy, congestion patterns, and average speed across road segments.

Traffic

All 20+ analytics work on the Dahua cameras you already own — no camera replacement required. Cloud-processed for cloud and hybrid deployments, edge-processed for on-premise sites. Analytics that SmartPSS cannot provide at all run here on the same IPC-HDW and IPC-HFW feeds you are already recording.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Tentovision + Dahua

Yes. Tentovision connects to your Dahua cameras over RTSP and ONVIF and provides everything most teams use SmartPSS for — live view, playback, recording — plus cloud backup, browser and mobile access, and AI analytics. You can run both in parallel during a transition and retire SmartPSS once you're comfortable, with no change to the cameras themselves.
Yes. Analog cameras connected to a DH-XVR5xxx or DH-XVR7xxx are exposed as channels on the recorder, and Tentovision pulls those channels over RTSP using Dahua's /cam/realmonitor?channel=N&subtype=0 path. Just confirm the channel numbering, since on a DH-XVR the analog inputs are numbered differently from any added IP channels.
Point Tentovision at the DH-NVR rather than each camera: the Cloud Adapter connects to the recorder on your network and ingests each channel as a stream. This keeps SmartPSS-style local recording on the Dahua NVR intact while Tentovision adds cloud backup and remote access on top — no need to re-cable or re-address the cameras.
Yes — this is exactly where SmartPSS falls short. SmartPSS only manages Dahua hardware, whereas Tentovision is brand-agnostic and ingests Dahua, CP Plus, Hikvision, and any ONVIF-compliant camera into one dashboard, which is essential for the multi-brand fleets common after India's BIS procurement changes.
For a Dahua camera the main stream is rtsp://username:password@IP:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0 and the sub stream uses subtype=1, both on default port 554. Change the channel= value for each NVR or XVR channel. This is different from Hikvision's /Streaming/Channels/ format, so if you've migrated from mixed hardware, use the Dahua path for Dahua devices.
Yes. Dahua SD-series PTZ cameras connect over ONVIF/RTSP like any other model, and Tentovision supports their pan, tilt, and zoom controls from the browser and mobile app — including from the multi-site dashboard, which the gDMSS single-device view can't replicate.
In most cases, yes. Older Dahua firmware still exposes ONVIF and the standard /cam/realmonitor RTSP path, so the camera connects normally. On some older firmware you must enable ONVIF and create a separate ONVIF user (distinct from the admin account) before discovery succeeds — that single step resolves most legacy-firmware connection issues.
Nothing — gDMSS Plus and Tentovision can coexist, since they connect to your Dahua cameras independently. Most users simply stop opening gDMSS once Tentovision's browser and mobile viewing is live, because it removes the P2P/port-forwarding exposure that gDMSS relies on for remote access.
Trademark notice: Dahua, SmartPSS, SmartPSS Lite, DSS Express, DMSS, gDMSS, iDMSS, IPC-HDW, IPC-HFW, IPC-HDBW, DH-NVR, DH-XVR, and SD series are trademarks of Zhejiang Dahua Technology Co., Ltd. Hikvision, iVMS-4200, Axis, CP Plus and other camera brand names referenced are trademarks of their respective owners. Tentosoft Solutions Private Limited is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Dahua or any other camera manufacturer mentioned on this page. All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners and used for descriptive interoperability purposes only.
Start free trial

Ready to upgrade your Dahua cameras?

Try Tentovision with your existing Dahua fleet — free for 14 days. Tell us your camera count and we'll size the right Cloud Adapter (or virtual deployment) for your setup, typically within 1 business day.

📷

Works with what you own

Dahua IPC-HDW, IPC-HFW, SD-series PTZ, DH-NVR4xxx/5xxx, DH-XVR — plus 100+ ONVIF brands.

⚡

5-minute setup

Plug in the Cloud Adapter, scan the QR, add cameras via RTSP or ONVIF auto-discovery.

🛡️

AES-256 + Azure-hosted

SOC 2 and ISO 27001 aligned data handling. DPDP Act 2023 compliant. Your video stays private.

🇮🇳

India-based team

All onboarding, deployment, and support handled by our India team — in your time zone.

📍 7th Floor, 4/293, RAR Technopolis, OMR, Perungudi, Chennai 600096

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