What are the differences?

There are plenty of similarities between both brands. There is a similar product from Hikvision for almost every product that AJAX has in its range. Hikvision also offers more choice for many products. There are 4 different panic buttons, and you can choose most motion detectors with or without a built-in radar module. The advantages of radar are that they check the observations of the regular PIR and can therefore issue an even more reliable burglary report.

AJAX

AJAX has been developed and produced in Ukraine since 2011. The factory has now moved to Istanbul due to the troubles with Russia. Every year their workforce doubles and new security products are released that are of a very high quality level. For example, the AJAX MotionCAM was recently named security product of the year 2020.

Hikvision

People who want or own an alarm system often also have cameras to verify an alarm. That is why it is not surprising that a camera manufacturer also wants to have an alarm system in its range.

What are the similarities?

Both manufacturers have introduced an alarm system that is wireless, with the exception of the Central. The Central is connected to the power supply and to your Internet Router. The Central connects to the Cloud, and this Cloud monitors the entire system. As soon as a connection is lost, the Cloud will report this on the phones of the connected users.

Both systems can use their functionality without subscription fees. If you choose a SIM card as a communication channel or a control room, costs are associated with this.

On paper, the wireless signal has a range of 2 for both.000 meters in open field, although this varies per product. Usually more than enough to protect even the largest homes without an extender. The wireless signal is called AJAXJeweller and HikvisionTri-X.

Both AJAX and Hikvision have extenders that allow you to easily expand the wireless signal.

The range of detectors also consists of motion detectors for indoors and outdoors, door contacts, vibration contacts, smoke detectors, water leakage detectors, and panic buttons.

The entire installation and operation of both alarm systems is done via an app on your smartphone. At AJAX it is called AJAX Security System and at Hikvision Hik-Connect.

What does Hikvision have that AJAX doesn't have (yet)

The Enroll function

Registering detectors for both brands is done by scanning a QR code on the product. However, with Hikvision you can also choose to put the Hub in a so-called “Enroll” function, a kind of registration mode. All products that are subsequently switched on in the vicinity of the Hikvision Hub are then automatically linked. Handy!

Doorbell function

Hikvision also offers the option of giving a detector a doorbell function. For example, if someone opens a door, you will hear a dingdong coming from the Hub. This can be useful for retailers, for example, who want to be alerted when a customer enters.

Camera integration, but for real…

Another difference is the option to also store images from real Hikvision surveillance cameras locally on the Hub. If a linked motion detector detects movement, the linked surveillance camera can also directly display the image in the Hik-Connect app.

Example: If a front door is opened and the alarm goes off, the outdoor camera aimed at the same front door can show the image before the door opens. This way you quickly know what action to take in the event of a burglary report.

At AJAX, a camera system is always separate from the alarm system. AJAX does mention camera integration, but it is no more than importing live images from certain brands of cameras into the AJAX app.

Cameras are a different branch of sport, as AJAX itself says. Hikvision knows how to achieve true integration of cameras. The largest camera manufacturer in the world is better at that.

Other differences

There are 2 further differences between the AJAX Hub and the Hikvision Hub.

The AJAX Hub has no speaker or siren, and is therefore always silent. The Hikvision Hub does have a built-in speaker that tells you exactly what you are doing during installation, and in the event of an alarm message, sounds an audible alarm tone, which cannot be compared to the volume of a real siren. This can be useful for some people, although we personally see little added value in spoken guidance.

During installation you can see everything clearly in the App for both brands, so we would not need a voice confirmation. Once everything has been installed, the Hub will probably end up somewhere in the meter cupboard, and you will no longer hear the internal siren or voice messages.

You could of course mount the Hub in a location where you can hear it, but that will probably be in plain sight, and it is unwise to mount a Hub in plain sight of burglars, because this is the heart of the the alarm system. You want to make it inaccessible to uninvited guests.

Another difference is that the Hikvision Hub Medium also has a built-in Tag reader to operate the system with a Tag. Because it is unwise to mount the Hub at the front door, as this facilitates sabotage of the Hub, if a Tag Reader is required, we would always opt for the separate Tag Reader and not use the built-in reader in the Hub. We also believe that this extra option in the Hikvision Hub has little added value.

The fact is that for the money of a Hikvision Hub Medium at AJAX you only get a Hub 2. The Hikvision Hub Medium then has the following extras:

• Support for 3G and 4G as a backup channel with the Cloud
• Wi-Fi as a backup channel with the Cloud
• Voice notifications
• Tag reader built-in, including 3 Tags
• Audible siren built-in
• Connection with separate Hikvision cameras (4x)

What if we compare the cheapest Hubs of both brands

If you do not want to use motion detectors with a built-in camera, you can also choose the Hub 1 from AJAX. The Hikvision Hub Low does support motion detection with camera. You can also use the Hikvision Hub Low Wi-Fi as a backup channel to maintain the connection to the Cloud. The AJAX Hub 1 does not support Wi-Fi.

Important detail: AJAX Hub 1 no longer supports software updates since April 2021. We therefore recommend at least a Hub 2 from AJAX to be able to continue connecting future new products.

Both brands of Hubs have a SIM card as a backup connection for the Cloud, but the cheapest Hubs only support 2G networks.

Now that we have discussed the main differences of the Hubs, we can move on to discussing the indoor motion detector with built-in camera.

AJAX MotionCAM and Hikvision PIRCAM

Motion detectors with built-in photo camera, both brands have these in their range, with an equal photo resolution of 640x480 pixels and infrared lighting. These motion detectors are very popular because they allow you to immediately see who or what is sounding the alarm. You will immediately receive several photos on your smartphone in the event of an alarm. The AJAX MotionCAM takes 3 to 7 photos with each movement and the Hikvision PIRCAM 9 to 20, depending on the chosen resolution.

The Apps compared

Both Apps are available for free in the Apple App Store and in the Google Play store. The complete installation for both brands of systems takes place with the App on your phone.

We don't really have a preference as to which app is best, they are both just good. We can describe what we like and what we don't like about the app.

What we like about the AJAX application:

• The most user-friendly app for the average user.
• Everything can be found clearly.
• Stable operation.
• Choice to create different zones for partial arming.
• Ability to forward critical notifications on iPhone.
• Large number of different users can be set up.

What we like less about the AJAX application:

• Device list cannot be changed in order. This means that the button to open your electric gate, for example, is at the very bottom, and you often have to scroll a lot through the device list.
• The maximum number of times a detector may give an alarm without user intervention cannot be set per detector.
• Detector setting options more limited than with Hikvision.
• No doorbell function.
• Less extensive partial circuits possible than with the Hikvision App.
• No real camera integration
• On Android devices, notifications from the App may be delayed or not received due to the use of virus scanners and battery saving applications. So always check whether the push notifications are delivered directly to your mobile phone.

What we like about the Hikvision application:

• You can set which detectors should be active per zone. For example, you can create a “Night” zone to activate all detectors that should be active at night. Or a “daytime” zone in which all detectors work when you are not at home. This method requires fewer actions than in the AJAX app.
• Ability to activate the “Enroll” function, which eliminates the need to scan QR codes during installation to connect detectors.
• Detectors can be set so that an alarm message is only given, for example, if movement comes from a certain side.
• Physical remote control of the system can also control electric gates/relays by key combination.
• Ability to forward critical notifications on iPhone.
• Cameras and alarm system in one application on your smartphone
• Reports from detectors can be verified directly with real cameras, this is directly available in the App.

What we like less about the Hikvision application:

• Due to the many setting options, it is not easy to configure for everyone.
• Sometimes you have to refresh the page in the app by sliding down before the information is refreshed.
• On Android devices, notifications from the App may be delayed or not received due to the use of virus scanners and battery saving applications. So always check whether the push notifications are delivered directly to your mobile phone.
• Not all words are properly translated into Dutch in the Hik-Connect App. For example, it says “disabled” instead of “disabled”. This will probably be resolved with a future software update.