Back up Dahua, Lorex & Amcrest to the cloud

Dahua recorders (and the Lorex and Amcrest lines built on Dahua) upload snapshots and video clips to an FTP server on a per-channel schedule, from the web interface. Point it at CloudBox Guardian and motion footage is stored off-site in the UK, sealed on arrival.

Applies to: Dahua NVRs, XVRs/DVRs and IP cameras, plus Lorex and Amcrest. menu labels move between firmware versions — verify the exact wording on your device.

1 · Get your login card

CloudBox dashboard → Cameras → add a site, write down the 24-word recovery kit:

Field on the recorder	What to enter
Server / Host / Server Address	`ingest.cloudbox.biz`
Port	`21`
User name	the site's `site_…` login from your Cameras tab
Password	the password shown once when you created the site (issue a new one from the site card if you lost it)
Directory / Remote path	leave it empty, or a simple name such as your site. Never a leading or trailing slash — Reolink silently stops uploading on `/`. Whatever folders the recorder then creates are fine.
Mode	Passive (PASV), if asked. No inbound ports are opened on your network.
Encryption	FTPS / explicit TLS if your model offers it; otherwise plain FTP

2 · Enter it on the FTP screen

Open the web interface and go to Setup → Storage → FTP (on some models Setup → Network → FTP; local menu: Main Menu → Storage → FTP, older firmware Main Menu → Settings → Network → FTP).

Tick Enable. Protocol FTP (not SFTP).
Server Address ingest.cloudbox.biz · Port 21 · User/Password from the card · Remote Directory /. The recorder builds its own /// tree.
File Length: leave 0 (the whole recording) or a small value — the unit varies by firmware (minutes or MB).

Press Test, then Save/Apply.

3 · Choose what uploads

The lower half of the FTP screen is a schedule table. Per Channel, weekday and time period, tick:

MD (motion) and Alarm under Record — the recommended setting.
Snapshot if you also want stills.
Avoid General (continuous, roughly 650 GB per camera per month at typical bitrates) unless you have a large plan.

Motion detection must be on per channel: Setup → Event → Video Detection → Motion Detection.

NoteDahua uploads .dav video clips (each with a companion .idx), not .mp4. After Decrypt & save, a .dav plays in Dahua SmartPlayer (free); VLC opens some but not all.

4 · Confirm

Trigger motion, wait for the recording to finish and upload, then press Test connection on the site card. Dahua writes files like <serial>/2026-09-09/002/dav/16/48/…dav; Guardian reads the 002 channel folder, so that files under camera-2.

TipThe "/data1/rcam/…" style paths you may see in forums are a cloud provider’s server path, not what a Dahua device writes locally — ignore them.

If something does not work

Test fails: check DNS (Setup → Network → TCP/IP), protocol is FTP not SFTP, outbound port 21 open.
Login failed in the Cameras tab: re-enter the password or issue a new one from the site card.
Logged in but nothing arrives: the schedule table has nothing ticked for now, or motion is off for the channel — the three per-channel settings.
More in troubleshooting.

Questions

Does a Dahua recorder upload video to FTP, or just pictures?

Both. On the FTP schedule table you choose, per channel and time, whether Alarm/MD/General recordings and snapshots upload. Recordings come as .dav video clips (each with a companion .idx index file); snapshots as JPEG. File Length sets how much recording goes into each uploaded file; the unit varies by firmware (minutes on some, MB on others; 0 = the whole recording).

What format are Dahua clips in, and how do I view them?

Dahua's own .dav container, not .mp4. After Decrypt & save, a .dav plays in Dahua's free SmartPlayer (VLC opens some .dav files, not reliably). Guardian seals and stores it regardless of format; the .idx companion is stored too.

Where is the FTP screen?

Setup → Storage → FTP or Setup → Network → FTP, depending on the model — check both tabs. Local menu: Main Menu → Storage → FTP (older firmware: Main Menu → Settings → Network → FTP).

Should I choose FTP or SFTP?

FTP. Guardian speaks FTP and explicit FTPS (AUTH TLS); SFTP is a different protocol (SSH) and is not supported yet. If your model has an encryption toggle on the FTP protocol, turn it on; otherwise plain FTP is fine — footage is sealed the moment it reaches CloudBox.

How does Guardian know which camera a file came from?

Dahua writes a deep tree: ///jpg or dav///. The channel is the zero-padded 3-digit NNN folder before the jpg/dav marker, and Guardian reads exactly that — so channel 002 files under camera-2. It uses the whole path, because the leaf filename alone is not unique across channels.

Does this work with Lorex and Amcrest?

Yes — both are Dahua-based and use the same FTP screen. Note Lorex/FLIR NR-series recorders write a different, flat filename (model_chN_timestamp) rather than the deep tree; Guardian reads that too.