It really isnt like that, its more down to sony, hik, ect selling their rejected chips ect, and they are reused to make cameras. Most of the cameras China sell are assembled to order not manufactured to order, it really is a case of you get what you pay for because there are variants of grade of rejects from good to poor, and the cheaper the camera the cheaper the chip they used. Many of the recorders are the same firmware but I've never found Dahua or Hik re-branded, I buy Seetong as a budget recorder. When Goolink was changed to look exactly the same as the Hik mobile software four weeks later it was back to its original design. Even the mobile phones in China are not what you think.