My dad’s business has 6-7 CCTV cameras installed. How can he get the feed to his home PC, live and smooth?

Comments

1. Little Dog says:

   March 7, 2010 at 1:59 am

   It depends how the video is captured at the business.

   Before we go to far with remote connectivity, it would be easiest to understand

   1) what the video looks like when local;
   2) what kinds of cameras are used (analog or digital) – are they IP cameras?
   3) are the cameras connected to their own network and server?
   4) what kind of server or DVR is used to record the video locally?
   5) What are the network connections from remote computer to the surveillance DVR or video server?

   There are more questions, but these will help get us to an answer.

   Basically, we do not yet have enough information to help you, yet…
   References :
2. William says:

   March 7, 2010 at 2:41 am

   Hello

   Any DVR you biught should allow you to steam video over the internet normally this is dine but port-forwarding port 80 on your router and using internet explorer.

   If is a cheap DVR it will stream slowly
   If it does not use H.264 it will ore then likely be slow
   If it a cheap non brand name product your images will be poor quality and large file size so streaming will be slow and the images wont be good.

   Here is a questioned I answered a while ago a lot of it you will find relevant.

   You do not need to subscribe to any service (free or other wise) as long as you have internet and know the user name and password of your DVR you should be able to connect to from anywhere using internet explorer..

   I suggest you buy a PC based DVR has they have more processing power and normally have a much smaller file size and offer more features then Standalone DVR’s. I know many people buy a cheap standalone DVR, only to upgrade to a PC based in 6 months especially when they are using it to manage a store remotely. Also PC based allows you to record up to 64 cameras where a standalone will have a limit of 16.

   File size is crucial to streaming because most DVR’s on the market record at real time performance (30FPS per channel) so on a 4CH is trying to send 120, 8CH 240, and a 16CH 480 images per second which requires way too much bandwidth even for the most extreme internet connections.

   The smaller the files size the more images are able to be sent, and the faster they can be processed improving both FPS and speed. File size is the heart of any DVR and goes far beyond just its streaming capabilities, as it also determines the recording storage time, how much you can back up at once, how fast it renders and searches video. The file size of a DVR impacts the performance of the DVR in just about every aspect from speed to longevity and is often the most important spec of any DVR.

   If you are buying a DVR and streaming is a high priority I suggest you ask for a demo and connect to the DVR to make sure it is able to stream fast enough for your needs. Most DVRs say they have remote viewing but it is often too slow and laggy to be of any use especially if it is a standalone. Some good DVR brands that I recommend are Bosch, Pelco, Honeywell and Ascendent. These brands are what security professionals use, Q-see, Swan and Lorex are only used in residential applications because they are sold by Tiger Direct, Newegg, Sams Club, Costco and other retail outlets but are not used by any security professionals also their tech support rarely speaks English as their first language…

   These brand manufacturers also have a complete line of CCTV cameras for any application from residential to military.

   I recommend Ascendent Technology Group they are about 30% less then say Bosch and Pelco and offer better performance.

   http://www.ascendentgroup.com (Recommend)
   http://www.honeywell.com
   http://www.pelco.com/
   http://www.bosch.com

   I have done projects that required cameras to stream over satellite and cellular networks and the only DVR that could provide the video streaming was Ascendent Technology Group’s X3 DVR. To give you an example of what a good DVR should stream like, below are instructions on how to connect to Ascendent’s X3 DVR using Internet Explorer.

   This makes a great demo as it is up 24/7 and camera 1 is a PTZ camera which allows you to Pan Tilt and Zoom in real-time over the internet using the controls located to the right.

   Instructions on how to connect to Ascendent’s DVR with Internet Explorer:
   This is what a good DVR should stream like, (you can control a PTZ camera they have on the demo)

   1) http://connect.ascendentgroup.com/ (Must be Internet explorer)
   2) Install active X control
   3) Hit “Connect)
   4) DVR type PC
   5) DVR code SITE-100
   6) User ID Demo (case sensitive capital D)
   7) Password demo (all lower case)
   Hit extend config
   9) IP address: 24.66.224.223
   10) And hit connect

   Again I recommend going with a PC based DVR but if you don’t want to spend the money I suggest Ascendent’s AVP-4120 DVR or Pelco’s DX-4000 as they will allow you to view all your cameras instantly from anywhere in the world using either IE. The AVP-4120 will also allow MAC platforms as well as PC to remotely view cameras and it uses the new H.264 codec but no standalone will offer the video streaming or performance a good PC based DVR will. (at least not now)

   Hope this helps

   If you have any questions feel free to email me at
   williammorales93@ymail.com
   References :