I have tried multiple ways in setting up a Defender SN500-4CH Security Camera DVR with Vera2, there is no url path for jpeg images as it streams live video from 4 different channels into one url to access, i.e. the IP Address. I have been unable to setup and access the 4ch DVR Cameras within Vera2. I also tried the Generic IP Camera Plugin to no avail and that doesn’t seem to work either.
Has anyone been successful at setting up something similar in Vera2? If so, how did you do it? lol. Does anyone have any ideas? lol. ???
I dont have this brand but they all work in a similar way, even though its live video its being recorded digitally so it will (99% of the time) have a jpeg snapshot url.
You may be able to view streaming video via Vera with this DVR but you will still need that URL.
You will also need the correct port # “These ports are listed on the RTSP SETUP section of the DVR. By default port 554 and a port range of 1024-10000”
So, i’ve spent all day and all evening trying various configurations to get this to work and nothing is working.
Vera can’t support video streaming and doesn’t have the ability to grab the jpg files via Java/HTML as far as I can tell. I don’t think Vera supports RTSP, I tried that approach too.
The Defender SN500-4CH DVR has the capability to be viewed on smartphones, PC’s, ect. The DVR functions perfectly fine from PC’s and my Android phone both remotely and locally. However, It cannot be viewed within Vera and it appears that Vera doesn’t support this feature.
According to this forum it appears that others have gotten this to work, I really don’t see how. I have dug and dug through this forum and the wiki following step by step what others have done. I’d really like to get this working. lol.
Is there something that I am doing wrong? Perhaps it is me, however the information below and the procedures that were posted seem very basic and easy. I am using the Generic IP Camera Plugin and below is the data that I am using…
I have tried both with and without the “/” for the URL and “http://” for the IP address fields, neither works. Username/Password is a given. Also, in my web browser when I paste “http://x.x.x.x:123/GetData.cgi?CH=1&Size=cif”, the image or the .cgi comes up in the browser just fine, again both locally and remotely. Only through Vera does it not work.
Does anyone have any ideas? Or is there another plugin that I could use?
meh. Been there, tried it. Doesn’t work. I think the DVR isn’t supported by Vera. So, I’ll have to keep my security cams seperated from Vera and the home automation network (which stinks - Boo!).
I wonder if I could Pay someone to make a plugin for me? Designed to allow my Defender SN500 4Ch DVR to function with Vera. I really would like to integrate the two.
I am definitely interested in the iCamView Servers for in-house tho. I acquired my Security DVR before I picked up Vera and paid more then three times as much for the DVR as compared to Vera, so ditching them is not an option at this point.
So, for the IP, port and URL that you posted, when you do that in a browser, do you get a still image or streaming video? Also, is it not password protected at all?
If Vera won’t work, you COULD use a local PC and run Mplayer to grab stills from the DVR cams every minute
and store those stills on a local web server. You can then use Vera to fetch those…
It’s a convoluted solution but will work. MPlayer is open source…Or you can also try Webcam XP, that can fetch images and it has a built in web server so you can then fetch them all from one app.
good luck
[quote=“iflym3, post:6, topic:167746”]meh. Been there, tried it. Doesn’t work. I think the DVR isn’t supported by Vera. So, I’ll have to keep my security cams seperated from Vera and the home automation network (which stinks - Boo!).
I wonder if I could Pay someone to make a plugin for me? Designed to allow my Defender SN500 4Ch DVR to function with Vera. I really would like to integrate the two.
I am definitely interested in the iCamView Servers for in-house tho. I acquired my Security DVR before I picked up Vera and paid more then three times as much for the DVR as compared to Vera, so ditching them is not an option at this point.[/quote]
hmm… thats interesting, convoluted but interesting. You’re right, that should work.
Using the generic ip camera plugin and filling in the variables with the correct data should have worked with Vera too but did not, e.g. http://x.x.x.x:port#/GetData.cgi?CH=1. LOL. Perhaps, the next firmware update? lol.
update:
I upgraded to Vera Firmware .1230 (very much beta - took a chance on it) and using “ipaddress:port” then “/GetData.cgi?CH=1” for the URL I am now able to use the streaming URL (generic camera plugin) within Vera and this now works. Surprisingly. lol!
I have purchased the Defender SN502 4 ch hoping to be able to use the same settings you used. It didn’t seem to work.
Couple questions
When you say port number do you mean the Media Port, Web Port, Mobile Port. Defender has 3 ports associated with it in config or are you referring to a different port?
How did you originally even find out that these url exists?
So can someone confirm that a Defender DVR system does work with Vera? I’ve got the newest firmware on Vera 3 but I want to confirm that it works before ordering it on Amazon. Is there a specific model or series that needs to be purchased? I’m asking because like many of the others, it talks about streaming to Internet Explorer which sounds to me like you have to have the ActiveX plugin like the other brands and no URL is available.
I can tell you this i just bought a vera lite UI5 and Defender SN502 4 ch. Does not work with Vera and if it does no one anywhere seems to know how. I tried Defender SVAT support and they say it does not support it. Looked for 3 days all over the internet, even tried sniffing packets coming to and from the dvr to my pc. No luck, I am actually returning my SN502 today and doing some more research as to what works.
I’m continually on the hunt as well. Yesterday after work, I went over to Automated Outlet that happens to be near me and they said that the Ever Focus DVR system can do this but I was playing around with the Ever Focus live demos (http://www.everfocus.com/dvr_demo.cfm) using Fiddler and I couldn’t figure out how to do it but then we found that the mobile viewing works like a champ via URL like below.
I’ve put in this URL, username, and password but it’s not working and it’s only giving me 1 camera because it’s expecting a each camera on a different port. I added 80,80,80,81 as the ports and it created a second one with port 81 but since that isn’t a real port, it can’t connect. I did find that I could go in and edit it back to the right port, rename it, and then point it to the different URL. So I would just make up a port for each camera and then edit it but I can’t get it pass the bad username and password issue.
Thoughts? Anyone using the DVR plugin and have it working?
As for the costs, it’s a little pricier than others but the guys at Automated Outlet really seemed to like it. The prices range from $500 to $1,000 but you also have to buy the cameras to go with it.
This is the direction that I’m leaning but I have to figure out how to add the cameras first because right now I’m failing. Can someone else play with it? Since it’s an exposed system, we should be able to add it right? Or am I missing something critical?
I’m going to assume that the camera needs to be on the same subnet and reachable from Vera for it to work. I’m going to make that assumption and buy a unit today and play. I’ll report back what I find as I make progress, or not.
