telnz

I have been working on a pc based dvr running xp pro and magicradar 4.6 (10 cameras). Viewing the dvr remotely on an xp based pc is fine. I can view with web browser and install the remote client. On vista and windows 7 viewing can only be done via web browser as no remote client will install when I click on "install remote client" I decided to use remote desktop. Accessing the pc on the lan and wan is fine. I can see all ten cameras untill the pc is restarted or the dvr software (magicradar 4.6) is restarted. When it is all I see is black squares where the camera images should be. Now this is the confusing part, the only way to view the cameras via remote desktop again is to close the dvr sofware, play a few seconds of a random youtube video, close youtube and then restart the dvr software. Then all cameras are visible again. Why would that be?? I need something more stable for my client because if the dvr system restarts for any reason they are reliant on me to do the youtube thing. The system is a quite outdated. Celeron 2.4, 1.24Gb memory and a Raedon 9200 128MB video card. The DVR is behind a router and then a wireless bridge running DD-WRT. Speeds are fine. Port forwarding is in order. Thanks in advance.

Hi Again. I didn't see your second reply until I had posted my previous reply. Before remote desktop I had tried Teamviewer. I like teamviewer as there is very little lag. I had tried UltraVNC a while ago ( not with a dvr ) and it was a bit laggy. Remote desktop has always been pretty quick. Teamviewer worked straight away but then I must have restarted the dvr software or pc because when it restarted the I couldnt see the cameras anymore ( just black squares ) I hadn't lucked in to the "youtube" thing yet and that was when I decided to try remote desktop.

Hi Thanks for your reply. The card does have the latest driver. Your remark about video overlay seems to have hit the nail on the head and researching video overlay has given me a lot more to work on. I want try setting hardware acceleration back to none to see what change if any that will do. Out of curiosity I would love to know why playing a youtube clip for a couple a seconds restores the display of the cameras (once the dvr software is restarted) when viewing through remote desktop. Thanks again