Samir

I like the idea of a separate covert camera. Do they make one that's motion sensing and completely self-contained? This way, if someone even tampers with the system, they're on camera. The best thing I've recommended is firing everyone and starting over, but deadbeats are a dime a dozen in these parts, so there's a lot of rotten apples. It's going to take time to refresh all the employees, so in the meantime, it's better to cover the bases.

Typically a variable like that will adjust some sort of server-side caching. I would try making it something like 10 and 1000 to see how it affects the stream. Very nice on finding the sub-feed! Now, if I could only see the video on mine.

This would have more feasibility if it was an IP based system, but it's not easy with the analog system we have.

Glad you fixed it.

As an experiment, I put the url in windows media player. It would only show 'connecting', but did ask for login credentials. I'm going to search for other people not seeing video from a stream in vlc and see what I come up with.

Here is the url that seems to work for me as data is streaming: http://IPADDRESS/monitor.cgi?Channel=[CHANNEL]&Audio=0000&Live=1 and I got that from here: http://www.ispyconnect.com/man.aspx?n=Digimerge I believe it's got to be either a codec issue or something else. I'm sure there is some documentation of the various options on 'monitor.cgi' somewhere, but this type of stuff is always elusive. I've had to deal with trying to figure out parameters like this when creating auto-reboot scripts for routers. I'm going to try using wget on the url that's working and see what that does. If I'm definitely getting data there too then there's got to be a way to see it.

So I tried the url you posted above, and as expected, it didn't work. But then I started reading about rstp as I never heard about it. Then I searched for how to find the Digimerge rstp port which led me to a page with direct rstp urls to try (since every manufacturer has a different one). I have been able to confirm that data is streaming through vlc via Tools-->Codec Info-->Statistics as well as the codec (H264 - MPEG-4 AVC (part 10) (h264), resolution (352x240 -- older dvr so I know this is right), frame rate (25), and decoded format (Planar 4:2:0 YUV). The problem is that I can't see any video. I've got it connected in Linux Mint's VLC as well as on XP without any difference. Any ideas on what to try or where to look? Any ideas appreciated!

That's what I was afraid of. I'll try it anyways and see what happens. Maybe I'll get lucky! Thank you for all your help.

Would this be the same port that you can connect to the dvr via http on the network? I see an option for that in the manual.

Thank you for the reply. How would I be able to discover the rtsp port number? I definitely want to give this a shot since there's a portable version of vlc.

If you have a fan that went out, that noise is probably an overheating alarm. I would replace the bad fan NOW before you burn out the motherboard.

If you have other cameras that require a converter like this, I would try swapping the converter for a known good one. If the picture improves, converter went bad. If the picture doesn't improve, camera went bad. And I'd just replace it with a PAL one to avoid any future problems with converters.

What happened to the UPS? Were the cameras protected from power issues while the UPS was being replaced?

Get a new trainee. Are they doing anything more than turning the router on and off and saying that it doesn't work?

If you have multiple routers, you're going to have port issues. Is there a way to get a network map or something that shows the network layout? If so, then I can probably help you.

NEAT! Do you know if this would work with 'Digimerge' products? I don't like having to install activex stuff or anyone touch IE.

Or put your dvr in your router's dmz and be done with it.

I have no idea about that DVR at all. Just hook up a computer monitor and then use the computer monitor's information screen to see what the res is set to.

Something isn't right. I think the resolution on the dvr is set too high on the hdmi and vga ports. Find out what the resolution is set to and what the tv will accept. VGA of 640x480 should never be an issue for anything that has a vga connector made in the last 3 decades.

Nice! I plan to do a lot of the installation after hours. No one will have access to the place but me at that time. Our main goal will be to deter all the activity more than anything else. I'll kill and bury the ****ers later.

Using the video, we could tie back to any other documented evidence found in other systems. And then once we know what to look for, the evidence from the other systems should be more than enough. It's just hard to piece things together individually to figure out the pattern.

I like this idea and have looked into it. I think it's a bit too late to have metal conduit for the cabling to the cameras, but I can certainly do that with the power. I like the idea of a 5th camera, although if someone gets that far they can probably steal the dvr. You wouldn't need to run conduit to each camera, I was just assuming you had a drop ceiling and just run conduit from the metal box to above the ceiling line. That way they are not easy access. The 5th camera idea is to monitor the box itself, if you see employees messing around with the box, trying to gain access or disconnect wiring or whatever, you can fire them from not doing their jobs and tampering with your security equipment. We do have a drop ceiling, but the company we hired to install the cameras just ran the wires in the ceiling. I don't really see it as a problem as it still would be a lot of trouble to get to them. If anyone made it so far as the 5th camera, they would be going for broke and would be literally robbing the store as they would have to break locks to get there. Hence I think the 5th camera won't really be worth it. But I'll add it anyways and point it right in their face--never hurts to scare the crap out of them.

That person on top of the counter trying to 'keep everything under control'. Yeah, that's the one that yanks on the monitor and doesn't think twice about cable management.

We can, but because of bad management, no one would know how to operate the machines for the business. Plus, with the amount taken, we can get evidence and then prosecute them for the whole amount, which would be substantial. The problem is that they can instantly get unemployment, even if theft is proven. Horrible state law gives anyone and anything unemployement. Locks won't be enough. I like the idea of the cabinets and stuff. I have an area that I can secure with a lock and it's hard to access to.

I like this idea and have looked into it. I think it's a bit too late to have metal conduit for the cabling to the cameras, but I can certainly do that with the power. I like the idea of a 5th camera, although if someone gets that far they can probably steal the dvr.