KRANKRAN

Got a CAM77IP (the flat version with SD slot) and found out that it is the same as Swann Max-ip-cam in ArgusDVR profiles. The code is: NetworkCameraJPEGimage=http://{CAMERA_IP}/cgi-bin/Stream?Video?Acc={USER_ID}?Pwd={PASSWORD}?webcamPWD=RootCookie00000 Hope this is useful.

I've got my time right on the dvr. However, the emails it sends are +4 hours. So recipient get e-mails from the future (timed 4 hours after the real clock). How can I fix that?

I don't think so, since when I send an email with same credentials from the same ip as the dvr's using PC mail client, the time is right

It's harder and harder to find IDE drives. Has anyone tried to connect SATA drives to AVC's IDE via a IDE->SATA adapter?

I planned to make a PC-based home DVR system. However, when I first saw the AVC-760 specifications, I thought "bingo!" That's the device I need, out-of-the box, everything I seek for. Well, it really does what is specified. But...in an Eastern way. At work, I often have to deal with Indian, Chineese and Arabic programming That's the worst programmers I ever saw. I think that's the mentallity and laziness which makes them that bad. Outsourcing will kill the industry. The firmware ( 2011-k8 ) is what makes the unit a piece of crap. Same ****ty progging. In the following lines I would try to giude through some tricky setup of the Asian utilities. I also would rise some questions, which hopefully the community will answer to. Guide 1 How to setup E-mail notification? That's not so tricky, but dumb. First, Chineese know nothing about DNS. Second, they now nothing about non-standard ports. And last, they know nothing about authorization. To summarize, you _WON'T_ be able to use g-mail or any other decent free e-mail service. You have to find some old pop3/smtp service provider. With standard ports. So, the setup is the following: Server: put the IP here!!! not the DNS. Mail from: put the e-mail account, like from_dvr@mail.com Verify password - Yes User - the username of the account, usually without @mail.com Password - the password to the account. The mail account list is actually the list of recipients, NOT THE ACCOUNTS of the dvr as normal, non-asian logic would suggest. Put your recipients here. Please make sure the the alarm is enabled and mail notification is on in other menus. Now the questions: Q1: The freaking unit sends 320x200 jpeg images with multiplexer view. That means tha the size of a single camera view is 1/4 part of 320x200. That is ridiculous! How to set it up to send Fullscreen, single-camera jpegs? so the resulting picture would be the resolution of the camera? Q2: The emails get the time wrong. I guess the unit treats system time as GMT and adds +4hours (the Chinese time). Is it built-in setup? How to override it? I'm sick and tired of receiving e-mails from the future! Guide 2 The Webserver The webserver is another "great" feature of the unit. First, the buttons you see in the Web server and in the PC utility, are almost actual physical buttons on the device. That means, that the operation of would be very slow as the init responds slowly to hardware buttons, and very uncomfortable, as the menu has classic Asian logic and naming. As for the Web server. The streaming video is based upon a Java-applet. The java applet connects to the unit DIRECTLY. That's an Indian programming classics. In practice, that means you won't be able to use web server from work. Most organizations and public internet access places use proxies (http,socks, whatever) to protect local computers from internet abuse. In AVC case, you see all the buttons and html, but you won't be able to see the streaming video if you're behind a proxy. To override this, I ssh tunnel to my home router, enable client-side forwarding on my office machine, and use a specially-configured browser to use the web server. I'm actually in my home lan from office computer. Recently, I ditched the web-server and use the avc utility through a port-forward. If your office firewall blocks tunneling, or you don't know how to setup them,you WON'T BE ABLE TO USE REMOTE MONITORING. The picture on the web-utility is crappy, even in highest detail mode. If you connect a monitor directly to the unit, it would be A LOT clearer. AVC say it's a network DVR. Well, network, but in Asian way. The filesystem is something awkward, and you cannot map the DVR drive as a network drive for convenient donwloads. You have to use the ugly software. Even if you remove the HDD (a lot of screws to unscrew), it won't be readable on a plain PC. AVC says it's MPEG4 dvr. Well, it is, but in Asian way. You won't receive lovely .avi on the output. You'll get some stange vse, which need conversion and will look ugly after it. Q3: Can I donwload video for a period 17:00 to 21:00? If now video exists for 17:00:00, nothing is dowloaded. I want to specify a period, and get everything that falls into the period. Q4: Can I specify the downloaded video length in TIME, not in MEGABYTES?? Q5: Which is the OFFICIAL (not scorpion) site for firmware updates? Why there's NOTHING on the official one? Wish list... I think the only thing that could save the unit, is a good or open-source firmware. I would exchange the unit for a PC-based dvr if the possibility ever occur. Or sell the unit and buy a PC and a card and use warez software. To much Asia in AVC.

That's exactly my point. The hardware is decent, but the firmware is ugly.

my avc760 also doesn't stop from the panel. I have to enter the code, and then go to the menu, which freaks me out a lot. I thought that was a bug. Now I consider it a feature

I will post a guide on webserver issues as soon as the 10 days will pass

I would recommend a PC-based DVR.You'll have all the flexibility you need. Those ready DVRs will always lack some functions, and are not "out-of-the-box" at all.

Matteo, you should learn more on networking. Remove the DVR, connect in to A/V of your tv set so you can access the DVR menu. Make your PC 192.168.1.1 and subnet 255.255.255.0 Make your dvr 192.168.1.2 and subnet 255.255.255.0 Use a cross-over (commercially available are usually marked by X). That should help

People, the AVC units are very badly designed. Install a fan into the unit, or an additional one exactly over the processor. That should help. And the stream generated by AVC software is so huge, so non-optimised that it can overload a 100mpbs switched network.

I will post a full e-mail setup manual as soon as this stupid 10 days will past