Web interface that works on Mac?

[bob321 0]

Hey, I used standalone DVR solutions until now and wasn't very happy with them - I am looking at Avermedia and Geovision and those look very nice.

 

However I'm unable to use their web interfaces on Firefox or Safari on a Mac.

 

I'm going to be opening it exclusively over web so I don't really care much about good desktop software - half the time I'm either on a Mac or somewhere where I'm unable to install any additional software.

 

Can someone recommend any DVR or DVR software that is:

 

1) Complete package, I want to be able to view audio/video archive over internet, live view, etc.

 

2) Doesn't require activex.

[Soundy 1]

I've used VideoInsight's web client successfully on Firefox as well as a number of mobile browsers on PalmOS, Windows Mobile, and MotoQ. Should work fine on Safari as well, I would think.

 

They have a demo of their web interface on their website at http://www.demovi.com/

[bob321 0]

Their systems don't appear to have audio, neither live or recording? -- Audio is critical

 

Otherwise the system looks pretty good for those not needing audio.

[Soundy 1]

VI absolutely supports audio:

 

http://video-insight.com/Purchase/Capture-Cards.aspx

 

"The Video Insight VN30 is an entry level PCI card featuring four BNC inputs and one channel of audio."

 

"The Video Insight VJ60 is a solid performer featuring sixteen inputs and four channels of audio."

 

"The Video Insight VJ120 is a high end card featuring sixteen inputs and eight channels of audio."

 

"The Video Insight VJ240 is a high end card featuring sixteen inputs and eight channels of audio."

[bob321 0]

Hmm, I can see it in their specs but not in any of their video demonstrations or live demo - am I missing something?

[jw15851 0]

Exacq is a very good piece of software, and has a web interface that works just fine on mac. (also works to a degree on iphone). But that isn't needed, because they have a fully functional mac client as well.

 

The only drawbacks are they're a little expensive compared to the likes of NUUO or Geovision, and the software is 100% edge based. So it fully depends on the compression of their PCI cards, or on the compression of the IP camera involved. No capability for analytics, or in-software motion detection.

 

It also has very good audio support, particularly with their capture cards. Audio is 100% in sync with the video on playback.

 

-J

[Soundy 1]

Hmm, I can see it in their specs but not in any of their video demonstrations or live demo - am I missing something?

 

Missed this post initially. No, I don't thing you're missing anything... they just don't have any audio in their demos. Can't really tell you why, but I know it's supported.

[bob321 0]

Hmm, I can see it in their specs but not in any of their video demonstrations or live demo - am I missing something?

 

Missed this post initially. No, I don't thing you're missing anything... they just don't have any audio in their demos. Can't really tell you why, but I know it's supported.

 

I tried to download a video too and all I got was a low framerate, fast motion, jumpy video where 1 frame a person is at his desk and the next he's near the camera - I'm guessing this is where their motion detection kicked in?

 

Even if audio can be recorded (I still can't find any examples of this?), with videos this jumpy I can't imagine it being useful?

 

I found this website today: http://xanview.com and their stuff looks pretty interesting. They also have a live demo. Your thoughts?

[Twilo123 0]

if you are trying to use browsers to view the software then it may not support audio that way. they probably have thick clients/activex, etc. for getting audio with video. just using firefox may only provide jpg/mjpg streams which inherently don't support audio. on the thick clients/activex it may be rtsp mpg4/h264 streaming so it will provide audio. you will need some rtsp streaming software for audio typically such as quicktime, vlc, real player, etc.

[bob321 0]

if you are trying to use browsers to view the software then it may not support audio that way. they probably have thick clients/activex, etc. for getting audio with video. just using firefox may only provide jpg/mjpg streams which inherently don't support audio. on the thick clients/activex it may be rtsp mpg4/h264 streaming so it will provide audio. you will need some rtsp streaming software for audio typically such as quicktime, vlc, real player, etc.

 

I'm talking about on the actual downloaded video, not just viewing on the website.

[Twilo123 0]

i see. in that case contact the manufacturer for video samples with audio. i am sure that the full recorded video supports audio if they are supporting mpg4/h264 codecs. it is built into the codec itself so the software recording it doesn't have to even worry about that part. if they are supporting only jpg/mjpg then it could or could not support audio as audio is typically sent in a separate stream like a wav stream for instance.

[bob321 0]

i see. in that case contact the manufacturer for video samples with audio. i am sure that the full recorded video supports audio if they are supporting mpg4/h264 codecs. it is built into the codec itself so the software recording it doesn't have to even worry about that part. if they are supporting only jpg/mjpg then it could or could not support audio as audio is typically sent in a separate stream like a wav stream for instance.

 

What? -- mpeg4-avc or h264 has nothing to do with audio recording. A video codec cannot record audio, you need to use an audio codec like aac/mp3/vorbis and a container that supports both audio and video like mp4 or avi. No one is forcing you to use a container or record audio and most don't.

 

Also, the downloaded video is very jumpy - it is around 5fps from what I can tell and occasionally it jumps 10-15 seconds, I assume when it can't see motion.

 

A jump in 15 seconds means you just lost that 15 seconds of information. For a video this isn't critical, you can still generally see what's going on, for audio it is. I don't see how they would record audio unless it's a completely different process. I'll ask.

[Twilo123 0]

those codecs incorporate the audio codecs you describe into 1 container whereas jpg/mjpg does not. you can just google them to get how they do it indepth if you need more detailed info on how the process is done.

[bob321 0]

those codecs incorporate the audio codecs you describe into 1 container whereas jpg/mjpg does not. you can just google them to get how they do it indepth if you need more detailed info on how the process is done.

 

I know how the process is done, you are mistaken. MPEG4-AVC/H264 codecs do not incorporate audio - they have nothing to do with audio. The general defacto standard is to use the AAC audio codec with H264 in an MP4 container but most IP cameras use G.726 and others.

[Twilo123 0]

i think i just said the same thing. again you can google it for detailed info on the process. regardless when dealing with video surveillance and referencing mpg4/h264 they are typically referencing the 'container' not just the h264 video codec itself. this again is why i said to check directly with the manufacturer is this is not clear enough for you...

[bob321 0]

i think i just said the same thing. again you can google it for detailed info on the process. regardless when dealing with video surveillance and referencing mpg4/h264 they are typically referencing the 'container' not just the h264 video codec itself. this again is why i said to check directly with the manufacturer is this is not clear enough for you...

 

No, once again you are mistaken. Even if you look at the MPEG2 part3 which recommends using AAC multiplexed in an MP4 container - this is completely incompatible with recording audio from IP cameras.

 

There is nothing built into the codec, nothing built into the container and nothing built into the collection of standards that will let you record the G.726 audio from an IP camera.

 

You don't need to tell me to google this, I've done my research - you should do yours

 

EDIT: Yeah, so whatever VideoInsight are doing to record audio, it isn't just something that's done by default - I'll ask them for a sample of audio/video recording.

[bob321 0]

VideoInsight got back to me saying they do not support audio over Internet at all -- Only on the network client and monitoring station.

 

Very fast reply though.