Can't view live feed in browser

[eerasmus 0]

Hi All,

 

I am now finally giving up, I have a Panasonic WJ-ND300A DVR and 19 WVNW484S cameras. The feed is definately working, as I can view recorded and JPEG video, but no way in the camera console or the Admin Console to see a live MPEG feed.

 

I am guessing this is to do with the ActiveX controls, or the browser, but I have now tried IE7, IE8 and IE6 and no luck, doesn't work at all, and never has in Firefox.

 

This is true for all PCs in the IT Department, but when I try with a spare laptop it is fine. All software versions is the same, all have the same version of DirectX and latest MS updates installed.

 

Truely stumped, would appreciate any ideas.

 

Thanks

E

[Kenzo 0]

If you can view live images with the laptop it has to be something pretty simple that has been overlooked.

What browser and version did you use on the laptop? How does that compare to the other PC's. More likely to be browser settings - Have you compared the browser settings on the laptop to the settings on the other PC's. Have you compared the ActiveX controls? Are proxy settings the same? Same add-ons?

Are you viewing through a LAN or WAN? Does the Laptop connect through the same network devices?

Are the firewall settings the same for the laptop as the other PC's?

Are you using static or dynamic IP's - Compared laptop to other PC's?

[Soundy 1]

Kenzo's on the right track here - if it works fine on the laptop, then the problem likely isn't with the DVR. I assume all these workstations are built to a corporate spec or image, and the laptop is either a different image, or was installed specifically to test this issue?

 

What I'm thinking is, there may be an oddball version of a common system file - a regular, everyday DLL or ActiveX file - that has become part of the standard workstation build you use, that's causing the problem. Perhaps a specific piece of software that's installed on all the machines that replaces some common file with a newer, older, or simply different version that's not getting along with the viewer's ActiveX control.

 

Or it could be an anti-malware application that's on the workstations but not the laptop - ZoneAlarm, Norton 360, some other software firewall.... even a setting on the Windows firewall that's different. Or as Kenzo suggests, an ever-so-minor difference in the security settings between the laptop and the standard workstation build.

 

What you could try, is starting from a clean slate with one of the workstations. Install your basic (Windows only!) build/image and test the DVR connection. Then start adding the usual complement of software used on the workstations - install one app, test the DVR... if it works, install the next app, and test the DVR... and so on until you either get the machine up to the regular workstation spec, or until you break the DVR connection. Dollars to donuts, it's some sort of malware protection that's the root of your problem.

 

The other possibility is a difference in the NIC hardware and/or driver. Chances are very good that all the affected workstations are built on the same or similar hardware (or at least the same NIC chipset - Intel network chipsets are common on desktop boards) with the same drivers, while the laptop probably has a different chipset (Broadcom is a very common one here). It's a stretch, but there's another possibility to look into: if the theory fits, try equipping one of the workstations with an off-brand PCI NIC (specifically, something using a different chipset than the onboard NICs), and see if that clears up the problem.

 

Good luck, and do keep us posted!

[ak357 0]

 

The other possibility is a difference in the NIC hardware and/or driver. Chances are very good that all the affected workstations are built on the same or similar hardware (or at least the same NIC chipset - Intel network chipsets are common on desktop boards) with the same drivers, while the laptop probably has a different chipset (Broadcom is a very common one here). It's a stretch, but there's another possibility to look into: if the theory fits, try equipping one of the workstations with an off-brand PCI NIC (specifically, something using a different chipset than the onboard NICs), and see if that clears up the problem.

 

quote]

 

Hmm, that interesting

never ever had problem that NIC affect viewing How ?

please explain

would more concern about local domain rights,privileges

and so on

[eerasmus 0]

Thanks for all the good suggestions!!!!

 

All browser settings are configured through either GPO or ISA, that includes firewall and malware protection etc.

Using LAN with DHCP for both desktops and laptop

Using same domain user account to test.

 

Think diff is down to a different version of some DLL, or the NIC, will give it a try.

 

Thanks again!!!!

[Soundy 1]

The other possibility is a difference in the NIC hardware and/or driver. Chances are very good that all the affected workstations are built on the same or similar hardware (or at least the same NIC chipset - Intel network chipsets are common on desktop boards) with the same drivers, while the laptop probably has a different chipset (Broadcom is a very common one here). It's a stretch, but there's another possibility to look into: if the theory fits, try equipping one of the workstations with an off-brand PCI NIC (specifically, something using a different chipset than the onboard NICs), and see if that clears up the problem.

 

Hmm, that interesting

never ever had problem that NIC affect viewing How ?

please explain

would more concern about local domain rights,privileges

and so on

 

As far as the computers are concerned, it's not "viewing", it's just another kind of network traffic. It's rare, but I have seen glitchy NIC drivers and flaky NIC hardware, and even screwy network cabling, affect only certain network traffic.

 

As an example: at the tech school where I was doing IT support, we had five machines on one wall of one classroom that had no end of very confusing, intermittent problems grabbing an address from the DHCP server. When we hard-coded them with IPs, everything seemed to work fine (no noticeable problems, anyway)... but on DHCP, there would regularly be issues with them renewing their leases. All the cable tests we ran (even borrowed a really pricey Fluke network certifier from the wiring supplier) came up clean.

 

Having exhausted almost every other possibility, I finally looked at a point on the ceiling where the conduit for the network drops on that wall, crossed over a conduit for the lighting. It followed proper design, crossing at right angles, but just to be sure, I removed a couple of clamps from the network conduit and pulled it a couple inches away from the power feed. And with that, the DHCP problems vanished.

 

So in this case, while it's a long-shot, I figure that since the workstations in a corporate environment are often all identical, and the one significant difference between them and the laptop would be the NIC - likely having different chipsets and drivers - it's possible that there's something there that's affecting just very specific network traffic.

 

Again, it's a stretch, but still a possibility if nothing else works... and it's relatively easy to test by slapping a different PCI NIC into one workstation.

[Soundy 1]

Thanks for all the good suggestions!!!!

 

All browser settings are configured through either GPO or ISA, that includes firewall and malware protection etc.

 

Does the laptop have the same malware protection? What are you using?

 

Think diff is down to a different version of some DLL, or the NIC, will give it a try.

 

Thanks again!!!!

 

Good luck - keep us posted!