PC Based System with Analog Cameras

[Termite007 0]

I'm making a PC based system with a DVR card and some used JVC analog color cameras (TK-C750U). I have an extra PC and picked up the cameras and other equipment really cheap to make this first system. My learning curve consists of: initially buying something that works but I don't like, buying something that works that I half like and lastly buying what I really want and that is useful. I'm going cheap on the first step and hope to eliminate the second.

 

Question: Does the dvr card in the PC have an IP address like the newer IP cameras and DVR's? I know the used cameras I have do not. My intent is to view the cameras from offsite through the internet but I'm ignorant on how to port forward to the DVR card or analog computers.

[Soundy 1]

The cards themselves don't have IP addresses. They work the same as a TV-tuner card or even your sound card - the take the analog signal in and digitize it; there's just multiple inputs on one card. With the tuner card, you're taking the signal from your cable, or often from the composite-video feed from a cable or satellite receiver. With the DVR card, you're getting the same composite video from your cameras.

 

Remote access in these cases is handled by the software used. Normally the system will run what's know as a "video server" application; remote viewing is typically done by a related client application. Some packages also include a web server, or use a third-party web server like IIS or Apache, and allow you to view the cameras remotely from a web browser.

 

The IP address, then, belong to the PC itself, and remote access is configured the same as you would for remote desktop, web server, or any other server-type application. Port forwarding would be set up on your broadband router (unless the system is plugged directly into your cable or DSL modem, which isn't recommended).

 

BTW, those "standalone" type DVRs are no different, conceptually, from what you're doing. They're generally a "mini PC" of some type, coupled with multiple analog-to-digital inputs, just like on the DVR card, and running an embedded operating system like Linux or some variant thereof, rather than Windows. The DVR software itself is embedded as well, and access by a remote client or web browser in the same fashion.