Help with remote viewing

[bonkers 0]

New here and looking for some help with remote viewing. I have a Clover Standalone DVR set up at my business. I have it port forwarded through a router and am able to view remotely with the software it came with simply by punching in a user name , password, and the IP address of the network. Managed to get that done and am able to view remotely via my home computer. My problem is that when viewing I am only able to get 5 to 7 images per second and I really need to be able to view without the lapse or atleast alot more images per second. Can anyone tell me if this is a DVR issue, a bandwith issue, or what the problem may be? I have standard DSL at my business and 18mbps at home. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks...

[emholic 0]

hey bonkers, please include a part number for this unit. We need to be able to view the spec's.

[bonkers 0]

Sorry about that, it's a Model CDR4170 made by Clover USA.

[bpzle 0]

doesn't matter...

 

remote viewing via the internet will always be poor compared to the local connection. it's all about upload speed...

 

5-7fps is pretty decent.

[bonkers 0]

Thank you for your help. So, I assume except for boasting my upload speed that's about as good as it gets. In my line of business I was really hoping for alot more IPS or FPS. Can never find the time to watch back video....

[bpzle 0]

Thank you for your help. So, I assume except for boasting my upload speed that's about as good as it gets. In my line of business I was really hoping for alot more IPS or FPS. Can never find the time to watch back video....

 

 

How do you find the time to watch it live? If your recording based on motion, you should be able to review an entire day worth of video in minutes...

 

What's the importance of high FPS when viewing live? Your seeing what happens, what else could you ask for? It's just security, not Hollywood.

[oldtimer 0]

I have no idea where you reside. If you have cable available, thats the way to go. Your up load speed will out perform normal DSL. We use cable when it's available. I speak of cable when it's fiber optic. Most companies are.

Record only with motion. It's a waste of time and storage space to record everything 24/7. In todays market you have to have a good frame rate. Many of our customers, who are fast food places, are being hit by customers claiming they got injured etc. The video in many places has prevented a lawsuit. Everbody seems to be broke and they are resorting to this lawsuit deal to make a buck. A day doesn't go by that we don't hear from a customer with a problem. If it's any thing serious they usually have us make a copy so the don't destroy any evidence.

We have seen many people look around to see if anyone is watching and then lay down on the floor and say they slipped on something. However "big brother" is watching. One of our largest customers has thousands of stores. They told us, that to defend the themselves in court and get the claim tossed out, it costs the company around 22 grand. If they have good video, it never goes to court. They show the claimant the video at the peosition and they just walk out. Thats why you need a good fast frame rate. We shoot for 28 to the normal 32.

[scorpion 0]

I agree with everyone about upgrading your ISP service plan where your DVR is located.

 

Unless you are doing quality control on an assembly line, or there is fast arm movement that can cause you to lose cash flow then I do not see the need to have 30fps video.

 

The idea is to see what is going on, and if you have a problem then you can retrieve the video from the DVR that will give you 30fps of video.

 

Think of the internet like a hose. You can only put so much water through the pipe. Install a larger pipe, and you can shove in more!

 

Here are some things to look at for others who are reading this post.

 

If you need to count every leave in a video shot then change the frame per second to a lower number. You can have 7 frames per second, and you can select the highest quality video selection on your DVR. This will give you a series of very clear pictures of video, or snapshots. The pipeline can send more "data" to give you a clearer picture, and not have to push 30fps.

 

Or you can choose 30 FPS, but lower the quality selection of your video. Take the DVR off of Best, or High, and put in on normal, or low. You may not need to count every leaf in a video frame, but you want to see fluid movement. This wil give you the 30fps, and will prevent you from getting that "jumpy" video, or a series on snapshot. The quality is not as good.

 

Just like a teeter totter. You can choose one side, or the other, or you can try to balance in the middle.

 

What do you think?

 

__________________________________________________

 

In the old days you could spend $400 dollars for an 80 GB hard drive. It was cost effective to use motion detection even though motion detection had its problems based on the quality build, and price of the DVR.

 

In todays price you can buy a terebyte hard drive for an easly spendable amount, and upgrade to 2 TB with more cash.

 

Storage is no longer a problem. IDE HD may still be more expensive, but SATA prices appear to drop, or add more storage capability.

 

I would not worry about motion detection unless you are dealing with legacy equipment.

 

One of the failures of motion detection is that it can be triggered on outside cameras by a momentary cloud blocking the sun, or changing of time as shadows creep in, and other "false Positives".

 

I do like to set up DVRs with both 24 / 7 recording, and motion event recording. This will allow me to narrow down a time frame.

 

In other words if there is an event during the night then I have to watch video from midnight to 6 am, or I can look at the motion event and see a trigger at such and such time. This narrows down my search a little better. I still have 24/7 video to allow me to look for clues in the background that may not trigger the motion trigger.

 

Setting up motion trigger can be tricky too. Some DVRs allow you to detect from one square of movement, or to change it to two squares of detection before there is a trigger event. Time settings can be changed also to help cut down on constant movement such as a tree branch ect.

 

You have to decide what is best for you based on your budget.

 

What do you think?

[bonkers 0]

How do you find the time to watch it live? If your recording based on motion, you should be able to review an entire day worth of video in minutes...

 

What's the importance of high FPS when viewing live? Your seeing what happens, what else could you ask for? It's just security, not Hollywood.

I am in a high volume bar business and it takes 8 hours to watch 8 hours of video . There is no way to see how much alcohol is being poured, how much money is being charged, how much change is given, etc. at 5 FPS. I don't have time to watch all the time, nor do I want to. It would be nice however to be able to see what is actually going on when I do view remotely. Inventory controls work great but when you have multiple employees on the same shift, working from the same inventory, you sometimes need to pinpoint where the problem is. If I was viewing for security purposes only 5 FPS would be more than sufficient, however that is not the case

 

Thanks to all that have replied, I greatly appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

[king-of-wit 0]

I am trying to think out of a box. May be you can try to use 3G mobile video call to another 3G Video call device.

 

I found this mobile cam from telecom in my country

 

http://m1.com.sg/M1/site/M1Corp/menuitem.e2f30a2a1a1860b609b422103f2000a0/?vgnextoid=19ccad86e16f1210VgnVCM100000695a230aRCRD&vgnextfmt=pdate:1003182343:

 

However, the charges for airtime might be costly.

[Soundy 1]

How do you find the time to watch it live? If your recording based on motion, you should be able to review an entire day worth of video in minutes...

 

What's the importance of high FPS when viewing live? Your seeing what happens, what else could you ask for? It's just security, not Hollywood.

I am in a high volume bar business and it takes 8 hours to watch 8 hours of video . There is no way to see how much alcohol is being poured, how much money is being charged, how much change is given, etc. at 5 FPS. I don't have time to watch all the time, nor do I want to. It would be nice however to be able to see what is actually going on when I do view remotely. Inventory controls work great but when you have multiple employees on the same shift, working from the same inventory, you sometimes need to pinpoint where the problem is. If I was viewing for security purposes only 5 FPS would be more than sufficient, however that is not the case

 

Thanks to all that have replied, I greatly appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

 

Have you considered upgrading to a system with POS integration? A proper setup will log the transactions from your POS terminal(s), time synchronized to the video, or even read directly from the POS database, and display transaction data alongside the video. You can search transactions, select a specific one, and see the video from that time... many will also highlight a scrolling list of transactions matching the video as it plays.

[oldtimer 0]

For the Bar Owner.. I shall say all owners have a partner. The Bartender! I have never found a honest one yet.

In one case I pointed out a real smart one and the owner would not believe me, when I showed him how his bartender was stealing. We installed a POS and then he couldn't believe his eyes. A owner doesn't have to watch everything. Watch a few transactions and call the bar imediately if you see something going over the bar and no money transaction. Or those double drinks to friends. One call could protect you for weeks. Scare the hell out of the thieves. Another thing I might point out. The problem we have around Chicago is bar fights and serious injury to many. Upon reviewing the recording, it helps the police and the owner to get the story correct. In nearly every case we have had like this, the story is changed several times until we show them the recording. We use Infra Red cameras in most bars because of poor lighting. If you want to spend a few bucks more, you can install some extreme low light cameras. They are worth the money in the long run. I laugh at the stores and bars with low lighting, using those cheap junky systems like they sell at Sam's Club and Cotsco. When they need evidence, they get nothing. Best regards to all John. The OLDTIMER.