Swann DVR....need some direction/guidance.

[tomdlgns 0]

a friend has a swann DVR in his shop and he had a company run cameras, wire, configure the DVR (swann DVR), etc...but when it comes to networking/static ip's, port forwarding, etc...he didnt have any networking equipment installed at the time, in his shop.

 

i work full time and i work with systems that were well out of his price range, which is why i didn't do the install/buy the equipment.

 

of course every piece of documentation is sitting in a dumpster.

 

i have already statically assigned the DVR the following IP: 192.168.1.2 and opened the following ports in his router: 9000, 81, 18004 and forwarded them to 192.168.1.2

 

i can access the DVR from the web browser by going to http://hisDDNShostname:81 (client running on his PC updates the IP when it changes)

 

i login with the user name/password i setup in the DVR and everything works great

 

i downloaded the swann DVR app on his iphone and logged in and see camera views, but this is where the problems occur.

 

it asks me for port # and max channel

 

i assumed the port was 9000 because that is what it showed me on the browser when i logged in and i dont know what max channel is. is it asking me how many channels i want accessible on the iphone? he has the 8 channel dvr with 7 cams.

 

when it works, it seems to only work some of the time. i know that his no-ip account is working properly because i am able to test it from my web browser in a different location. if no-ip wasn't working, i wouldn't have been able to see his cameras off site.

 

i am wondering if i have all of the ports open for the mobile device/app (swann dvr for the iphone), maybe i missed something?

 

has anyone setup a swann dvr for web/iphone access?

 

here is a pic of the router settings

 

i am logged in, off site right now, and these are the settings i see on his DVR

 

service port:

 

media port and web port:

[tomcctv 190]

Hi. the port number is 18004. and you also need to add a user name and password to this page.

 

[tomdlgns 0]

Hi. the port number is 18004. and you also need to add a user name and password to this page.

 

 

i do have a user name/pass, i removed it for the screen shot.

 

it was somewhat personal info.

[shockwave199 0]

I would assume max channel correlates to the dvr channels. Input 8 for max channels. You mention the phone app works sometimes, so you seem to have port forwarding setup correctly. I believe you need to setup a dynamic DNS as a last step. The following is an excellent video on it. Watch all his vids surrounding this process if need. Something to check as well in the dvr, if it supports UPNP, universal plug & play, check to see if it's enables or not. If it isn't enabled, it may help. If it is enabled, try disabling it. I found I had to disable it in my q-see dvr as it seem to cause a conflict with my settings- mostly like yours. Good luck.

 

4o-gwhomEIM

[tomdlgns 0]

I would assume max channel correlates to the dvr channels. Input 8 for max channels. You mention the phone app works sometimes, so you seem to have port forwarding setup correctly. I believe you need to setup a dynamic DNS as a last step. The following is an excellent video on it. Watch all his vids surrounding this process if need. Something to check as well in the dvr, if it supports UPNP, universal plug & play, check to see if it's enables or not. If it isn't enabled, it may help. If it is enabled, try disabling it. I found I had to disable it in my q-see dvr as it seem to cause a conflict with my settings- mostly like yours. Good luck.

 

[yo utube]4o-gwhomEIM

 

ddns is working properly

[shockwave199 0]

Here's the link to the page that has all the vids on the process-

 

http://wifi-wiz.net/dynamic-dns-and-ip-cameras/

 

Dan

[tomcctv 190]

ports wrong

[tomdlgns 0]

ports wrong

 

exactly, which is why i made this thread.

[tomcctv 190]

ports wrong

 

exactly, which is why i made this thread.

 

 

ok so did it fix it ??

[shockwave199 0]

Oh sorry- I see you mention he has DNS setup. If the phone app works sometimes as you said, maybe it points to a buggy phone app. Have you tried other apps to see if they're any better? Or tried swann support directly?

[tomdlgns 0]

ports wrong

 

exactly, which is why i made this thread.

 

 

ok so did it fix it ??

 

what?

 

i have a swann dvr w/o documentation.

 

in the first post i took screen shots of all the settings i configured based off of what i was able to find in the system.

 

since i dont normally work with swann dvr, i am trying to see if someone has worked with them, more than i have, and can guide me in the right direction.

 

thanks.

[tomdlgns 0]

Oh sorry- I see you mention he has DNS setup. If the phone app works sometimes as you said, maybe it points to a buggy phone app. Have you tried other apps to see if they're any better? Or tried swann support directly?

 

the app for the iphone is made from swann.

 

i have not tried support, trying to avoid that if i can. i can only get to his shop on the weekend and i'd rather not have to call support.

 

however, if nobody on here has worked with swann DVRs, directly, then i might have no choice but to call support.

[tomcctv 190]

what?

 

i have a swann dvr w/o documentation.

 

in the first post i took screen shots of all the settings i configured based off of what i was able to find in the system.

 

since i dont normally work with swann dvr, i am trying to see if someone has worked with them, more than i have, and can guide me in the right direction.

 

thanks.

 

 

 

 

i take it you missed my first post.

 

i phone you have to use port 18004. and the manual also tells you.

 

so my first post you need port 18004

 

 

did it work ???

[tomdlgns 0]

what?

 

i have a swann dvr w/o documentation.

 

in the first post i took screen shots of all the settings i configured based off of what i was able to find in the system.

 

since i dont normally work with swann dvr, i am trying to see if someone has worked with them, more than i have, and can guide me in the right direction.

 

thanks.

 

 

 

 

i take it you missed my first post.

 

i phone you have to use port 18004. and the manual also tells you.

 

so my first post you need port 18004

 

 

did it work ???

 

nope, not working.

 

the iphone is asking for:

 

1 device name

2 address

3 port

4 user id

5 pass

6 max channel

 

what i have tried:

 

1 business name

2 ddns host name

3 18004

4 hisname

5 his pass

6 8

 

sine i am using port 81 instead of 80, which is open, i tried ddns hostname:81 and that didnt work, either.

 

its funny, every other system i have worked with that has proper documentation is a breeze to setup.

[tomcctv 190]

the iphone is asking for:

 

1 device name

2 address

3 port

4 user id

5 pass

6 max channel

 

 

yes thats right. all this needs to be set on the app before you can connect.

 

sine i am using port 81 instead of 80, which is open, i tried ddns hostname:81 and that didnt work, either.

 

port 80 or 81 is no good for iphone. 18004.

 

ill find a old spec for you

[tomcctv 190]

http://www.swann.com/images/phones/SwannView_Manual_for_iPhone_v1.5.pdf

[tomdlgns 0]

the iphone is asking for:

 

1 device name

2 address

3 port

4 user id

5 pass

6 max channel

 

 

yes thats right. all this needs to be set on the app before you can connect.

 

sine i am using port 81 instead of 80, which is open, i tried ddns hostname:81 and that didnt work, either.

 

port 80 or 81 is no good for iphone. 18004.

 

ill find a old spec for you

 

the iphone is asking for:

 

1 device name

2 address

3 port

4 user id

5 pass

6 max channel

 

what i have tried:

 

1 business name

2 ddns host name

3 18004

4 hisname

5 his pass

6 8

 

i am using 18004 read above

 

yes, i have set this info in the DVR.

[tomdlgns 0]

thank you for posting that PDF.

 

unfortunately, i had it configured the same as the PDF and i am still having the same issue.

 

i can only get one cam to pop up on the app. i can cycle through all the cameras, but only in 1 window in the app. i have tried adding a camera to spots 1,2,3, but they only pop up in spot 4.

 

not sure what else to try if the port information is accurate.

 

thanks.

[shockwave199 0]

I think that's normal behavior- only one camera at a time can be viewed. Like I said, you might want to try other 3rd party apps and see if you like one better. My daughter has used at least two other apps other than the proprietary app for my system and they work. But, I don't believe more than one cam at a time can be viewed in any of them. You may want to check that.

[tomdlgns 0]

I think that's normal behavior- only one camera at a time can be viewed. Like I said, you might want to try other 3rd party apps and see if you like one better. My daughter has used at least two other apps other than the proprietary app for my system and they work. But, I don't believe more than one cam at a time can be viewed in any of them. You may want to check that.

 

i must have done a bad job of explaining this.

 

the program gives you 4 screens with 4 views on each screen. to my knowledge, swann sells 8 and 16 channel DVRs. that means that if you have a 16 channel dvr you can view 4 cameras on each view. double tapping a camera in the quad view takes it to full screen.

 

since my friend has 7 cameras, he should be able to view 4 on 1 screen and 3 on another screen.

 

the problem is that i can only get 1 camera to pop up in the 1,2,3 or 4 square view. lets say i get it in spot 3, i have no problem viewing all other cameras in that spot, but only one at a time.

 

i highly doubt that is normal behavior after seeing it first hand and reading the PDF above.

[tomcctv 190]

Hi. another problem is how old is the DVR. not all swanns show blocks of 4 its only on the newer models.

 

old swann units only put out a java stream so this will only give you 1 screen shot at a time. regardless of what app you use. (its the dvr not app)

 

is yours in the list.

 

DVR4-1200 (Models with VGA port only)

DVR4-1300 (Models with VGA port only)

DVR4-2550

DVR4-2600

DVR4-5100

DVR4-5700

DVR8-2550

DVR8-2600

DVR8-5700

DVR16-2550

DVR16-2600

[tomdlgns 0]

Hi. another problem is how old is the DVR. not all swanns show blocks of 4 its only on the newer models.

 

old swann units only put out a java stream so this will only give you 1 screen shot at a time. regardless of what app you use. (its the dvr not app)

 

is yours in the list.

 

DVR4-1200 (Models with VGA port only)

DVR4-1300 (Models with VGA port only)

DVR4-2550

DVR4-2600

DVR4-5100

DVR4-5700

DVR8-2550

DVR8-2600

DVR8-5700

DVR16-2550

DVR16-2600

 

not sure, i am not on site.

 

when i am connected to his wifi, on the same LAN as the DVR, i can get all the views to pop up in the correct places. but when you are connected to the LAN, ports dont matter.

 

this is why i think it has to do with ports, but after reading the PDF, i have confirmed i have been using the correct ports.

 

thanks.

[tomdlgns 0]

ok here is what i figured out after some more troubleshooting.

 

the issue is the crappy app. i just installed the app on my droid device and i had no issues adding 4 cameras to the first 4 view screen 1,2,3,4 and i can get all 7 cams to connect, but on the droid app, i cant get to the second screen that shows view 5,6,7,8.

 

on the ios device, even though i tell the system it has 8 cameras, i still see 4 screens with 4 views on each screen. when i cycle, i have to go through 4 screens of 4 views. with the droid app, i can see that there are only two screens, but i cant cycle through them, it only stays on the first screen. i see the button that has an arrow over to the next screen, but it doesnt change my view.

 

unless there is another button i am not seeing, i just think this app needs some work.

 

i guess i set everything up right and i am not missing any ports, which is good to know.

[shockwave199 0]

As I suggested earlier, try other apps and see if it behaves better.

[tomdlgns 0]

As I suggested earlier, try other apps and see if it behaves better.

 

what other apps do you recommend?

 

i am not going to search and starting trying them one by one.

 

if you recommend one or a few, i will try them out.

 

however, the main purpose for this thread was not to find a 3rd party program, but to make sure i did everything right with the native program.