How to save ip cam video to network drive

[telljcl 0]

I'm new to all this, so please bear with me. I've purchased a NVR kit (Sam's, Dahua/Q-see) and don't like it as it is really rough firmware / sw wise. Anyway, in playing with the cameras, I'm trying Xprotect, PSS, etc... for a software NVR solution.

 

Question is, before I get too deep into these SW packages, I'm wondering what the cams can do without any of that. I can view them just fine in a variety of ways, and I don't really need to review the footage that often (home use) so that could be a little inconvenient I guess.

 

So, I've set up an FTP server on my QNap NAS, but can't seem to get the cams (one is q-see 7005b, the other is Dahua 2mp bullet) to "FTP" (or in any way save) the video from a motion event to where I want it to go (hopefully the Qnap - I put IP (on standard port 21) in the camera, but the camera doesn't want to take "/" character for directory structure.

 

I'm not that familiar with FTP, so maybe I'm missing something simple.

 

BTW, XProtect seems great, but it's massive and seems overly complex for what I need (basic home monitoring). It will also cost $ if I add 5-6 channels, but that's ok if there isn't a simpler solution.

 

Also, the Q-see cams seem to drop from web browser or Xprotect frequently - then reboot I guess, then show back up. The Dahua 2mp branded cam does not disconnect from server like that - any ideas?

 

Thanks for any help

[MaxIcon 0]

I can't help with the network info, but one option you should check out for NVR software is Blue Iris. It's easily the best value out there for home use, and has lots of useful features, while still being easy to use. Support is exceptional, it handles lots of cameras, and has very flexible motion detect. It comes in a demo version.

 

Downsides are that it needs a powerful PC to run a lot of MP cams, and it gets updated very frequently, sometimes with bugs introduced by the updates. Once I install a stable version, I don't update until something compelling comes out in the new version, and then I read up on the support forum and test it first.

[telljcl 0]

Thanks for the info on Blue Iris. I actually installed that first, but it wouldn't pick up any of the cameras no matter what I did. Xprotect picked all of them up (even the Q-see NVR itself) in seconds. Blue Iris I've heard is really a high CPU use program, and in watching power use by my PC, Xprotect (as long as I'm not monitoring any video) essentially is at idle power. If it is in use 24/7, this can be something to think about.

 

Just to be thorough, is there a trick to setting up these type of cams on Blue Iris? I clicked the "inspect" button and it filled in alot of the network info, but I don't know if it is correct. what are the main ports, settings etc... to verify? I can check what the cam is set to and then input that into BI I suppose.

 

Thanks!

[MaxIcon 0]

The Inspect option is new, and I haven't tried it. I'm still a few revs back.

 

Mine has supported my entire motley collection of IP cams. If it's not on the dropdown list, you need to put the IP address in manually, then add any parameters the cam uses when streaming the video. If the vendor doesn't supply the stream info, it might take an email to the BI developer to get a camera added.

 

Mine is currently working with Areconts, Vivoteks, Dahuas, Hikvisions, Y-Cams, a Rainbow and a Messoa, and I'm sure I've forgotten a few. Recent posts at the support forum have it recording from old cell phones, web cams, and dedicated NVRs. I'm not sure there's anything out there that supports more cams, but I haven't tested them all.

 

The power consumption is definitely a consideration. My box pulls 90W on my current setup, and my electricity is expensive, but this is one of the trade-offs.

 

I tested Xprotect Go briefly some time back, and it would connect to some of my cams, while failing to connect to identical ones. I didn't spend a lot of time with it, since the 5 day limit wasn't what I wanted, and the per-cam licenses were a pain due to switching cams around a lot. Many people here like it, though.

[telljcl 0]

...Got BI to work with the Dahua cams. Just picked H.264/RTSP I think it was, and did NOT hit "inspect", then just changed the ports to the ones the cams are using and it worked.

 

BI uses ALOT more power than Xprotect, but since I've got the trial I can't see how "direct to disk" helps that, if any.

 

M

 

Xprotect, though expensive, is a really well thought out and polished piece of SW - I think that may be the direction I go, but BI at $50 +$10 for the mobile viewer is a great deal.