Different cameras, different apps - Why?

[andersh67 0]

I had two Smarthome Insteon IP cams before. I was using the Android app IP Cam Viewer to access them. I set them up simply with IP address, port, user/pass.

I then got some other dome cameras. These cameras I had issues connecting to with the app. After a call with their tech support they helped me setup another app called Smart HD P2P. The cameras needed to be connected to a DDNS server in China (MyEye - dvripc.cn). If I did not do this I was not able to view these cameras on a smartphone. Why is this? They only think they could tell me was - different cameras use different apps.

I am also not able to connect to my Smarthome cameras using that Smart HD P2P app.

 

Why can't I setup these cameras without connecting to that Chinese DDNS server? Shouldn't I be able to just connect with the same as above - IP, port, user/pass?

Or if this is not possible, why can't I connect to the cameras using IP Cam Viewer by entering the DDNS address etc? I cannot find these cameras in the IP Cam Viewer but I have tried all settings and selecting other cameras which have the same input fields, but nothing works. I do not want to use two different apps for my cameras.

 

The brand of these cameras is B-Qtech.

 

How can I set this up so that I can view all cameras in one app?

Is it possible to connect all the cameras to a DVR or NVR and access that from an app maybe?

I am only worried now that since the cameras have different access through apps on a cell phone and also on desktop, how am I ever going to be able to connect these to one and only one DVR or NVR? I don't have this yet but will in the future.

[buellwinkle 0]

Sure, I access all sorts of cameras from Milestone Mobile client. Can view live video, recordings, pinch to zoom, works great with Milestone XProtect software and can be all free with the GO version.

[andersh67 0]

So what do I need to do to be able to view cameras in that app? I downloaded it but it says I need to connect to a Milestone server? Is there an app/server I need to have running on a PC at home to connect to?

I'd like to have a solution where a computer does not have to be on for this to work. Not sure if anyone can clarify the Milestone functionality in more details maybe.

[buellwinkle 0]

Sorry, yes it's an NVR solution that runs a PC to record and then from the smartphone app you can live view or view recordings from the cameras. The only way to live view and view recordings is to have a smartphone app that's integrated into the NVR solution.

 

If you solely want to live view cameras, I've never had an issue with any weird camera I threw at IP Cam Viewer, don't know why you are having problems. If the camera you want to add is not listed, just select camera url as the camera choice and pass it the rtsp streaming URL that you should get from the camera company.

[MaxIcon 0]

Note that some cams are designed to only work with that vendor's software, and don't work with the general-purpose NVRs and apps that many people run.

 

Some mention this in their descriptions, but others wait for you to find out the hard way. Hard to say about your cams; it's not a brand I'm familiar with.

[andersh67 0]

Looks like I learned the hard way.

 

So what brands are usually in the following category?

- Cheap but still good quality

- Fits to view in any mobile app and NVR

- Easy to setup with only IP Address, port, user and password.

[MaxIcon 0]

Hikvision and Dahua are the current champions in the value IP cam lines. Each has drawbacks (Hik seems to be preferred by many people), but it's hard to go wrong with them, in general. These are under $200, and can be had cheaper if you don't mind buying direct from China.

 

Once you get below $150, it's harder to find reliable quality and support.

 

There are many posts about these cams.