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What is current state of remote mobile viewing for DVR's?

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Hi there. I'm trying to catch up on current technology regarding viewing DVR cams (and archived footage if possible) via iPhone, Blackberry and mobile windows.

 

Can someone explain it or point me to a resource, white paper, expalnation ala 'remote viewing of DVRs on iPhone, Blackberry, smarthphones- for dummies'?

 

I have ended up calling various DVR mfr's and asking for info, incredibly, (though not surprisingly I suppose), even customer service, and sometimes tech support, at a mfr often has a hard time answering questions about their products.

 

Any info is greatly appreciated.

 

Any inof on who's DVR is compatible with these mobile devices will be greatly appreciated also.

 

Thank you

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Thanks for replies so far. In my research i see mention of iPhone, Blackberry, Symbian and mobile windows.

 

The Raysharp website says their DVRs are compatible with iPhone, Symbian and mobile windows.. Blackberry is not mentioned.

 

Will look at Exacq.

 

Does anyone know of a separate networked server box (not a DVR) with looping bnc inputs that will accept analog cams, digitize the signal for network transmission to mobile phones?

 

That way, the box could be inserted ahead of any analog cam system DVR and provide live cam video over mobile devices.

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Thanks for info.

 

Yes, I use a similar device currently in other applications.

 

I see no indication of compatibility with mobile phone platforms, but perhaps that is my ignorance.

 

I have seen 1,2 and 4 channel servers that are accessible over web, where you would see a single, dual or quad screen image via IP. Remote view via mobile phones uses different protocols yes?

 

I'm talking about a box with at least 8 looping bnc inputs, that a mobile phone- iPhone, Blackberry, etc- could access, similar to how they now access mobile remote view compatible DVR's: Ability to select the cams to view 1 at a time.

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In a pinch, I've used a cheap Slingbox hooked to the spot out of a DVR that did not otherwise support mobile phones. It's a cheap and easy fix... Slingbox supports a huge variety of mobile phones, and that supported list is always growing. Ulike CCTV manufacturers were they pick the top 2-5 mobile platforms to support and that's what your stuck with.

 

Only drawback is there is no remote "control" of what your viewing. Whatever the spot out is set to is what you see on the phone... Works pretty good on DVRs that support motion priority plus sequential on spot out though.

 

Also, in regards to your original post... I've never seen from any standalone DVR or PC based DVR the ability playback archived video via a cell phone, only view live.

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In a pinch, I've used a cheap Slingbox hooked to the spot out of a DVR that did not otherwise support mobile phones. It's a cheap and easy fix... Slingbox supports a huge variety of mobile phones, and that supported list is always growing. Ulike CCTV manufacturers were they pick the top 2-5 mobile platforms to support and that's what your stuck with.

 

Only drawback is there is no remote "control" of what your viewing. Whatever the spot out is set to is what you see on the phone... Works pretty good on DVRs that support motion priority plus sequential on spot out though.

 

Also, in regards to your original post... I've never seen from any standalone DVR or PC based DVR the ability playback archived video via a cell phone, only view live.

--------

Slingbox.. cool alternative idea.. will look further into both Slingbox and Geovision.

 

Which DVR's that you know of support motion priority plus sequential on spot out?

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The standalone DVRs I deal with are cheapos... Haven't seen any with a spot out programmable more than the dwell time during sequential mode...

 

Most PC based systems I've used have more spot out options.

 

What phones are you trying to view on? The Slingbox is more of a retrofit to existing systems... OR a way to add support to some oddball phone the customer wants to view it on.

 

I would be more inclined to just buy a DVR or a PC based system that has the support for the phone that you need already built in. Anytime you add more hardware it just complicates things. It's a last resort in my opinion.

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First of all, I apologize for the little knowledge I have in this and if I am posting improperly.

 

I am a Newbie.

 

Currently, I have 8 IP based cameras installed in 3 different sites.

2 sites have "Video Web Server" (blue colored page) screen that comes up and then I enter "login" and "password". The other one has some "Web Login" (gray screen with white login) screen that I log in through (Model: KE-6008MX).

 

I can view them remotely through a computer and its good picture but not as great of a quality as it needs to be.

 

The issue is I would like to be able to view it on my cell phone but I cant seem to be able to do it. I have tried it on Windows mobile, Palm OS, BB, Iphone and none of them show the video image screen with live video that I can see when I am viewing it on a PC. All of them pretty much show a blank screen with the settings on them but no screen for the video image.

 

I read about slingbox, Axis and all the products posted here. I am wondering how exactly do these products work? I have no knowledge about this and want to just be able to do what lot of people are doing already. I apologize for asking for basics of the basics of this prodecure. I, Thank you in advance for any help you can provide with.

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First of all, I apologize for the little knowledge I have in this and if I am posting improperly.

 

I am a Newbie.

 

Currently, I have 8 IP based cameras installed in 3 different sites.

2 sites have "Video Web Server" (blue colored page) screen that comes up and then I enter "login" and "password". The other one has some "Web Login" (gray screen with white login) screen that I log in through (Model: KE-6008MX).

 

I can view them remotely through a computer and its good picture but not as great of a quality as it needs to be.

 

The issue is I would like to be able to view it on my cell phone but I cant seem to be able to do it. I have tried it on Windows mobile, Palm OS, BB, Iphone and none of them show the video image screen with live video that I can see when I am viewing it on a PC. All of them pretty much show a blank screen with the settings on them but no screen for the video image.

 

I read about slingbox, Axis and all the products posted here. I am wondering how exactly do these products work? I have no knowledge about this and want to just be able to do what lot of people are doing already. I apologize for asking for basics of the basics of this prodecure. I, Thank you in advance for any help you can provide with.

 

WHile I am certainly no expert, and am in the learning stages of this technology, it has been made apparent to me that iPhone and Blackberry must utilize specific viewer applications on the phones. And different OS versions on the phones require apps made to work with that particular version.

 

Your post is a bit confusing and vague. You state a cam model # but no manufacturer. You state image quality concerns but you don't state what exactly the problem is. You state concerns about image quality when viewing on a PC, which is different than mobile device viewing.

 

Observed image quality is a function of, among other factors: the light content in the scene; the capabilities of the camera; the network onsite; the network where you are viewing from; and the video rendering hardware/ software on your viewing device.

 

Have you do downloaded the required apps in order to view your video on mobile devices? If so, which apps are you using?

 

Also, it sounds like you are not using a DVR, but rather just IP cameras on a network. Can you confirm that the cameras you are using are in fact capable of being viewed via mobile devices?

 

Apparently, DVR's and IP cameras themselves must contain the components necessary to support mobile video viewing.

 

A way around that is described in a previous post utilizing the slingbox- however I don't believe its applicable in your situation as you are using IP cameras, and as far as I can tell the Slingbox accepts only analog video input signals.

 

Please be more clear.

 

Jeff

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