Hikvision Nvr Live View Failed
Cecelia Seiner
The problem with Hikvision live view not working is related to a plugin issue between the camera and the browser. Moreover, different camera models and different browsers require plugins that may not be compatible with each other.
Each device requires its own version of the plugin, if you have multiple NVRs or cameras, it may happen that the plugin may work for one device but not work for the rest. The first thing you should do is uninstall the currently installed plugin.
Navigate to Configuration > Local and under Live View Parameters, you should see the Protocol option. For testing purposes, make sure the UDP is ticked only (as shown in the screenshot below).
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I figured, hey we forward ports anyway (Let's not go down that road) so lets just forward this camera so we can access remotely. So I did and we can get to the camera, I just can get an error saying we can not play live video.
"The recorders require that the HTTP port, Media port, and the SDK port to be open in the locations router in order for clients to fully connect to the unit via the phone, remote web browser, or remote computer using the EZStation. If you cannot do port forwarding at your location please view our EZCloud introduction and tutorial."
Thanks I took a look at that document and the portion you quoted is listed under recorders. There is no such wording under cameras. Those ports are not listed under cameras, and I do not remember seeing those ports in the camera.
Cameras use a HTTP port (default 80), HTTPS port (default 443), and RTSP port (default 554). The HTTP port is used for access the camera via the web browser and via the mobile app on android and iOS. This port is 80 be default but if needed to be changed is commonly changed to 8080. This port is used as your web protocol for the browser to direct network traffic to the correct server. Uniview units come with the option of using a secure HTTPS port for viewing on the web. This port using the default HTTPS port of 443 and if used clients will be required to have a signed certificate on their computer to view the recorder on the browser. This is good for banks, schools, and hospitals. 443 is the networking standard port used for HTTPS if you would like to use a different port please contact the locations network administrator. The RTSP port is used for streaming the cameras RTSP stream to a 3rd party program such as VLC player. This port is 554 by default witch is the networking standard port for RTSP. This is 99% of the time going to stay at the default port. Please contact the network administrator at the location if you wish to use a different port. If each individual camera is to be viewed remotely each camera will need a different HTTP & RTSP port and each camera will need to have its ports opened in the router for its own IP address. Cameras only need the HTTP and RTSP ports open to be viewed remotely.
With Dahua, we only open the http port and we can get live view on cameras. Is it possible we need to open the RTSP port as well? That really does not make sense. Could the browser require the http and RTSP port?
I'm not familiar with Uniview cameras, and you seem confident the required ports are open so I won't argue against it, but for example motion detection on Pelco Sarix cameras required the ephemeral port range (in the case of Win7, 49152 through 65535) to be allowed inbound on the recorder for motion detection to work (they say "...for live video, motion detection, and analytics"). I don't know how the plugin is supposed to operate but it's worth keeping in mind that sometimes there are requirements like this.
If you want to access the UniView camera remotely, you need to enable port mapping.
"Setup -> Network -> Port Mapping",
"Port mapping" is "Enable",
"Mapping type" is "Manual".
If port mapping is disable, the video was not played in my case.
For wifi cameras, you may take the camera closer to the router or use a wired connection to test; For POE cameras, please check whether your Ethernet cable is CAT 5e or upper and change to use a shorter Ethernet cable if the cable is too long.
If you failed to view the camera live in clear mode with \"loading\" in the image or it alerts you to switch to lower resolution due to the poor network connection, below are the causes to this issue:
I recently acquired a Hikvision camera and could find no Apple software or browser that could adjust it completely, despite many hours of work. Most importantly, it's impossible to focus the camera and there is no Live View.
Sometimes, using iVMS-4200, the focus can be nudged very slightly but it's still way off. There are 3 options, auto, semi-auto, and manual. I went through every possible combination of these repeatedly and reset the camera many times, adjusting many other parameters, etc.
Even if the web interface mostly works for a given camera, its common for a few features to be missing/broken on macOS web browsers. Live view is a common one, though it's unusual for controls such as focus to be broken in this way. It's certainly strange that Hikvision's own software is unable to adjust the focus, which suggests the possibility that camera's focus mechanism could itself be faulty.
where "address" is the actual address of the camera (which can be obtained from SecuritySpy after clicking the "Open In Web Browser" button in the device settings). Do either of these cause any changes to the camera's focus?
Thank you again, Ben. I think you are right. At first, I was able to perform initializations on the camera, but that functionality was lost after a short while. Your knowledge is deep indeed. I sent the camera back and will try another one because the image looked really good for the brief time the focus was correct! Must have been damaged in shipping, as the packing was probably not optimal.
It was model DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3/W, by the way. If I manage to get a replacement, I'll probably post again, looking for help with the wireless function, because it was way over my head. Until then... thanks a lot; member Meatsuit too (I had studied that PDF at the time).
OK Rex, I think you did the right think by sending this camera back. I hope any replacement you get won't give you so much trouble! Please report back with any findings you would like to share or if you ever need any further help from us.
Yes, I got my replacement DS-2DE2A404IW-DE3/W camera today. I managed to get it set up after a bit of a struggle: the stumbling block was that the software defaults to locking the camera for about 25 minutes after a certain number of failed accesses, due to typing a wrong password. That really threw me for a loop. So, an old password in Security Spy would probably count as an attempted access, I think? Then I'd restart Security Spy and try again; another attempted access! I think it locks up after 7 attempts, by default.
Great to hear you have managed to get everything working despite these stumbling blocks. Yes, some cameras can unfortunately lock you out after repeated failed logins, and this can include attempts to access the video stream. No doubt a useful security feature, but can add frustration for genuine users too.
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