Can’t get any 3rd party Apps to work with my NVR

[Warren333]

Hi
In short I have a samsung NVR and I view the 4 Poe cameras via the iPolis app. I can view them on my LAN or via a DDNS.
The problem is I want to be able to access the prerecorded footage of the cameras but the iPolis app does not support HD. To make it work I have to set the recording image size really low. I don’t want to do this, because should I need to analyse the footage, it’s too grainy. Ok for general viewing, but not if I need to recognise a face or car etc..
So there are many 3rd party apps available and lots claim to be able to view had footage, but I cannot get any to work. There is even an app by Wisenet which is pretty much a rebranded version of the old iPolis app, but this won’t work either. It finds my NVR and even the 4 cameras, but won’t stream the footage. My modem and router have port forwarding rules set up and obviously work because I am already able to use the iPolis app.
I tried to get help on another forum with this, but it somehow got side tracked into a debating about you can’t view high definition cctv images on a phone/ iPad. But I don’t care about that, I just want to know why I can’t get other apps to work.
For I to I’m using a http port of 8888 and the NVR has a range of 448 to 452 and it uses ssl

 

[lululuv]

On your Wisenet Mobile App, try go to setting and turning off the Maximum Resolution Limit. It sets the same maximum 2MP limit as the IPolis app to your streaming when it's on.

 

[Warren333]

On your Wisenet Mobile App, try go to setting and turning off the Maximum Resolution Limit. It sets the same maximum 2MP limit as the IPolis app to your streaming when it's on.

Yes I tried that. So I contacted the developer of the app (obviously I want actually allowed to speak to them, they are far to important to speak to someone like me) and the help desk asked the question on my behalf and they said it was not compatable with my NVR. No reason as to why, which is abit annoying.
Also someone else on a forum said the same thing.
I do find it strange that I can’t find any 3rd part app that works with my Samsung NVR. There’s one called PegasoLiteHD. It’s meant to work with a multitude of NVRs, but I can’t get it to work.

 

[lululuv]

http://www.samsungcc.com.au/sites/default/files/samsung_user_manual_ipolis_mobile_android.pdf
Manual for IPolis

https://www.hanwhasecurity.com/medi...r_manual-wisenet_mobile-english_v1_1-0616.pdf
Manual for Wisenet Mobile App

The manual for the Ipolis App has a detailed compatibility chart near the end of the manual. The manual for the Wisenet Mobile App doesn't have one, but in the older manual (or data chart, I can't quite remember) it states that it's mainly compatible with the later generation NVR's such as Q/X/P series - those under the Hanwha brand. Given that you said your NVR is a Samsung one, I assume it's an SRN series? There wouldn't be much you can do in that case - the Wisenet app would simply not support your NVR model.

Having said that, the IPolis does (just barely) support FHD, since 2MP is 1920x1080. What kind of cameras do you have? Are they also the S-series? If they're the S-series cameras, the resolution itself probably isn't the problem. I think it has more to do with how your record profile on your NVR is set up. Have you tried maintaining the 1920x1080 resolution, but reducing the bandwidth by dropping the fps to let's say, 10~15, and other image settings? You can also manually set how much bandwidth you want to use in each channel. Try using lower number and see it works out for you.

The problem is that, whatever you have set as your record profile in your camera, the mobile apps will just use that profile for the recorded footage viewing, while for the live viewing, you would have at least 2 separate profiles with different bandwidth settings, which the monitoring device will automatically choose from, depending on network condition/the resolution size of your viewing screen. That's probably the reason why you have no problem viewing the live footage, but have trouble with viewing the recorded footage.

Remember, the upload speed on your network plays a huge role. Have you noticed any difference between viewing the recorded footage from the Wi-Fi, and the 4G? From my experience, even from the Wi-Fi, viewing the recorded footage in FHD barely worked, and I had a lot of troubles using the features like fast forward, rewind, and skipping time if they were 2MP cameras. I could just forget about using the fast forward and all under the 4G connection. Try having a look at your upload speed for your internet, and adjust the bandwidth size for your record profile.

 

[Warren333]

“I assume it's an SRN series? There wouldn't be much you can do in that case - the Wisenet app would simply not support your NVR model.”

Yes mine in the now forgotten model SNR472S

“What kind of cameras do you have? “

I’m using a selection of cheap Chinese cameras fresh from eBay. 3 claim to be HD and they all record on the NVR at 1920x1080 at 25fps.

“Have you tried maintaining the 1920x1080 resolution, but reducing the bandwidth by dropping the fps to let's say, 10~15, and other image settings? “
Yes and no. The NVR has recording settings and also live stream settings. Each camera has at least 3 profiles. So for recording I have the profiles set to max 1080p 25 frames a second. To stream they are set at 704x576 at 25 FPS. That said and maybe this is where I am getting confused, if I want to stream the prerecorded footage I cannot view it, I just get a screen displaying a HD logo. I think I mentioned this earlier, but if I drop the recording quality down, then I can remotely view prerecorded footage, but then the footage is pretty crap and if I view the footage direct on the NVR it is also crap. I have not tried adjusting the FPS setting and so I will have a go at that today.

“You can also manually set how much bandwidth you want to use in each channel. Try using lower number and see it works out for you.”

This is something I have not tried but I have seen the setting and I will also try this and report back.

“The problem is that, whatever you have set as your record profile in your camera, the mobile apps will just use that profile for the recorded footage viewing, while for the live viewing, you would have at least 2 separate profiles with different bandwidth settings, which the monitoring device will automatically choose from, depending on network condition/the resolution size of your viewing screen. That's probably the reason why you have no problem viewing the live footage, but have trouble with viewing the recorded footage.”

Yes I touched on this above. This is why I wanted to find another app that pull support higher quality viewing so I didn’t have to reduce the recording quality.

“Remember, the upload speed on your network plays a huge role. Have you noticed any difference between viewing the recorded footage from the Wi-Fi, and the 4G?”

I’ve notice no difference. Both work well, no issues with the setting f 704x576 25 FPS


Ok onto another thing I have noticed. Recently one of the cheap cameras threw it’s hand in so I purchased an other camera. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07HF7MXT3/ref=pe_3187911_189395841_TE_dp_1
Initially I just connected this camera, changed the profiles and it was away working. But every time it went to night mode and then switched back to day mode, it would reboot and this reset the settings and therefore I’d get the HD symbol on the screen. Via the NVR settings I noticed that if I tried to edit the camera settings via the Onvif tab I would get endless warnings regarding that no audio data could be accessed. So I plugged the camera directly into the network (not the NVR) and went directly into the cameras setup menu. I enabled audio, even though it doesn’t have audio capability. When I reconnected it back to the NVR I no longer got the warnings regarding no audio. Camera no longer reboots when switching from night mode to day mode. Problem solved. But interestingly what I did accidentally notice is when I tried to view the recording (not live footage) of this camera via the app, i can see the footage! I’m assuming camera somehow dials down its settings automatically during the small hours. Up to about 2am it’s in night mode, but I can’t view it’s recorded footage. After this it’s still in night mode, but I can then view the recorded footage! As soon as it switches to day I can no longer view the recorded footage via the app.
I’ve been that busy trying to find other apps and prat around endless changing settings I’ve not even got around to figuring out this new mystery.
Anyway thankyou for your help and I will report back any news