Follow these instructions carefully to enable Remote-View on your C-C1195 4-Camera Wireless Video Surveillance System with USB Receiver. Remote-view requires an "always on" broadband internet connection, a router, and port forwarding. Open a Router Port
Opening a port on your router allows the video capture software to broadcast your live video feed to the internet. It is recommended to open a port that is not a common port, such as port 30000. There are several options for opening a router port. The most obvious would be to contact your router manufacturer's technical support or refer to your router user's manual. If contacting the router manufacturer, tell them you need to open a router port for remote-view of a IP security cameras. They should walk you through doing so. If you're using a broadband router (a combination modem/hub) provided by your internet service provider (ISP), contact your ISP for instructions on opening a port. Another option is to visit http://www.portforward.com to find your step-by-step instructions on port forwarding for your particular router. There are many ads and nuances to this web site, so follow these instructions carefully:
- Scroll to the bottom, find, and click on your router brand and model
- In the top right corner of the screen, click the words “Click here to skip this advertisement…”
- Click the orange “Default Guide” (located in the last sentence in the upper paragraph) - Here you will find step-by-step instructions on opening a port on your router
- Follow the instructions carefully and open your router port
- Once again, when you open a port, use an uncommon port, such as 30000. You may also open a range of ports, e.g. 30000-30005 if necessary.
Find your External IP Address and Verify Your Open Router Port
There are many sites that enable you to find your external IP address. You may have already seen it on portforward.com, but this site will enable you to do two things at once - find your external IP and verify that the port you opened is actually open. Your port must be open for remote-view to work.
- Visit http://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/open-ports/ (see image above)
- You will see your external IP address in the 'Remote Address' field
- Type the port number you opened (30000, for example) into the 'Port Number' field
- Click the "Check" button
- If it tells you that your port is 'open' then you've done everything correctly
- If it tells you that your port is 'closed', then the port has not been opened correctly - Do not go any further as a port must be opened for remote-view to work!
Enable Web Service in Your C-C1195 Capture Software
- From within the capture software, go to System Settings (see image above)
- Although, only the Web Service section pertains to remote-view, here is an overview of the settings on this screen.
- 1. Language Support - Select your desired language.
- 2. Mail Server - Fill out this section to receive motion detection alerts by e-mail. (note: does not support SSL or TLS authentication to send email through SMTP)
- 3. Startup Options - Put a check in the box next to the services you want to start automatically when the software is launched.
- 4. Recurring Recording - This is the ratio of disk space you are allotting for the system to use before it starts overwriting older files (e.g. 25 means that it will use only 25% of your hard drive space) (note: it is recommended to use an external hard drive that is dedicated to your security system footage)
- 5. Storage Location - Select the location on your computer where you want the software to save your Record and Snapshot footage.
- 6. Web Service - IP address field will be populated automatically based on your computer's internal IP address.
- Under Web Service, type in the port you opened (30000, for example) in the Port field. For added security, you can also set a password in the Password field. This will prompt the user for a password when attempting to connect remotely.
- Ignore the MMS Server section. This is not used for this purpose.
View your Live Video Feed Remotely
- In the Address Bar of your computer's web browser (see image above), type in your external IP address and open port number (this works in a web browser on a remote computer)
- Use this format: http://IPADDRESS:PORT, http://12.34.567.89:30000, for example
Notes
- The view that you will see remotely is the current view that you have showing in the software. e.g. if you are showing channel 2 (camera 2) in the software, this is the view you will see when logging in remotely. If you want to see all 4 cameras from your remote location, make sure you have quad-view displayed.
- Capture software must be running or it will not broadcast your video feed.
- "Remote-View" is exactly that - a live view from a remote computer. This will not work from a computer that is on the same network
- Occasionally, your ISP may change your external IP address. It may also change after a power outage, or if you've turned off or unplugged your broadband modem. If your remote view stops working, check to see if your external IP address has changed
A Few Words About Remote-View Technology
Although this is extremely cutting-edge technology, please don't have unreasonable expectations. This may not work exactly as you see in a Hollywood movie! Streaming video is only as good as the equipment and connections that enable it. There are many variables that affect how smooth the video stream is that you actually see remotely. These variables include the speed, current load, and bandwidth of the internet connections of both the web server (your computer) and the remote view computer, and your ISP's limitation on bandwidth.
If you have questions about remote-view configuration, please post them in the comments section below for everyone to share!
