How To Broadcast Video From DVR/NVR/VMS?

JH
John Honovich
Jan 01, 2017
IPVM

We get questions from time to time about broadcasting video from surveillance recorders to large numbers of people (one example is parents wanting to watch their child at school or day care).

The main challenge is that most video surveillance recorders are not designed to handle broadcasting to significant numbers of people. Doing so increases load often far beyond what the machine can handle plus, even if it could, the local upstream connection is usually insufficient to handle many simultaneously streams. Plus multicasting is out as that is rarely supported on the public Internet.

One potential solution is cloud enabled / hosted / managed solutions where a stream is sent to the cloud and the cloud service than handles distribution to clients. Unfortunately, even in 2017, most manufacturers do not support that (though this is clearly growing / improving).

One member asked doing this with Dahua and Uniview NVRs. Dahua recommended using Ivideon's cloud service which Dahua now reports an integration. Anyone used that?

What else would you recommend?

UM
Undisclosed Manufacturer #1
Jan 01, 2017

I have used angelcam.com.  If you know the RTSP url for live video from the nvr/dvr, you can then feed it into angelcam.

When there are no active connections, it doesnt use any bandwidth.

I havr used them for live steaming events for my kids school.

They have free and paided tiers.

 

Happy new year!

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JH
John Honovich
Jan 01, 2017
IPVM

#1, thanks and happy new years to you!

Good to know that you have used them.

Btw, we have tested Angelcam here. We did it with cameras but, as you say, with RTSP out, the same could be done for records. Thanks again!

U
Undisclosed #2
Jan 01, 2017

As a novice, I don't understand how multicast isn't supported on the Public Internet?

JH
John Honovich
Jan 01, 2017
IPVM

Multicasting requires the nodes / routers that a stream passes through to support multicasting protocols.

Most ISPs do not support multicast so you could try sending out a multicast stream but the likelihood that it would be received / joined / multicasted across the public internet would be extremely. There are edge cases here for specific high value type applications but the probability that an individual school would make multicasting work to parents on various ISPs work on the 'regular' public Internet is extremely low.

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U
Undisclosed #3
Jan 01, 2017
IPVMU Certified

ISP's drop multicast UDP packets as a matter of course.

That's how it's not supported.

As for why it's not supported, I'd say it's because it wouldn't normally  offer much benefit.  Consider that the main advantage of multicasting is thru reducing the number of seperate streams to a destination.

But to multicast to two geographically disparate locations, i.e. one person in California and one in New York, requires the stream be split onto two seperate physical networks for delivery in any case.

This negates the benefit for all cases except perhaps some high density streams, like the presidential debates, where you might have a great enough subscription density to share parts of local infrastructure.

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JS
Jeff Sandine
Jan 02, 2017
RadiusVision

US Relay or HD Relay may have a solution for managing a large # of clients/viewers at the same time. Ski resorts and other high traffic web cameras use their services.

JH
John Honovich
Jan 02, 2017
IPVM

Jeff, US Relay says plans start at $299 a month. Am I misreading that? Otherwise seems to be unreasonably expensive / uncompetitive for most users.

JS
Jeff Sandine
Jan 02, 2017
RadiusVision

Rebroadcasting is not cheap. But if you need it, they might have a solution. 

How does it work? 


elivestream utilizes one of the fastest network farms in the world to deliver ip camera live video feed to large audiences. Our relay network attaches to the remote camera as a single "client" then takes the live video with controls and transforms it into a robust live presentation complete with security, GUI, upgraded video quality, custom intros, management and QoS. The relay system requires low minimum upstream bandwidth therefore protecting local area networks and reducing infrastructure cost and maintenance.

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David Capousek
Jan 02, 2017
CamStreamer s.r.o.

Gentlemen, you have another option: www.camstreamer.com. This is the app that works on AXIS cameras only and turns such camera into an encoder that sends video directly e.g. to YouTube. One-time cost $299 for the app, no monthly recurring fees, YouTube Live for free.

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JH
John Honovich
Jan 02, 2017
IPVM

David, make sure to disclose up front you are from Camstreamer.

We have tested Camstreamer here and found it useful. The Axis limitation is one concern for the OP request. 

Other question is: How do you handle keeping the stream private for a school type / parent only use case? Do you embed it an app or site that is password protected or?

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David Capousek
Jan 02, 2017
CamStreamer s.r.o.

Hi John,

sorry, yes, I am from NetRex, company developing and selling CamStreamer and CamOverlay (dynamic graphics) apps for Axis cameras.

With YouTube one can set the stream as private in YouTube control room, so only invited Google users can get to that stream. CamStreamer takes care just of making it easy to set up the stream and send video to YouTube in the right format.

BR, David.

JH
John Honovich
Jan 02, 2017
IPVM

so only invited Google users

So one needs to sign in through their gmail account or?

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David Capousek
Jan 02, 2017
CamStreamer s.r.o.

Yes, this is how it works in 'Private' mode.

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Joe Mirolli
Jan 29, 2017
IPVMU Certified

How does this work for multiple live streams? Does YouTube allow that on a standard account?

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David Capousek
Jan 29, 2017
CamStreamer s.r.o.

You can have many live streams within one YouTube channel. I am not aware of any limits here. See e.g. this channel with 13 live streams: https://www.youtube.com/user/WebCamNL ... yes, they all run on CamStreamer.

KR
Keith Roscarel
Jan 20, 2017

Disclaimer: I work for Hitachi.

Hitachi Visualisation may be an option.

It's designed for Citywide camera aggregation but should fit the required functionality.

You will need to install a Hitachi Gateway (Windows based software, we can provide an optional appliance) at the camera's site. Alternatively, if you have sufficient bandwidth from camera to the internet, the gateway can be hosted in the cloud.

The gateway can connect directly with many brands of VMS or accept an RSTP feed. It encodes and directs the video to a secure cloud point.

The cloud software has named user authentication. The user will see cameras (of which they have access) in a Geospatial display. They simply click on a camera to see the stream. 

It logs access which you may use for billing/audit. 

The software and cloud services are licensed by the tenant (which in this case would possibly be the school) and amount of cameras on a per annum subscription basis. This includes unlimited named users and access groups e.g. Year 1, Year 2, Admin etc..

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U
Undisclosed #2
Jan 20, 2017

Are there any Citywide implementations of this in the U.S.

KR
Keith Roscarel
Jan 20, 2017

Yes there are multiple citywide implementations in the US.  Here's a 10 minute youtube walkthru that provides a good overview

Hitachi Visualization Walkthru

 

I'm based in Asia, but, am happy to refer you to the right contact in your region. Drop me a note to keith.roscarel@hds.com.

U
Undisclosed #4
Jan 20, 2017

I have no relation and I've mentioned them before (even though I've never sold it), but check out OpenEye. Their solution for this is the most interesting I've seen, by far.

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Bobby Mancia Jr.
Jan 20, 2017
MIZELA CORPORATION • IPVMU Certified

Correct me if I am wrong: Is this similar to broadcast network feature like web streaming television or commercially known as pay-for-view streaming?

VE
Vladimir Eremeev
Aug 17, 2018

I'm from Ivideon team and I confirm, that we give ability for our users with tariff plan for business securely share video with unlimited amount of users. Users can watch video in our mobile apps, web inteface, desktop clients.

Also they can publish stream on their website - a lot of companies use it for promotion. You can see some of them here :

https://www.ivideon.com/tv/map

 

SH
Slava H
Aug 18, 2018

Take a look at 3dEYE cloud provides you option to connect your DVRs over ONVIF or in case of Uniview over p2p where you dont need to expose your DVRs over public ip. https://www.3deye.me/news/uniview-3deye

We also give you full admin panel to create and manage security roles for your customers and end-users. There is an option to pay per TB of data used, this can save you a lot in comparison to non flexible license fee.

Option to embed into your portal as widget or branded option available as well. 

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David Capousek
Aug 18, 2018
CamStreamer s.r.o.

Hi,

please have a look at Camstreamer ... we’ve developed plugin (ACAP application) that you can use to stream rtmp video from an Axis camera right to YouTube, Facebook, DaCast, Wowza and many other platforms. That might work for you.

Proud to confess I work for CamStreamer Ltd. company.

David

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