NVR is recording camera video but can't show live view

[looktall]

Bit of a curly one this one.

I bought a cheapo Grandstream GSC3620 because i wanted a cheap varifocal for assessing suitable fixed lens for various locations, but i would still like to actually use it until i purchase a suitable camera for the relevant location. If that makes sense.
It's ok, but has been a bit of a headache to get working with my NVR.

The NVR is a Uniarch something or other

I can view live view from the camera's webgui so i can confirm the camera is working.
The NVR says the camera is connected (connects via ONVIF and can also connect via RTSP).
I can see in the recording details on the NVR that the NVR is recording the feed from that camera.
I can playback the recorded footage from the camera on my NVR.
I cannot see any live footage from the camera on the NVR.

When i try to view it i just get a black box.
I can see some stats such as data throughput (however many kb/s and a percentage value which i think is how much NVR cpu is in use?).
Those stats are also supposed to show resolution but they show 0x0 instead of the 1920x10800 that it should be showing.

I'm viewing the NVR via its webgui which normally works perfectly fine across several different brand cameras.
I haven't tried using a different browser yet (currently using chrome), but i'm not at home so can't try until later.

I haven't tried using the software client for the NVR. I'll be trying that later, but i can confirm the mobile app also does not show live feed, but does show recorded video.

Normally the problems i have are with a camera either not working with the NVR or working with the NVR.
I haven't had an issue before where it records but doesn't show live feed.


I'm after some suggestions on what i can try to get this live view working.

 

[wittaj]

Is it not showing live view during multi-camera view and solo? If not showing during multi-camera then it probably isn't using substreams.

 

[looktall]

This camera is a nightmare.

So at some point during my tinkering (either last night or this morning) i managed to lose the zoom controls in the camera webgui and didn't realise until i got home from work this evening.
I got the zoom controls back (not entirely sure how), but at the expense of being able to record the video feed in the NVR.

It was at this point that it also stopped connecting via ONVIF.
I have managed to get it connecting via RTSP and at this point in time i can view the live feed from the camera but only as a single camera.
If i try to view more than a few cameras at once i run into bandwidth issues on the NVR which isn't entirely surprising as it's pretty low spec.

So in short, i have got it recording on the NVR as well as showing live feed (although in a clunky manner) and i have no idea how it is now working whereas before it was not.
I have done absolutely nothing different to how i set it up yesterday.

To answer your question though, before now i couldn't see live view in multi cam or solo.
Now i can view it solo.

I notice now too that the video settings i have set on the camera are pretty much being ignored on the NVR.
It's set to 1920x1080, 1024kb/s bit rate, CBR, 15fps.
It's currently showing on the NVR as 1920x1080, 653kb/s (this changes even though the scene is static), 10fps.

I had it running just now in my garage with the lights off to test IR. Seemed to work well enough, but now i've turned the light back on in the garage and the camera has decided it will just stay in b&w.
It eventually went back to colour after i changed the IR cut setting to daytime instead of automatic (one of the few manual controls available).

This camera is a piece of shit. It's only redeeming features are that it has a varifocal lens (2.8-12mm) and only cost me $70.

I can see one day that this camera is going to fall off a desk and land across the street.