q see cam issue

[msquared]

The QSee I got is everything --no Dahua at all. The only config tool I could find was from Dahua and I read in another thread here that QSee often used Dahua cams, so just went that way. I don't think I ever found any resource for a QSee config tool. In all my searching, I can't even find a manual explaining what something like the 'fn' button on the NVR front is for! And it was through trial and error I found 'shift' would lock/unlock the view I was getting. Btw, this NVR can show 16 channels and I saw a pic of the former owner's setup; all but 2 had cam feeds, so I'm assuming this unit can do the job, minimally.

What is the model number on the NVR?
I'll bet it wasn't 14x8MP cameras running at the proper settings and bandwidth, but I could be mistaken. Like I said, I don't use or own a modern NVR.

Okay, will cut the Reolinks from the process. Thought it would be easier to have one window for everything but don't need to intro more issues.

Good.

So look for any QSee update ,then? Hope I can find one.

Q-See does not have a presence in the US market anymore, but there are other active sites outside the US. We can either try to find a manual for that NVR, or match it up to the Dahua equivalent. Provide the NVR model and I'll look as my time permits.

I don't know anything about cross-compatibility for equipment made for the US market and outside the US. Rather than risk bricking any of your equipment, I'd recommend running it as it is. Get the experience, learn your equipment, learn about the camera settings, then graduate to either a better NVR or a PC NVR software. This site will provide the information on best camera settings for your particular uses. Read the Wiki.

Those cameras are adequate for now.

Too, I'm a pretty stalwart Mac guy and even though my wife uses one, the few times I've tried to 'help', was about as frustrating as the QSee, well, almost. But, I could get over it, I suppose...

If it's an Intel CPU based Mac, you can run VMWare Fusion. A personal license is free.

And I appreciate your approach; sure, I'd like 'just tell me what to do' but the folly there is when something goes wrong in the future, YOU may not be around, you know? So, I'd rather learn. I tend to fix most things myself, hence all this aggravation endured re the QSee.

This site isn't going anywhere.

 

[msquared]

Possibilities:

Support - Q-See Australia

For free lifetime product support call 02 9748 8899 or email support@q-see.com.au For installation services, remote helpdesk and other paid assistance options please see Perisale online store here: https://www.perisale.com.au/product-category/accessories/services/ Helpful Links These are our...

www.q-see.com.au

https://www.q-see.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/QTView_IPNVR_Guide_v2.pdf

Also see under software and tools section for Mac OS software. These may be of help.

If they're not, we'll try to match with the Dahua model for resources.

 

[brokensword]

Possibilities:

Support - Q-See Australia

For free lifetime product support call 02 9748 8899 or email support@q-see.com.au For installation services, remote helpdesk and other paid assistance options please see Perisale online store here: https://www.perisale.com.au/product-category/accessories/services/ Helpful Links These are our...

www.q-see.com.au

https://www.q-see.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/QTView_IPNVR_Guide_v2.pdf

Also see under software and tools section for Mac OS software. These may be of help.

If they're not, we'll try to match with the Dahua model for resources.

The model is QC826. I found this spec sheet;

Q-See Qc826 09.01 User Manual

User Manual: Q-See Qc826 09.01

usermanual.wiki

and this from Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/QC826-4-16-Channel-Network-Surveillance-Recorder/dp/B074P1SDDM

checked out both links; the first is not my model and dissimilar. I already had the Quick Start for the NVR but even there, no mention of 'fn' or 'shift' nor factory resetting cameras. It's all very superficial, more or less; functional but doesn't delve into any issues, imo. I downloaded the config tool from the second site but it's Windows only. No Mac equivalent. I'll keep it for when I either get involved with the VMFusion software or get my hands on my wife's laptop in the near future.

I am surprised nothing is said/outlined in a manual re those two front face buttons at least; seems that's a no-brainer and like I said; took me a while to actually just 'press and pray'; that's what it's like when you don't know and need something to change/happen. Especially when similar wiped out half the cameras that once worked! There's also small lights in front, presumably to let me know which cams are powered on, but even when I had 6 working, I only had 3 lit up. And no reasoning why. If not for this website, I was probably going to just cut bait and run. Well, I also thought about hiring a sec cam outfit to fix it, depending on cost etc. So you and everyone here has really helped!

I AM leaning toward making the system work as is and learning, as you say. Like most 'hobbies', I'm sure I'll advance as the shortcomings are front and center and not just talked about here in thread.

If you locate better documentation, let me know. Your experience with the system has so far much exceeded what I've been able to find. I'm actually looking forward to seeing if I can set up one cam on the router and get it working independently; should give me a taste of both worlds so I can figure out which way to go in the future.

 

[msquared]

Looks like a pretty decent NVR. I'll try to match this to a Dahua model today for a user manual.

Dahua Wiki (scroll down to software section)

Your need for a config tool may not be as high if you set each camera up as an individual network device, then add to the NVR via the IP address. Up to you. You should be familiar with the config tool software function as a troubleshooting tool.



Possibility for working config tool under Mac OS?

 

[msquared]

Your NVR probably has 3 series firmware. I doubt you are on 4 series because of when that NVR was on market. Here is an excellent resource for the NVR interface. I will still try to find a manual for the hardware aspect.

I just thought of something else that would keep me from just searching thru images to match yours. In the system tab of your NVR, what is the firmware version? Don't send a screenshot. That screen contains your private information such as the serial number and other things you don't want posted. Just tell me what is under the firmware version.

DahuaWiki

dahuawiki.com

 

[brokensword]

Your NVR probably has 3 series firmware. I doubt you are on 4 series because of when that NVR was on market. Here is an excellent resource for the NVR interface. I will still try to find a manual for the hardware aspect.

I just thought of something else that would keep me from just searching thru images to match yours. In the system tab of your NVR, what is the firmware version? Don't send a screenshot. That screen contains your private information such as the serial number and other things you don't want posted. Just tell me what is under the firmware version.

DahuaWiki

dahuawiki.com

View attachment 124776

@msquared ; the link to that config tool is the one I used and it crashed, but I still have it. The QT-QC View link would not open/download/do anything. Dead link, I suppose. In your above screenshot, I couldn't find anything like that. This is the closest I could find;

System information>

system version = 3.215.00QS000.2

Build date = 2018-07-16

Web = 3.2.3.96856

and then it listed the S/N.

I'm assuming since both the 1st and 3rd begin with a '3', I don't have version 4.

 

[msquared]

Odd. When I click the same link, it starts downloading a .zip file.
It may not be that page in the NVR. I'm not in a spot where I can look into my NVR, but if it's like mine, I believe somewhere, in some information, is an alphanumeric string, and I believe it starts with "NVR"
Kinda poke around and see if something matches this, something like "NVR4216xxxxx"
If your main menu page looks like the one in the screenshot and I have it circled, you have NVR software version 3.

 

[brokensword]

Odd. When I click the same link, it starts downloading a .zip file.
It may not be that page in the NVR. I'm not in a spot where I can look into my NVR, but if it's like mine, I believe somewhere, in some information, is an alphanumeric string, and I believe it starts with "NVR"
Kinda poke around and see if something matches this, something like "NVR4216xxxxx"
If your main menu page looks like the one in the screenshot and I have it circled, you have NVR software version 3.

just re-tried downloading the QT file; it's now downloaded. Not sure what happened there. Btw, I DO have QC View for Mac; haven't done much with it yet as I didn't have the cams working.

Yes, the screenshot of v3 is what my main page looks like.

I'll look again re NVR numerics but I didn't see anything even close. I DO have the ability to 'upgrade' but that requires a flashdrive and doesn't give any info on the 'upgrade' tab.

 

[msquared]

I'll have to check mine later and see if I can provide an example and where it is. Even if it's not what I think it is, I will just default to matching up visually and by features.

 

[msquared]

Here you go. This looks like it.

https://usermanual.wiki/Q-See/QcNvrManualV3Web.1114890936.pdf

 

[brokensword]

Here you go. This looks like it.

https://usermanual.wiki/Q-See/QcNvrManualV3Web.1114890936.pdf

yes, it sure does. The only thing different is the remote, of which I don't have any. And it's only in that section I learn what 'FN' and 'Shift' keys/buttons do, though it doesn't precisely tell me the Shift button will lock/unlock the tour sequence. Ha, I harp on this one in particular because when I first set everything up, I couldn't figure out how to stop the 'tour' and really know which cams were actually working. Drove me nuts.

And I think I'm incorrect in saying I have 12/13 8k cams; I think I have two of those and the rest are 4K.

Btw, how did you find this? Every lead I searched re online came up empty or just that one spec sheet on the QC826!

Btw2; searched and the only other piece of 'version' info I got was on the cameras at 2.662QS000.R, or something quite similar. Doesn't matter now.

This will help a lot, thank you again!

 

[msquared]

8MP cameras are also called 4K, you don't have 8K cameras.
I used "Duck-Duck-Go-Search-Fu".
Correct, I may have pointed you to the wrong page for the info, or just thought I saw something I didn't. Regardless, you have possession of the user manual for your NVR now, and a path forward.
Please reward my efforts with a like, I appreciate that.
Hope this helps.

 

[brokensword]

8MP cameras are also called 4K, you don't have 8K cameras.
I used "Duck-Duck-Go-Search-Fu".
Correct, I may have pointed you to the wrong page for the info, or just thought I saw something I didn't. Regardless, you have possession of the user manual for your NVR now, and a path forward.
Please reward my efforts with a like, I appreciate that.
Hope this helps.

 

[msquared]

You can stick down your current path, this is just FYI, this is what I was looking for on the system/version page, this is on mine. You have what you need for now, no big deal.

 

[brokensword]

You can stick down your current path, this is just FYI, this is what I was looking for on the system/version page, this is on mine. You have what you need for now, no big deal.

View attachment 124809

Will do.

Under which 'tab' are you getting the version info? I HAVE a 'version' tab and only get what I reported above. Nothing like the screenshot above. Or maybe you're getting that via the computer interface? I have to work with the TV but would be glad to look and find the exact firmware. Is your unit similar to mine? Maybe through the QT View or QSee View software I haven't really gotten into yet? At one point, I could 'see' the NVR as attached via the router and even 'added' it to the cam list. Don't know how or why, but probably because I had UPUP on at the time. I've since turned it off per your advice.

 

[msquared]

I went thru the NVR web interface by using the LAN address. Click the info tab. I have a Q-See 858 (white), which is equal to a Dahua NVR4108-8P V1, circa 2016. I may not even have 3 series interface. I don't really know, I stopped using the NVR some years ago. Your model is much newer with greater capabilities, your interface may be different, but I don't think it wouldn't be so different that the tab names would lead you to someplace different.
I don't currently have my NVR hooked to a monitor to log in directly to the menu.
Read the Wiki I sent you regarding using the NVR. If I were you, I would click on every tab, just to see what was in them. Notice I said click and view, not click and change a bunch of settings.
I wouln't move to remote access until you have all your devices (whether the NVR your cameras are connected to, or your NVR and all cameras set up individually) on static IP and block internet access to those IP addresses using your router. Then when you're ready to set up remote access, setup a VPN. A VPN will allow you secure access and will function as though your device in on your local network, not trying to access from outside your network. This way, none of your devices are exposed to the internet.
I found documentation only for the NVR. Nowhere did I find any firmware updates for any Q-See device released in the US market.

 

[Pogo]

This site isn't going anywhere.

Probably not. But the advice and patience you have provided and demonstrated in this thread doesn't exactly jump off the pages around here on a regular basis.
Well done, sir. Well done.

As I'm in a similar boat of sorts as @brokensword, and since it's taken me a couple of days searching, posting in a couple other places with no response, and rooting around here for Q-SEE camera information finding very little aside from the Q-SEE doom and gloom thread before just stumbling across this one..., well, here I am at your mercy.

Blue Iris platform for starters. No dedicated NVR issues of any consequence, though I do still run an older Swann DVR that's hanging off my Blue Iris server. I pretty much know my way around most of the issues previously discussed here already, so not much repetition anticipated.

I have a pair of Q-SEE HD 3MP QTN8037BC cameras that came to me with trashed POE connectors from an operational Q-SEE NVR system, but in very good condition otherwise.

Not much information available about them except what I've found below. It would appear by the list that they should be compatible with any number of NVRs -- some of which look to be units I've seen cross-referenced to Dahua equivalents..., leading me to lean toward thinking the cameras are also Dahua cameras, but maybe not.

Environmental Equipment & Supplies

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www.environmental-expert.com

Some ether-neckery on the cables at least got me up and running temporarily for additional troubleshooting to see what I may have before committing to actual replacement of the pigtails. They fire up. They acquire local IPs from my dhcp server. A port scan reveals the expected ports (along with a couple oddballs I've yet to investigate) and identify the units as TVT CO., LTD devices -- which may be what I'm wrestling with unless that confirms they're Dahuas. The login screen pops up on port 85 and complains about requiring the plugin, but at least shows image connectivity which confirms the correct connector pinouts.

I've downloaded the various provisioning approaches recommended. I have the NVR login credentials which presumably are what these cameras want to see. Problem is, the iP addresses aren't even recognized by any of the 'proprietary' provisioning / config software seemingly common to both Q-SEE and Dahua platforms. FWIW, Blue Iris sees the cameras and acknowledges RTSP hardware, but no initialization is recognized.

Based on the above, I can only assume there is an authorization issue (or issues) affecting recognition of the hardware by the software -- either IP / user related, or serial number / MAC address related on a proprietary compatibility basis. Or they're not Dahua cameras -- if that even matters here.

The obvious solution would be to reset the cameras and start from scratch -- if there were a way to do so. No reset button in, on, or anywhere in the vicinity of these cameras (and I've had them apart). Not being able to log into an interface that could possibly affect that also seems elusive at present.

Any suggestions or relevant input gratefully appreciated.

 

[Pogo]

The TVT Q-SEE cameras I have would seem to actually be Q-SEE branded Shenzhen / TVT cameras, not Dahuas. That said, I also ran across just about every iteration of IP Tool 2.0.x for all of these cameras which appears identical in every instance -- even down to suggesting you should correct your C+++ installation by upgrading to a 10 year old version. Progress! LOL

I discovered several instructional resources for software based factory resets for these cams as well, with each one essentially being the same right down to user/pass and default IP address details. A YouTube video I also just discovered simply bypassed the old C+++ recommendation and the IP Tool promptly discovered all the cameras on the particular network from at least two separate address ranges -- including the default for his example camera. A factory reset is simply done via the MAC address and you're back to square one with default IP address and login credentials.

The key is the app actually recognizing any cameras at all in the first place. Out of all the applications I've tried so far, exactly no cameras have been discovered by any of them on the same 192.168.x.x network as the laptop running the app. Any other scanning process sees all of them, including the Q-SEE/Dahua/TVT/Shenzhen units -- right down to the ports and hardware addresses.

 

[msquared]

I don't know how many OEMs Q-See used as suppliers. When I had my Q-See cameras, the models I had just happened to have been supplied by Dahua. When I started researching into information and issues, is when I first stumbled on this site. Manufacturers are not exactly forthcoming with where they get their products from.
That being said, my only experience will be from owning a Q-See starter set, would be the information I gathered on the corresponding model from Dahua.
Best practices are to deal with the camera, and only the camera.
There could be multiple reasons why the apps you tried so far can't see the camera.
You already indicated you can hook up the camera, and see the camera interface. In the router, was the IP assigned standard? i.e. 192.168.x.x?
Oddly enough, I found that one of the very first problems I ran into was that once a camera was hooked to a NVR, the camera held on to the subnet IP address assigned by the NVR. It didn't even matter if it was set to DHCP.
This is when I learned to set all the camera settings in the camera, then add to the NVR. Do NOT use the NVR to manage the camera. The very first purchase I made after falling down the IP camera rabbit hole was a POE switch and get the cameras off the NVR subnet. It's just too much of a PITA to access and manage.
I'm saying this because one idea is to put the camera back on the NVR, and see if that method opens access and options to reset the camera. I would only try this with one of the compatible models of NVR. But I think that has a low chance of sucesss and risks locking you out of the camera itself, but it might be a last resort option.
I've seen in other posts there are ways to query the camera where when it replies it will give you information regarding some of the internals that may lead you to more manufacturer information on how to reset. This is beyond my skill set.
I'm going to assume you either didn't try to log in to the camera interface, or the NVR credentials you tried didn't work.
I would probably first try the IP tool for Q-See cameras located at the first link below. The other links are for informational purposes.
A hardware reset button may be present, just very well hidden. It may not even look like a reset button. The reset procedure may vary, but the most common are to power on the camera and press and hold the button. Another common way is to press the button and hold, then power up the camera, while holding the button for 15 seconds.

Support - Q-See Australia

For free lifetime product support call 02 9748 8899 or email support@q-see.com.au For installation services, remote helpdesk and other paid assistance options please see Perisale online store here: https://www.perisale.com.au/product-category/accessories/services/ Helpful Links These are our...

www.q-see.com.au

QTN8037BC

: Q-See Qtn8037Bc QTN8037BC Spec sheets Oracle Backup

usermanual.wiki

https://www.q-see.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/QTN_IPCamera_Guide_v1.0.pdf

 

[Pogo]

Thanks for the response and the input.

Dahua seems to have been the biggest player for Q-SEE. I read about 'possibly others' in a fairly vague reference somewhere recently, hence my curiosity about TVT. They're not Dahua from what I've been able to determine, but sure seem like they may as well be in many, if not all respects. A little reading would give the impression they may have been in bed together somewhere along the line -- perhaps with TVT running screen for Dahua during some controversial times of product security concerns. There's a story there somewhere.

These cameras are definitely locked to their previous NVR provisioning one way or another, most likely by MAC address and user credentials since they do acquire an IP address from my router dhcp server. They show up on the router and a routine scan confirms the expected ports as mentioned. The NVR is not at my disposal for experimenting, but migration to Blue Iris is the goal anyway.

The the errors I'm encountering trying to add the cams to Blue Iris seem to keep pointing toward a user/pass issue. I have the login credentials of the NVR which presumably would be the same for the cameras, but maybe there's something else proprietary happening there? No access from IPtool seems to be a Windows WinPcap problem from what I've read, plus it seems likely that each vendor has their own exact version of IPtool with the only difference being the branding and the likelihood of MAC address filtering to establish the 'can only be used with our brand products' aspect of the marketing BS.

Here's the TVT version of using IPtool to change initialization parameters of a camera lacking a handy reset button. I downloaded their version of the tool as the hardware address prefixes in the video are the same as the cameras I'm wrestling with. Didn't matter. Though the software does see 10 out of 13 devices on my network. It just doesn't populate the display or establish any functionality whatsoever. That seems to be the WinPcap problem mentioned in various posts, with WinPcap being obsolete and no longer installable on Windows 10. I tried. The search for a solution continues...

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