Review - TOP-201 Super Mini 720P HD IP-Cam (The Cheapest IP Cam So Far !!)

[lojix]

I ordered one of these caneras off ebay for 24 bucks from a us place. Eager to see how well it works

:encouragement: Share your thoughts once you have received it

 

[gonzo here]

:encouragement: Share your thoughts once you have received it

Hello guy's thanks for the hospitality,you guys are proving to be a helpful bunch.as to my connection problems I stiil have them
But as I am looking at the software config .(which by the way is turning out to be not so bad considering it was only 25.00) I'm noticing under remote access it has a port called media port which by default is 34567 and http port is 1025 which is my forwarded port on my router.Now my question,is this media port also called rtsp port?which by lojiks posting should be 554 and is that http port my forwarded port or I my just as lost as when I first started?please help.thank you

 

[phebous]

Alright, I will pipe into this conversation. First is a thanks to LoJix for posting the files! You saved me some time from tracking down the CD. It also validated that it is the same cameras that I have received.


Here are the camera's I have purchased and installed.
http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/b1FircKk
http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/rWUn76o

My assessment of the advertisement of these cameras is that they are not accurate. It says it support ONVIF, I have not seen any sign of support. From what I see from these camera, it provides access via their Active-X control, that I wish I had more documentation. Blue Iris does support them under various different brand names. I have not found any "name" on my camera. They are all the same camera systems. You can find the raw boards also on AliExpress. The only difference is the plastic which is placed around them and the lens attached.


With regards setting these cameras up, you can select any camera with a 34567 port in it's name. I am currently using "IPC H.264 Port 34567". I have tried various other ones but they all work about the same.

My assessment on security is marginal. I notice that there are several ports open. They are port 23, 80, 554, 34567. Now I have not done an extensive port scan on these cameras. Port 23 is used for Telnet. Port 80 is HTTP. Port 554 is supposed to be RTSP but I have yet to get any data out of it. Port 34567 is the port that pulls the images and sound (if enabled). Although I don't have a login for the Telnet, I will continue probing that port for further hacking. It appears to be a Linux derivative but this is unverified at this time. This is the output:

telnet 192.168.0.23
Trying 192.168.0.23...
Connected to 192.168.0.23.
Escape character is '^]'.
LocalHost login:


Regards,

Phebous...

Edit: "Port 554 is supposed to be RTSP but I have yet to get any data out of it." - I have now been able to get both audio and video out of this port via VLC. In the Settings-> System -> NetService, there is an option for RTSP. This needs to be enabled. Now I have my data.

 

[Jargo]

Hello all. I'm a noob here and having difficulty setting up this TOP-201 IP camera. I have plenty of PC hardware and software experience, not much with networking and IP cameras.

I have spent too much time on this and I would like to ask a few simple questions. I have tried to set up the camera via a router and directly to the ethernet port with no success.

The CMS software provided with the camera detects it via the "IP Search" , but doesn't detect camera when I click "Add Device" says "Cann't Find Device" (see pics)

When plugged directly into PC's Ethernet Connector and I run "ipconfig" i get a different IPv4 address being "169.254.121.193" and the Default of the camera is "192.168.1.10" ????

So.....
1. Does this Camera have a browser interface to access at all like others I have seen on Youtube etc?
2. Could this unit be faulty or "Am I doing it Wrong"
3. Is there a simple test to see if the unit is functional?

Thanks Lojix for your very detailed review and I am pretty impressed with the quality of the cam vision you provided, only if i can get it to work......

* Using 12v 1A Power Adapter
* No AV or Firewall active
* Running Windows 7
* Can ping 169.254.121.193 but fails on default 192.168.1.10

Thanks to all for providing information here....

 

[phebous]

So.....
1. Does this Camera have a browser interface to access at all like others I have seen on Youtube etc?
2. Could this unit be faulty or "Am I doing it Wrong"
3. Is there a simple test to see if the unit is functional?

I hate when I ask questions but fail to get answer so I will answer them first and then go into the logic of these camera.

1) Yes, these camera have a web interface to them. They would be accessible via the port 80 with a standard web browser, but you will need to clear some hurdles before this would be true.

2) Anything is possible but in this case, I think that you are doing something wrong.

3) The simple test would be plugging in an Ethernet cable. Does a link light come on? If so, it passes the most basic test. What it appears is that you need to setup these cameras with an IP address that is compatible with your network. I will break it down for you now.


These camera come with a default IP address of 192.168.1.10. You will have two choices with change the IP address. After this point, you will be able to access them via the web browser.

Your two choices to solve this problem would be

1) change the IP address of your computer to be on the 192.168.1.X network

or

2) Use the utility provided on with the camera to change the camera from 192.168.1.10 to an IP address on your computer's network.


Only after you have completed either of these two options would you be able to access these camera via a web browser. When I first got these camera, I opted for option number 1. I have later found out that option number 2 is the easier route. This is why I posted a Thank you to LoJix for posting the files from the cdrom.

It appears that the CMS software also embeds the Device Manager software. This is evident with the screen shot of

This is very similar to the Device Manager software screen. More than likely, the reason you are getting the message "Can't get the device" message is because the software is trying to make an TCP/IP connection to the camera but it (your computer and the camera) is on the a different network. Try high lighting/clicking on the camera and then try clicking on Edit Device. This should produce a dialog box for you to change the IP address. Change it to a free IP address on your network and plug it into your network (and not just your Ethernet port on your computer). At this time, you should be able to ping it after you plug it into the real network and not just a spare Ethernet port on your laptop (just an assumption).


If you have a DHCP server running on your network, you can change the configuration of the camera to use DHCP. More than likely you don't, since your computer is responding to the ping to 169.254.121.193 address. This address is the default DHCP address for an IP less device to broadcast to the DHCP server. This could be just your computer responding to your ping and not even the camera. The camera is currently on 192.168.1.10 as your software clearly states. These cameras come from the Chinese factory with a static IP address of 192.168.1.10.

After you figure out the solution configuring the camera to be on the correct network, you will be able to ping and reference it via the web browser. I could babble on for hours about guessing what you need to do, but it will create additional confusion for you. They solution to your problem is simple, get the camera to operate on your network.

 

[Jargo]

Thanks phebous for your quick reply. I have it working!!!!

ATM it's connected and working through the modem/router. Before I posted my question I was trying to connect by both direct Ethernet Port and Router with no success. For testing purposes I thought I could access the user interface via a web browser with direct ethernet connection only by using the default 192.168.1.10 address, but it didn't work.. as I was hoping to use this directly from the ethernet port.
Anyway, now to repair the poor cable connection and start tweaking some settings.

Thanks again phebous for your help and Lojix for starting this thread as I can assume many have gained invaluable help from it.

 

[alastairstevenson]

Well, mine arrived yesterday, and today I had a chance to try it out.
It's actually not bad at all - certainly good value for the money - though I'm not sure what I'll be doing with it, the purchase was just an impulse, for fun.
This is the one I bought - with the varifocal lens. That's probably what attracted me to buying it.
http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/bAduatTa
When accessing the web interface at the defaut IP address of 192.168.1.10 with IE11, I got video - but menu text was just lots of ??? with no language choices in the drop-down on the login page - but more of that later. Chrome wasn't a lot better - english but only a couple of menus available - device info and log out. No configs.
ONVIF Device Manager (sourceforge.net - really handy tool) was very happy to talk to it. So ONVIF compatibility looks good. And it gives the stream URI for VLC (which plays the video absolutely fine) and the ONVIF port (8899) for connecting to my Hikvision NVR or QNAP Surveillance Station.
The camera connnected with no problems at all using ONVIF model choice on my Hikvision DS-7816N-E2/8P NVR, and gave the expected camera settings choices.
I used VLC to check out the extremes of the varifocal lens (2.8-12mm claimed) and that worked pretty well. The video quality is as good as you'd expect from a mass-produced 720p camera module in a metal box - it's not bad at all. The focus position on the varifocal lens is very sensitive - not helped by the lag due to buffering in the video. Does need a delicate touch ... And there is a noticeable depth of focus, but it's pretty uniform.
Here are a couple of sample stills, snapshots from VLC.

When going back to IE and checking out the menus - I had a look at the big javascript that comprises most of the interface - and could see that in theory there was multiple language and browser support.
Which led me to specifying in IE11 'compatibility mode' for the camera IP address, and suddenly multiple languages were available, and all menus were fully accessible.
Now I just need to figure what to use it for lol!

 

[msantic]

Looks like great value for low price.

I am waiting for mine )

Thank you for samples and info.

 

[lojix]

I'm glad to see the feedback is generally all on a positive note. The pro's and con's seem to be pretty well agreed on so far, thanks to all for the input !

Thanks phebous for your quick reply. I have it working!!!!

I Just caught up on the recent posts and it's great to see that you got it up and running :encouragement:

I hate when I ask questions but fail to get answer so I will answer them first and then go into the logic of these camera.

Thanks for stepping up with the assistance, much appreciated.

 

[bigoreilles]

Hello.
I write from France and use Blue Iris from start of 2014 with 6 foscam cameras compatibles.
(sorry for my English).
I bought a TOP-201 from aliexpress and works fine with CMS and under IE.
I would like to insert it in Blue Iris and test with a lot of parameters but I can't have picture (still No Signal).
Somebody can tell me parameters in Blue Iris to run Top-201 Camera ?
Thank you again.
David

 

[alastairstevenson]

The RTSP port on mine is 554, and the URL / path to get streaming video in VLC (I don't use BI, so sorry I can't test) is rtsp://192.168.1.10/user=admin_password=tlJwpbo6_channel=1_stream=0.sdp?real_stream, I think that's the same as specified earlier in this thread.
The admin password was blank.
Have you tried 554 as the RTSP port?

 

[lojix]

I would like to insert it in Blue Iris and test with a lot of parameters but I can't have picture (still No Signal).
Somebody can tell me parameters in Blue Iris to run Top-201 Camera ?

Hi David,
Your English is fine I had some problems in the beginning with getting the camera to run properly in Blue Iris. It seemed to connect but there was no image. I think you're having the same problem "No Signal". I found out it was an issue with the ports. I was using the default ports and everything was correct, without any conflicts on the network... but, after changing the cameras default ports it worked in Blue Iris!! I can't explain it, but changing the ports seemed to fix the issue.

First check that you have set everything correctly in the camera configuration.

Then follow the settings I have shown to access the camera via it's default settings, using RSTP.

Make sure you use the username and password exactly as shown in the RSTP path. After probing, I found this username and password to be the default set in the camera configuration. Once you have it working you can experiment with using different credentials. You do not need to set any username or password in the camera settings (it' is preset as a default).

Good luck and I hope this post helps anybody else who might stumble across the same issue :encouragement:

 

[bigoreilles]

Hello alastairstevenson and lojix.
Thank you for your help.
Very strange. I do the parameters you show me but same result : no signal.
I leave the camera port to 192.168.1.168 because I have other cameras under (164....167). I change port like on the picture (same like you) and enter video path but i leave blank for password.
I use Blue Iris 4.
It works with CMS given with the camera....
Have you idea ?
Thank you for your help and Happy New Year :cheerful:

picture under : works with CMS with 'old' parameters

picture under : 8080 port, TCP Port 51000, Phone Port 51000

picture under : Blue Iris configuration

 

[lojix]

:eagerness: No, we have a miscommunication. You must enter the password when configuring Blue Iris, but no password needs to be entered when setting up the camera with the 'Cam Configuration Utility'.

Use the password that is in the RSTP path when setting up Blue Iris:

Password = tlJwpbo6

 

[jjjj]

I want root telnet access to my camera.

From update rom image, anyone any ideas ?

etc/passwd
root:$1$RYIwEiRA$d5iRRVQ5ZeRTrJwGjRy.B0:0:0:root:/:/bin/sh

etc/passwd-
root:$6$0E8/0opc$yfESwbvIce8PIEb3fCgH1kRpISzA2ffyv9VfdeM3wadmKyLfLXgNlyH3TafXvugdqPevBgE.3EZtGnP.KZZug.:0:0:root:/:/bin/sh

It also looks like the TOP-201 device has a serial console available

/etc/inittab
::respawn:/sbin/getty -L ttyS000 115200 vt100 -n root -I "Auto login as root ...

 

[circuit_breaker]

The password is xmhdipc

 

[jjjj]

:joyous: Thank you !

 

[bigoreilles]

Hi Lojix,
it cames complicated because I used all solutions : I do an error in camera parameters with gateway. it's now corrected.
For my others cameras (not same like Top-201 but work fine) I configure Adress IP or host name (in blue Iris) with my outside IP (not the ip camera in your example), but to test all combinaisons, I enter outside box ip and test with real ip top-201 camera too. No positive way !
I test with tlJwpbo6 password in IP Camera Configuration in BI and test without password. Same result.
I fill all HTTP port in BI and Top-201 configuration with Device Manager, RTSP port to 554 in BI and 8080 in Top-201 with Device Manager.
In Device Manager, I save parameters (save config to device successful GOOD)

There are screenshots of my computer, if you see something looks wrong, thanks to tell me.

Sorry to take your time, Tonight, I ripped the hair. I am now bald!
Thank you again for your help.
Sincerely.
David

 

[alastairstevenson]

The '???' that shows in the menus can be fixed if you enable 'compatibility mode' in IE11 for the IP address of the camera.
IE Tools (Alt-X) | Compatibility View Settings.
Add the IP address of the camera (192.168.1.168)

*Edit* The RTSP port default is 554
8899 is the 'ONVIF' port.

 

[phebous]

bigoreilles ,

I was able to get the my cameras, which have the same modules as this, with TWO different settings. The second way will be posting an a following post.

The first process was via the port 34567. You should be able to connect video only with this port. Here is an example of the setup.
(NOTE: Any Make/model: with the description of 34567 should work. I just selected this one because I could remember it)