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

[phebous]

The seconds way I needed to do two changes. One on the camera and different settings on BI. This is the change on the camera:

Make sure the RTSP has been enabled. I do not believe it is enabled by default.

The second part of the RTSP setup is to obtain the URL of RTSP connection.

continued....

 

[phebous]

You can validate the URL in VLC. Here is an image of that.

Once this is validated, then take that URL (in my case rtsp://192.168.0.22/user=blue&password=XXXXX&channel=1&stream=0.sdp?temp.mp4) and create a new camera. In the IP or host name box, paste the whole URL into it. BI will parse this line and populate all the correct fields. This is the final result of processed information. From this point, you should have your images and this second option will give you sound also if your camera has a mic. Here is the image of that...

I hope that this helps out.

Regards,

Phebous...

 

[phebous]

The password is xmhdipc

Thanks for this.. I was able to get into my camera also with it. It is based on the same platform. This is the ports from the telnet session that I find open. I knew there would be more... Not many as I expected though...

# netstat -a
Active Internet connections (servers and established)
Proto Recv-Q Send-Q Local Address Foreign Address State
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:34561 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:8899 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:34567 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:554 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:www 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:9527 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:telnet 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN

 

[lojix]

I have had a few messages from people having some difficulties getting through the camera setup. So I have done a video demonstration on a fresh virtual machine which goes through just the basic config to get the cam up and running. First I did the setup with the CMS, then in Blue Iris v3. I used a demo only version of Blue Iris to show that it makes no difference. The camera is also set to the default addressing.

Check it out and let me know if this has helped out.



Edit: I also wanted to mention, that I did notice where the glitch was with setting the ports, that I (and some others) have experienced. When a port change is made through the Cam Config Tool, the Camera needs to be rebooted, but it bugs up when rebooted from the software sometimes. I captured it happening via screen recording but haven't has a chance upload it yet.

I think the best way to work around it is to hard shutdown the camera after making any port changes to it, just cut the power to the cam for 30 seconds shortly after making the changes. If you have made a stack of changes while trying to get it working, it might also be a good idea to use an 'uninstaller' application such as Revo to remove the CMS and/or Cam config Tool and start the process clean.

NOTE: If you leave as the default settings, this is not a problem. If you're like me though, and like to play with everything... this info might be useful :blink1:

 

[lojix]

...and here is a video overview of how account authentication works with the TOP-201. In the demonstration I change the default password in the camera configuration, then update the CMS as well as Blue Iris v3 to connect using new password I have set.

 

[gonzo here]

Bravo lojix!!!!.Hey guys i was one of the "few people" who had sent lojix a message,I had gotten into a mess.In my original post I was having trouble hooking up to BI.But that quickly tailspun into not being able to view cam on cms software,so I was to say the least "FRUSTRATED" but to mr lojix's credit he hung in there
not only did he answer my questions,He went the extra step and broke it down and simulated the predicament I and I'm sure others were in.To take the time and make a video to essentially lead the blind(im ok calling myself that)says a lot about a fellow.I'm happy to report that not only is my cms software up and running
I am also up with blue Iris free at last!!! So in case i haven't said so thank you sir!!!
One small complaint I would've like to hear the cat in the video meow to see if there was an ausie Accent.Oh well maybe next time.

 

[lojix]

I just put up the other video from the screen capture of the Camera Config Tool. If using it to edit the cameras settings it can cause some confusion. As previously mentioned in the thread, it is buggy and the correct usage process is not made all that clear.

Without any official support, and after noticing some problems with it myself and how easily it could be to get lost using it I decided to recreate the scenario some users may have experienced and show how easily the process can can go wrong. Hopefully this will save a few headaches!

 

[bigoreilles]

Hi Phebous and Lojix,

I would like to say a very BIG THANKS for your help.
Lojix for his videos for password and parameters. I take a night to modified cameras parameters with many many many combinaisons but without succeed.
Shorts nights this week because lot of works and sad events in France,(terrorists), near where I works.
Phebous for your explaination to take IPC H.264 port 34567 because..... it is the only solution that this camera works !!! Very strange that Lojix'parameters don't works... perhaps firmware different (new) ?
I am very happy to see camera view in BI4 with yours explainations from you 2.
Thank you very much to have took time for me.
If you will come in Paris in future, you will tell me, okay ? :friendly_wink:
Tonight, I will go to sleep early :sleeping:
Many Thanks.
David

 

[msantic]

Is it possible to get single image from camera through URL ?

 

[bigoreilles]

in web naviguator, for local image, I put : 192.168.xxx.xxx:yyyy (where xxx is the Ip adress Adresse and yyyy the open port for the camera)
From outside, I put Fixed Ip adresse of your router. On the router's parameters, you need to foward camera port to the Ip Camera Adress.
This is a printscreen of my box (use in router mode), in your box, it's appears different because I have a French box (Free) :

 

[gonzo here]

Hi again everyone i'm up and running and thanks to the board i am now a B/S artist.Sorry B/I artisit kidding.I apologize if this question is in the wrong forum.So here it goes: i got b/i yp and running but i'm gettin an awful lot of lost signals,and my streaming last fo at the most 5 seconds at a time.,and on occasion i'll also get a green screen.I have tries looking through the faq and cannot find a reply,upon a little research i'm kinda tracking it down to frame rate.
Any ideas or am I out in left field?thanx

 

[lojix]

i got b/i yp and running but i'm gettin an awful lot of lost signals,and my streaming last fo at the most 5 seconds at a time.,and on occasion i'll also get a green screen.

Assuming you are using BI with the TOP-201 camera and connected via Ethernet cable?

I have tries looking through the faq and cannot find a reply,upon a little research i'm kinda tracking it down to frame rate.
Any ideas or am I out in left field?thanx

Does this only happen when using BI, or do you have the same problem using the CMS or any other software to view the stream?

 

[gonzo here]

Yes lojix that is correct.Only in BI cms streams fine and i have not tried any other software.It is hooked up ethernet.And yes it is the top-201.
I triggered it to record motion, set make time to 0.0 and i only got one recording (i'm assuming the signal does not stay on long enough) but i did get over 30 no signal notifications over night(i'm gonna say watchdog alert?)also when I click camera properties under general it will show at max 10 fps then you see it steadily go down to zero.Not sure if any of this info helps,just trying to give as much of a description as i can.thanx

 

[lojix]

Make sure that the CMS is not running in the background, it could be too much load.
I am not entirely sure that it is caused by your BI settings, but here are some settings you could try.

(The relevant areas are highlighted)

Other things worth considering...
Does it happen while recording only, or viewing as well? ...issue data transfer to the HDD.
Resource usage - is the computers CPU and RAM usage okay?

If none of these seem to be a problem, make a post here: http://www.ipcamtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?30-Troubleshooting - and explain what we have already established. I'll follow along, I'm interested to see what ends up being the problem.

 

[gpineau]

There are several of these listed on Amazon. starting at around 20 bucks. Most have normal 3.6 lens but i did see on with a 3.7 pinhole lens.
http://www.amazon.com/ELP-Megapixel..._sbs_pc_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1RCZDZT5DTRSDCGTR5A2

 

[gpineau]

I have a some questions.

1. I want to put it outside near the front door but I don't want to run an Ethernet cable. Anyone tried a TP-LINK TL-WR702N as a bridge from the camera to the home network wifi?
2. I was reading reviews on Amazon and someone said that the video is sent to a third party and then back to your computer. Is that true? .

 

[gonzo here]

hey loj again thanks for the replies.I mirrored your settings to the t and i'm still getting no signal.I should mention i pretty much have a toy as the computer i'm using.I'm going to blurt out some numbers they'll mean very little to me but you and the board should be familiar.It is an acer a0756 intel celeron processor running at 1.40 Ghz.2.0 gig ram.I'll have to accept the bullying if this is indeed the wrong type of mule to be using(sorry i'm a mac guy for everything else).
I did try to reach out to ken,to his credit he did help me with original install,but i've yet to hear back about my latest issue..A footnote I have because of this board become a little more familiar with BI and really am having fun discovering what it can do.This is a big thank you to this board for allowing newbies like me to ask questions and not get flamed up.You guys rock!
As for posting this onto the link lojix placed above I will as soon as i hear from you guys whether or not my acer can handle BI.thanx

 

[lojix]

I have a some questions.

1. I want to put it outside near the front door but I don't want to run an Ethernet cable. Anyone tried a TP-LINK TL-WR702N as a bridge from the camera to the home network wifi?

Cable is a more stable connection than wireless. Wireless connection is susceptible to interferences and there can be tricky problems with signal transmission and the final quality of the image (Just so you know what is possible)... but I have used wireless in a few situations where it was unavoidable. Generally if the total cost and effort involved to hard-wire the system is completely unjustified and a wireless alternative has produced "good enough" results.

So just consider what variables you might have in your situation and if it seems that going wireless will work fine, all you have lost is a TP-LINK bridge! (which you will probably still have use for). I haven't used that particular device myself, but I do recommend TP-LINK as producing fairly decent quality devices.

2. I was reading reviews on Amazon and someone said that the video is sent to a third party and then back to your computer. Is that true? .

I am not sure of the context that this was mentioned, but you don't even need an internet connection for this cam to run. It will only access as much network as you want it to, depending on how you set it up. They may have been referring to the in-built "cloud service" which pretty much just uses a manufacturer designated dynamic domain name server, so after registering it with their service you can connect it via the internet with an address like mycam.example.com. Other than that (and only if you use that service) will there be any connection with a third party. Furthermore, the only involvement the third party will have, is the DNS request and not the data stream.

 

[lojix]

hey loj again thanks for the replies.I mirrored your settings to the t and i'm still getting no signal.I should mention i pretty much have a toy as the computer i'm using.I'm going to blurt out some numbers they'll mean very little to me but you and the board should be familiar.It is an acer a0756 intel celeron processor running at 1.40 Ghz.2.0 gig ram.I'll have to accept the bullying if this is indeed the wrong type of mule to be using(sorry i'm a mac guy for everything else).

No troubles gonzo here !
Okay, your PC is not what you would call a "Power Machine" but I don't think it's incapable of using BI with a single stream... but, just in case:

follow the config options I have shown. This should result in producing almost the lightest possible stream and almost anything upwards of a Commodore64 should be capable of displaying it. First, set the options in the CMS to alter what the camera is sending out. Then change the settings in Blue Iris to reduce its to display it. Also disable the motion trigger and turn off the recording options while checking these settings.

I did try to reach out to ken,to his credit he did help me with original install,but i've yet to hear back about my latest issue..A footnote I have because of this board become a little more familiar with BI and really am having fun discovering what it can do.This is a big thank you to this board for allowing newbies like me to ask questions and not get flamed up.You guys rock!
As for posting this onto the link lojix placed above I will as soon as i hear from you guys whether or not my acer can handle BI.thanx

To his credit, I think Ken is a very busy person. I have usually had to wait a day or so between communications when I have needed to contact him, but I'm sure he will get back to you. He deals with quiet a bit of support as well as development for BI.

Keep us updated mate!

EDIT: I should have also mentioned it would be a good idea to make sure all other applications are closed down, just while doing the test.

 

[phebous]

Hi Phebous and Lojix,
Phebous for your explaination to take IPC H.264 port 34567 because..... it is the only solution that this camera works !!! Very strange that Lojix'parameters don't works... perhaps firmware different (new) ?

Bigoreiles,

The reason I provided this solution was it was the first one I was able to get working. It is also the simplest process to get working. As long I as I didn't need audio, this first process worked fine as you know. The second process also works, but only really necessary if you are capturing audio and video. It is the connecting it through the RTSP protocol. Originally, I only was able to get audio through the camera's IP Address and their ActiveX Add-in. When I discovered I could connect through VLC via the RTSP port, I began working on BI. Through Ken's help on entering the information into bi, I was able to get the audio and video.

I would validate url in VLC. The URL I had was rtsp://192.168.0.22/user=blue&password=XXXXX&channel=1&stream=0.sdp?temp.mp4 Once you have this working, then take this url in bi Netwrok IP camera configuration dialog, pleace the url in the IP or host name box. It will auto populate the information into the correct fields of the form. You don't really need anything else in any of the boxes. I would try by creating a new camera.

What version is your camera? (i.e. if you go to the IP address of the camera and goto Device config: Settings->Info->Version). My camera's system version is v4.0.2R12.0000006510.10010.1303.

Regards,

Phebous...

EDIT: Also make sure that RTSP is also enabled in the camera.