Hikvision NVR Liveview remote access

[Aquaman]

I want to be able to setup a monitor anywhere in the house where I have a ethernet drop to view exactly what I see coming out of the NVR's HDMI port without being physically next to my NVR(s). Don't need menu access although it might be useful.

Ideally, I'm hoping to run a small low power RPi to drive each monitor, so I can setup multiple monitors anywhere in the house, but haven't figured out an easy way to do it. I want to keep things simple , low power, and the footprint small.

I see there are a few options:
1) HDMI to ethernet converter -- I see a bunch run HDMI over CAT5 cable, but but these are not running HDMI over IP and they don't coexist over existing data networks unless I'm missing something. Some solutions that seem to be workable are crazy expensive.
2) web gui into the NVR -- I can access the live feeds from something like a laptop/PC, but all of the video is decoded locally and requires a beefy CPU to run more than a few streams. Plus, it seems the only way to watch video is via a Chrome IE extension or IE which aren't very convenient or supported everywhere on things such as "Smart TV's"
3) string HDMI cable around the house from an HDMI splitter -- not scalable and not really practical

Anyone do this? I'm interested to hear!
Thanks

 

[Spiv]

I want to be able to setup a monitor anywhere in the house where I have a ethernet drop to view exactly what I see coming out of the NVR's HDMI port without being physically next to my NVR(s). Don't need menu access although it might be useful.

Ideally, I'm hoping to run a small low power RPi to drive each monitor, so I can setup multiple monitors anywhere in the house, but haven't figured out an easy way to do it. I want to keep things simple , low power, and the footprint small.

I see there are a few options:
1) HDMI to ethernet converter -- I see a bunch run HDMI over CAT5 cable, but but these are not running HDMI over IP and they don't coexist over existing data networks unless I'm missing something. Some solutions that seem to be workable are crazy expensive.
2) web gui into the NVR -- I can access the live feeds from something like a laptop/PC, but all of the video is decoded locally and requires a beefy CPU to run more than a few streams. Plus, it seems the only way to watch video is via a Chrome IE extension or IE which aren't very convenient or supported everywhere on things such as "Smart TV's"
3) string HDMI cable around the house from an HDMI splitter -- not scalable and not really practical

Anyone do this? I'm interested to hear!
Thanks

I've been playing with a used Hikvision system I retired from a client. I totally understand the pain.

Sounds like you have been looking at HDBaseT solutions (media converting HDMI to run over dedicated CatX cable) and stumbled upon AV-over-IP solutions (encoding realtime HDMI feeds into data packets and sending them over existing Ethernet network).

Both are good solutions, but typically too pricy for home users (unless budget is not an issue). Very popular in larger residential and commercial installations. HDbaseT has been the workhorse, but industry is evolving to AV-over-IP as more universal and extensible.

My official recommendation would be to junk the Hikvision NVR and go with a proper NVR solution. You can salvage the cameras by using them in RTSP mode (a nice consideration if the cameras are already installed or the cost of replacing all of them is high).

Once you get a modern NVR, you have all kinds of options for web browser viewing (with modern tech, not obsolete plug-ins that aren't secure and aren't supported any more) mobile apps that have work well and have modern UI/UX, etc.)

Several hardware NVR options are good, but there are tradeoffs and limitation on whether existing cameras can be used.

Two very popular software NVR apps are BlueIris for the PC or SecuritySpy for the Mac. Both are inexpensive and may or may not require a dedicated PC (depending upon how powerful your computer is, but you will have to leave it running 24x7).

Synology has the Surveillance Station app for their NAS boxes. Cheap if you already have a box, but they do have licensing fees and it is a bit of a lock-in.

Some of the software/hardware systems now have apps for AppleTV, or other streaming boxes so a "remote viewing station" can be as simple as loading an app onto an existing TV setup or an inexpensive TV plus streaming box for a new location.

 

[Aquaman]

I think an easy solution is using an HDMI frame grabber that the kids use for streaming their games. Feed it into a RPi that I have lying around and redrive it all across RTSP. I'll receive it on the other end with a standalone RPi nano that runs off the remote monitor's USB port for power...nice and clean. This should be doable and easily scalable, very inexpensively. I will try this when I have some free time. I'll let y'all know. The reasonably economical grabbers run only up to 4K@30fps which 'should be' ok for Liveview purposes over wired or wireless.