Thinking of buying a tablet for viewing Hikvision

D

dance

n3wb
May 15, 2016
1
0
I'm thinking a cheap way of setting up some mobile CCTV monitors for my business would be buying some v. cheap (Chinese?) WiFi Android tablets "off eBay" and providing them with constant power and simply browsing to the LAN URL of the particular camera I want to monitor.

Can anyone think why this idea is NOT a good one? I have Hikvision branded IP cameras.

Thanks
 
I do this currently with a tablet sitting on my night stand. That way if one of the kiddos acts up or I hear a noise outside I just look at the tablet and can see the feed.

As I built out my setup (just got done last night), I started to run into issues with that. I think they are easy to overcome, though. For one, my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 likes to just shut off if I let the streams run too long (as in a matter of 60 seconds runtime it'll shut off). This tablet is pretty old so maybe it just has an issue with handling load and shuts down at capacity... not really sure. It also has issues with handling the feeds in a fluid motion, so I get more like 1 frame per 5-8 seconds. I swapped it with a 2012 Nexus 7, which works better (as in it doesn't shut off), however I have some laggy feeds.

I think the laggy feeds are just due to both of these tablets only supporting 2.4 GHz. My laptop does the same on 2.4 GHz, but on 5 GHz it's problem free. This only became a problem as of recently.

Once upon a time I was running two 1 megapixel cameras and one 640x480 camera. No issues there. As of last night, I am now running six 3mp cameras. I think the additional load just caught up to the capabilities of the tablets/2.4 GHz wifi/etc.

That being said... I plan on switching them out to just use the substream of the cameras, which will stream a lower resolution feed with different parameters that I can tweak to make it lighter. I think this should work better than it did before, as I think slinging six 10 fps 3 megapixel feeds are just a bit much for the 2.4 airspace, and possibly (but not sure) simply too taxing on the processor of the tablets.

So, yeah. It can work, and it can work rather well, but you just need to be mindful of the technological limitations, such as what I described above.
 
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This works MUCH better with substreams rather than trying to have multiple tablets displaying multiple HD feeds from a wifi router. That's just not going to work well at all. I'd pop the few bucks (under $5 anyway) for TinyCam Pro on your Android tablets just for handling multiple cams easily and easy switching from substream to HD feeds on the rare occasion you'd need it. Even TinyCam Free might work fine for you, or one of the many other IP cam viewers for Android. Just set them up to view substream or you'll screw up wifi for every other wireless device at work and still get lousy framerates on the tablets.

You can also add a small NVR ($50 range) to a cheap wall-mounted larger TV (24" or whatever) and run a wire to it. For an example that you can tuck in behind the TV, search Amazon for "super mini nvr". Then you'll have no issues with bandwidth and can view HD on a much larger screen.
 
Kawboy12R said:
This works MUCH better with substreams rather than trying to have multiple tablets displaying multiple HD feeds from a wifi router. That's just not going to work well at all. I'd pop the few bucks (under $5 anyway) for TinyCam Pro on your Android tablets just for handling multiple cams easily and easy switching from substream to HD feeds on the rare occasion you'd need it. Even TinyCam Free might work fine for you, or one of the many other IP cam viewers for Android. Just set them up to view substream or you'll screw up wifi for every other wireless device at work and still get lousy framerates on the tablets.

You can also add a small NVR ($50 range) to a cheap wall-mounted larger TV (24" or whatever) and run a wire to it. For an example that you can tuck in behind the TV, search Amazon for "super mini nvr". Then you'll have no issues with bandwidth and can view HD on a much larger screen.
Click to expand...

(I'm not sure if you were responding to me directly or dance, but I'll respond as if you were directing this to me in case discussing this helps other folks)

I agree with you. Tiny Cam is my preferred app and I thoroughly enjoy it. You made a comment about it murdering wifi for other devices... typically that'd be a concern of mine. But I mention this is for my night stand, so it's late at night when everyone is asleep. If it'd murder the wifi for everyone else (yet be okay for me), that'd still be fine. :D But yes, it's clear that as I ramped up the number of cameras, it began to take a toll. I was too exhausted from installing the last cameras last night to bother with switching the tablet settings around.

The other factor is I only have a 7 inch tablet, and the likelihood of me ever buying another tablet again is about zero. Six cams on a 7 inch tablet is very meh. 3/4 was much better. I have an old 12-13 (or something) inch laptop that I think I'm just going to plop on the night stand. Turn it on, auto login, auto launch my client upon login, and set the screen to go dark after 60 seconds. In the night, hear a noise, move cursor, boom - instant feeds (since they're streaming in the background with the client running already).

The NVR software I use with its corresponding client I quite like (Bluecherry). This may be a feature others have, I'm not sure, but I can set up everything in a grid to view the live feeds. What's nice is I can either run them in full bandwidth mode or low bandwidth, or I can adjust them individually with a quick right click. That way if all is quiet except one of the kiddos is stirring I can full bandwidth that particular frame and low-bandwidth the rest. The low bandwidth mode gives more of a "sub stream" oriented feeling to it, so it'll be much more sustainable on wifi -- even 2.4 GHz.

If I happened to have a 10" tablet, that'd be perfect and I'd just utilize that. With that being said, Dance, I'd have gone with a 10" tablet if I could do it over. At the time I bought my 7" tablet it was for general purpose use, not cameras. When cameras came on the radar it just kind of fit since I stopped using the tablet (I'm just more of a laptop guy). In my case, having an old laptop laying around, it's difficult for me (personally) to justify a new purchase instead of using something I already have. Since you're talking about purchasing new, a 10" tablet is the route I'd go.
 
I just successfully installed my first hikvision cameras thanks to this forum and had the same idea. Tablets would really make sense for monitoring but the wireless lan bandwith issue should be a problem. How about using an otg-usb/network adapter and connecting the tablet to lan? I would also go with a windows tablet. Something like Lenovo Miix3 since i didnt find a list of supported tablets for the Hikvision android app.
 
bubu said:
I just successfully installed my first hikvision cameras thanks to this forum and had the same idea. Tablets would really make sense for monitoring but the wireless lan bandwith issue should be a problem. How about using an otg-usb/network adapter and connecting the tablet to lan? I would also go with a windows tablet. Something like Lenovo Miix3 since i didnt find a list of supported tablets for the Hikvision android app.
Click to expand...

I struggle with manufacturer specific apps/solutions. Who's to say you won't mix and match in the future? In those cases, an app/program that handles a multitude of brands would be gravy. Just figured I'd mention it, as I originally went all in with one brand and that quickly changed based on needs, funds, manufacturer offerings, etc.
 
Ok, that's true. As far as I know some otg-usb/lan adapters also work with android. I just dont like the try and error part. Wireless lan is really not an option.
 
I've been considering getting a cheap 7" tablet and just running a substream from the front door to it. I've seen them as cheap as about $40. I just fear it might be too cheap to perform well.
 
For $40, if it doesn't work for what you want find a relative to give it to or leave it in the bathroom for "emergencies".
 
I am currently doing this exact thing using a Chinese made tablet (Chuwi HI8 Pro 32GB Intel Z8300 Quad Core 1.84GHz 8 Inch Dual OS Tablet). These can be found on slickdeals at times for about $90 shipped, so not too expensive to try out. In my case I am only monitoring a single Hikvision camera (LTS model LTCMIP8932-W being used as a baby monitor) and it seems to work OK so far. I have it plugged in and have configured Windows to never go to sleep or shut off the screen (I don't mind the ambient light next to the bed even at night).

I am booting into Windows, running the NVMS7000 app, and have the video stream maximized (landscape mode) so it is the only thing the tablet is running.

Problems so far:

  • With this tablet, it seems like if it is on and running for a long time it gets very hot and will power itself down (maybe an overheat?)
  • Initially I could not install NVMS7000 because it requires a minimum resolution (something like 800x600) and the tablet was set to be "zoomed in" which effectively reduced the resolution. Removing this zoom allowed the app to be installed fine.
  • I am not sure if it is the tablet itself or NVM7000, but I cannot seem to get audio from the camera to play through the tablet. I know the camera I use supports it, so perhaps I need to play around a bit more as that would be useful considering I am using it as a baby monitor.
    • Alternatively I might try loading the stream using the URL/IP in a web browser to see if I get any better results (and the ability to listen to the audio).

I definitely like the idea of a tablet so that if I am ever in another room I can just unplug it and walk around the house as long as the battery has a decent charge. Generally though it is just being used at night.
 
I have a bit of experience running tablets that are on 24/7. I would avoid Chuwi or other chinese-brand tablets. My Chuwi crashed every week when I had it in my hot tub shed (near-freezing temperatures often). Brought it inside the house and it improved but still isn't what I would call stable. On the other hand I have one of those 7 inch Winbook tablets that works great. Only problem with it is occasionally (maybe twice a month) the screen dims for no reason and I have to walk up and tap it to brighten it up again.

I chose both tablets because they had full USB ports, which meant I could add a USB to Ethernet adapter and keep my wifi clear.
 
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Substream viewing or main stream? Try dropping the framerate as well to save some juice. TinyCam has a battery friendly mode which would also cut down on heat produced.
 
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le0pard said:
I am currently doing this exact thing using a Chinese made tablet (Chuwi HI8 Pro 32GB Intel Z8300 Quad Core 1.84GHz 8 Inch Dual OS Tablet). These can be found on slickdeals at times for about $90 shipped, so not too expensive to try out. In my case I am only monitoring a single Hikvision camera (LTS model LTCMIP8932-W being used as a baby monitor) and it seems to work OK so far. I have it plugged in and have configured Windows to never go to sleep or shut off the screen (I don't mind the ambient light next to the bed even at night).

I am booting into Windows, running the NVMS7000 app, and have the video stream maximized (landscape mode) so it is the only thing the tablet is running.

Problems so far:

  • With this tablet, it seems like if it is on and running for a long time it gets very hot and will power itself down (maybe an overheat?)
  • Initially I could not install NVMS7000 because it requires a minimum resolution (something like 800x600) and the tablet was set to be "zoomed in" which effectively reduced the resolution. Removing this zoom allowed the app to be installed fine.
  • I am not sure if it is the tablet itself or NVM7000, but I cannot seem to get audio from the camera to play through the tablet. I know the camera I use supports it, so perhaps I need to play around a bit more as that would be useful considering I am using it as a baby monitor.
    • Alternatively I might try loading the stream using the URL/IP in a web browser to see if I get any better results (and the ability to listen to the audio).

I definitely like the idea of a tablet so that if I am ever in another room I can just unplug it and walk around the house as long as the battery has a decent charge. Generally though it is just being used at night.
Click to expand...

Make sure you have the stream type set to Video & Audio (rather than just Video) on the camera. There is not much extra configuration that needs to be done other than turn on and up the speaker volume in the NVMS7000 app. There should be a volume slider in the Live view.
 
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I mentioned earlier in the thread that my experience with the tablet viewer was rather meh, but mentioned specifically that I think it's due to the way I set up the feeds (main stream, etc). Last night I set up my substreams on my cameras. Constant 1024 bit rate, 10 fps, 700-something-x-400-something resolution. The tablet ran great. Before, where it would shut off after 60-90 seconds of continual runtime, it now ran *all night* with the screen lit up streaming 4 active substreams (my other 2 are on the next page of TinyCam Pro).

Just wanted to report that those settings on my wireless with the particular tablet I have (which is 2.4ghz only) worked exceptionally well.

The only thing now is I kind of wished I could get my hands on a 10" tablet. I'd much rather have that instead of a 7" for this purpose, but ehh... 7" is paid for and I already own it, 10" would require effort/money/time/did I mention effort? :P Someday...
 
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I considered a cheap tablet at first but decided against it there are several drawbacks to a tablet just like a desktop or laptop, first off you want to check the operating system the tablet is using - a Apple or android tablet both have their own software and will not be compatible with windows software.

Then there's the issue of stream quality you'll definitely want to make sure your camera has a low res stream just in case your tablet can't handle the high res stream.

In the end though what really swayed me was the fact that my 2013 Android Smartphone was just as powerful as most of todays tablet here's the spec comparison

[TD="class: ttl"] Dimensions [/TD]
[TD="class: nfo"]137.5 x 71.2 x 8.5 mm (5.41 x 2.80 x 0.33 in)[/TD]

[TD="class: ttl"] Weight [/TD]
[TD="class: nfo"]167 g (5.89 oz)[/TD]

[TD="class: ttl"] SIM [/TD]
[TD="class: nfo"]Nano-SIM[/TD]

[TD="class: ttl"][/TD]
[TD="class: nfo"]- Splash resistant[/TD]

[TD="class: ttl"][/TD]

[TD="class: ttl"] Multitouch [/TD]
[TD="class: nfo"]Yes[/TD]

[TD="class: nfo"]Corning Gorilla Glass[/TD]
Platform

[TD="class: ttl"] OS [/TD]
[TD="class: nfo"]Android OS, v4.2.2 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to v4.4.4 (KitKat), planned upgrade to v5.0 (Lollipop)[/TD]

[TD="class: ttl"] Chipset [/TD]
[TD="class: nfo"]Qualcomm Snapdragon S4Pro[/TD]

[TD="class: ttl"] CPU [/TD]
[TD="class: nfo"]Dual-core 1.7 GHz Krait[/TD]

[TD="class: ttl"] GPU [/TD]
[TD="class: nfo"]Adreno 320[/TD]

[TD="class: ttl"] Card slot [/TD]
[TD="class: nfo"][/TD]

[TD="class: ttl"][/TD]

Basically a Adreno 320 1.7Ghz processor and 2GB of Ram works on Android has a 5'' screen,32GB of storage(not expandable) and a whopping Removable Li-Ion 3500 mAh battery.

The first windows tablet that shows on Amazon for me is $100 has a 1.4 Ghz Atom Processor and 1gb of ram and a 1500 Mah battery and is windows 8.1 (I highly recommend windows anything but 8)
If i type in windows 10 tablet I get this http://www.amazon.com/Haier-Windows...1463625281&sr=8-7&keywords=windows+10+tablets which is better and has a 5000Mah battery at $150

But really the main difference between a smartphone and a tablet is screen size and you always have your smartphone on you, I recommend you find a good Android or Apple camera viewer app and just use that unless you have to have a 10 screen or are dependent upon windows based programs in which case I'd recommend a laptop off of Ebay like the Windows 7 Dell E6420 with a 2540 or above Processor. Should run you around $150-$200 bucks it runs Blue Iris and even records if you want it to mine has HDMI outputs and the software choices make the possibilities almost limitless plus no screen smears :cool:

Oh one more thing I forgot to mention was make sure if you go Android/Apple that you should know of a good software App for viewing your cameras with my Sunba I was almost out of luck because all the software I was using didn't have any options to change PTZ rotation speed and would move EXTREMELY slow or it would not have a option to select from High res or low-res streams you click zoom if you click zoom it would go all the way out or in no inbetween. After reading the reviews on the Meye app which worked well but froze every minute rendering it useless I realized it was the most recent version patch and downloaded a older version of Meye's .apk Android program through a third party and now it works very well!

Disable that Auto-update feature too if you find something that works.
 
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