Connecting an Old Analog DVR to Blue Iris - Need Guidance

[djspot1975]

Thank you all for the responses. I've seen these video to LAN converters, but I'm not quite sure how to use them. For example, this one: https://www.amazon.it/Greluma-Ricetrasm ... 44703&th=1. It seems like it might work, but the connections appear to be the other way around, that is, LAN to analog video. I've also noticed the Hikvision DVRs that are compatible with Blueiris, but their prices are high and I'm uncertain about their functionality.

[Pogo]

Your DVR is capable of interfacing with Blue Iris given the appropriate parameters being provided for the configuration -- specifically the MRL address (Media Resource Locator) for the stream.

I've not had time to follow up on any of this, but RTSP port 554 is your new friend and is the key. If you are streaming to Firefox you can stream to Blue Iris.

I recently read of a way to extract an unknown RTSP MRL from a browser stream, though I believe it was accomplished by a feature in Chrome. I will attempt to find the source and report back with anything relevant. I'll also peck around a few other resources to see if anything jumps out that may apply to this particular situation. This is usually a good place to start along with several others similar resources: https://security.world/rtsp/

We have the common ports for it to work. We now only need the convention used for the RTSP stream. Chances are high that it is a common one. As mentioned, trial and error may be the fastest way once a method is established to do so easily and efficiently. On the other hand, the best way would obviously be to contact the original retailer to possibly obtain the information or to at least find out the OEM of the DVR which could be a manufacturer with a familiar address format.

Or, we just get lucky!

[Pogo]

Onvif Device Manager from SourceForge may be a solution for discovering the stream parameters if the DVR even has any early ONVIF characteristics.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/onvifdm/

Wireshark can also intercept a Firefox session to obtain the stream info.

[Pogo]

This video provides a fairly straightforward lesson in using ONVIF Device Manager to analyze IP devices.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLNcV3UT2SM&t=12s

Another piece of information that could be helpful in determining the manufacturer of the DVR is the MAC address of the unit which usually identifies the OEM by a quick Google search of the first six characters of the address.

[TimG]

So optimistic. Well worth trying, but we may have found a DVR without this functionality

[Pogo]

Sincere apologies for my lack of pessimism. (I really annoy you, don't I?) LOL

The OP was pretty specific about what he was hoping to achieve with this thread. I didn't see "where can I find the nearest dumpster to toss this thing" as one of his desired solutions. I'm also not seeing any practical suggestions from others toward possibly achieving the preferred outcome.

I've provided viable, readily available and easily implemented methods. Any one of which may prove successful in the effort, or determine why it is not possible for Blue Iris to pull the device stream. Until the latter is conclusively determined, the former is still entirely possible.

There is a stream. It is highly probable it is RTSP on port 554 and that port 80 is how it would talk to Blue Iris as a generic non-ONVIF device. No reason there shouldn't be a solution given a little effort.

Optimism is what achieves positive results. I'm simply trying to help accordingly.

[TimG]

I agree, until we know it can't be done it is worth checking, but the official manual for it didn't mention this at all - unless my Google translate Fu failed

[djspot1975]

Furthermore, I'd like to share some details that I've extracted from the DVR, as it might be relevant for our ongoing discussions:

Device Name: HD128M4CHDVR
MAC Address: 14-90-90-08-67-FE
Software Version: 20120706
Software Version 1.6.3.36
DVRNET: 1.0.5.11
Media Port: 554
Web Port: 80
Mobile Username: [Your Mobile Username]
Mobile Password: [Your Mobile Password]
Server Port: 34567

Your support and understanding have been invaluable throughout this process, and I'm sincerely grateful for your patience and guidance.

Thank you once again for your cooperation and support.

[Pogo]

Excellent.

KongTop Industrial (Shenzhen) Co.,Ltd. This provides some solid leads to pursue.

A very early (circa 2010) adaptation of h264 technology in a DVR which very likely (and appears to) rely on RTSP protocol network stream transport. The fact that this is not specified in the user manual is not surprising for the time period and likely just fell under the TCP/IP category of supported protocols.

The above stated, other protocols were also being developed and used for video transport -- including proprietary vendor approaches. The good news is, this DVR is an h264 device using port 554.

A little more research suggests the required MRL may be http://username:password@192.168.1.226: ... hannelid=1 (If the address is truncated in your particular browser, just click it to display the entire link in the address bar.)

I'm anxious to investigate further.

[Pogo]

Below would be how you would enter the MRL information provided above into the Blue Iris configuration screen for camera #1 of the DVR after creating and naming a "New Camera" entry. Simply create the same configuration again for each additional camera by creating and naming additional "New Camera" entries and designating their respective channel numbers in place of channel Cam# 1.

And to eliminate any confusion, additional cameras will require the '1' being changed to their respective Cam# in the MRL path entry as well.

So try this with Blue Iris and see if it works. It is the most probable format for your device based upon the information (or lack thereof) I've found so far. Just enter the information and hit OK. No Find/Inspect involved.

Good luck!

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