Troubleshooting – ViewCommander https://viewcommander.com IP Camera Software Thu, 01 Aug 2024 13:47:43 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://viewcommander.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/cropped-cropped-cropped-IVI-Logo-1-32x32.png Troubleshooting – ViewCommander https://viewcommander.com 32 32 Troubleshooting a slow camera https://viewcommander.com/slow-camera-connection/ Wed, 27 Sep 2023 19:48:59 +0000 https://viewcommander.com/?p=5735

Troubleshooting a Slow Camera

If you are noticing your camera is coming in slowly to ViewCommander and/or responding slowly to PTZ commands here are some tips to troubleshoot. 

First look at your “Statistics” found on the right hand side under the “Video” tab of your video configuration panel.

  • Bandwidth: Shows your current bandwidth from the internet connection. 
  • Frames Per Second: The higher the frame count, the faster the video 
  • Video Size: Also called, resolution, refers to how many pixels wide and tall the video is. A lower resolution image will be more pixelated than a higher resolution image. 

MJPEG Video Protocol

If using MJPEG here are some things to look at:

**We recommend testing each suggestion one at a time

  1. Resolution:  Increasing the resolution will increase the level of detail in the image, while at the same time increasing the image data size. If you are on a connection with limited bandwidth this will mean fewer frames per second can be transmitted from the camera.  In this case, to increase frame rate, reducing the resolution will increase frame rate at the expense of image detail while lowering the level of detail within the image. 
  2. Max frame rate (fps): changing the fps to “0” will pull in the max frames the camera can get on the bandwidth/resolution it is set at. The camera can only send as many fps as the internet connection allows. So, increasing the fps will not necessarily mean you will get that frame rate. 

H.264 Video Protocol

If using H.264 here are some things to look at: 

**We recommend testing each suggestion one at a time

  1. Bit Rate: Adjust the bit rate to be equal to or under what the camera’s network connection can handle. In some cases, you may need to log directly into the camera’s interface if you do not see the option in ViewCommander.    **After adjusting the bit rate please note the camera will adjust the quality of the image to match the bit rate along with the resolution and the frame rate set in steps 2 and 3. 
  2. Resolution:  Increasing the resolution will increase the level of detail in the image, while at the same time increasing the image data size. If you are on a connection with limited bandwidth this will mean fewer frames per second can be transmitted from the camera.  In this case, to increase frame rate, reducing the resolution will increase frame rate at the expense of image detail while lowering the level of detail within the image. 
  3. Max frame rate (fps): changing the fps to “0” will pull in the max frames the camera can get on the bandwidth/resolution it is set at. The camera can only send as many fps as the internet connection allows. So, increasing the fps will not necessarily mean you will get that frame rate. 

Conclusion

If none of these suggestions work, try logging into your camera directly and seeing if the connection is slow there as well. 

]]> I can see cameras, but no video https://viewcommander.com/cant-see-cameras-feed/ Fri, 30 Apr 2021 13:57:30 +0000 https://viewcommander.com/?p=3659

Troubleshooting: Video feed not coming into ViewCommander

Click here to watch a Video Tutorial on Troubleshooting a Camera Connection Loss

If you do NOT see you LIVE video follow the troubleshooting tips below:  

In the Video Source Setup click on the “connect to web interface” button.

If a browser opens but cannot connect to the camera this could mean one of several things:

  • You entered the wrong information. Verify that the IP Address and port numbers are correct
  • You selected the wrong camera model in ViewCommander
  • The camera is not powered on
  • The is no network connection between the ViewCommander computer and the camera.
  • The camera could be on but perhaps the camera is behind a firewall or router and the ports are not forwarded correctly

If a browser opens and you can connect to the camera this could mean one of several things: 

  • Be sure the username and password you entered in VC is the same. Verify this by retyping the username and password for the camera when prompted by the web browser
  • Then reenter the same credentials in ViewCommander
]]> Restoring ViewCommander Settings https://viewcommander.com/restoring-viewcommander/ Thu, 22 Apr 2021 14:26:32 +0000 https://viewcommander.com/?p=3421

Restoring ViewCommander settings

ViewCommander keeps backup configuration files that you can restore. Here is how to restore cameras, users, system settings and sensors. Click HERE for a Video Tutorial. 

  1. Close ALL instances of ViewCommander
    1. Uninstall VC as a Services using the VCUtility
    2. Close ViewCommander, if open, in Windows
  2. Locate the backup files
    1. C:\programdata\ViewCommander\Config\backup
    2. Before continuing make sure “File Name Extensions” is checked off under the “View” tab at the top of your file explorer.
    3. There are 4 main backup files:
      1. vccameras.xml- ViewCommander Camera Configuration file
      2. vcsensors.xml- ViewCommander Sensor Configuration file
      3. vcusers.txt- ViewCommander Users Configuration file
      4. vcsystemsettings.txt- ViewCommander System Settings Configuration file
    4. Organize the files here by date
    5. Copy the most recent date of the file you are looking to backup
      1. Example:
        1. If you can no longer see your cameras in the Video Source Tree, then you should copy the most recent vccamera-DATE.xml file (vccameras-20210304.xml)
  3. Paste the copied files into: C:\ProgramData\ViewCommander\config
  4. Rename the configuration files
    1. Rename the copied files from backup to:‘vccameras.xml,’ ‘vcsesnors.xml,’ ‘vcusers.txt,’ vcsystemsettings.txt’
      1. For Example, after copying the files to the config folder they might look like this:
        1. vccameras-20210304.xml → vccameras.xml
        2. vcsesnor-20210304.xml → vcsesnors.xml
        3. vcusers-20210304.txt → vcusers.txt
        4. vcsystemsettings-20210304.txt → vcsystemsettings.txt
          1.  
  5. Start ViewCommander to check for restoration.

NOTES:

  • If your cameras, sensors, users, or system settings were not restored repeat all the previous steps EXCEPT copy the next most recent date in the backup folder to paste into the “config” folder
  • If ViewCommander was previously installed as a service remember to reinstall using as a service with the VCUtility
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