I'm Dumb But Excited About Sighthound

[jpinkerton]

So I think Sighthound is basically everything I'm looking for. I have some background information, and then questions. Haven't purchased yet but hoping the experienced users here can shed some light on my dim brain.

We have two retail locations. One is inside a market, we don't control the Internet, but have our own space and router. However, this means we're behind two routers/their firewall. Small space, only two cameras. Low demands on the machine down there (looking at ASUS VivoPC for that location). The staff there is not the most accommodating, and even if they are it's unlikely they would even know the login for the firewall. No digs on them, just none of them were around when it was originally setup and I'm not confident they have documentation on it.

The other location, is our own standalone retail location. We control Internet there. Starting with 2 cameras, have wiring capacity already in place for more but won't be too crazy of a location. Will likely run Sighthound on a custom build PC for it that will also be a file server.

All cameras are AXIS, though a mix of models.

Okay, there's the foundation. Now for question time!

So, in the office what I'd like to have is a monitor hanging that has an overview of cameras. I have plenty of space for monitors above. However, what I'd love is to be able to at a glance look up and make sure everything is okay at both locations. Knowing the limitations of the 2nd location, but seeing the "Cloud backup" feature of Sighthound - maybe there's something there that would still let us remote view in some way?

Is it possible to pull up all the cameras in a way that would let us put 2, 4 or whatever combination of cameras on display at the same time? Am I able to do that from a different machine and view it running on the file server mentioned?

Finally, I forget where I read it, but I think I read that Sighthound doesn't record audio (currently, maybe in the future?), is that correct? Not a deal breaker in my book, just a "would be nice".

Did I make this all clear as mud? Thanks in advance for even just reading my rambling brain thoughts.

[Devin]

Hi jpinkerton,

Thanks for your message. I'll do my best to answer your questions.

...this means we're behind two routers/their firewall.

In this setup you will need to set port forwarding on both routers for each camera so that you can access them from your office. This is assuming that you want to have Sighthound Video running at the office with cameras from the Market connected. I'd be happy to assist you in port forwarding if you have access to the configuration page for each and if you could provide us with the manufacturer and model number of each router.

...what I'd love is to be able to at a glance look up and make sure everything is okay at both locations.

If you have one computer running Sighthound Video with cameras connected from both locations, you can view all cameras in the monitor view (see https://www.sighthound.com/support/monitor-view). There is also a remote access feature which allows you to view all of your cameras and clips from web browsers on computers, tablets and mobile devices as well as our free mobile app. More information on remote access can be found at https://www.sighthound.com/support/how- ... ote-access

Finally, I forget where I read it, but I think I read that Sighthound doesn't record audio (currently, maybe in the future?), is that correct?

At this time we do not support audio, though it is possible we will consider it for future updates.

If you haven't already, feel free to download and try Sighthound Video at https://www.sighthound.com/download. When you first launch the application a 14 day Pro trial will activate, giving you access to all paid features.

Regards,

-Devin

[joelegg]

HI Devin,

I have a similar question with port forwarding. My sighthound camera is currently running on my gateway router, where as my main router is connected to this gateway

So it's:
Gateway (wifi used by Sighthound and camera) -- Connected to --> Main Router (main wifi).

I'd like to have my sighthound system running on the sub router (main wifi), but have had a lot of trouble getting remote access to work i.e port forwarding as they are different subs.

Models are:
Gateway: Netgear CG3100D-2
Main Router: Asus 87U

Both running standard firmware. I would greatly appreciate any advice.

Cheers

Joel

[Devin]

Hi joelegg,

You should be able to connect remotely by forwarding a port for Sighthound in each of the routers.

For example, lets say you're using the default port 8848 for Sighthound, the computer's IP address is 123.123.123.123, the gateway's IP address is 456.456.456.456 and the public IP address of your main router is 789.789.789.789. You will first need to forward port 8848 for the address 123.123.123.123 on the gateway, then forward port 8848 from 456.456.456.456 on the main router. You should then be able to connect remotely from outside of your home network by going to 789.789.789.789:8848.

Keep in mind when you manually forward a port for Sighthound Video the "External Address" link in the remote access tab will still read "Attempting to connect" as Sighthound was unable to open a port on it's own. If you do not know your main routers public address you can find it by going to whatsmyip.org.

If you are unsure of how to forward a port on your routers please see the following articles:

http://portforward.com/english/routers/ ... tguide.htm
http://portforward.com/english/routers/ ... tguide.htm

Regards,

-Devin

[joelegg]

thanks Devin. I think that makes sense. I appreciate the detailed response.

Shall give it a go!