What info does Sighthound Video need?
In order to monitor a camera Sighthound Video needs a URL to it's video stream. Unfortunately nearly every camera has a unique URL and manufacturers rarely publish this information.
If I go to my camera's webpage at <address> I can see the video. Will this work with Sighthound Video?
No. The web server embedded in IP cameras used to view the settings and video stream has special internal access methods. Sighthound Video needs a direct path to the video stream, not to the webpage. Rather than ending in ".html" the video stream will often end with ".cgi", ".asf", ".mjpeg", ".mp4", or others. Often they will also be followed by a "?" and a long series of extra arguments. Some example video stream URLS are:
- http://<camera ip>/video.mp4
- http://<camera ip>/cgi/mjpg/mjpg.cgi
- http://<camera ip>/videostream.asf?resolution=8&rate=6
I think I have the correct URL, but it isn't working in Sighthound Video.
If you think that you have the video stream URL but it isn't working in Sighthound Video, try opening it with a media player such as Quicktime or VLC. If it works in a media player but not in Sighthound Video, you might have found a bug! Make a new post and let us know. If the URL doesn't work in Sighthound Video or in any media players it probably isn't correct.
How do I find the video stream URL?
There isn't a foolproof method for this, but the following is a good set of steps:
- Check this post - This is where we maintain a list of all user reported URLs that have not yet been added to the application.
- Look in the manual - Although rare, some camera manuals will provide the URL needed to access the video stream from third party software.
- Google/Bing/Yahoo - Other people have likely been in the same position as you, trying to access their camera's video feed. Try searching for "My camera model video path", or "my camera model vlc quicktime" and see what comes up.
- Contact the manufacturer - While many manufacturers are reluctant to provide this information, some are more than happy to. It's always worth sending an email to their support address.
- Post on this forum - Make a new post with your camera model in the title. Somebody might have already gotten it working and not posted yet, or somebody else might have more luck searching than you did.
I found the URL and my camera is working in Sighthound Video. Now what?
Congratulations! It would be wonderful if you could take a moment and make a post with your camera model and the URL you used. We'll be sure to add it to a future version of Sighthound Video. If your camera supports UPnP (it shows up in the "My camera is in the list below" screen of the Camera Setup dialog) it would also be great if you could provide the "Model name" text that appears when the camera is selected. This will enable us to automatically select the appropriate setup information rather than presenting the full camera type list.
