AX Pro cannot load video stream from M-series NVR?

[drmaven]

Hi all,

I am trying to add cameras connected to the Hikvision M-Series NVR [DS-7732NI-M4/16P] to my AX PRO.

The cameras appear to be added successfully but when I enable video verification, the camera shows 'offline' in AX Pro with the error that video stream failed to load.

I tried to disable the NVR's encryption key, but without success.

I also tried to connect directly to the IP camera (192.168.1.12:65001....65016, with the NVR being at 192.168.86.12), but this didn't work either.

Any help is much appreciated.

 

[Kyle]

Hi @drmaven, are your cameras directly connected to the NVR's POE ports? Have you manually changed the NVR's ports to use 192.168.1.x IPs, as it looks like your LAN's IP range is 192.168.86.x, or are the cameras on a remote network?

My understanding is that the camera's need to be connected to a PoE switch which is on the same network as the AX-Pro main hub for them to work (see page 6 here), and not connected to an NVR directly.
What IP is the main hub on please?

Also, can you please confirm the following things:

• NVR firmware version
• Camera model numbers and firmware versions
• Hik-Connect version and which OS you're using it on

 

[drmaven]

Hi and thank you for your detailed reply!

I'm not sure if the IP cameras must be connected to a switch other than the NVR, but what is important is for them to be on the same subnet as the main network.

Correcting and adding to my original post, this is my network topology:

TP-Link LAN: 192.168.86.1-254
NVR: 192.168.86.12
Cameras connected directly to NVR's POE: 192.168.254.1....15. I can only access them like this: 192.168.86.12:65001-...-65015

I have added a static route in TP-Link Omada router to 192.168.254.0/24 using 192.168.86.12 as Gateway, however still I cannot ping the cameras from the main LAN 192.168.86.1/24. I then accessed the IP cameras web gui, and saw that their ip is eg. 192.168.254.2, but with the gateway field blank. I entered 192.168.254.1 as gateway, saved, rebooted, but then again the gateway was empty and still couldn't ping. I'm thinking whether I should add these IP cameras in manual mode in the NVR instead of 'plug n play', and maybe change their subnet to match the main lan.

I'm very interested to hear your thoughts regarding this. Thank you!


Cameras: DS-2CD2387G2-LSU/SL [V5.7.15_240201]
NVR: DS-7732NI-M4/16P [V5.03.000_240428]
Access Web GUI via Windows 11.
Hik-Connect 6.3.250.20240515.2 iOS 17

 

[Kyle]

I'm thinking whether I should add these IP cameras in manual mode in the NVR instead of 'plug n play', and maybe change their subnet to match the main lan.

Yes, I'd try this. You'll probably need to have them connected to a separate switch too, with the subnet matching your main LAN. There's a limit on the number of cameras linked to an AX-Pro hub, so it's likely that connecting a an NVR with lots of channels will just confuse it - all instructions I've seen before specify having the cameras to be connected on a separate switch, rather than connected to an NVR.

Also, make sure that your AX-Pro hubs firmware is up-to-date (everything else above looks to be).

 

[drmaven]

Turns out you were right that the cameras need to be connected to an external POE switch for them to be recognised by AX Pro.

Another issue I've found now is that a camera in AX Pro cannot be linked to multiple zones. I can't find any valid reason for this and it hinders its usability.