MacOS Hikvision Advice with OSX

[coda2]

People
First time here, for my own domestic install I have decided on Hikvision hardware, 8MP IP Camera DS-2CD2385G1-I x 6 and an NVR unit which I haven't decided upon as yet. Given I have an iMac ideally I would like activate, view configure etc the cameras via Safari and whilst researching my hardware choice I by chance learnt of conflict with versions of Safari vs the relevant manufacturers plug-in. My 2009 iMac software, HDD, memory etc have been upgraded as far as possible and provides everything I want it to do...at the moment - OSX El Capitan 10.11.6 and Safari 11.1.2.

Can someone please advise if
1) the plug-in iVMS 4200 V1.02.02.02 is correct for my iMac?
2) the 8MP IP Camera DS-2CD2385G1-I which is a newer camera, is comparable with my iMac

I have not yet purchased the Hikvision hardware yet and will await comment here - it would be great to utilise the Mac as opposed to having a monitor alongside it on the desktop. If my iMac is not compatible then its not a big issue I can connect a noddy monitor to the NVR.

Thanks in advance

 

[JB1970]

Hikvisions support for the Mac is pretty poor as you'll see from some of the posts on this forum. I forget which version of Safari was the last to work with the plugin but the free iVMS 4200 software for the Mac does not work very well and has some issues.

For configuration of your system I'd recommend that you set it up using a locally connected monitor rather than web browser. For ongoing viewing of the system, if you'd rather not have an additional monitor directly connected to the system you have a couple of options:

1 - Connect the NVR to a spare HDMI on an existing TV. To avoid being annoyed by fan noise from the NVR you can keep the NVR away from the TV and use a suitably long HDMI cable. Couple this with a USB A male to female extension cable (up to 10m) and you can connect the receiver for a wireless mouse to that, keeping you in range for control.

2 - Connect the HDMI output of the NVR to DVB modulator and insert this into your TV aerial system. Depending on how you have this set up it can allow you to have the CCTV as a HD TV channel being able to view it on all your TV's. You'd need to have the wireless mouse in range of one of the TV's for control and there is a slight lag in the image. Technomate do a unit for about £130 - you'll find one on Amazon.

3 - If you'd like to put it on your Mac, just install Parallels (£70 - free trial available). I use this on my Macs. It allows you to install a copy (or copies) of Windows and run it within app. You can then just use a supported web browser for configuration and it will also allow you to use the Windows version of Hikvision iVMS 4200 software.

 

[coda2]

Dan
Much appreciated for the reply!
I've also liaised with Hikvision today and they have recommended a 32 bit version of iVMS 4200 (V2.0.0.5) as compatible with the Intel processor in my Mac.
They also recommended an alternative camera as the iVMS4200 running on the Mac would not be capable of managing all upstream data from my "original" choice of camera. I'll beat up the forums again over the next day or so and see of any known issues. After that I'll determine whether I simply use with a monitor or even possibly leave Hikvision alone and start again in identifying a make (if any) whose cameras can happily be configured and run from my version of OSX and safari.

 

[Dan]

Hi @coda2

thanks for naming me but it was @JB1970 with all the good advice

One other option to consider as a Mac user is a dedicated Mac VMS, one we often recommend is Security Spy

We have had one-to-one contact with the developers of this software in the past, it is a VMS that has been developed from the ground up for Mac and the development team spend a lot of time trying to maintain its compatibility with as many brands and cameras as possible.

They have a Manufacturer compatibility list that can be found here and if you want more camera-specific compatibility information you can always contact them directly.

 

[coda2]

Oh Sugar, apology for naming and quite unsure of message board etiquette!
I appreciate both of your inputs and now have confidence to push ahead with the Hikvision hardware (DS-2CD2343G0-I 4MP camera x 6 and the DS-7608NI-K2 NVR).

I have at least two Mac options - the manufacturers VMS and Security Spy. I will feedback here in approximately 10 days time.

Once again sincere thanks to you both.

 

[macman]

The problem we face is setting up and configuring Hikvision (probably all) IP cameras in MacOs - either in Hikvision's iVMS-4200 client software or in a web browser as the required web plugin is pretty much outlawed (across all platforms), albeit Internet Explorer in Windows still works. So if you want to use your Mac, be prepared to buy a copy of the excellent Parallels Desktop so that you can run Windows and IE in emulation.

Once you have everything set up as you like, then you can shut down Parallels and use the Mac client for viewing - although Hikvision chose not to include the full feature set in the Mac version of iVMS-4200 and their support for MacOs generally leaves plenty to be desired. They aren't alone in that.

FWIW, I now view my 8 Hikvision cameras and video intercom in High Sierra (10.13.6) using either iVMS-4200 or Security Spy but if I have to set up a new camera or change any config I have to fire up Parallels to do it - or borrow a Windows laptop. On my 2017 iMac, web config doesn't work at all but I believe a few of Hikvision's cameras are configurable under MacOs. Useful as it would be for Hikvision to tell us which cameras do or do not work, the list would probably go out of date pretty quickly.

These problems apart, Hikvision make good cameras (apart from the useless video intercom) and mine have been ultra reliable.

 

[coda2]

Macman
A courtesy update from me to thank you for your post which I have read and noted.

Regards

 

[macman]

For clarification, my experience is based on cameras which connect directly to my LAN via POE switches, ie without using any NVR. Recordings are saved only on the cameras' SD cards and downloaded to my HD if I want to archive any. Whether an NVR-based system works better with MacOs, I don't know (but wouldn't want one anyway as I believe that NVRs degrade the video quality by adding extra processing layers).

I should also say that some camera settings can be changed within iVMS-4200. But any which require a camera image, such as drawing detection zones or adjusting colour/exposure etc, don't work for me unless I use Parallels/IE.

Another MacOs nuisance is that Hikvision's proprietary mp4 video encoding is incompatible with Quicktime so any archived video must be viewed in Hikvision's own VSPlayer (which I hate) or VLC (which can't edit). For editing, I need to pass all video losslessly through Handbrake which then gives me Quicktime-compatible files. It's a bore.

 

[coda2]

Macman, FYI latest post noted Thankyou