MacOS Apple Safari 12 and Hikvision cameras

[silid]

I'm runnning Mojave and the plugin works with Firefox 52.9 ESR

Directory Listing: /pub/firefox/releases/52.9.0esr/mac/en-GB/

 

[PaulS]

Opera 65.0 and Catalina 10.15.1 doesn't work.

 

[webstarblue]

I don't think anything works with Mac. Even IVMS doesn't show camera view when you try to configure but it does live and playback. Unless I am missing a setting?

 

[Beemster]

I have been fighting the same problem for ages, but somehow I got it to work...
Not sure what helped, but I now have a live view on all camera's using the web interface on my Macbook.

This is my setup:
I have three camera's, all are Hikvision DS-2CD2155FWD-I.
Just updated the camera's, all are now running the latest firmware released September 2019, which is ''V.5.6.3 build 190923''.
Running OS Catalina 10.15.3.
Running two browsers: Safari 13.0.5 and Opera 66.0.3515.44.

I can watch the live view on both browsers.

After I was sure everything was up to date, I only could watch a live view on 2 out of my 3 camera's. After playing around, I figured that the only camera which didn't work, had the ''rotate'' function turned on. So I turned it off, and now I am able to watch a live view on that camera as well (sideways...).

It is not a full quality live view, but good enough.
Finally I am able to change setting like ''line crossing'' etc., since the iVMS software doesn't allow me to draw lines.

 

[macman]

I wish you could remember how you got Live View to work. I get a gray screen in Live View and in the config panels - in latest versions of Safari, Opera and Chrome.

 

[Beemster]

Attached the screenshot of the working live view on Safari. One of the camera's only worked when I turned Rotate OFF in the settings.

Today I went to my father in law (who has the same camera's) and also updated the camera's etc. And I also succeeded getting the live view to work after months...

Ps. The camera firmware update could only be done via iVMS. Via the web interface, the ''browse'' button simply didn't respond... So I installed iVMS software, and did the firmware update via iVMS. After the firmware update, the live view was there. Magic.

 

[macman]

Thanks - maybe I need to wait for a firmware update to get it working.

At least the new iVMS-4200 is mostly working on my Mac with all live view windows now behaving well. However, it seems to have lost some config parameters so I have no brightness/WB etc settings to adjust! Ironically, these settings are accessible via my web browser but without a live view display, they are sub-useful.

 

[Dan]

We have asked Hikvision Support about this issue multiple times over the last year or so since Safari upgraded and stopped supporting Hikvision correctly, they went quiet on us for a long time but in the last month or two, I have seen a rise in comments in different threads on the forum about the Safari issue so I have chased them again just recently.

They replied to me this morning with a positive development, they have confirmed that after Safari 12 was introduced it stopped supporting the plugin that Hikvision uses but they have confirmed that the next firmware for the I-series NVR (v4.40) which should be out in May which will support a similar 'plug-in free' solution to the one that is used by the Chrome & Firefox browsers.

They will hopefully share more detailed information on this when the firmware becomes available.

 

[macman]

Good job, Dan. Would that give me any cause for hope that they will also roll it out to future camera FW updates so that they can be web-configured via a Mac browser? Or that they are now hungry enough for new business that they might actually produce a Mac version of iVMS-4200 which is fit for purpose?

 

[David Drewitt]

Thanks for the update Dan. I don’t have a Hikvision NVR, (I use Surveillance Station on a Synology NAS),. So I am looking for the Camera firmware to be upgraded like macman so that we can configure the camera in Safari.

I have gone totally PC free now! Loving it.

 

[Dan]

Hi @David Drewitt

I did bring the iVMS-4200 issue up with them but I have no confirmation when or if they will improve iVMS-4200 for Mac, based on previous updates I think you can probably expect the NVR update to be followed shortly after by a G1 camera firmware update with the same solution for directly accessing the cameras with Safari, possibly after that update we may see an update to iVMS-4200 but I have no confirmation of that.

Hikvision are coming close to the cliff edge that is the end of Internet Explorer and they still don't have a fully functioning browser solution for even their latest series cameras, it is looking more and more like Hikvision won't really make a move on this issue until they have actually fallen over the edge.

 

[macman]

I know that Hikvision drive Mac optimists to jump off bridges but putting my corporate/commercial head on, I really think there's a chance that the recent trade embargo against Chinese security firms combined with the pandemic slowdown could force them finally into proper Mac support as a relatively cheap way of generating new business. Every cloud…

 

[steve1225]

If the HIK cam/nvr supports live view without plugins In Google Chrome this also apply to latest versions of Safari (MacOSX Catalana) - Safari and Google Chrome share most of the code (WebKit based). If the live view feature don't work in Safari You have older version of firmware in cam/nvr which don't validate Safari as browser which supports Live View WebSockets. Java Scripts in web panel of HIK cam/nvr literally validate browsers based on User-Agent presented by browser.

I had some Acusense G2 cams which on original firmware didn't support Safari, but after upgrade they start supporting live view in Safari on Mac (newer version of Web Plugin/Java Scripts).

There is second solution for this problem (if there is no a newer firmware for that HIK cam/nvr) - use developer mode in Safari (Preferences -> Advanced -> Show Develop menu in menu bar) and set User Agent to Google Chrome or Firefox (Develop Menu -> User agent -> Google Chrome). After this the original firmware on Acusense G2 (before firmware upgrade) showed me working Live View in Safari on Mac.

 

[macman]

There is second solution for this problem (if there is no a newer firmware for that HIK cam/nvr) - use developer mode in Safari (Preferences -> Advanced -> Show Develop menu in menu bar) and set User Agent to Google Chrome or Firefox (Develop Menu -> User agent -> Google Chrome). After this the original firmware on Acusense G2 (before firmware upgrade) showed me working Live View in Safari on Mac.

This would be an attractive solution but none of the user agents worked for me. I have one camera - DS-2CD2543G0-IS - [out of 8] which has always showed live feed and config previews in Safari but the rest are untouchables, even though they mostly have a more recent firmware update than the DS-2CD2543G0-IS.

 

[steve1225]

This would be an attractive solution but none of the user agents worked for me. I have one camera - DS-2CD2543G0-IS - [out of 8] which has always showed live feed and config previews in Safari but the rest are untouchables, even though they mostly have a more recent firmware update than the DS-2CD2543G0-IS.

Is the latest version of Safari (13.0.5) on MacOSX Catalina?
Is there any router/firewall/NAT between You and cams? Are the cams connected to NVR POE ports?
I found that Live Stream on HIK cam/nvr uses extra port (7681) which can not be changed (must be mapped as 7681).
I don't think that Virtual Host feature on HIK NVR supports this extra port mapping (I don't use POE version of NVR so I can't check that).

 

[Dan]

Thanks for the advice @steve1225

But the specific issue here is the stability issue for accessing an I-series NVR on a Mac and I can confirm to you from our testing that all the things you mention above do not work for the I-series NVRs, especially the Developer/user agent setting which is something we tried long before Hikvision started introducing a 'Plug-in free' solution and we tried to use Safari with the user agent set to IE and it made no difference (as @macman says) because Hikvision then and still now do not have the software/plug-in to install on the MacOS that fully supports their camera/NVR software and so although now with the latest NVR & Camera firmware you can get a live view image and control camera/NVR settings, there are still lots of menus, settings, and buttons that are missing when viewed on a Mac through any browser.

When v5.6.x and v4.22.xxx firmware were introduced for the G1 cameras and I-series NVRs they added a Download Plug-in button when accessing from any browser, installing this is what drastically improved the Chrome & Firefox browser compatibility and we know this because we have installed it on a PC and Chrome/Firefox run better now on a PC, but when you try and download this from a Mac browser the file is still .exe file which cannot be installed and so that is the thing we have been chasing for Hikvision to update.

Also, I should add that the G2 AcuSense camera you have actually uses a completely different firmware and is newer software & hardware than the majority of the G1 cameras so it may be that Hikvision has already introduced changes in those cameras that makes them more stable on modern browsers, hopefully, this improvement for the AcuSense cameras is what will be applied in this new v4.40 firmware coming in May but as always with Hikvision we will have to wait and see if it makes any major difference.

 

[macman]

Is the latest version of Safari (13.0.5) on MacOSX Catalina?

I'm actually using Safari v13.1 on High Sierra [Os 10.13.6].

Is there any router/firewall/NAT between You and cams? Are the cams connected to NVR POE ports?

Only a cable, a POE switch, the router and the dreaded iVMS-4200. I don't use an NVR.

As @Dan points out from his exhaustive testing, nothing works. Occasionally, as with my DS-2CD2543G0-IS, a device does show up properly in Safari out of the box but the great majority don't and never will until Hikvision fix them.

And the problem afflicts every Mac browser, not just Safari. It even afflicts most Windows browsers with the exception of Internet Explorer.

 

[steve1225]

Thanks for the advice @steve1225

But the specific issue here is the stability issue for accessing an I-series NVR on a Mac and I can confirm to you from our testing that all the things you mention above do not work for the I-series NVRs, especially the Developer/user agent setting which is something we tried long before Hikvision started introducing a 'Plug-in free' solution and we tried to use Safari with the user agent set to IE and it made no difference (as @macman says) because Hikvision then and still now do not have the software/plug-in to install on the MacOS that fully supports their camera/NVR software and so although now with the latest NVR & Camera firmware you can get a live view image and control camera/NVR settings, there are still lots of menus, settings, and buttons that are missing when viewed on a Mac through any browser.

At this moment I have AcuSense NVR (7616-NXI-I2/S4) which don't support Live View without plugins on any browser (there is no web socket function in this model - I don't known why????). I wait for replacement for classic I-series model (7616-NI) so I can confirm/deny is the classic I-Series NVRs works under Safari.

But week ago I have remote access to NVR of my friend - It was 7716NI-I4 on latest firmware and after opening the extra port (80 & 7681) on his router live view from his system worked in Safari (I don't remember with/without setting User Agent).

When v5.6.x and v4.22.xxx firmware were introduced for the G1 cameras and I-series NVRs they added a Download Plug-in button when accessing from any browser, installing this is what drastically improved the Chrome & Firefox browser compatibility and we know this because we have installed it on a PC and Chrome/Firefox run better now on a PC, but when you try and download this from a Mac browser the file is still .exe file which cannot be installed and so that is the thing we have been chasing for Hikvision to update.

Also, I should add that the G2 AcuSense camera you have actually uses a completely different firmware and is newer software & hardware than the majority of the G1 cameras so it may be that Hikvision has already introduced changes in those cameras that makes them more stable on modern browsers, hopefully, this improvement for the AcuSense cameras is what will be applied in this new v4.40 firmware coming in May but as always with Hikvision we will have to wait and see if it makes any major difference.

I have remote access to new G1 cam (from ColorVu line) and this cam also works under Safari for me. I attach pics from live view + system info + display settings. So HIK have working live view in latest Safari - there can be older fw's for some cam models which have older Java Script and simply don't validate Safari as valid browser with working WebSockets.

 

[steve1225]

After replacing AcuSense NVR to normal I-series version (DS-7616NI-I2) on latest firmware (4.22.005) I can confirm that it works very well in Safari on MacOsX Catalina (10.15.4).

Live View without plugins works on all screens... There is no need to change User-Agent..
This solutions works with old/new HikVision and also Dahua cams connected to that NVR...

PS. This also works from Internet - but require two open/mapped ports (80 & 7681)

 

[David Drewitt]

I can live view on my G1 cameras ok.

I have several older R6 cameras, and these dont work on Safari or Chrome on Mac.

There is a new firmware showing for the R6, which I would like to try, but the upgrade firmware option doesn't appear in System / Maintainace.

The bottom item in this menu is Import config file, and not firmware update?

Anyone got any ideas? I am macOS only now.

(and don't have a NVR, I use a Synology NAS Surveillance Station), so no option to update through NVR.