Remote Monitoring using dynamic IP
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I need to set up WebCam Monitor for for remote video surveillance. I have the PC and camera set up with the Internet connection provided by our local cable company. The cable companies provide dynamic IP address. Can you recommend a solution for remote monitoring using dynamic IP's.
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Try DYNDNS.ORG or NO-IP.COM. It will take your dynamic IP and update it to a DNS name of your choosing. I will provide instructions for DynDNS, they will be similar for No-IP.com. The service is free, simply create a free account. They send you an email to verify this account so you'll be able to log in. You go in "Service" tab, select "Dynamic DNS" and "Add Dynamic DNS".
You choose a domain name something.dyndns.org (you can choose from many variations)
You will be instructed to download DirectUpdate, it's free and it'll tell DynDNS what is your new IP as soon as you connect to the Internet. You wiil then be able to access your computer to the address something.dyndns.org:81 (or the port number you desire).
Here are the steps required to use WebCam Monitor's streaming with DynDNS:
- After connecting to the internet, log into your DynDNS account.
- Every time you connect to your internet, you get a new IP. You must update your IP address in DynDNS.
- Now start streaming in WebCam Monitor.
- Although WebCam Monitor displays the IP address or name of your computer followed by the port number, you must use the link provided to you by DynDNS.
In your case, instead of using mms://192.168.xxx.xxx:80, use mms://something.dyndns.org:80. Here "something.dyndns.org" is the domain link provided by DynDNS.
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Am I right in understanding that this is a convenience rather than a necessity? What I mean is this : if I set up streaming with my dynamic IP, anyone can view it as long as they know the active IP address .... I intend to e-mail my Mum with a link to the current IP address each time I activate my streaming.
Secondly, I've read that you use something of the form mms:// IP address of PC with the webcam .... why mms and not https:// ....?
Cheers!
Mark
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Yes this is a convinience. If your ISP assigns IP addresses from a pool of routable IPs, which usually is the case, then you should be able to view the streaming as long as you know the active IP address.
However, if a computer is configured with a dynamic IP and is part of a network then that IP is usually not routable. Non-routable IP start with 192.x.x.x. These computers, with non-routable IPs, need either a proxy or a DMZ to connect to the internet. Setting up a DMZ is simple and available on most routers.
You can also use both mms:// and https:// to view the streaming. The stream is sent over HTTP. However, using mms:// in Internet Explorer makes it easy for the browser to refer the link to Windows Media Player. If you use Windows Media Player directly then you can specify either mms:// or https://.
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Many people are using a dynamic IP to monitor video remotely.
Note: the dynamic IP only changes addresses when you reboot your router or turn off your PC. The dynamic IP address should last as long as you leave your PC on. If you do not close to PC than the IP address never gets released back to the ISP.
You should also be aware that most ISPs will give you a static IP address for a small extra fee.
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The easiest way to combat this problem is to use a router that supports dynamic DNS services and static DHCP.
-Dynamic DNS is a service (see: dyndns.com,no-ip.com) that provides you a URL (such as: mattswebcam.no-ip.com) that you can use in place of your ever changing internet (WAN) IP address. Basically when your WAN IP address changes, your router, of course knows this and updates the your DNS via "no-ip.com" automatically.
-Static DHCP- this is supported by only a few routers ( that I know of). It makes the router hand out LAN IP addresses based on the MAC address of the ethernet card. The MAC is a unique address everything ethernet device has. So if your router sees a particular MAC, it knows to give it a certain IP address. The advantage to this is that you can use port forwarding to ensure the data stream goes to, or comes from a particular computer. You can setup a DMZ, but this takes you out from behind the firewall. Also you can only setup one computer with a DMZ
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So I verified what my IP is, logged into the dyndns.com. However instead of viewing mms or https://192.168.xxx.xxx:80 I read in a post I'm supposed to view mms or https://something.dyndns.com:80 - however it is that I set it up. Is this only viewable outside my network, or should I be able to view it inside my network as well? I can't view it inside for sure...
When I start monitoring WebCam Monitor says
'Streaming started. Open the URL mms://192.168.xxx.xxx:80 in Internet Explorer or the URL https://192.168.xxx.xxx:80 in Windows Media Player...
This works...but I know only in my network, so I'm assuming it is set up right.More questions later.
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Since the two PCs are on the same network segment, you should be able to view the streaming within the network using mms://192.168.xxx.xxx:80. This seems to be working fine. The dyndns.com service is required for viewing the streaming from PCs outside your network.
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Yes, Gracias! You are right, that works.
I can only view my cam within my network using 192.168.xxx.xxx:80.
I can only view my cam outside of my network using the dyndns.org.
Flawless!
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hi
I did all your steps (i have dynamic IP). But I'm using a router so I can't access my computer from another computer via mms://xxx.dvrdns.org:xxxx. What should users do if they are using WebCam Monitor and a router together?
Tnx for answers
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We have recently published a new article that explains in more detail how to connect WebCam Monitor streaming through a router. You can read it here:
https://www.deskshare.com/resources/articles/wcm_Internet_Streaming.aspx