Security Camera to TV Live View over Internet

If want to use the Viewtron IP security camera to TV decoder to setup a live view remotely from where your camera(s) are installed, you need an Internet connection at both locations and port forwarding setup on your router.

You can find our setup instructions to remotely connect the decoder directly to an IP camera’s RTSP stream without a DVR here. The setup instructions to remotely connect the decoder to RTSP streams from any of our Viewtron DVR / NVRs here.

Please note that although we as using the hard wired Viewtron IP-HDMI decoder / converter in the below diagrams, this setup also works with the wireless IP camera to HDMI converter model.

Remote Spot Monitor for IP Camera Solution (without DVR)

The above diagram shows a Viewtron IP camera installed at one location (gray area on the left) and the live display TV installed a a different physical location and network (white area on the right). This setup can be referred to as a “remote spot monitor”.

Follow these instructions if you want to enable a remote spot monitor for one or more IP cameras directly (cameras are not connected to the PoE ports on a Viewtron DVR / NVR).

1. Enable the RTSP stream for your camera(s). The default RTSP port for Viewtron IP cameras is 554. You can find the setup instructions here on how-to enable the RTSP stream for Viewtron IP cameras. Be sure that the RTSP stream is enabled for your camera(s)
2. Follow these instructions to setup static IP addresses for your Viewtron IP camera. The purpose of this is to maintain the same IP address for your camera(s) even if your router is rebooted. If the IP address of your IP camera changes, the port forwarding rule that you setup will be invalid. Follow the instructions in the above link to either reserve a static IP address for your camera(s) on your router or assign a static IP address via the camera’s firmware.
3. Setup port forwarding to your IP camera on your router on port 554. You can watch the video on this page if you want understand what is port forwarding. The process to setup port forwarding is slightly different on each make and model router. So, we do not have one set of instructions on how to do this for your particular router. Follow these instructions to setup port forwarding for your Viewtron IP camera.

Remote Spot Monitor for Security Camera Solution (with DVR /NVR)

The above diagram shows the remote security camera to TV setup with the cameras connected to a DVR. The setup process is almost identical to the setup without a DVR. The only difference is that you must set up the static IP address and port forwarding for the DVR / NVR instead of the IP camera(s) directly. Please note that this setup can be applied to IP cameras connected to a Viewtron IP camera NVR and also to BNC CCTV cameras connected to a hybrid DVR.

Here is the setup.

1. Enable the RTSP stream URLs on the Viewtron DVR / NVR. You can find the RTSP setup instructions for Viewtron DVRs / NVRs here.
2. Follow these instructions to setup a static IP address to your DVR / NVR. The purpose of this is to maintain the same IP address for your DVR even if your router or DVR is rebooted. If the IP address of your DVR changes, the port forwarding rule that you setup will be invalid. Follow the instructions in the above link to either reserve a static IP address for your DVR on your router or assign a static IP address via the DVR settings.
3. Setup port forwarding to your DVR on your router on port 554. You can watch the video on this page if you want understand what is port forwarding. The process to setup port forwarding is slightly different on each make and model router. So, we do not have one set of instructions on how to do this for your particular router. Follow these instructions to setup port forwarding for your Viewtron DVR / NVR.

Port Forwarding Setup on Router (RTSP Port 554)

The exact process to setup port forwarding varies based on the make and model of the router that you are using. This is a screenshot from a LinkSys router. One of the most common residential and small business brands. Please check the manual specific for your router for port forwarding instructions. You can also refer to this webpage that has port forwarding instructions for many popular residential routers.

CCTV Camera Pros also offers this port forward router setup service for customers that would like us to handle everything for them. We also setup the static IP address and DDNS service for you.

In the above example, there are two ports setup for forwarding, 80 and 6036. You will notice that the port forwarding rule is given an Application Name for identification, an external port, internal port, protocol, and IP address.

In the case of setting up port forwarding for the RTSP stream from the Viewtron IP camera or DVR / NVR, you ONLY need to forward one port: 554. You can name the port forwarding rule whatever you like on your router. You can make the external port 554 to match the actual internal port, 554. You can specify both or TCP / IP for the protocol if your router requires that. And last, you must enter the LAN IP address of IP camera. You can use this online check open port port forwarding tool to confirm your rule is setup properly.