I have a two or three year old Swann CCTV system, that lay in its box
for over a year before I started to use it. All seemed well.
There was a period where it was regularly shutdown by powering it off,
which I know is not good. But it still comes back up when re-booted, to
exactly the same display as when it was last shut down, which can now
only be done by powering off.
The problem is, that I cannot get into the Setup menu, which also
allows an orderly shutdown. In theory, you move the cursor to the bottom
left of the screen, a few icons pop up, and you click on the left-most
icon, which brings up the box for entering ID and PW, etc. But it
might take 5 or 6 attempts to get the box to be displayed, and when it
is displayed, the first attempt to enter any character instantly shuts
the box down, and I'm back to square 1.
I have tried plugging in a keyboard and interrupting the boot, but I
have not found the magic combination of keystroke(s) that will interrupt
the boot process.
I have tried Swann Technical support, which is useless even when I can
finally get to discuss this with a human being, which is harder than
extracting blood out of the proverbial stone. It drives you round in
circles, never remembering anything of what was discussed two minutes
ago. Not a good advert. for AI, more the opposite.
Finally, Swann's chat-bot. responded today with the comment: "Your
device is now too old, technical support is no longer available". I
won't be buying any more of it from them, then.
All I want to do is to, first, be able to interrupt the boot procedure,
and second, go from there to at least see what I can see. I don't even
know if it uses Windows or Linux, but the 'app' that is supposed to let
you interrogate it to find its MAC address is Windows only. I already
know the MAC address, and the rest of the procedure that the 'app' is
supposed to enable again assumes that you have access to the menu,
which I don't.

Any help gratefully received.

--
Davey.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

snip

I don't even know if it uses Windows or Linux, but the 'app' that is
supposed to let you interrogate it to find its MAC address is Windows
only. I already know the MAC address, and the rest of the procedure
that the 'app' is supposed to enable again assumes that you have
access to the menu, which I don't.

In the absence of any response to my post, I can at least add the
information that it responds to a Cntrl/Alt/Del keyboard sequence,
implying that it might use a Windows OS rather than Linux. All it does
is Restart, though, so it is not of much help.

Again, any help much appreciated.

--
Davey.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On 10/12/2023 16:03, Davey wrote:

snip

I don't even know if it uses Windows or Linux, but the 'app' that is
supposed to let you interrogate it to find its MAC address is Windows
only. I already know the MAC address, and the rest of the procedure
that the 'app' is supposed to enable again assumes that you have
access to the menu, which I don't.

In the absence of any response to my post, I can at least add the
information that it responds to a Cntrl/Alt/Del keyboard sequence,
implying that it might use a Windows OS rather than Linux. All it does
is Restart, though, so it is not of much help.

Again, any help much appreciated.

Port scan with nmap it can sometimes tell you what the OS is.

Also as windows costs money and Linux does not its more likely to be
busybox but that's only a guess

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 09:23:42 +0000
grinch <grinch@somewhere.net> wrote:

On 10/12/2023 16:03, Davey wrote:

snip

I don't even know if it uses Windows or Linux, but the 'app' that
is supposed to let you interrogate it to find its MAC address is
Windows only. I already know the MAC address, and the rest of the
procedure that the 'app' is supposed to enable again assumes that
you have access to the menu, which I don't.

In the absence of any response to my post, I can at least add the information that it responds to a Cntrl/Alt/Del keyboard sequence,
implying that it might use a Windows OS rather than Linux. All it
does is Restart, though, so it is not of much help.

Again, any help much appreciated.

Port scan with nmap it can sometimes tell you what the OS is.

Also as windows costs money and Linux does not its more likely to be
busybox but that's only a guess

Thanks.

nmap {Swann} gives me:
PORT STATE SERVICE
85/tcp open mit-ml-dev
554/tcp open rtsp
9000/tcp open cslistener

which means nothing to me! I find:
a reference to ClearOS for the mit-ml-dev.
rtsp seems to be part of the streaming process.
cslistener sounds like a similar process.

Any more help again welcome. But this is a good start, thanks.
As you might gather, I am in, for me, uncharted waters here.

I have tried again several times to interrupt the boot, to no avail.
And again, every attempt to engage the Menu box just shuts the box.

--
Davey.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

Adding uk.tech.digital-tv to the ngs posted and appending OP for that
ng's benefit ...

Public Health Warning: I know little about CCTV boxes specifically, and
you haven't told us the specific model number anyway, the following are general comments about bespoke Linux boxes which may, or may not, be
useful ...

On 11/12/2023 09:55, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 09:23:42 +0000

grinch <grinch@somewhere.net> wrote:

On 10/12/2023 16:03, Davey wrote:

snip [JJ: but OP appended below]

I don't even know if it uses Windows or Linux, but the 'app' that
is supposed to let you interrogate it to find its MAC address is
Windows only. I already know the MAC address, and the rest of the
procedure that the 'app' is supposed to enable again assumes that
you have access to the menu, which I don't.

1) As others have suggested, this is almost certainly a bespoke Linux
or BSD OS, or possibly a derivative OS such as Android, I would guess
that the chances of it being anything else are pretty small.

In the absence of any response to my post, I can at least add the
information that it responds to a Cntrl/Alt/Del keyboard sequence,
implying that it might use a Windows OS rather than Linux. All it
does is Restart, though, so it is not of much help.

2) Linux also responds to <Ctrl-Alt-Delete>, though what happens in
response to it may vary.

Again, any help much appreciated.

Port scan with nmap it can sometimes tell you what the OS is.

Also as windows costs money and Linux does not its more likely to be
busybox but that's only a guess

+1

nmap {Swann} gives me:
PORT STATE SERVICE
85/tcp open mit-ml-dev
554/tcp open rtsp
9000/tcp open cslistener

which means nothing to me! I find:
a reference to ClearOS for the mit-ml-dev.
rtsp seems to be part of the streaming process.
cslistener sounds like a similar process.

Any more help again welcome. But this is a good start, thanks.
As you might gather, I am in, for me, uncharted waters here.

3) You make no mention of having a manual for it, do you have one? If
not have you tried to find one online?

4) Failing 3, or additionally to it, have you tried looking for a
useful YouTube video, or hardware specific social media group? You may
find that people at uk.tech.digital-tv may be able to help, as some of
them install pro CCTV systems, so I've added that ng to this reply.

5) Have you tried a factory defaults reset?

6) Can you log into it using a serial or ethernet connection using such
as putty and protocols such as telnet or ssh?

7) The curse of these small systems is often the PSU, and errant
behaviour such as you describe can be a symptom that it failing. Is it
yer bog-standard common-or-garden wall-wart, or POE? If the former, do
you have a similarly specced one for something else that you could try?
Or, if you have the kit, or know someone who has that you could borrow
to test it, does using POE improve matters?

8) Another example of capacitor rot? If you can open up the PSU, check
the caps for signs of bulging, etc, and if any are found, replace them.

I have tried again several times to interrupt the boot, to no avail.
And again, every attempt to engage the Menu box just shuts the box.

9) As you suggest, you can often interrupt the boot - common
keystrokes are: any, <Return>, <Esc> - but this usually involves some
sort of direct serial connection using a suitable interface such as a
TUMPA suitably connected to known points on the PCB, and the connections
may require soldering. The information required to be able to do this
might be found in a YouTube video, hardware specific social media group,
or similar.

=====

For the benefit of uk.tech.digital-tv, this was Davey's OP which was
snipped at the beginning of the subthread above:

On 09/12/2023 14:51, Davey wrote:

I have a two or three year old Swann CCTV system, that lay in its box
for over a year before I started to use it. All seemed well.
There was a period where it was regularly shutdown by powering it off,
which I know is not good. But it still comes back up when re-booted, to exactly the same display as when it was last shut down, which can now
only be done by powering off.
The problem is, that I cannot get into the Setup menu, which also
allows an orderly shutdown. In theory, you move the cursor to the bottom left of the screen, a few icons pop up, and you click on the left-most
icon, which brings up the box for entering ID and PW, etc. But it
might take 5 or 6 attempts to get the box to be displayed, and when it
is displayed, the first attempt to enter any character instantly shuts
the box down, and I'm back to square 1.
I have tried plugging in a keyboard and interrupting the boot, but I
have not found the magic combination of keystroke(s) that will interrupt
the boot process.
I have tried Swann Technical support, which is useless even when I can finally get to discuss this with a human being, which is harder than extracting blood out of the proverbial stone. It drives you round in circles, never remembering anything of what was discussed two minutes
ago. Not a good advert. for AI, more the opposite.
Finally, Swann's chat-bot. responded today with the comment: "Your
device is now too old, technical support is no longer available". I
won't be buying any more of it from them, then.
All I want to do is to, first, be able to interrupt the boot procedure,
and second, go from there to at least see what I can see. I don't even
know if it uses Windows or Linux, but the 'app' that is supposed to let
you interrogate it to find its MAC address is Windows only. I already
know the MAC address, and the rest of the procedure that the 'app' is supposed to enable again assumes that you have access to the menu,
which I don't.

Any help gratefully received.

--

Fake news kills!

I may be contacted via the contact address given on my website: www.macfh.co.uk

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On 11/12/2023 09:55, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 09:23:42 +0000
grinch <grinch@somewhere.net> wrote:

On 10/12/2023 16:03, Davey wrote:

snip

I don't even know if it uses Windows or Linux, but the 'app' that
is supposed to let you interrogate it to find its MAC address is
Windows only. I already know the MAC address, and the rest of the
procedure that the 'app' is supposed to enable again assumes that
you have access to the menu, which I don't.

In the absence of any response to my post, I can at least add the
information that it responds to a Cntrl/Alt/Del keyboard sequence,
implying that it might use a Windows OS rather than Linux. All it
does is Restart, though, so it is not of much help.

Again, any help much appreciated.

Port scan with nmap it can sometimes tell you what the OS is.

Also as windows costs money and Linux does not its more likely to be
busybox but that's only a guess

Thanks.

nmap {Swann} gives me:
PORT STATE SERVICE
85/tcp open mit-ml-dev
554/tcp open rtsp
9000/tcp open cslistener

Does 'nmap -A -T4 {Swann)' give any more information?

which means nothing to me! I find:
a reference to ClearOS for the mit-ml-dev.
rtsp seems to be part of the streaming process.
cslistener sounds like a similar process.

Any more help again welcome. But this is a good start, thanks.
As you might gather, I am in, for me, uncharted waters here.

I have tried again several times to interrupt the boot, to no avail.
And again, every attempt to engage the Menu box just shuts the box.

--
Chris Elvidge, England
I WILL NOT ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO FLY

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 11:28:47 +0000
Java Jive <java@evij.com.invalid> wrote:

Adding uk.tech.digital-tv to the ngs posted and appending OP for that
ng's benefit ...

Public Health Warning: I know little about CCTV boxes specifically,
and you haven't told us the specific model number anyway, the
following are general comments about bespoke Linux boxes which may,
or may not, be useful ...

Big snip

Any help gratefully received.

Thanks for a very comprehensive reply. I will supply as much
information as I can, but not now, I have a busy afternoon ahead.
But thank you.

--
Davey.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

Davey <davey@example.invalid> wrote:

Any more help again welcome. But this is a good start, thanks.
As you might gather, I am in, for me, uncharted waters here.

I have tried again several times to interrupt the boot, to no avail.
And again, every attempt to engage the Menu box just shuts the box.

Can you take the lid off and look inside? Take some pictures and post a
link?

Does it have a HDD? If it's Windows you might be able to pull the HDD and mount it on another machine. Likewise if Linux.

Looking at the hardware might give you some clues. eg if there's a big chip with a heatsink on it, it could be an x86 PC. If it's a bunch of smaller
chips like a Raspberry Pi, then it might be an embedded Arm Linux thing.

Does it work without the HDD? If it's an Arm thing with the OS in flash, it might not need it to boot.

If Linux, there is often a serial console available on a header somewhere. What access it gives you depends on how locked down the unit is.

Without a model number it's very hard to make any further progress beyond speculation.

Theo

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: University of Cambridge, England (2:250/1@fidonet)

On 11 Dec 2023 12:38:57 +0000 (GMT)
Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:

Davey <davey@example.invalid> wrote:

Any more help again welcome. But this is a good start, thanks.
As you might gather, I am in, for me, uncharted waters here.

I have tried again several times to interrupt the boot, to no avail.
And again, every attempt to engage the Menu box just shuts the
box.

Can you take the lid off and look inside? Take some pictures and
post a link?

Does it have a HDD? If it's Windows you might be able to pull the
HDD and mount it on another machine. Likewise if Linux.

Looking at the hardware might give you some clues. eg if there's a
big chip with a heatsink on it, it could be an x86 PC. If it's a
bunch of smaller chips like a Raspberry Pi, then it might be an
embedded Arm Linux thing.

Does it work without the HDD? If it's an Arm thing with the OS in
flash, it might not need it to boot.

If Linux, there is often a serial console available on a header
somewhere. What access it gives you depends on how locked down the
unit is.

Without a model number it's very hard to make any further progress
beyond speculation.

Theo

Model #: DVR8-5680A. The online manual covers several models, and even
when I could access the menu, not a lot worked as described.
MDVR_SYSTEMV8_REV4E.pdf

More later.

--
Davey.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 11:28:47 +0000
Java Jive <java@evij.com.invalid> wrote:

5) Have you tried a factory defaults reset?

All descriptions of doing a factory reset assume access to the Setup
Menu, which is precisely what I cannot get at.

6) Can you log into it using a serial or ethernet connection using
such as putty and protocols such as telnet or ssh?

I have tried ssh and telnet, and both get a "No permission" response.
At least it is responding...

--
Davey.



--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 11:28:47 +0000
Java Jive <java@evij.com.invalid> wrote:

3) You make no mention of having a manual for it, do you have one?
If not have you tried to find one online?

See note earlier, but briefly, the online manual is no help for getting
into the OS, it talks about operating the system once it's up and
running.

4) Failing 3, or additionally to it, have you tried looking for a
useful YouTube video, or hardware specific social media group? You
may find that people at uk.tech.digital-tv may be able to help, as
some of them install pro CCTV systems, so I've added that ng to this
reply.

Yes, They all assume that I can access the menu, which I can't. Maybe
the other ng may come up with an answer.

5) Have you tried a factory defaults reset?

That requires access to the the menu, which I don't have.

6) Can you log into it using a serial or ethernet connection using
such as putty and protocols such as telnet or ssh?

See earlier response re: ssh and telnet. Briefly, "No entry allowed". I thought, maybe erroneously, that putty was for Windows, as well as
windows.

7) The curse of these small systems is often the PSU, and errant
behaviour such as you describe can be a symptom that it failing. Is
it yer bog-standard common-or-garden wall-wart, or POE? If the
former, do you have a similarly specced one for something else that
you could try? Or, if you have the kit, or know someone who has that
you could borrow to test it, does using POE improve matters?

The PSU is use-wise pretty new. This strange behaviour is predictable,
the only thing that is not exactly the same is the number of mouse
button presses required to bring up the menu, it may be one, it may be
five, or anything in between. But every single time that I manage to do
that, the first character entered into the menu box dismisses the menu.

8) Another example of capacitor rot? If you can open up the PSU,
check the caps for signs of bulging, etc, and if any are found,
replace them.

It is a wall-wart. I don't think it's the PSU, it is something in the
software. But I am prepared to admit it if I am proved wrong.

I have tried again several times to interrupt the boot, to no avail.
And again, every attempt to engage the Menu box just shuts the
box.

9) As you suggest, you can often interrupt the boot - common
keystrokes are: any, <Return>, <Esc> - but this usually involves
some sort of direct serial connection using a suitable interface such
as a TUMPA suitably connected to known points on the PCB, and the
connections may require soldering. The information required to be
able to do this might be found in a YouTube video, hardware specific
social media group, or similar.

I had never heard of a TUMPA until now, and am unlikely to go to those
lengths, even if I could find the information.
Finally, I was discussing this with a colleague today. I have decided to continue to try to fix it, but non-destructively, ie no prising open of wall-wart PSUs. It is currently doing the basic job it was purchased
for, to allow me to monitor the patio at the rear of the house, but I
cannot record anything, so it is live vision only. But it is mainly to
observe visiting wildlife or neighbouring cats. I will look at buying a
better system at some stage for general around-the-house monitoring and recording, when my current system (Dell from 2000, and Zoneminder!)
finally expires. In the absence of any knowledge that gets me into the
Swann software/OS, I will keep trying to interrupt the boot.
Interrupting by keyboard has always worked for me on desktops and
laptops, it should work on this thing.

--
Davey.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:00:45 +0000, Davey wrote:

See earlier response re: ssh and telnet. Briefly, "No entry allowed". I thought, maybe erroneously, that putty was for Windows, as well as
windows.

So what, if any, ports are open? nmap should show you that.


--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

Davey <davey@example.invalid> wrote:

Model #: DVR8-5680A. The online manual covers several models, and even
when I could access the menu, not a lot worked as described.
MDVR_SYSTEMV8_REV4E.pdf

Hmm, I didn't manage to find much on that. There's some internal pics of
the DVR8-5580: https://gadgetblogist.wordpress.com/2019/05/10/swann-dvr8-5580-noisy-fan-fix/

What's interesting there is the text RS-DM-372B. Apparently the DM stands
for 'Dedicated Micros' who are the board designer/manufacturer.

Supposedly there are default passwords for those: https://superuser.com/questions/739794/how-do-i-reset-the-password-on-a-dedicated-micros-dvr

but yours isn't listening for telnet (port 23) so perhaps not much help. (although you could try telnetting into the ports you do have and see if it replies)

There are also some tricks that imply you can reset it by pulling the hard drive and deleting files (copy somewhere safe first): https://www.cctvforum.com/topic/8588-dedicated-micros-lost-password/

Even if not, it sounds like that forum is a good place to ask for further help.

Theo

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: University of Cambridge, England (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:58:22 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:00:45 +0000, Davey wrote:

See earlier response re: ssh and telnet. Briefly, "No entry
allowed". I thought, maybe erroneously, that putty was for Windows,
as well as windows.

So what, if any, ports are open? nmap should show you that.

The only other information provided by nmap is:

Host is up (0.0022s latency).
Not shown: 997 closed ports

--
Davey.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 18:47:30 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:58:22 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:00:45 +0000, Davey wrote:

See earlier response re: ssh and telnet. Briefly, "No entry allowed".
I thought, maybe erroneously, that putty was for Windows,
as well as windows.

So what, if any, ports are open? nmap should show you that.

The only other information provided by nmap is:

Host is up (0.0022s latency).
Not shown: 997 closed ports

What scan options did you use? "man nmap" shows all (and gives reasonably readable descriptions of them.

I suppose you DID run nmap from another box on your LAN since its designed
to look on a port on another computer? I usually use "nmap -P0 xxx" where
xxx is the computer's local name on my LAN.



--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:50:30 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 18:47:30 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:58:22 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:00:45 +0000, Davey wrote:

See earlier response re: ssh and telnet. Briefly, "No entry
allowed". I thought, maybe erroneously, that putty was for
Windows, as well as windows.

So what, if any, ports are open? nmap should show you that.

The only other information provided by nmap is:

Host is up (0.0022s latency).
Not shown: 997 closed ports

What scan options did you use? "man nmap" shows all (and gives
reasonably readable descriptions of them.

I suppose you DID run nmap from another box on your LAN since its
designed to look on a port on another computer? I usually use "nmap
-P0 xxx" where xxx is the computer's local name on my LAN.

I ran nmap from my laptop, on the same network. Here is the full
transcript.
~$ nmap -P0 Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611

Starting Nmap 7.60 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2023-12-11 23:49 GMT
Nmap scan report for Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611 (192.168.1.195)
Host is up (0.00064s latency).
rDNS record for 192.168.1.195: Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611.fritz.box
Not shown: 997 closed ports
PORT STATE SERVICE
85/tcp open mit-ml-dev
554/tcp open rtsp
9000/tcp open cslistener

Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.08 seconds

--
Davey.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 23:55:07 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:50:30 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 18:47:30 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:58:22 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:00:45 +0000, Davey wrote:

See earlier response re: ssh and telnet. Briefly, "No entry
allowed". I thought, maybe erroneously, that putty was for
Windows, as well as windows.

So what, if any, ports are open? nmap should show you that.

The only other information provided by nmap is:

Host is up (0.0022s latency).
Not shown: 997 closed ports

What scan options did you use? "man nmap" shows all (and gives
reasonably readable descriptions of them.

I suppose you DID run nmap from another box on your LAN since its
designed to look on a port on another computer? I usually use "nmap -P0
xxx" where xxx is the computer's local name on my LAN.

I ran nmap from my laptop, on the same network. Here is the full
transcript.
~$ nmap -P0 Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611

Starting Nmap 7.60 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2023-12-11 23:49 GMT Nmap
scan report for Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611 (192.168.1.195) Host is up (0.00064s latency).
rDNS record for 192.168.1.195: Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611.fritz.box Not
shown: 997 closed ports PORT STATE SERVICE

Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.08 seconds

An interseting set of ports:

85/tcp open mit-ml-dev - seems to be is a high-level block-based
visual programming language, developed/owned
by MIT
554/tcp open rtsp a Real Time Streaming Protocol, so to
be expected
9000/tcp open cslistener Seems to be something specific to Ubuntu
Linux

Is there any system you know of on your LAN that's running Ubuntu?

Knowing nothing about video streaming applications, that's about as much
as I can suggest. If the above doesn't give your pointers I can only
suggest:

- contacting the source of your gadget and asking for a manual if you
don't have one

- pointing Wireshark, if you have it installed, to see what. if anything
is sent and/or received by your streaming gadget when it's starting up.

- are there any relevant log file entries that you can access on your
streaming device?

- since I see you're using a Fritz-box, you might want to look at its
manual (available by download) to see if it can offer any diagnostic
help.

When trouble shooting a relatively unfamiliar device or application, I
tend to look at logs with less, gedit or vi, since both have good search abilities, and then fire up Wireshark if I suspect it might be a comms problem. .

--

Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Tue, 12 Dec 2023 01:01:08 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

An interseting set of ports:

85/tcp open mit-ml-dev - seems to be is a high-level block-based
visual programming language,
developed/owned by MIT
554/tcp open rtsp a Real Time Streaming Protocol, so to
be expected
9000/tcp open cslistener Seems to be something specific to Ubuntu
Linux

Is there any system you know of on your LAN that's running Ubuntu?

My laptop. My CCTV box, the Dell. Also, two Humax DVRs, which I think
use Linux of some variety.

Knowing nothing about video streaming applications, that's about as
much as I can suggest. If the above doesn't give your pointers I can
only suggest:

- contacting the source of your gadget and asking for a manual if you
don't have one

I always get pointed to the same one, which icnludes a load of
different models, and is of no use at all.

- pointing Wireshark, if you have it installed, to see what. if
anything is sent and/or received by your streaming gadget when it's
starting up.

I have never managed to get Wireshark to give me anything I understand,
which I am sure is my problem, but does not help. What it describes, I
don't see when I fire it up.

- are there any relevant log file entries that you can access on your
streaming device?

- since I see you're using a Fritz-box, you might want to look at its
manual (available by download) to see if it can offer any diagnostic
help.

I might try that, thanks.

--
Davey.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Tue, 12 Dec 2023 01:01:08 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 23:55:07 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:50:30 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 18:47:30 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:58:22 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:00:45 +0000, Davey wrote:

See earlier response re: ssh and telnet. Briefly, "No entry
allowed". I thought, maybe erroneously, that putty was for
Windows, as well as windows.

So what, if any, ports are open? nmap should show you that.

The only other information provided by nmap is:

Host is up (0.0022s latency).
Not shown: 997 closed ports

What scan options did you use? "man nmap" shows all (and gives
reasonably readable descriptions of them.

I suppose you DID run nmap from another box on your LAN since its
designed to look on a port on another computer? I usually use
"nmap -P0 xxx" where xxx is the computer's local name on my LAN.

I ran nmap from my laptop, on the same network. Here is the full transcript.
~$ nmap -P0 Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611

Starting Nmap 7.60 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2023-12-11 23:49 GMT Nmap
scan report for Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611 (192.168.1.195) Host is up (0.00064s latency).
rDNS record for 192.168.1.195: Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611.fritz.box
Not shown: 997 closed ports PORT STATE SERVICE

Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.08 seconds

An interseting set of ports:

85/tcp open mit-ml-dev - seems to be is a high-level block-based
visual programming language,
developed/owned by MIT
554/tcp open rtsp a Real Time Streaming Protocol, so to
be expected
9000/tcp open cslistener Seems to be something specific to Ubuntu
Linux

Is there any system you know of on your LAN that's running Ubuntu?

Knowing nothing about video streaming applications, that's about as
much as I can suggest. If the above doesn't give your pointers I can
only suggest:

- contacting the source of your gadget and asking for a manual if you
don't have one

- pointing Wireshark, if you have it installed, to see what. if
anything is sent and/or received by your streaming gadget when it's
starting up.

- are there any relevant log file entries that you can access on your
streaming device?

- since I see you're using a Fritz-box, you might want to look at its
manual (available by download) to see if it can offer any diagnostic
help.

When trouble shooting a relatively unfamiliar device or application,
I tend to look at logs with less, gedit or vi, since both have good
search abilities, and then fire up Wireshark if I suspect it might be
a comms problem. .

I got Wireshark working, simply a matter of using the command 'sudo
wireshark' instead of using the icon. Easy when you know, not when you
don't.
I performed a re-boot on the Swann. and the only packet recorded was a
simple enquiry:

"SwannCom_ae:36:11/Broadcast/ARP/68/Who has 192.168.1.254? Tell
192.1681.195"

192.168.1.254 is the Fritz!Box, ~~195 is the Swann.
That's all from the CCTV box.

There is a shit-load of stuff going on! But very little Swann.

--
Davey.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On 12/12/2023 10:33, Davey wrote:

On Tue, 12 Dec 2023 01:01:08 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 23:55:07 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:50:30 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 18:47:30 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:58:22 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:00:45 +0000, Davey wrote:

See earlier response re: ssh and telnet. Briefly, "No entry
allowed". I thought, maybe erroneously, that putty was for
Windows, as well as windows.

So what, if any, ports are open? nmap should show you that.

The only other information provided by nmap is:

Host is up (0.0022s latency).
Not shown: 997 closed ports

What scan options did you use? "man nmap" shows all (and gives
reasonably readable descriptions of them.

I suppose you DID run nmap from another box on your LAN since its
designed to look on a port on another computer? I usually use
"nmap -P0 xxx" where xxx is the computer's local name on my LAN.

I ran nmap from my laptop, on the same network. Here is the full
transcript.
~$ nmap -P0 Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611

Starting Nmap 7.60 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2023-12-11 23:49 GMT Nmap
scan report for Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611 (192.168.1.195) Host is up
(0.00064s latency).
rDNS record for 192.168.1.195: Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611.fritz.box
Not shown: 997 closed ports PORT STATE SERVICE

Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.08 seconds

An interseting set of ports:

85/tcp open mit-ml-dev - seems to be is a high-level block-based
visual programming language,
developed/owned by MIT
554/tcp open rtsp a Real Time Streaming Protocol, so to
be expected
9000/tcp open cslistener Seems to be something specific to Ubuntu
Linux

Is there any system you know of on your LAN that's running Ubuntu?

Knowing nothing about video streaming applications, that's about as
much as I can suggest. If the above doesn't give your pointers I can
only suggest:

- contacting the source of your gadget and asking for a manual if you
don't have one

- pointing Wireshark, if you have it installed, to see what. if
anything is sent and/or received by your streaming gadget when it's
starting up.

- are there any relevant log file entries that you can access on your
streaming device?

- since I see you're using a Fritz-box, you might want to look at its
manual (available by download) to see if it can offer any diagnostic
help.

When trouble shooting a relatively unfamiliar device or application,
I tend to look at logs with less, gedit or vi, since both have good
search abilities, and then fire up Wireshark if I suspect it might be
a comms problem. .

I got Wireshark working, simply a matter of using the command 'sudo wireshark' instead of using the icon. Easy when you know, not when you
don't.
I performed a re-boot on the Swann. and the only packet recorded was a
simple enquiry:

"SwannCom_ae:36:11/Broadcast/ARP/68/Who has 192.168.1.254? Tell
192.1681.195"

192.168.1.254 is the Fritz!Box, ~~195 is the Swann.
That's all from the CCTV box.

There is a shit-load of stuff going on! But very little Swann.

For what it is worth, I've been involved in CCTV stuff for a long time,
and if I can be honest with you, Swann is a complete POS that was
heavily sold by Maplin before their eventual demise.

The eaiest thing to is to bin the Swann and start again with a decent
qaulity DVR like Samsung, Distributed Micros, Hikvision or Dahua.

They are much cheaper now than when you originally bought the Swann
(Highly probable!)

S.




--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Tue, 12 Dec 2023 11:02:26 +0000
SH <i.love@spam.com> wrote:

On 12/12/2023 10:33, Davey wrote:

On Tue, 12 Dec 2023 01:01:08 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 23:55:07 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:50:30 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 18:47:30 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:58:22 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:00:45 +0000, Davey wrote:

See earlier response re: ssh and telnet. Briefly, "No entry
allowed". I thought, maybe erroneously, that putty was for
Windows, as well as windows.

So what, if any, ports are open? nmap should show you that.

The only other information provided by nmap is:

Host is up (0.0022s latency).
Not shown: 997 closed ports

What scan options did you use? "man nmap" shows all (and gives
reasonably readable descriptions of them.

I suppose you DID run nmap from another box on your LAN since its
designed to look on a port on another computer? I usually use
"nmap -P0 xxx" where xxx is the computer's local name on my LAN.

I ran nmap from my laptop, on the same network. Here is the full
transcript.
~$ nmap -P0 Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611

Starting Nmap 7.60 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2023-12-11 23:49 GMT
Nmap scan report for Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611 (192.168.1.195)
Host is up (0.00064s latency).
rDNS record for 192.168.1.195: Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611.fritz.box
Not shown: 997 closed ports PORT STATE SERVICE

Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.08 seconds

An interseting set of ports:

85/tcp open mit-ml-dev - seems to be is a high-level
block-based visual programming language,
developed/owned by MIT
554/tcp open rtsp a Real Time Streaming Protocol, so to
be expected
9000/tcp open cslistener Seems to be something specific to
Ubuntu Linux

Is there any system you know of on your LAN that's running Ubuntu?

Knowing nothing about video streaming applications, that's about as
much as I can suggest. If the above doesn't give your pointers I
can only suggest:

- contacting the source of your gadget and asking for a manual if
you don't have one

- pointing Wireshark, if you have it installed, to see what. if
anything is sent and/or received by your streaming gadget when it's
starting up.

- are there any relevant log file entries that you can access on
your streaming device?

- since I see you're using a Fritz-box, you might want to look at
its manual (available by download) to see if it can offer any
diagnostic help.

When trouble shooting a relatively unfamiliar device or
application, I tend to look at logs with less, gedit or vi, since
both have good search abilities, and then fire up Wireshark if I
suspect it might be a comms problem. .

I got Wireshark working, simply a matter of using the command 'sudo wireshark' instead of using the icon. Easy when you know, not when
you don't.
I performed a re-boot on the Swann. and the only packet recorded
was a simple enquiry:

"SwannCom_ae:36:11/Broadcast/ARP/68/Who has 192.168.1.254? Tell 192.1681.195"

192.168.1.254 is the Fritz!Box, ~~195 is the Swann.
That's all from the CCTV box.

There is a shit-load of stuff going on! But very little Swann.

For what it is worth, I've been involved in CCTV stuff for a long
time, and if I can be honest with you, Swann is a complete POS that
was heavily sold by Maplin before their eventual demise.

The eaiest thing to is to bin the Swann and start again with a decent qaulity DVR like Samsung, Distributed Micros, Hikvision or Dahua.

They are much cheaper now than when you originally bought the Swann
(Highly probable!)

S.

I was coming to a similar conclusion, see another post in this thread.
The Swann is doing one job, and it will continue to do that.
Thanks for the recommendations, also. I have personally always had luck
with Samsung products, even though others sometimes complain, they have
done me well. I always wondered if Hikvision might suffer from the
reputed stealth abilities of Huawei surveillance equipment... D.M. and
Dahua I know nothing about, but I will find out.

As nothing so far has enabled me to get into the brain of the Swann, I
think I might just say: Close this thread down.
But I thank everybody who has contributed.

--
Davey.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On 12/12/2023 12:01, Davey wrote:

On Tue, 12 Dec 2023 11:02:26 +0000
SH <i.love@spam.com> wrote:

On 12/12/2023 10:33, Davey wrote:

On Tue, 12 Dec 2023 01:01:08 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 23:55:07 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:50:30 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 18:47:30 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:58:22 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:00:45 +0000, Davey wrote:

See earlier response re: ssh and telnet. Briefly, "No entry
allowed". I thought, maybe erroneously, that putty was for
Windows, as well as windows.

So what, if any, ports are open? nmap should show you that.

The only other information provided by nmap is:

Host is up (0.0022s latency).
Not shown: 997 closed ports

What scan options did you use? "man nmap" shows all (and gives
reasonably readable descriptions of them.

I suppose you DID run nmap from another box on your LAN since its
designed to look on a port on another computer? I usually use
"nmap -P0 xxx" where xxx is the computer's local name on my LAN.

I ran nmap from my laptop, on the same network. Here is the full
transcript.
~$ nmap -P0 Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611

Starting Nmap 7.60 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2023-12-11 23:49 GMT
Nmap scan report for Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611 (192.168.1.195)
Host is up (0.00064s latency).
rDNS record for 192.168.1.195: Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611.fritz.box
Not shown: 997 closed ports PORT STATE SERVICE

Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.08 seconds

An interseting set of ports:

85/tcp open mit-ml-dev - seems to be is a high-level
block-based visual programming language,
developed/owned by MIT
554/tcp open rtsp a Real Time Streaming Protocol, so to
be expected
9000/tcp open cslistener Seems to be something specific to
Ubuntu Linux

Is there any system you know of on your LAN that's running Ubuntu?

Knowing nothing about video streaming applications, that's about as
much as I can suggest. If the above doesn't give your pointers I
can only suggest:

- contacting the source of your gadget and asking for a manual if
you don't have one

- pointing Wireshark, if you have it installed, to see what. if
anything is sent and/or received by your streaming gadget when it's
starting up.

- are there any relevant log file entries that you can access on
your streaming device?

- since I see you're using a Fritz-box, you might want to look at
its manual (available by download) to see if it can offer any
diagnostic help.

When trouble shooting a relatively unfamiliar device or
application, I tend to look at logs with less, gedit or vi, since
both have good search abilities, and then fire up Wireshark if I
suspect it might be a comms problem. .

I got Wireshark working, simply a matter of using the command 'sudo
wireshark' instead of using the icon. Easy when you know, not when
you don't.
I performed a re-boot on the Swann. and the only packet recorded
was a simple enquiry:

"SwannCom_ae:36:11/Broadcast/ARP/68/Who has 192.168.1.254? Tell
192.1681.195"

192.168.1.254 is the Fritz!Box, ~~195 is the Swann.
That's all from the CCTV box.

There is a shit-load of stuff going on! But very little Swann.

For what it is worth, I've been involved in CCTV stuff for a long
time, and if I can be honest with you, Swann is a complete POS that
was heavily sold by Maplin before their eventual demise.

The eaiest thing to is to bin the Swann and start again with a decent
qaulity DVR like Samsung, Distributed Micros, Hikvision or Dahua.

They are much cheaper now than when you originally bought the Swann
(Highly probable!)

S.

I was coming to a similar conclusion, see another post in this thread.
The Swann is doing one job, and it will continue to do that.
Thanks for the recommendations, also. I have personally always had luck
with Samsung products, even though others sometimes complain, they have
done me well. I always wondered if Hikvision might suffer from the
reputed stealth abilities of Huawei surveillance equipment... D.M. and
Dahua I know nothing about, but I will find out.

As nothing so far has enabled me to get into the brain of the Swann, I
think I might just say: Close this thread down.
But I thank everybody who has contributed.

What I do is I set up a wireguard VPN server at home (easily done on a Rasberry Pi.)

Then install the wireguard app on the iphones, ipads and android devices.

You then do a portforwarding rule in the router to forward to a port on
the wireguard server.

DO NOT FORWARD any ports to the DVR.

Then install the CCTV viewer app on the mobile devices.

Connect over VPN and then access the DVR.

however, you will need to get a static IP address for your homebroadband unless you set up NOIP or DynDNS.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

On 12/12/2023 12:01, Davey wrote:

On Tue, 12 Dec 2023 11:02:26 +0000
SH <i.love@spam.com> wrote:

On 12/12/2023 10:33, Davey wrote:

On Tue, 12 Dec 2023 01:01:08 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 23:55:07 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 20:50:30 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 18:47:30 +0000, Davey wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:58:22 -0000 (UTC)
Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

On Mon, 11 Dec 2023 16:00:45 +0000, Davey wrote:

See earlier response re: ssh and telnet. Briefly, "No entry
allowed". I thought, maybe erroneously, that putty was for
Windows, as well as windows.

So what, if any, ports are open? nmap should show you that.

The only other information provided by nmap is:

Host is up (0.0022s latency).
Not shown: 997 closed ports

What scan options did you use? "man nmap" shows all (and gives
reasonably readable descriptions of them.

I suppose you DID run nmap from another box on your LAN since its
designed to look on a port on another computer? I usually use
"nmap -P0 xxx" where xxx is the computer's local name on my LAN.

I ran nmap from my laptop, on the same network. Here is the full
transcript.
~$ nmap -P0 Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611

Starting Nmap 7.60 ( https://nmap.org ) at 2023-12-11 23:49 GMT
Nmap scan report for Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611 (192.168.1.195)
Host is up (0.00064s latency).
rDNS record for 192.168.1.195: Swann-bc51-feff-feae-3611.fritz.box
Not shown: 997 closed ports PORT STATE SERVICE

Nmap done: 1 IP address (1 host up) scanned in 0.08 seconds

An interseting set of ports:

85/tcp open mit-ml-dev - seems to be is a high-level
block-based visual programming language,
developed/owned by MIT
554/tcp open rtsp a Real Time Streaming Protocol, so to
be expected
9000/tcp open cslistener Seems to be something specific to
Ubuntu Linux

Is there any system you know of on your LAN that's running Ubuntu?

Knowing nothing about video streaming applications, that's about as
much as I can suggest. If the above doesn't give your pointers I
can only suggest:

- contacting the source of your gadget and asking for a manual if
you don't have one

- pointing Wireshark, if you have it installed, to see what. if
anything is sent and/or received by your streaming gadget when it's
starting up.

- are there any relevant log file entries that you can access on
your streaming device?

- since I see you're using a Fritz-box, you might want to look at
its manual (available by download) to see if it can offer any
diagnostic help.

When trouble shooting a relatively unfamiliar device or
application, I tend to look at logs with less, gedit or vi, since
both have good search abilities, and then fire up Wireshark if I
suspect it might be a comms problem. .

I got Wireshark working, simply a matter of using the command 'sudo
wireshark' instead of using the icon. Easy when you know, not when
you don't.
I performed a re-boot on the Swann. and the only packet recorded
was a simple enquiry:

"SwannCom_ae:36:11/Broadcast/ARP/68/Who has 192.168.1.254? Tell
192.1681.195"

192.168.1.254 is the Fritz!Box, ~~195 is the Swann.
That's all from the CCTV box.

There is a shit-load of stuff going on! But very little Swann.

For what it is worth, I've been involved in CCTV stuff for a long
time, and if I can be honest with you, Swann is a complete POS that
was heavily sold by Maplin before their eventual demise.

The eaiest thing to is to bin the Swann and start again with a decent
qaulity DVR like Samsung, Distributed Micros, Hikvision or Dahua.

They are much cheaper now than when you originally bought the Swann
(Highly probable!)

S.

I was coming to a similar conclusion, see another post in this thread.
The Swann is doing one job, and it will continue to do that.
Thanks for the recommendations, also. I have personally always had luck
with Samsung products, even though others sometimes complain, they have
done me well. I always wondered if Hikvision might suffer from the
reputed stealth abilities of Huawei surveillance equipment... D.M. and
Dahua I know nothing about, but I will find out.

As nothing so far has enabled me to get into the brain of the Swann, I
think I might just say: Close this thread down.
But I thank everybody who has contributed.

P.S. if you're still using CVBS cams rather than A-HD or CVI or TVI,
there are some Samsung SRD 860 DC on ebay from time to time.....

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)

In uk.comp.os.linux Martin Gregorie <martin@mydomain.invalid> wrote:

An interseting set of ports:

85/tcp open mit-ml-dev - seems to be is a high-level block-based
visual programming language, developed/owned
by MIT
554/tcp open rtsp a Real Time Streaming Protocol, so to
be expected
9000/tcp open cslistener Seems to be something specific to Ubuntu
Linux

Be aware that that interpretion of ports is just from a standard list (/etc/services) and doesn't necessarily correspond to how the ports are used
by a particular device. While RTSP makes sense, I think the other
descriptions are red herrings. From various googling, it appears port 85 is the webserver for the DVR and port 9000 is the 'control' port, for what purposes unspecified.

I'm guessing Davey has already tried the web interface on http://dvr:85/
?

Also to note, while I spotted a potential link with Dedicated Micros
upthread, it's possible this is a red herring too: while it seems DM went
bust in 2016 and were reincarnated it seems their hardware is a bit more enterprise-y (hundreds of cameras, etc) than this unit, which looks to be
more of a small business kind of thing.

Taking the lid off and taking some clear photos of the board would help for
any clues to identify the real manufacturer, since it seems Swann just
rebrand others' hardware. Even if we don't know, the CCTV forum might.

Theo

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: University of Cambridge, England (2:250/1@fidonet)

On Sat, 9 Dec 2023 14:51:47 +0000
Davey <davey@example.invalid> wrote:

I have a two or three year old Swann CCTV system, that lay in its box
for over a year before I started to use it. All seemed well.
There was a period where it was regularly shutdown by powering it off,
which I know is not good. But it still comes back up when re-booted,
to exactly the same display as when it was last shut down, which can
now only be done by powering off.
The problem is, that I cannot get into the Setup menu, which also
allows an orderly shutdown. In theory, you move the cursor to the
bottom left of the screen, a few icons pop up, and you click on the
left-most icon, which brings up the box for entering ID and PW, etc.
But it might take 5 or 6 attempts to get the box to be displayed, and
when it is displayed, the first attempt to enter any character
instantly shuts the box down, and I'm back to square 1.
I have tried plugging in a keyboard and interrupting the boot, but I
have not found the magic combination of keystroke(s) that will
interrupt the boot process.
I have tried Swann Technical support, which is useless even when I can finally get to discuss this with a human being, which is harder than extracting blood out of the proverbial stone. It drives you round in
circles, never remembering anything of what was discussed two minutes
ago. Not a good advert. for AI, more the opposite.
Finally, Swann's chat-bot. responded today with the comment: "Your
device is now too old, technical support is no longer available". I
won't be buying any more of it from them, then.
All I want to do is to, first, be able to interrupt the boot
procedure, and second, go from there to at least see what I can see.
I don't even know if it uses Windows or Linux, but the 'app' that is
supposed to let you interrogate it to find its MAC address is Windows
only. I already know the MAC address, and the rest of the procedure
that the 'app' is supposed to enable again assumes that you have
access to the menu, which I don't.

It was the Trackball that did it.
Some time after installing the system, I had mounted the DVR high up
on a shelf, the only available space, and out of the way. This,
however, meant that the mouse cord was at more than a stretch, so I
bought a Logitech Wireless Trackball, enabling me to control the system
from anywhere convenient. And it worked for everything that I used it
for at the time, which was selecting camera display layout, or
selecting one camera, and even zooming in on any part of the image,
which was not described in the manual. Because it did what I asked of
it, I had no reason to suspect it when later I could not do other
things. Reverting to the original mouse has restored the missing
functions.
A good Christmas present, and information for any other users who might
have similar problems.

--
Davey.


--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8.4 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: A noiseless patient Spider (2:250/1@fidonet)