Can someone help me with a DVR and router question?

Tardy turtle needs help.



So I want to buy this camera/DVR bundle.

It apparently needs to be hardwired to my router (to view remotely over the interwebz), which would be inconvenient and a pain in the ass to do without looking like doodies.

I want the DVR in the garage, any ideas how I can hook the thing up wirelessly to internet access? Can I use a repeater or another router or something plugged into it? I'm having a hard time phrasing the question and subsequently Googling it.

a reply to: Domo1

Why not just run a cat5e cable to the router via attic access. Also some DVRs have wifi capability if yours does not, then It must be hard wired

a reply to: Domo1

The only way I see you doing this, is getting a repeater, connect it to your current router wirelessly, then hardwiring from the repeater/extender to the dvr. You will need to open up the ports on your router to view it on the interwebs, hopefully it tells you what ports to open, and how to log into the dvr from your home network to set it up (as in setting motion, when to record, how long, and all that jazz) I have set up a few dvrs in my time any other questions feel free to ask!

a reply to: Domo1

If your DVR only takes ethernet, AND connects directly to the internet, you have possibly two options. 1 Buy a long cable, over 25 ft of Cat6 can degrade quality. This will give you the faster speeds. 2 Get a WiFi Extender that will act as a ethernet hub and set it up to your WiFi. Read instructions... NOTE: Just because there is an ethernet plug in your DVR doesn't always mean it'll connect. A lot of companies use this to program the Firmware which is encrypted and proprietary.

originally posted by: TechniXcality
a reply to: Domo1

Why not just run a cat5e cable to the router via attic access. Also some DVRs have wifi capability if yours does not, then It must be hard wired

I'm guessing he doesn't want to run a cable all the way to it, only downside to that is it kills the bandwidth doing it with an extender

a reply to: IridescentPhoenix

Last one I set up for a friend was a super cheap one, no instructions, had to call the company in California to get port numbers, then got it working, but couldn't access on cell phone with generic cam viewer app, called back, and had to open another port and change some settings in the dvr....I'm used to nice and professional geovision camera cards with a pc and actual instructions

Sorry for so many replies, I get excited when I actually know a lot about something that somebody needs help with lol

a reply to: TechniXcality

Laziness. My router is in the living room, behind the TV. I'd have to run the wire in the wall to not look like poo, and I don't know how. I suppose I could figure it out. Don't underestimate the laziness my friend.

That and spiders. Bitey spiders live in my attic. If I pop my head up there they all charge me, tell me I'm in the wrong neighborhood and use salty language.

a reply to: neomaximus10

repeater/extender to the dvr

Are they the same person? I sort of thought they might be.

My understanding is that the DVR has the software to set everything else up pretty easily.

Thanks for the help and the offer for more!

a reply to: Domo1

You're going to have to run cables for the cameras, why not suck it up and run the cat5 for the ethernet connection? If you can't do that for some reason, there's a lot of wireless "media bridges" these days for $20-$30.

a reply to: IridescentPhoenix

I know it connects, at least that's what they claim. Man it's probably going to have to be longer than 25ft. You really think that will be an issue?

originally posted by: theantediluvian
a reply to: Domo1

You're going to have to run cables for the cameras, why not suck it up and run the cat5 for the ethernet connection? If you can't do that for some reason, there's a lot of wireless "media bridges" these days for $20-$30.

So what I want to monitor is easily achieved by mounting to the garage, and drilling a few holes for the cables. The problem with running the cat5 from the router is that I would have to somehow snake it through the wall, into the attack, and then through the garage to the DVR so it wouldn't look like crap. I JUST finished the living room (ripped out a terrible cedar wall and replaced with drywall) and want to avoid having to deal with walls for awhile.

Completely agree with sucking it up and running another cable, but I don't know how.

Appreciate the help, if I could get away with just using a "media bridge" that would make things a lot easier.

a reply to: neomaximus10

Sorry for so many replies, I get excited when I actually know a lot about something that somebody needs help with lol

You're awesome! I know the feeling, though it's pretty rare for me.

a reply to: Domo1

I'm assuming you have some sort of "home gateway" provided by your ISP like a lot of people do these days? It's not likely going to offer much in the way of options. You could get a couple of cheap APs and do something like WDS bridging between those or as I mentioned above, these would be a simple option most likely if you're looking for minimal effort:

Netgear WNCE3001 Universal WiFi Adapter or this EnGenius ETA1305 Wireless N300 IoT Media Bridge/Access Point with Built-in 5-Port Gigabit Switch.

I haven't used one but they're marketed for use connecting Ethernet capable dvd/blu-ray players/smart TVs/etc to the wireless network so I'm guessing they're going to have a pretty dead simple setup.

a reply to: Domo1

Why don't you just look around for a cheap router. A sure bet is a linksys wrt54g. I have two spares and use them often for things. You can load this router with dd-wrt and that's all you need. You can find them on Craigslist all the time for anywhere between $10-20.

The firmware being used would allow you to set this router up as a client bridge. Then just plug your DVR into this router and it connects to your main router.

a reply to: Domo1

Do you have a crawl space? I ran all my cables under the floor. Drilled a couple of holes behind the TV, just big enough to pass the cables through and that beats the hell outta running them through the attic and having to fish them down the wall. If you have a crawl that ends in a block wall at the garage, get a masonry bit and pop a hole through the block.

to run wires in your wall....you need fishtape. Its a stiff wire on a reel that youcan use to fish wires down a wall. You do this by crawling past the bitey spiders (give them a pimp slap if they get salty...you may have to use a slipper) and finding the wall. Just look around and use common sense. A friend down below to ridicule you helps give you direction on where to crawl towards.

But look up "how to fish wires from the attic" and i bet you will find instructions. Not that you want to brave the bitey spiders...but at least you know how.

Any chance you can run the CAT5 outside? It's easier to drill a hole to outside than it is to fish the wire through the wall, especially walls with cross members and or insulation.

I would just drill a low hole in the wall near the floor, run the CAT5 outside. And depending on your layout, you could either run it outside directly to the garage and back in, or just run it straight up and drill another hole back into your attic, then run it through the attic, and drop down into the garage.

Either way, you're going to want to hard wire the video, because wireless sucks, and interference sucks, and your remote video watching experience will surely suffer. Especially with 4 camera feeds going at once. WiFi is not good with high bandwidth.

a reply to: Domo1

I'm curious as to why the garage....of all places????

originally posted by: IncognitoGhostman
a reply to: Domo1

Why don't you just look around for a cheap router. A sure bet is a linksys wrt54g. I have two spares and use them often for things. You can load this router with dd-wrt and that's all you need. You can find them on Craigslist all the time for anywhere between $10-20.

The firmware being used would allow you to set this router up as a client bridge. Then just plug your DVR into this router and it connects to your main router.

This is the setup I currently use, wrt54g with ddrt firmware, with a wireless extender (wap3205 zyxel extender). I actually get really good speeds with the extender. You will have to manually log into the dvr system through your network, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to plug the dvr into your router first.
Go through and configure your dvr the way you want it, make sure your port numbers are set how you want it, create your administration account on the dvr so you can access it over the internet, and get a good flow/understanding of the dvr.
I would do that before setting the extender up, that way when you get your extender set up and running, all you have to do is plug in the dvr and you are food to go.
Feel free to pm me if u need any help or have any questions.

originally posted by: IncognitoGhostman
a reply to: Domo1

Why don't you just look around for a cheap router. A sure bet is a linksys wrt54g. I have two spares and use them often for things. You can load this router with dd-wrt and that's all you need. You can find them on Craigslist all the time for anywhere between $10-20.

The firmware being used would allow you to set this router up as a client bridge. Then just plug your DVR into this router and it connects to your main router.

That's the configuration I used when I needed to connect a hardwired network in an outside building to the router inside the house. Performance wasn't bad.

Most of the time the bottleneck with Internet speed is at the router's connection to the ISP cable plant. Unless you have Google Fiber or other high speed fiber connection.

-dex