Swann DVR16-1500 User Manual

16 Channel

Digital Video Recorder

DV R16-1500

INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Before You Begin

FCC Verification

Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna

• Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help

These devices comply with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

These devices may not cause harmful interference, and

These devices must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Important note:

All jurisdictions have specific laws and regulations relating to the use of cameras. Before using any camera for any purpose, it is the buyer’s responsibility to be aware of all applicable laws and regulations that prohibit or limit the use of cameras and to comply with the applicable laws and regulations.

FCC Regulation (for USA): Prohibition against eavesdropping

Except for the operations of law enforcement officers conducted under lawful authority, no person shall use, either directly or indirectly, a device operated pursuant to the provisions of this Part for the purpose of overhearing or recording the private conversations of others unless such use is authorized by all of the parties engaging in the conversation.

WARNING

Modifications not approved by the party responsible for compliance could void user’s authority to operate the equipment.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS

• Make sure product is fixed correctly and stable if fastened in place

• Do not operate if wires and terminals are exposed

• Do not cover vents on the side or back of the DVR and allow adequate space for ventilation

DEFAULT PASSWORD INFORMATION

To ensure your privacy, this DVR supports password protection.

The default, all-access username is ‘admin’, the default password is ‘12345’.

To ensure your ongoing privacy, we strongly recommend setting a password as soon as possible. Choose something that you’ll remember, but that others would be unlikely to guess.

IMPORTANT NOTICE - Do not lose or forget your password. To ensure that your DVR has the best

security possible, password recovery has been designed to be a complicated and time consuming

process. Only a select number of staff at the Swann Technical Support Telephone Helpdesk can

assist. Password retrieval can take several days, which means you will not be able to access your

DVR during this time.

Contents

Introduction

Before You Begin 2

Contents 3

Introduction 5

Basic Setup

Safety Notice 7

Top Panel of the DVR 7

Rear Panel of the DVR 8

Connection Diagram 9

Connecting Additional Devices 10

The Setup Wizard 11

Configuration: Network: UPnP  14

Configuration: Network: More Settings 14

Configuration: Network: DDNS 16

Configuration: Network: NTP 16

Configuration: Network: Email 17

Configuration: Network: General 18

Configuration: Network: PPPoE 19

The Quick Menu  20

The Quick Camera Menu 20

Operating the DVR locally 21

Menu Layout 21

Playback: Normal  29

Playback: Event/Tag  30

Playback: Smart Search 30

Export: Normal/Event 31

Manual: Record 32

HDD: General 33

HDD: Advanced/HDD Detect 33

Record: Schedule 34

Record: Encoding 35

Record: Advanced 36

Record: Holiday 36

Camera Management: OSD (On-Screen Display) 37

Camera Management: Image  38

Camera Management: Motion 39

Motion Detection Area Configuration 41

Camera Management: Privacy Mask 42

Camera Management: Tamper Proof 43

Camera Management: Video Loss 44

Maintenance: System Info 45

Maintenance: Log Information 45

Maintenance: Import/Export 46

Maintenance: Upgrade 46

Maintenance: Default 47

Maintenance: Net Detect 47

Advanced Configuration

Configuration: General 23

Configuration: General: DST Settings 24

Configuration: General: More Settings 24

Configuration: Live View: General 25

Configuration: Live View: View 26

Configuration: Live View: Channel-Zero

Encoding 26

Configuration: Exceptions 27

Configuration: User 28

Reference

Troubleshooting 49

Addendum: Third Party Hardware 50

Warranty Information 51

Helpdesk/Technical Support Details 52

Chapter

Introduction

IntroductionIntroduction

Congratulations on your purchase of this Swann Digital Video Recorder (DVR). You’ve made a fine choice for keeping a watchful eye over your home or business. Let’s take a moment to talk about some of the features this DVR offers, and how to get the most out of them.

Oh my, this is a big manual. How long will this take?

Yes, but you won’t have to read all of it - you should be up and running by page 21!

It can take a few hours to connect everything and run through the setup procedure.

The latter part of this manual is for advanced users only

- the DVR is seriously configurable - the out-of-the-box settings do a great job in 90% of situations, but some users will want to get into the nitty-gritty detail, so that information is presented for those who need it.

Getting the DVR Setup

The default settings will cover most basic installation requirements of the DVR.

To get the most out of your hard drive, we’ve configured the DVR to record only when it detects motion - that way, you won’t fill the hard drive with video of nothing happening.

There are two steps to getting your DVR set up. If you want to use the default settings, you’ll only need to complete steps one and two.

Advanced DVR Configuration

The latter part of this manual covers advanced DVR operations.

This DVR comes with all the professional-grade capabilities you’d expect from a quality Swann product, but many advanced capabilities require detailed setup to function correctly.

If you’re not an advanced user, don’t worry. The out-ofthe-box settings really do work well, and we’d only suggest changing them if you’ve got a really specific plan in mind.

Accessing this DVR from your Smartphone or Tablet

This DVR supports live viewing on your Smartphone or Tablet. We have developed an app called SwannView Plus for the Android and iOS platforms. For Android users, please download the app from Google Play. If you have an Apple device, please go to the Apple App Store. As we are continually improving the documentation that we include with our products, you can find the latest user guide for our app at (www.swann.com).

INTRODUCTION

Before installing anything, connect the DVR and cameras and test your system.

Step 1. Connecting the DVR (page 7 to page 10)

This section details what you can connect to the different inputs/outputs of the DVR.

Everyone’s setup will vary a little bit - it depends on which cameras came with the DVR (if any) and what device(s) you’ve already got.

Step 2. Basic DVR Setup (page 11 to page 21)

The DVR needs a few things to be set properly before it can do its thing. Follow the instructions from page 11 to page 21 to get everything working.

Chapter

Basic Setup

Safety NoticeSafety Notice

• Do not expose the DVR to moisture. Water is the archenemy of electrical components and also poses a high risk of electric shock.

• Avoid dusty locations. Dust has a tendency to build up inside the DVR case, leading to a high risk of failure or even fire.

• Only install the DVR in a well ventilated space. Like all electronics, the circuitry and hard drive in the DVR produce heat, and this heat needs a way out.

• Do not open the DVR case except to install/swap the hard drive inside. There are no user serviceable parts inside.

Top Panel of the DVR

• Do not cut or modify any cable for any reason. Doing so will void your warranty, as well as pose a great risk of fire or electrical shock.

• Do not expose the DVR to sudden bumps or shocks (for example, being dropped). The DVR is as robust as possible, but many of the internal components are quite fragile.

• Remember that the DVR is, in all likelihood, going to be left on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Keep this in mind when choosing a location for installation.

• Never open the case whilst the DVR is plugged in, and never turn the DVR on whilst the case is open.

1) Power LED: Will be lit whenever the DVR is supplied

power and turned on.

2) HDD LED: Will flash whenever the DVR is writing to/

reading from the installed hard drive.

BASIC SETUP

3) LAN LED: Flashes rapidly when the DVR’s network port

is sending or receiving information.

Rear Panel of the DVRRear Panel of the DVR

1) Video Inputs 1 - 16: These are your primary video inputs.

The channels are labelled by number in the same order as they will appear on your DVR’s interface.

2) Video Out: Connect a composite cable to the video or A/V

BASIC SETUP

input on your TV.

3) VGA Output: For connecting a television or PC monitor

with a VGA input.

4) Audio Input: RCA port for audio input. Used to connect

an audio source such as the camera’s built-in microphone.

5) Audio Output: RCA port for audio output. Used to connect

your speaker or headphone.

6) Network Port: Where you can connect the DVR to a

network, typically directly into the router or network switch.

7) USB 2.0 Ports: The supplied mouse connects here. You

can also connect USB external storage devices for backup or for applying new firmware (FAT32 file support only).

8) Power Input: Where you connect the included power

adapter.

Connection Diagram

Connect the BNC outputs from your cameras into the BNC inputs on the rear of the DVR.

Connect the DC 12V Output from the power adapter to the power input.

Connect your cameras to power, using a power splitter (if included).

Connect the power adapter(s) to a wall outlet.

BASIC SETUP

Or you can connect the composite video output to your TV.

You can connect your PC monitor to the VGA output.

Connect an ethernet cable from the LAN port on the DVR to a spare port on your router.

BASIC SETUP

Connecting Additional Devices

The Audio In port can be used to connect audio devices to the DVR. Obviously, your microphone probably won’t look like that one they’re often built into cameras.

The Audio Out port can be used to connect a stereo, speakers, headphones or other external sound device.

Operating the USB Mouse

The controls are pretty easy to remember - heck, there are only two buttons. It couldn’t be simpler.

Left click:

• Selects an item or confirms a choice. Right click:

• Opens the menu bar from the live viewing screen.

• Returns one ‘step’ from a sub-menu.

• Opens a context menu in some settings screens. The Scroll Wheel:

• Can be used to adjust the values of sliders and scales when highlighted by the mouse.

The rear USB 2.0 Ports can be used to connect the provided mouse for navigation and for backing up footage to a USB Flash Drive.

Wireless Mice and Bluetooth devices

Note that Wireless Mice and Bluetooth devices are not compatible with this DVR. Please use the USB optical mouse supplied.

The Setup Wizard

Starting the DVR for the first time:

When you first boot the DVR, it will automatically start ‘The Setup Wizard’ which will guide you through the various setup options available. The wizard contains six quick setup screens which will allow you to choose how you want the DVR to behave. Please be patient as it can take up to 40 seconds for

the wizard to appear after the DVR is turned on.

You’ll be asked to:

• Select a language.

• Set a password for the ADMIN account.

• Configure the time, date and time zone for your location.

• Configure the DVR so it can operate on your network and access (and be accessed from) the Internet.

• Initialize and format your hard drive(s), if required.

Setup Wizard: Language

System Language: Select the language you’d like the menu

system to be displayed in.

Setup Wizard: Wizard

When this check-box is left ticked, the setup wizard will run again the next time the DVR is rebooted or powered on. If you don’t want the wizard to start next time the DVR is turned on, uncheck this box.

To access the wizard once it’s been disabled, open Main Menu > Configuration > General and select Enable Wizard.

BASIC SETUP

The Setup Wizard

Default Password Information

Setup Wizard: Admin Password

For your on-going security and peace of mind, we strongly suggest setting a password for your Admin account. A password can be any combination of numbers (no letters) up to 16 numerals long.

Admin Password: Enter the existing Admin password here. The

default password for the Admin account is 123 45. Don’t enter what you’d like the password to be - that goes in the fields below this one.

New Admin Password (check-box): When checked, the DVR will

accept a new password for the Admin account.

New Password/Confirm: Enter what you’d like the new password

to be in the upper field, and then confirm it in the lower field.

BASIC SETUP

To ensure your privacy, this DVR supports password protection.

The default, all-access username is ‘admin’, the default password is ‘12345’.

To ensure your on-going privacy, we strongly recommend setting a password as soon as

possible. Choose something that you’ll remember, but that others would be unlikely to guess.

IMPORTANT NOTICE - Do not lose or forget your password. To ensure that your DVR has the

best security possible, password recovery has been designed to be a complicated and time

consuming process. Only a select number of staff at the Swann Technical Support Telephone

Helpdesk can assist. Password retrieval can take several days, which means you will not be able

to access your DVR during this time.

Wizard: Time, Date, Location, Live View

It’s important to ensure that your DVR has the correct time and date, as well as the correct time zone set. This is particularly true in a legal context when a mistaken time or date can mean the difference between your security footage being regarded as legitimate evidence or not!

Time Zone: Select your location from the list. The East Coast

of the United States is GMT -05:00 and the West Coast is GMT

-08:00. The UK is at GMT+ 00:00 and the East Coast of Australia

is at GMT +10:00. Remember that these values will be displaced by an hour during

DST (daylight savings time) if that applies in your locale. However, don’t set that here - the DVR supports automatically adjusting the time during DST - see page 24.

Date Format: How you’d like the date to be displayed. For best results, use the standard format for your location (MM-DD-YYYY

for the USA, DD-MM-YYYY for the UK and Australia).

System Date: The current date setting on the DVR. To alter this value, select the small calendar icon. System Time: The current time setting on the DVR. To alter this value, select the small clock icon. Note for NTP Users: Setting the date and time is less important if you’re using NTP (Network Time Protocol) but we still

recommend you set it here first. Just in case.

Live View Mode: 4 x 4 is the default live view mode. This will display up to 16 video channels on-screen at a single time. Selecting

1 x 1 will display the first video channel full-screen - see page 25.

The Setup Wizard

Wizard: Network Settings

NIC Type: What sort of network you’re using. There are a few to

choose from. The vast majority of users will use the default option of 10M/100M/1000M Self-adaptive. If you’re using a network other than this type, chances are you know about that.

Enable DHCP (check-box): Ensure that this is checked unless

you’re specifically running a manually addressed network (sometimes called static IP addressing) or your router doesn’t support DHCP.

IPv4 Address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway: When you’re using DHCP, these values will self-populate. If you’re using a manually addressed network, you’ll need to set these to match the other devices on your network.

To learn more about the Network settings of the DVR - see page

18.

When you have completed the setup wizard, it is very important

to check the settings for UPnP on page 14 and More Settings on page 15. The Server Port (8000) is used to access the DVR

remotely using the SwannView Plus client software on your

computer and the SwannView Plus app on your Smartphone or

Tablet.

Wizard: HDD Management

Here, you can view and initialize the hard drive(s) in the DVR. Typically, there will be only one entry here, the HDD which came with the DVR (if one was included). Each drive will be identified and be listed along with statistics such as Capacity, Status and Free Space.

If you’re booting the DVR for the first time, the HDD should already be initialized or if you’ve just installed a new HDD, then you’ll need to initialize the drive.

Init: Initializes the HDD so that it’s ready to accept data. Warning: Don’t initialize a drive that already has data on it, as the

initialization process will erase any information on the drive.

BASIC SETUP

Now that you have completed the setup wizard, the next step is to make sure that the DVR can communicate with the Internet. This will allow you to use the SwannView Plus app on your Smartphone or Tablet and the SwannView Plus client software on the computer, to monitor events where the DVR is located. We also recommend creating a DNS account via our SwannDNS service and to setup an email account to receive notifications. Follow the instructions from page 14 to page 19 to get everything working.

BASIC SETUP

Communicating with the Internet

Configuration: Network: UPnP

Enable UPnP: UPnP makes configuring your network

easier and faster. To use the UPnP setting on the DVR, you’ll need a router which supports this feature, with UPnP enabled. Note that many routers which do support UPnP do not come with the feature enabled by default. You may need to ask your Internet service provider to turn it on.

When UPnP is enabled on your DVR and your router, the Ports that the DVR requires to be open for access to and from the Internet will automatically be opened and closed as necessary by your router, saving you the trouble of manually forwarding these ports. If UPnP is not enabled, or your router does not support this feature, you’ll need to forward the ports the DVR uses from the router to the DVR - since this is a technically challenging process; we strongly recommend using UPnP if possible.

Mapping Type: We recommend changing this to the Auto

setting.

Edit: Allows you to change the current External Port

number. Make sure that the number used for the External Port

and Internal Port match, otherwise the UPnP function will not work. See page 15 on how to change the internal port numbers.

Mapping IP Address: Will display the public IP address of

the router that the DVR is connected to.

Status: If UPnP is working correctly, you will see Active

displayed. If UPnP is not enabled or you haven’t forwarded the correct port number, the status will be Inactive.

Configuration: Network: More Settings

Alarm Host IP: The location on your network where an IP-

based alarm system is hosted.

Alarm Host Port: The port associated with the IP-based

alarm system.

Server Port: This is the internal port that the DVR will use

to send information through. The most important things are:

• You’ll need to enable UPnP on your router so your router can selectively open these ports, allowing the DVR to communicate via the Internet. If your router doesn’t support UPnP, you have two options. You can either get a new router (which we’d actually recommend - UPnP is such a good feature!) or you can manually forward ports from the router to the DVR. Port forwarding is a technical and involved process, recommended only for the technically inclined.

• The default port number is 8000, which is not used by many other devices/programs. However, particularly if you have another DVR or DVR-like device, something might be using this port already. If this is the case, change this value to be unique.

• You’ll need to know this port value when logging within your network or remotely - so, if you change it, remember what it is!

• Make sure that the number used for the External Port and Internal Port match, otherwise the UPnP function will not work.

HTTP Port: This is the port through which you will be able

to log in to the DVR.

• Like the RTSP port, it will need to be forwarded properly in order to ensure smooth, latency-free communication. The default value is ‘85’, as this port is seldom used by other devices or applications. If there is another device on your network using this port, you’ll need to change it to be unique.

• You’ll need to know this port value when logging within your network or remotely - so, if you change it, remember what it is!

Multicast IP: Multicast IP is a technique for one-to-many

and many-to-many real-time communication over an IP infrastructure in a network. The receiver will receive data from that IP without the need to contact individual devices directly. In most circumstances this option is not required.

RTSP (Real-Time Streaming Protocol) Port: This port is

used to stream real-time images through, and is the port that will be used to communicate with mobile devices. If you are having issues streaming video to your mobile device or your mobile service provider is blocking access, we recommend to change this value to 5554. Do not change this if everything is working ok.

What port number(s) should I use?

If the default port numbers are in use (85 and/or 8000) then the simplest solution is just to keep ‘adding one’ until you find a port which is not in use. So, if 85 is already taken, try 86 or 87.

There is no ‘right’ port number(s) to use - any port number will work provided the DVR is the only device using it. For this reason, avoid using port numbers 80, 81, 82, 88, 90, and 99 as these are often used by other devices/programs/ protocols.

BASIC SETUP

Configuration: Network: DDNS

In much the same way as your home network can use static or dynamic IP addresses, many Internet providers don’t issue (or charge more for) a static IP address for users. The easiest way to find out is to contact your Internet service provider. Alternately, you can access the (www.whatismyip. com) service, make a note of your IP, then reboot your router/ gateway. This should refresh your Internet connection. If your IP address changes, you have a dynamic IP address. If it

BASIC SETUP

stays the same, you may have a static IP - contact your ISP to confirm.

One option is to contact your ISP and request a static IP address. They’ll usually charge a small fee for doing this. It’s worth noting that not all ISPs offer static IP addresses.

If your ISP does not offer static IP addresses then you can use a dynamic referencing service. We provide one free of charge.

Static and Dynamic IP Addresses

How do I deal with a dynamic IP address?

We recommend using SwannDNS as your DNS service. This is a free service for Swann DVR/NVR owners, which we directly support.

To create an account with SwannDNS, go to the following: (www.swanndvr.com) and click the ‘Registration’ button. Follow the prompts to create your account.

DDNS Type: SwannDNS is automatically selected as the DNS

service (www.swanndvr.net).

Device Domain Name: Enter the host name that you set up in

your DDNS service. This is the address you use to access your network. For example: (yourhostname.swanndvr.net).

Username/Password/Confirm: Enter the username and

password you setup with your DDNS server. These do not have to match your username/password combination in either your DVR or router (for the sake of security, we suggest making them different). Confirm your password in the field provided.

For SwannDNS users: Your username is the email address

you used to register the account. The password is whatever you selected when you registered.

Configuration: Network: NTP

NTP (Network Time Protocol): If you’ve got the DVR connected

to the Internet, you can have it automatically sync time with an online server.

If you’re using NTP, then it is essential that your Time Zone (see page 23) and DST (daylight savings time - see page 24) be set correctly.

Interval (min): The amount of time in minutes that will

elapse between the DVR updating its internal clock to match that of the NTP server. The default period of 60 minutes is recommended.

NTP Server: The server you’d like to use for NTP. There are

many available online - the default (pool.ntp.org) works just fine.

NTP Port: The port used by the NTP server of your choice. The

default for pool.ntp.org is 123.

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