Recording Wi-Fi cameras.
Wireless cameras are quick to put up and that is genuinely useful. The two things to know before you buy are whether the model will talk to anything but its own app, and how it behaves when the signal is marginal.
A wireless camera is only usable with PC software if it offers ONVIF or RTSP. Plenty of consumer Wi-Fi cameras deliberately do not — they are designed to work solely through the manufacturer's app and service. The specification page or the manual will say, and it is the single most important thing to check.
Mains-powered Wi-Fi cameras usually do. Battery models usually do not, and are not built for continuous recording anyway — see battery cameras.
- Check signal at the cameraNot at the router. A camera at the edge of coverage will drop out repeatedly and the recording will have holes in it.
- Use the sub streamA lighter stream is far more tolerant of a marginal link than the full-resolution one.
- Reserve the addressA camera whose address keeps changing keeps disappearing. Use a DHCP reservation or a static address.
- Mind the 2.4 GHz crowdMost cameras are 2.4 GHz, which is where every other device is. 5 GHz has more room but less range.
- Wire it if you ever canEven a short cable run to a PoE switch removes an entire class of problem — see PoE cameras.
Press scan and VISEC lists the ONVIF cameras it can see. A camera the scan misses can be added by stream address. Wireless makes no difference to how it is added, only to how reliably the stream arrives.
Quick answers.
Will my Wi-Fi camera work with VISEC?
If it offers ONVIF or RTSP, yes. If it only works through its maker's app, no third-party software can read it — check the specification before buying.
Why does the recording have gaps?
Almost always signal. Check it at the camera, try the sub stream, and see cameras that keep disconnecting.
Is wireless less secure?
The stream is on your own network either way. What matters is a strong camera password and not exposing cameras to the internet.
Find out on one camera, free.
The free license is the complete program — recording, alerts, plate recognition, QR reading and access control. It does not expire.