It’s a common question: Do Uniview cameras work properly with Hikvision recorders? Do Uniview cameras show up the live picture when connected to a Hikvision NVR?
The answer is YES, Uniview cameras work and is compatible with Hikvision recorders. However, there are some steps and settings that need to be done when hooking up UNV cameras to a Hikvision (Logo or OEM) recorder. In this guide, we will demonstrate how you can do such a procedure.
How to Add a Uniview Camera to a Hikvision recorder
Have these items ready before starting:
- A laptop/computer with an available Ethernet port.
- Ethernet cables
- A Uniview camera and Hikvision PoE NVR (with known credentials).
The setup:
Connect the Unview camera using the Ethernet cable to one of the PoE ports at the back of the NVR. Also, plug your laptop into another PoE port on the same NVR.
So, both the camera and the laptop are plugged in (connected) at the PoE ports of the recorder.
Next, follow the steps listed below one by one and you should be able to connect the camera to the NVR in no time.
Find the NVR’s internal IP address
In this step, we need to find out what’s the internal IP address of the PoE switch and then set an IP address of the same format for the UNV camera.
Login to the Hikvision NVR and then navigate to Configuration > System > Camera Management and select the IP Channel.
Note the IP address that shows up over there. In our case, the IP address is 192.168.254.2 (actually, this is the default IP address for all Hikvision PoE NVRs).
The IP address of the Uniview camera should be on the same segment/format as the noted IP address.
In this demonstration, we plugged the UNV camera into the first PoE port of the NVR. The Camera status on the Hikvision NVR menu is shown as “Offline(Detecting)” on D1 (which is the first channel). This message means that the camera is offline and the recorder is trying to detect it.
Set the IP address on Uniview Camera
Now that we know the NVR’s IP address, we need to find and modify the IP address of the UNV camera. This IP address should be the same segment as the NVR’s, and set to static as well.
You can use the EZTools software (download it here) to detect the camera and then modify the IP address accordingly. Basically, this software gets installed on your laptop and then it will show the camera connected to the NVR (where the laptop is plugged in too).
Run the EZTools and the Uniview camera will be listed there. In this example, the original camera’s IP address is 192.168.1.15. Tick the box beside the camera and then click Modify IP from the menu.
Let’s set a new IP address which should be the same format as the PoE switch at the back of the NVR. That being said, let’s set the camera to 192.168.254.2 (which matches the IP segment of the PoE which is 192.168.254.1).
The subnet mask and the gateway will get filled out automatically. Save the changes and now the camera has a new IP address.
Note: If you get an error (such as “Failed), you need to change the IP address to match that of the camera. For example, if the camera’s IP address is 192.168.254.2, then set the laptop to 192.168.254.5.
This way the devices can communicate. (To change the IP address of the laptop, go to Network Connection, right-click over your connection, Properties > TCP/IPv4, and set a static IP address. You may leave the subnet mask and the rest empty).
On the EZTools, select the camera shown on the click (by ticking the box), and then select Modify IP. Another window will show up. Set the new IP address (in our example, 192.168.254.2), let the rest of the settings auto-populate, and then hit OK to save the new IP address (as shown in the screenshot below).
Now the UNV camera has an IP address that matches the IP address of the built-in PoE switch in the Hikvision NVR.
Add Uniview camera in the Hikvision NVR via ONVIF
At this step, we have both the camera and the PoE of the NVR on the same IP format which means that we can communicate with each other. Now we can add the camera to the NVR via the ONVIF protocol.
Login to your Hikvision NVR and navigate to Configuration > System> Camera Management > IP Channel and select the empty channel where the camera is plugged in (in this example, it’s D1). Click the Edit button.
A window will pop out with a bunch of settings that need to be filled out. Set the Adding Method to Manual. Then you need to fill out the information specifically for the camera.
- IP Address: This is the IP address of the UNV camera. In our case: 192.168.264.2
- Protocol: Use the ONVIF protocol which is supported by both Hikvision and Uniview.
- Management Port: This is the default HTTP which is 80 (unless previously changed by the user).
- Channel Port: Use 1. It’s supposed to add multiple feeds from cameras with multi sensors (such as panoramic cameras).
- User Name: The username of the camera, which is “admin”
- Password: The camera’s password
- Confirm: Re-type the password again.
- Transfer Protocol: Set it to Auto.
- Adding Method: This one is Manual; otherwise the settings will be grayed out.
Once the settings are entered, hit OK to save the settings. If everything is correct, the camera will show up online after 1-2 minutes. Also, the status will change from “Offline(Detecting)” to “Online”. (As shown in the screenshot below).
Common Errors
Usually, the Unview camera will show up right away if the settings and the information are correct. However, sometimes the video feed may fail or other issues may appear. Some of them are listed below accompanied with the respective troubleshooting procedure.
Offline(Parameter Error)
If you see this message, it means one of the camera settings is not compatible with the Hikvision NVR. Usually, this can be fixed by lowering the resolution of the Uniview camera; or by setting the encoding to H.264.
Offline (Network Abnormal)
If you get this error message in the Status bar, it means that the NVR is not able to communicate with the camera.
You have to check the network settings and ensure that both the PoE NVR and the camera are on the camera network (using the same IP range).
In other words, if the NVR’s internal IP address is 192.168.254.XX, then the camera should be in the format 192.168.254.XX (where XX is a number from 2 to 254).
Works on Main Stream, but shows a black screen in Sub Stream
Another issue is that the camera’s feed shows up on the mainstream only, but there’s no picture on the sub-stream.
You can either try to lower the substream settings such as the frame rate, bitrate or type or you can restore the Uniview camera to the default settings and then re-setup again.
Compatibility issues
If you see compatibility error messages, it means that the Uniview camera and the recorder are not up-to-date. You need to update the camera and the recorder to the latest firmware version.
Make sure the firmware is the right one otherwise you may brick the units. Simply contact the respective seller or the manufacturer, provide the unit’s model number and they’ll send the firmware.
Conclusion
Connecting an Unview camera to a Hikvision NVR is easy and all you have to do is follow the procedure shown here.
The most important thing is to connect the camera and the laptop to the back of the NVR (into the built-in PoE switch), and then modify the camera’s IP address to match that of the NVR.
The camera communicates with the NVR via ONVIF protocol and should work smoothly as long as the settings are correct and the units updated to the latest firmware.
