Many people ask how to view an IP security camera on their Roku TV. It’s very convenient to watch your security camera via the Roku stick. Just switch the channel via the remote control and there it is, your camera on the screen.
Depending on your security camera model, it might be possible with a few tricks to stream the video to your Roku TV. Roku supports third-party apps (known as “channels) that will allow you to connect IP cameras through your local network.
In this article, we will show how to connect and view an IP camera on Roku TV. It’s very easy and it can be set up in under 10 minutes. Just follow the steps one by one and you can check the cameras like you would change the TV channel.
The instructions are applicable to any IP camera regardless of the brand name, the logic is the same. Although, for this demonstration, we will use a Hikvision camera.
How to View Security Camera on Roku
To view the IP camera on your Roku devices, you need to install an app on the devices and then add the camera there via the network.
There are many available apps that do the same function, but the one we will use is called IP Camera Viewer developed by Ioan Ghip.
This app comes in both free and paid versions. The Basic version works with a single camera only. The Pro version supports multiple cameras that all can be displayed on the screen. You can even use the live feed as a screen saver when Roku is on idle mode.
If you intend to display multiple cameras, we’d suggest trying the free version of IP Camera Viewer to make sure that it works fine with your cameras. So, test out one camera before purchasing the Pro version Here are some features of this app.
For this guide, we are using the Roku streaming stick, but it will work the same even if you have a Roku TV (a third-party TV that runs on Roku).
Install the IP Camera Viewer app
The first thing you need to do is install the IP Camera Viewer Basic on the Roku device. Roku is like an “operating system” and you can install various apps on it.
Open up the Search Menu on Roku and type “IP Camera Viewer”. You need to add the app as a channel. The screenshot below shows the app installed on our TV.
Which cameras work with the IP Camera Viewer app?
Not all cameras work with this app, only the real security cameras are compatible with this app. When we say real, we mean cameras that support the international standard protocols such as ONVIF or RTSP.
So, if your IP supports these two protocols, then it will work with the app and you should be able to view it on the Roku TV. Moreover, the app supports motion detection and even PTZ functions
The app works by sending commands to the camera and then pulling the video feed accordingly. If the camera doesn’t support these commands, then you can’t add them to the app.
According to the IP Camera Viewer developer, these brands work with the app:
- Axis
- ADT
- Airlink
- Amcrest
- Blue Iris
- Bosch
- Canon
- Uniview
- Wanscam
- Dahua
- DLink Cameras
- Fitvision
- Foscam
- Geovision
- Hikvision (and OEMs)
- IP Webcam
- Trendnet
- Toshiba
- Linksys
- Loftek
- LTS
- Panasonic
- Reolink
- Samsung
- Sony
- SunEyes
Not all the cameras are listed above. Your camera should work as long as it supports ONVIF and the RTSP mode. If you don’t know if your camera supports such functions, then you can:
- Google the model and check the spec sheet to find out if these protocols are supported.
- Contact the seller/manufacturer.
- Use the Onvif Device Manager on your laptop to see if it’s detected.
- Try it on the IP Camera Viewer app (on Roku) and most likely the app will find the RTSP address automatically.
What cameras are NOT supported by IP Camera Viewer?
Any camera that doesn’t support ONVIF or RTSP protocol cannot work with this app. For example cameras such as Wyze Cam, Yi Home, Ring, or other cameras that come ready to work with their native apps or are designed specifically for Google Home or Alexa.
So, if the cameras are not designed to work with third-party apps, then most likely won’t work with this Roku app. We’d suggest checking the specs and see if it says somewhere ONVIF compatible.
How to Add an IP security camera to the Roku device
Once you know that your camera is supported, it’s time to add it to the Roku device via the IP Camera Viewer app. We will add some popular brands such as Hikvision, Dahua, Samsung, and Axis.
Add Hikvision camera to Roku TV
By default the ONVIF mode is disabled on Hikvision cameras, so you need to enable it manually before adding the camera to Roku. In most of the other brands of IP cameras the ONVIF protocol mode is already enabled and ready to go (just not on Hikvision).
Access the Hikvision camera via the web browser. Type the IP address on the URL bar (click here if you don’t know the IP address), then enter the username and password. Navigate to Configuration > Network > Advanced Settings > Integration Protocol and tick Enable ONVIF and Enable Hikvision C-GI.
Here you need to change the authentication mode to “digest/basic”, as shown on the screenshot below. Also, some Hikvision cameras require a separate account for the ONVIF user. So, click “Add” (shown by the red arrow) and create an Administrator account.
Save the settings. This is the information that you need to gather before adding the camera to the Roku channel:
- Camera’s IP address: 192.168.1.100
- TCP port number: Usually it’s 80. If not, you can check on the camera’s settings
- Camera’s username: admin
- Camera’s password: admin1289 (this should be your password, this one for our testing camera)
- The Streaming URL: /Streaming/channels/102/httppreview (this is for Hikvision cameras)
In the next step, you need to add these settings on the Roku (to the IP Camera View app). Check the screenshot to see how we’ve added the settings. Once you do so, there are two ways for the Stream URL.
If you don’t know the Stream URL, you can click the ONVIF Auto Config button and let the app try to find the camera automatically. If it’s gonna be found, the Stream URL will be auto-filled. Unfortunately, it doesn’t detect anything for Hikvision devices.
After that, you can use the Scan functions to see what happens. So, click “Scan” and wait for the app to test out all the Stream URLs in its database.
This may take a few minutes. In this case (as seen below) the app found the streaming address (the Stream URL will be auto-filled).
If for some reason it doesn’t find anything even after “Scan”, then you can add the Stream URL manually. For Hikvision should be: /Streaming/channels/102/httppreview?
Next, click the “Test Camera Config” and a few seconds later you should see the live feed of your camera on the Roku TV. Congratulations, well one! Click another time and the picture should be full screen.
These settings are valid for Hikvision OEM cameras, often sold under other brand names such as 3xLogic, ABUS, Acegear, Activecam, ADJ, Advidia, Alarm.com, Alibi, Allnet, Alula, Anaveo, Annke, Arcdyn, Armix, Aukoo Technology, Aventura Technologies, Avue, Cantek, CCTVStar, ClearWay, Covert Security, Dax Networks, DMP, Dodwell BMS, DSS, Dunlop, DVR Unlimited, Ellipse Security, Epcom, Esypop, Ezviz, Gess Technologies, Global Network Security, GovComm, Grundig, GVS Security, Hinovision, Hitachi, Hitosino, Honeywell, Hunt CCTV, Hyundai Security, Infinite Pixels, Inkovideo, Innekt, Interlogix, Invidtech, JFL, Jlinks, LaView, LTS, Mercury Security, MicroView, Nelly’s Security, Norelco SafeCam, Northern Cameras, Novicam, NTT, Oculur, Onix. Power Technology, Protect Group, Raster, Remark Thermal, RVi, Safety Vision, Safire, Scati, SecurityTronix, Sentry CCTV, Sharp, Siqura, Smart CT Solutions, SnapAV / Luma, Space Technology, Syscom, Technomate, Toshiba, Trendnet, Vantage Security, Vezco CCTV, Videoteknika, Winic CCTV, Zicom.
Adding a Dahua camera to Roku
Follow the same steps as above. Open up the IP Camera Viewer on Roku and click “Add New Camera”, then on the next window fill out the information. From our testing, Roku is actually able to detect the Dahua camera by itself.
So, add the information and then click “Scan”, wait a few seconds until the app finds the settings for your camera.
Some things to keep in mind about Dahua settings in this app:
- TCP Port: This can be either the HTTP, TCP, or RSTP Port. If one doesn’t work, try 80, 37777, 554, or your port number (if you have modified them).
- Login: This could be the credentials to log in to the Dahua camera or the ONVIF credentials.
- Password: This could be the credentials to log in to the Dahua camera or the ONVIF credentials. Some newer Dahua devices need to have the ONVIF enabled on the settings.
- Stream URL: If it’s not filled out automatically, you can add it manually as follows: rtsp://192.168.2.128:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=0&unicast=true&proto=Onvif (you need to replace it with your own IP address and port).
These settings are valid for Dahua OEM cameras, often sold under other brand names such as Activecam, Advidia, Amcrest, Ameta, Ascendent, Backstreet Surveillance, BV Security, CCTV Security Pros, CCTV Star, CP Plus (Orange Line), Dax Networks, eLine, ENS (formerly Eastern CCTV and SavvyTech), Expose, Lorex, GSS, Honeywell, IC Realtime, Ikegami, Impath Networks, Inaxsys, IndigoVision, Infinity CCTV, Innekt, Intelbras, KBVision, Lumixen, Maxron, Montavue, Oco, Optiview, Rhodium, RVI, Saxco, Security Camera King (Elite), Space Technology, Speco, ToughDog, Tyco Holis, Tyco Illustra Essentials, Unisight, VIP Vision, Watchnet, Winic, Zuum.
Adding a Samsung camera to Roku
Adding a Samsung IP camera to a Roku device or TV follows the same logic as the ones shown in the previous examples.
You can either have Roku try to detect the IP address (by clicking Discover) or add it manually.
If you click “Scan”, the app will try to add the Stream URL automatically.
If it doesn’t, you can add it manually by clicking “Edit Stream URL” and typing this address (valid for Samsung cameras): /cgi-bin/video/cgi?msubmenu=jpg
Adding an Axis camera to Roku
To add an Axis camera go to the main menu of the app, select the “Add New Camera…” option. Next, name your camera, then fill in all the information for your IP camera.
In the “Stream URL” field enter the link specific for your camera for streaming MJPEG (Motion-JPEG). If your camera doesn’t support MJPEG streaming, you can erase the value in this field and leave it blank.
For example, if your link for accessing the MJPEG stream is: http://192.168.1.70:8080/axis-cgi/mjpg/video.cgi?.
So in this field, you need to enter only this part after the IP and Port: /axis-cgi/mjpg/video.cgi?. Additionally, you may try the “Scan” button to let the app add the camera automatically.
Conclusion
As we showed here, it’s not that difficult to add a security camera on your Roku device which enables you to see the camera on the TV just by switching the channels. There are some steps that you need to follow, but it’s totally doable.
The guide shows how to add the most popular cameras in the market including Hikvision Dahua, Axis, and Samsung. Technically, you can add any camera that supports ONVIF and RTSP Streaming services. If you don’t know the RTSP streaming URL, the app (IP Camera Viewer) will help you auto-configure it.
The free version of the app allows one camera only. First, try your camera to see if it works with this app. If it works smoothly and you’re happy with it, you can purchase the Pro Version that allows you to add more cameras.
The paid app also offers the option of splitting the video feed from multiple camera inputs. You can view up to four feeds at a time. Even the PTZ functions may work with this app.
Lastly, if you need more cameras, you can install a whole IP security camera system that will make your home or business safer. If you have any questions, let us know in the comment box below.