I’m Trying to Use a USB to Ethernet Adapter for an NVR and DVR Whose LAN Ports Are Broken — Will That Work?

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USB to Ethernet Adapter for NVR and DVR

A while back, I brought a HiLook DVR home from work with a damaged LAN port. Because the LAN port was damaged, I couldn’t connect the DVR to the internet or to my phone via the HiLookVision app. Since the LAN port was damaged, I wondered if I could connect the DVR to the internet using one of its USB ports. HiLook DVRs typically come equipped with two USB ports.

This post contains my personal documentation of my attempt to use the USB port on the DVR to connect to the internet from the router using a USB to Ethernet adapter.

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I Customized the EZVIZ Camera’s Alarm Sound with My Own Voice — The Results are Great!

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Setting Up an EZVIZ Camera Alarm Using Your Own Voice

I wanted to set my EZVIZ camera’s alarm sound to my own voice. Honestly, I’m getting tired of security cameras that all use the same old beeps and sirens. I wanted something that would let me customize the alarm with my own voice. After looking around, I finally found the EZVIZ H6c Pro. It’s one of the newer camera models that lets you customize the alarm sound with your own voice. And the best part? It’s pretty affordable too, at just $34.03.

In this article, I’ll explain how to set up an alarm on the EZVIZ H6c Pro camera using my own voice.

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Do Tapo Cameras Have Ethernet Ports? Here’s a List of Tapo Cameras With Ethernet Ports — Two Connections Mode — Wired and Wireless

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Tapo Cameras with RJ45 Port

Many people have asked me which TAPO camera models support an Ethernet port. TAPO does not specify in detail on its website which camera models support only Wi-Fi and which ones are equipped with an Ethernet port. New users will find this information by clicking on a camera model on the website to view its details. Those who ask me which TAPO camera models come with an Ethernet port usually plan to connect their TAPO cameras to an NVR or DVR.

Instead of having to look up the specifications for each camera individually, I’ve compiled a list of TAPO camera models that come equipped with an Ethernet port.

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11 Best Fisheye Security Cameras for Home and Commercial Use — There Are Prices Under $50

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Best Fisheye Security Cameras

If you install a traditional fixed camera in a large room, there will usually be some areas that the camera can’t see. The corners of the room, especially the area directly underneath the camera, may be out of view. Rooms with partial walls or partitions can also create blind spots. If you want to monitor the entire room without leaving any blind spots, you can consider using a security camera with a fisheye lens. These cameras are designed to provide a much wider field of view, allowing you to cover a large area with a single camera.

In this article, I’ll share a list of the best fisheye camera brands you can consider for monitoring your entire room and covering those hard-to-see corners.

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Hik-Central Lite Doesn’t Support Mac — Here’s How I Installed & Ran the Hik-Central Lite Software on My Mac

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Installing HikCentral Lite on a Mac

How to Download and Install HikCentral Lite on a Mac — As I mentioned earlier, it’s pretty rare to find security camera software that supports Mac. HikCentral is one of them, whether you’re using the Pro or Lite version. Hikvision, the developer of HikCentral, only provides HikCentral Lite for Windows users. So, if you’re using a Hikvision camera and want to connect it to your laptop, you’ll need to look for an alternative software solution.

In this article, I’ll show you how I got HikCentral Lite running on an unsupported device—my Mac.

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Introducing HikGrid, Hikvision’s Camera Monitoring Software Exclusively for Mac —Free Trial Available

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HikGrid Hikvision Camera Monitoring Software Designed for Mac

HikGrid provides an alternative solution for monitoring Hikvision cameras from a Mac.

Hikvision’s support for Mac devices feels somewhat limited. Many Hikvision software applications are not fully compatible with macOS. One example is iVMS-4200. Although it can still run on Mac, its features are significantly more limited compared to the Windows version. The same goes for Hik-Central Lite, which is also not supported on Mac devices.

In this article, I’ll introduce HikGrid and show you how to download, install, and use it on my Mac.

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Hik-Connect 7.0 App — How to Set Up and Create Team Mode in Hik-Connect to Use the AI Features

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How to Register for Hik-Connect Team Mode

Hikvision has just launched Hik-Connect 7.0, the latest app for Hikvision security camera systems. With Hik-Connect 7, Hikvision has introduced three new AI features: AI Guardian, AI Search, and AI Assistant.

All three features are available in the latest version of the app. However, not all of them can be accessed directly in Hik-Connect 7 End User mode. Some AI features are only available in Hik-Connect 7 Team Mode. To access the full set of AI features in Hik-Connect 7, users need to register and use a Team Mode account.

In this article, I’ll show you step by step how to register for a Team Mode account in the Hik-Connect 7.0 app.

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iCSee Camera ONVIF and RTSP URL — How I Stream iCSee Video to My PC or Laptop Using VLC

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iCSee Camera ONVIF RTSP

How to enable ONVIF and use the RTSP URL on an iCSee camera — iCSee is a WiFi camera that connects directly to your WiFi network, allowing you to view the live video feed through the iCSee app on your phone. However, some users want to connect their iCSee camera directly to other devices, such as an NVR, and display the camera feed on a monitor. Others may also want to view the live feed from their iCSee camera on a PC or laptop using the camera’s RTSP URL.

In this article, I’ll show you step by step how to view your iCSee camera’s live video feed on your laptop or PC.

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Why the “People and Vehicles” Filter Disappeared from Hik-Connect After a Firmware Update—Here’s How I Fixed the Problem

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Why the People Vehicles Filter Disappeared from Hik-Connect

Some users may think that updating the NVR firmware will fix a problem. However, in some cases, a firmware update can cause certain features to disappear from Hik-Connect. For example, some users have experienced this issue after updating the firmware on a Hikvision DS-7616NXI-K1 NVR. After the firmware update, the human and vehicle detection features were no longer available in the Hik-Connect app during playback.

In this article, we’ll show you how to get the human and vehicle detection features back on the Hik-Connect app.

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Tapo Camera RTSP URL — How I Enabled It and Opened the Tapo Camera RTSP URL Using VLC Media Player

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Tapo Camera ONVIF RTSP

In this article, I’ll cover the RTSP URL for Tapo cameras, including how to find the camera’s RTSP URL and access the live stream using VLC.

What Is the RTSP URL for a Tapo Camera? Why do so many people search for the RTSP URL of Tapo cameras? In most cases, they’re looking for a way to connect their Tapo camera to a third-party device or application. For example, they may want to view their Tapo camera through a Hikvision NVR, access it using a third-party app, or connect it to a self-hosted NVR such as VibeNVR.

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My Starlink WiFi Password Was Leaked — Here’s How I Changed My Starlink WiFi Name (SSID) and Password Remotely

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how to change starlink wifi name and password

How to change your Starlink Wi-Fi name (SSID) and password after a security leak – I wrote this article to share my experience and explain how to secure a Starlink Wi-Fi network. Recently, a Starlink customer contacted me after discovering that an unauthorized person was using their Wi-Fi connection without permission. The incident concerned the coal company manager, who wanted to block unauthorized access and secure the network immediately.

In this guide I will explain how to change the name (SSID) and password of your Starlink Wi-Fi to make it more secure.

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