Remote Patrol offers a variety of methods for display of live images in a web browser. Because different methods work better with certain computer platforms and web browsers, it's important to test various options in your browser.

Java applet: JPEG
A Java applet is a small program that is downloaded and run within the browser. Java is a "cross platform" language which means that programs written in Java run on a number of different types of computer (Mac, Windows PC, Unix etc). Using a Java applet for display of live images ensures flicker-free display and reasonably good performance. For this method to work your browser must have Java enabled (this is normally an option in the preferences).

Note that if you have password protection enabled for the web server feature, you may have to enter your password twice: once when you first log on to the web server and again when the applet loads. This is because the applet itself needs authorization to access the web server, as well as the browser. There is no way to change this behavior without compromising security.

Java applet: MPEG-4
This is the same as the above option, except that MPEG-4 compression is used instead of JPEG compression. This will result in much better frame rates when viewing over the internet compared to JPEG mode. To use this option, you must have QuickTime for Java installed on your computer - it is installed by default on Mac OS X, but if you are using Microsoft Windows you will need to install the latest version of QuickTime for Windows on your computer.

JavaScript refresh
This works by using a scripting language called JavaScript to cause your browser to continuously download and display images. This works well in some browsers, but in others the images will flicker or tear.

Server-push stream
This is a very efficient way of transmitting and displaying video. One connection to the server is opened and a stream of live images is continuously transmitted and displayed in the browser. This offers the best performance out of all the methods listed on this page and is supported in the Netscape and Safari web browsers.

Still images
A still image will be displayed for each camera. To refresh the display with new images, press the browser's reload button.

Auto
An appropriate method will be chosen automatically depending on the browser that you are using. This is generally the best option to use, although it may fail if your browser has Java disabled because this is not always possible to detect automatically.

Contact Remote Patrol with questions. Call us or e-mail us and we will assist you at 1.866.761.4321 or support@remotepatrol.tv.