RAYMARINE MFD and Non Raymarine Onvif Camera

[fred247]

Has anybody been able to connect a non Raymarine wireless Onvif camera to their Raymarine chart plotters, if so what was the process used and what camera did you purchase. I wish to add two cameras without the hassle and expense of cabling.

 

[[164147]]

Raymarine doesn't support ONVIF.

 

[Solent Sailor]

Yes it does support ONVIF, and yes I've done it. It is pretty simple when you have the right cameras - but that bit took a lot of trial and error (which is something I'm thankful for Amazon free returns for!). In the end, I found a number of cameras which work well. These are fitted to the onboard network (which is just a regular LAN network with appropriate (stupidly expensive) RayNet cables to the MFDs and regular RJ45 cabling elsewhere. All are interfaced through two separate network switches in different parts of the boat for convenience. I have both a rear view camera and an internal one in the saloon so that I can see what my passengers (often small children!) are up to from the flybridge whilst underway.

It is a case of connecting them to your laptop first and updating the settings (e.g. naming the views etc) before connecting to the boat's system as you cannot edit any of the settings on the cameras via MFD. I took a bit of playing around, and a fair bit of googling, but I'm not the first to do it and it wasn't particularly difficult. Each camera needs its own power source unless you use a POE injector (I found it simpler to just power them independently). I'm no tech expert or even enthusiast, just someone who would rather not pay £500 to Raymarine for a camera which rightly ought to cost less than £100.

As for removing the expense of cabling - RJ45/LAN cable is cheap, perhaps mousing it around the boat is your concern? I'd much rather a hard wired solution than try to do this wirelessly (which is a headache I didn't need!).

Cameras: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0797QYVHT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07BX79C3N/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Both of those are currently unavailable on Amazon (I bought mine last year) so unless you can find them elsewhere, you might have to do a bit of trial and error like I did.

 

[[164147]]

Raymarine officially doesn't support ONVIF - if it works it's luck not by design.

 

[Solent Sailor]

Raymarine officially doesn't support ONVIF - if it works it's luck not by design.

I'll let my friend who works in R&D there know. ONVIF is merely a forum or protocol. Raymarine does not support non-OEM cameras, that is a different matter to them being able to access the system. Raymarine don't have to re-invent everything, just like most electronics manfacturers.

 

[[164147]]

ONVIF formalises a protocol for IP security cameras to talk to each other through a network. Raymarine cameras are not security cameras and as such do not comply with ONVIF nor are they intended to. It's not a case of them re-inventing anything (unlike Seatlak NG vs NMEA200).

 

[Solent Sailor]

How does a camera know whether it is a security camera or not? Mine are security cameras by definition in any case. Compliance with a protocol/standard may be by default or by design. i will have to check, but I think I'm right in recalling that Raymarine never built the cameras in the first place, merely had them spec'd and branded to their requirements.

I fear we are getting waylaid....you can integrate a non-Raymarine cam onto a Raymarine network of devices and it works well.

 

[fred247]

Thanks good info here , I have now found out that - any camera connected to a raymarine mfd must be ONVIF compliant and that ONVIF authentication must be off (not all cameras support this) and a user account set up as Solent Sailer has said this must be done beforehand. which is the main reason camera's don't work. all ip cameras must go through the network and if more than one a network switch.
Cameras can only be hard wired either Analouge or IP
Neither lighthouse 2 or 3 support wifi cameras which means at present no Raymarine MFD supports wifi cameras, which is what I was hoping to be able to do, any further info or understanding more than welcome.