Adding Cameras to an HD Spot Module from DW Spectrum

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Affected Roles: Power User, Power Users

Related Digital Watchdog Apps: DW Spectrum Professional

Software Version: DW Spectrum 6.0

Last Edit: June 6, 2026

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HD Spot Module

The DW Spot Monitoring Module (DW-HDSPOTMOD) allows viewers to monitor the live video streams of select cameras - available in either a 4-channel model or a 16-channel model.

While it may seem more convenient to have your camera(s) stream directly to both the recording device and the HD Spot Module, it can cause streaming issues as that configuration would be creating more "work" for the camera. This article will go over how to manually assign cameras to an HD Spot Module from DW Spectrum while avoiding this issue.

**NOTE: The DW-HDSPOTMOD supports H.264 video streams only. Cameras configured for H.265 will not display video.

Supported/Affected Devices

DW Spot™ Monitoring Module
DW Blackjack® Server Series

Setup Prerequisites

Disable Encrypted Connection Requirements

For the HD Spot Module to stream video from DW Spectrum, the “Force servers to accept only encrypted connections” setting must be disabled. This setting can be found by users with the Power User role in the Site Administration menu, under the Security settings.

Enable Digest Authentication

Additionally, a DW Spectrum user profile must be used to authenticate the connection between the Spectrum Site and the HD Spot Module. Digest Authentication must be enabled for the user profile that is used.

For more information, you can refer to the “DW Spectrum – Enabling Digest Authentication"

Assigning Cameras from DW Spectrum

DW Spectrum uses ONVIF protocols to communicate with IP cameras when monitoring and recording video streams. To prevent overdrawing network bandwidth, it is recommended to avoid having the camera stream the primary stream to both DW Spectrum Server and the HD Spot Module simultaneously. If both devices draw video streams from a camera at the same time, you may encounter issues like video loss or other network-based streaming issues. Instead, manually adding cameras to the HD Spot Module using their RTSP streams can mitigate such issues.

Network Requirements

Before obtaining DW Spectrum RTSP for a specific camera, please verify that DW Spectrum Server and the HD Spot Module are on the same subnet.

Example: If the DW Spectrum Server is on 192.168.10.100:7001 and the HD Spot Module is on 10.1.10.1, and no routing exists between these subnets, the connection will not work, and video will not display.

If the DW Spectrum Server uses multiple network interface cards (NICs), ensure the correct interface is used for HD Spot communication.

To verify the active network configuration:

Open the Main Menu in DW Spectrum
Go to System Administration
Select Routing

From this menu, identify the server IP address that is on the same subnet as the HD Spot Module, along with the associated port number. For example, you may see 192.168.100.100:7001 and 10.1.10.100:7001. If the HD Spot Module is on the 192.168.100.x network, use 192.168.100.100:7001 when creating the RTSP URL.

Obtaining the Camera’s RTSP Stream Information

Once you have confirmed the server IP address and port, you will need either the Camera ID or Logical ID to complete the RTSP URL.

RTSP URL Format

Camera ID

Primary Stream: rtsp://<server_ip>:<server_port>/<camera_id>?stream=0

Secondary Stream: rtsp://<server_ip>:<server_port>/<camera_id>?stream=1

Logical ID

Primary Stream: rtsp://<server_ip>:<server_port>/<logical_id>?stream=0

Secondary Stream: rtsp://<server_ip>:<server_port>/<logical_id>?stream=1

Obtaining the Camera ID

To obtain the Camera ID in the DW Spectrum Client: Right-click the desired camera and open Camera Settings. Select More Info and copy the Camera ID. This ID is used to identify the camera for RTSP streaming.

Using Logical ID (Alternative)

As an alternative to the Camera ID, cameras can be assigned a Logical ID and used in place of the Camera ID in the RTSP URL. The RTSP format remains the same, with only the identifier changing. Right-click the desired camera and select Camera Settings. Open the Expert tab, then locate and copy the Logical ID.

Important Note: Ensure the Logical ID is correctly configured and not left at the default value (0).

For more information on finding RTSP stream information from a DW Spectrum Site:

DW Spectrum - Finding Server RTSP Stream Information

Configuring the HD Spot Module

To manually assign an RTSP stream to an HD Spot Module:

Open a web browser and enter the IP address and web port of the HD Spot Module to connect with the device’s web viewer. This information can be found in the Network menu of the device.
The HD Spot Module’s Web Viewer login page will display.

Enter the administrator User ID and Password for the HD Spot Module to log in (Default ID: admin | PW: blank/determined at the time of initial setup).
After logging in, select the Monitoring tab and open the Registration menu. Select “Manual Registration” to expand the menu section and configure the following:
- Protocol – set this setting to “RTSP” to use a real-time streaming protocol.
- Channel – select the viewing channel that the camera will be assigned to in the HD Spot Module’s viewing grid.
Enter the DW Spectrum Server’s User ID and Password in the Registration settings at the top of the menu.
- The login ID and password must be lowercase and cannot include special characters (!?@$).
- A DW Spectrum user profile must be used to authenticate the connection between the Spectrum Site and the HD Spot Module.
- Digest Authentication must be enabled for the user profile that is used.
Paste the copied RTSP URL into the corresponding fields.

Camera ID:

RTSP 1st URL: rtsp://<server_ip>:<server_port>/<camera_id>?stream=0
RTSP 2nd URL: rtsp://<server_ip>:<server_port>/<camera_id>?stream=1

Logical ID

RTSP 1st URL: rtsp://<server_ip>:<server_port>/<logical_id>?stream=0
RTSP 2nd URL: rtsp://<server_ip>:<server_port>/<logical_id>?stream=1

Click the Manual Add button to add the camera, then click the Save button.

Check the display monitor that is directly connected to the HD Spot Module hardware to confirm that video from the camera is streaming successfully. Repeat the steps above for any remaining cameras that you want to add to the Spot Module.

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