MAX Plex4 Client Software

The MAX Plex4 security DVR, one of our latest most advanced and most affordable digital surveillance recorders designed for the consumer market, uses its own client software to manage DVR programming and camera behavior from a remote location. Just because a DVR is designed to be super affordable doesn't mean it can't provide great user benefits and freedom of operation combined with roaming user location.

You can find the latest version of the MAX Plex4 client software at cctvsupportsite.com (click here to go to that site), or you can download a version from the link below (this version was the latest on 4/29/09):

PLEX CMS20090227174207-1.4.1.zip

Installing the MAX Plex4 Client Software

The download software arrives in .zip format so all you'll need to do is unzip (using whatever program you computer has for that kind of process). Take note of the folder where the software gets installed.

After you've unzipped the files, go to the folder where the new files reside, find and than double-click SETUP.EXE and follow the on-screen prompts to finish installation. If the software finds previous versions on your computer it may prompt you to remove files. Go ahead and perform the removal process, then start the SETUP.EXE File again and it will install the latest version of the client software.

The software installs itself in this location, if you allow the default selections to control all actions:

C:\Program Files\ControlCenter

If you can't locate it look around for a file called controlcenter.exe, which is the name of the actual program that runs the MAX PLEX client software. (Note this name as well as program location and other details may change with future software versions, so be aware.)

Starting the MAX PLEX4 Client Software & Making an Initial Connection

After you've located controlcenter.exe, double click it to start the program. You should see the following image appear:
 

Use the default user name (SYSTEM) and password (123456) for now. Enter that information and then click OK. In some computers and workstations the initialization software may pick up an erroneous indication that your hard disk drive is full - ignore the message if you see it and continue loading the software. You should see a screen similar to the figure below.

To make your initial connection, do the following:

1. Click SYSTEM CONFIG.

Before you continue make sure you know your:

2. After you click SYSTEM CONFIG the following screen appears.

3. Click the overlapping blue rectangles icon. The following window will pop up.

4. Create a name and put it in the REGION field. This is a name you'll use in the future to help keep multiple settings in easy groups, if you HAVE multiple connections. I used the name PRIMARY. Click OK when done, and screen will appear like the following. Icon A represents ADD DEVICE. Icon B represents MODIFY. (Please don't ask why it looks like a vanilla ice cream bar in mid-strip. No one knows.) Icon C represents DELETE. If the icons are greyed out, you need to highlight the REGION name you made in step 3, and then these icon "color up" to indicate they are active.

5. Click the ADD DEVICE icon (see "A", in the figure above). The following pop-up window appears.

6. Fill the fields as described below.

Device Name: Make a name for you device. It can be any name you want.

Server: This field needs the IP number of the DVR you want to contact.

Data Port: Use a default value of 2000 unless you know it is different for your specific product.

User Name: For now use Admin (make sure to use the upper case letter A).

Password: The password for the Admin user. Default password for Admin is 123456 (that may change with firmware upgrades - if it doesn't work contact our tech support personnel at cctvsupportsite.com for the latest default password for your firmware version).

When you are ready, click OK.

7. The software will look across the internet and connect to the IP address you selected. The following screen (or one similar to it, with your DVR specific information) will appear:

Please note the following facts about this screen.

A - Camera channels at your connection are shown here. If you double click on these names you can re-name them however you want (ParkingLot, CashRegister - no spaces allowed, but you get the idea).

B - Status alerts appear in this area. Alarm Type/Device Name/Channel No./Time tell you what kind, when, where, and why an alarm condition asserted. The DVR we used for this demonstration is set to detect motion in a fairly active room (our tech bench area) so as soon as we set a connection the client software began reporting alarm conditions. MOTION ALARM followed by STOP MOTION ALARM indicate the camera saw movement, then didn't see movement, and repeated this type of condition. You really don't want your DVR to be set to detect motion in an area that has a lot of motion unless you have some overpowering need to do so - it creates massive files with (probably) no useful data. Not only that, if you have a real incident it will be buried SOMEWHERE in all those files and you'll spend a lot of time trying to find it. My suggestion is to use motion detection sparingly and wisely and tie it to scheduled recording.

8. Now that your DVR has been contacted by the client software, you can see video. If video does not immediately appear, do the following:

Click LIVE (see below).

Click the device name you created, which will be under SYSTEM, in the upper left hand corner of the screen (see below).

Note in the above image that I have renamed my camera channels so I don't forget where they are located, and the circular icons next to the names indicate camera status. Note the OUTSIDE camera, which was not set up at the time I created this procedure so that channel is blank and next to it is a "blued" status icon. These icons represent different conditions - consult your manual or the client software help file for more information.

9. Your screen will look similar to the figure below.

NOTE: Due to the wide variety of ISPs, LAN configurations and routers, it is impossible for us to address every possible problem you may encounter when performing remote connection operations. Internet domain servers may change software that requires a modification on your end, or your local (regional) ISP may have a peculiarity that causes connection difficulties. If you run into a problem you can't figure out, you can contact our technical support group (www.cctvsupportsite.com) for help, or you may want to contact a service in your area that specializes in network setups, since they will be familiar with any unique regional factors that we don't know about.