Setup and Configuration Guide
Kintronics Inc.
500 Executive Blvd.
Ossining, NY 10562
1-800-431-1658
InfoHome@Kintronics.com
www.Kintronics.com
1
OVERVIEW ... 6
1.1
BASIC SYSTEM... 6
1.2
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTS ... 7
2
CONFIGURATION OPTIONS ... 8
2.1
SINGLE SERVER CONFIGURATION... 8
2.2
MULTIPLE SERVER CONFIGURATION ... 8
3
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ... 10
3.1
HARDWARE ... 10
3.2
FACTORS AFFECTING PERFORMANCE ... 10
3.2.1
Motion Detection... 10
3.2.2
Monitor Station ... 10
3.3
SUPPORTED OPERATING SYSTEMS... 10
4
INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE... 11
4.1
INSTALLING THE IP SERVER ... 11
4.1.1
Installation Checklist ... 11
4.1.2
Tips and Best Practices ... 11
4.2
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION ... 12
4.2.1
IP Enterprise Server Install ... 12
4.3
INITIALIZATION WIZARD ... 13
4.3.1
Server Configuration... 14
4.3.2
Camera Configuration ... 15
4.4
IP SERVER MANAGER... 16
4.4.1
Auto Restart ... 17
4.4.2
System Log ... 18
4.4.3
Network Options ... 18
4.4.4
Diagnostics ... 20
4.4.5
Update Activation ... 20
4.4.6
Remote Support ... 21
4.5
INSTALLING THE MONITOR STATION ... 21
4.6
CUSTOM INSTALL ... 21
5
SERVER CONFIGURATION ... 23
5.1
MANAGING SERVERS... 23
5.1.1
Add a New Server... 23
5.1.2
Remove ... 24
5.1.3
Connect ... 24
5.1.4
Properties... 24
5.1.7
License ... 25
5.2
SETUP AND CONFIGURATION TAB ... 26
5.2.1
Name of this Video Server ... 26
5.2.2
IP Address ... 26
5.2.3
Automatically Update IP address ... 27
5.2.4
Version ... 27
5.2.5
Database Information ... 27
5.2.6
Video Storage ... 27
5.3
CAMERA TAB ... 27
5.3.1
Camera Licenses ... 27
5.4
ADVANCED TAB ... 31
5.4.1
Server Options... 31
5.4.2
Record Options ... 31
5.4.3
View Options ... 32
5.5
HEALTH MONITOR TAB ... 32
5.5.1
Enable Health Monitor ... 32
5.5.2
Health Monitor Server ... 33
5.6
CLIENT SETTINGS ... 33
5.7
ACCESS CONFIGURATION ... 34
5.8
SERVER CONTACT INFORMATION ... 35
6
CAMERA SETUP AND CONFIGURATION ... 36
6.1
GENERAL TAB ... 36
6.1.1
Camera Name ... 36
6.1.2
Camera Information... 36
6.1.3
Web Access... 37
6.1.4
Display Options... 37
6.2
RECORD TAB ... 37
6.2.1
Record Options ... 37
6.2.2
Motion Buffers... 40
6.2.3
Camera ID ... 41
6.3
ADVANCED ... 41
6.3.1
Storage Options... 41
6.3.2
Camera Transmission Preferences ... 41
6.4
MOTION SETTINGS TAB ... 42
6.4.1
Event Trigger ... 42
6.4.2
Sensitivity ... 42
6.4.3
Sample Interval ... 43
6.4.4
Motion Zones ... 43
6.5
VIDEO SETTINGS TAB ... 44
6.5.1
Image Quality Settings ... 44
6.5.2
Color Adjustment ... 44
6.5.3
RGB Color Adjustments ... 44
6.5.4
Rotate Image ... 44
6.6
OPTIONAL CONTROLS TAB ... 45
6.8
CAMERA CONTACT ... 46
7
HEALTH MONITOR ... 47
8
FACILITY MAPS ... 48
8.1
STEPS TO ADD A MAP: ... 48
8.2
ADD ITEMS TO THE MAP (CAMERAS, LAYOUTS, AND OTHER FACILITY
MAPS) 499
SECURITY ... 51
9.1
USER MANAGER ... 51
9.1.1
Add New User ... 51
9.1.2
Camera Permissions ... 53
9.1.3
Facility Map Permissions ... 53
9.1.4
Layout Permissions ... 54
9.2
GROUP MANAGER ... 55
10
LAYOUT CONFIGURATION ... 57
10.1
ADDING CUSTOM LAYOUTS ... 58
10.2
LAYOUTS WITH TOURING ... 58
11
RULES MANAGER... 60
11.1
RULES... 60
11.2
STEPS FOR RULE SETUP ... 60
11.2.1
Step 1 Create and Name a Rule... 60
11.2.2
Step 2 – Schedules ... 61
11.2.3
Step 3 – Define Events ... 64
11.2.4
Step 4 – Define Actions ... 67
12
TV DECODERS ... 71
13
WEB CLIENT ... 73
13.1
WEB CLIENT INSTALLATION AND SETUP ... 73
13.1.1
Multi-Server Setups ... 73
13.1.2
Internet Connection ... 73
13.1.3
Router Configuration ... 73
13.2
USER SECURITY ... 74
13.3
STREAMING WEB CLIENT ... 74
14
MONITOR STATION SETUP OPTIONS ... 75
14.1
GENERAL ... 75
14.2
TOOLS CONFIGURATION ... 76
14.3
LIVE WINDOW ... 77
14.4
AUDIO ... 78
14.5
STARTUP... 79
15
ACCESSORY PRODUCTS ... 80
15.1
INSTALLATION ... 80
15.2
HEALTH MONITOR... 81
15.2.1
Configure Setup on Servers ... 82
15.2.2
Starting the Health Monitor ... 82
15.2.3
Status View ... 82
15.2.4
Adding a Server to be Managed ... 83
15.2.5
Viewing Status ... 86
15.2.6
Menu Buttons... 86
15.2.7
Reports Button ... 89
15.2.8
Set up Menu ... 90
15.2.9
Administration ... 90
15.2.10
Database ... 92
15.2.11
SMTP Configuration ... 92
15.2.12
User Manager ... 93
15.2.13
Configuration ... 94
15.2.14
Health Monitor Viewer – Browser version... 96
15.2.15
Accessing the Health Monitor ... 96
15.2.16
Server Status... 97
15.2.17
Logs ... 97
15.3
LONG TERM STORAGE (LTS) ... 98
15.3.1
About WMV - Windows Media Video 9 ... 99
15.3.2
Using LTS ... 99
15.3.3
LTS Tasks ... 100
15.3.4
View Status ... 101
15.3.5
View Log... 102
15.4
FFDSHOW ... 102
16
UTILITIES ... 103
16.1
REPAIRING VIDEO CLIPS WITH FILE FIXER AND SPLITTER ... 103
16.2
DVD BURN ... 105
1 Overview
With IP Video software you can view live or recorded video from cameras all over your enterprise. Our easy to use system installs quickly and will be immediately useful. The following pages will guide you through the install and setup process
1.1
Basic System
The system is a robust software platform that has 3 main components that are used to capture and view live or recorded video from anywhere: the Service Monitor; the Monitor Station; and the Web Client.
IP Server – The IP Server is the basic engine of the product suite. It processes and stores images received from all connected IP cameras as well as streams video to the client for viewing. The IP Server is installed on a standard Windows based PC and runs as a Windows service that does not require a user login to be in operation.
The Server can be linked to other servers to support hundreds of cameras. With the software you can have a single server, multiple servers at one location or multiple servers at multiple locations. Recordings can be stored on local or direct attached storage, NAS, SAN, or Network File Servers. As part of our powerful infrastructure. The software stores all settings and log entries inside Microsoft SQL database tables. This gives the software a very solid platform to deliver advanced features.
Monitor Station – The Monitor Station is the primary user interface in the product suite. From an end user point of view, it provides centralized viewing of live and recorded images from any server. System and Security Administrators use the Monitor Station to setup and configure all servers and cameras from a central location.
Web Client – Allows you to view live or recorded video from anywhere with using Microsoft Internet Explorer. You can view a single camera or select up to 16 different cameras from multiple servers to view simultaneously. You can control PTZ cameras and playback recorded video. The system supports multiple users and is tightly
1.2
Additional Products
In addition, the software also provides the following accessory products to assist you in managing your servers and cameras:
Health Monitor – The Health Monitor monitors each of your servers on a regular basis to ensure server uptime and reporting of any issues affecting the servers. The Health Monitor can be configured to send email alerts to the appropriate individual if the server has not responded in the pre-determined time frame or if certain thresholds have been exceeded. The Health Monitor status windows can also be viewed in the Monitor Station LTS – Long Term Storage - The LTS is a standalone application that helps you manage your recorded video. The easy to use application connects to the video data directory allowing you to Move, Recompress or Trim the original AVI files. The LTS can also recompress the original AVI file using Microsoft’s WMV format and is able to double the available storage space. You can specify which cameras to copy, how many days to keep before the copying and what time of the day to execute the copy. The new copied files can be viewed with software or any Windows Media Player.
2 Configuration Options
2.1
Single Server Configuration
The IP Server is installed on one server and runs as a Windows Service. All server, camera and user settings are stored in a single database. Recordings are stored on the server or any other storage device attached to the network. The Monitor Station client can be installed on the same computer as the IP Server or on any computer connected to the network. The Monitor Station is then used for viewing of live and recorded video as well as all server and camera configuration.
2.2
Multiple Server Configuration
IP Servers are stored on multiple servers. Each runs as a service. All server, camera and user settings can be stored in a single database or multiple databases. Recordings are stored on the individual servers or any storage device attached to the network. The Monitor Station client can be installed on any or all of the IP servers or on any computer connected to the network. Any Monitor Station can then be used for viewing live and recorded video from any server or combination of servers in a single display. Configuration for all servers and cameras can also be performed from any Monitor Station.
3 System Requirements
3.1
Hardware
3.2
Factors Affecting Performance
The two biggest factors affecting performance is motion detection where the Monitor Station is installed.
3.2.1 Motion Detection
The number of cameras and the frames per second per camera are important factors in CPU performance. However, the most important factor in CPU utilization is motion detection. Using a JPEG camera with the motion detection done on the server rather than at the camera level is the most CPU intensive configuration. Using MPEG4 or camera side motion detection is the lease CPU intensive. Examples (numbers are approximate): 30 cameras using JPEG server motion detection results in a 70% CPU utilization. JPEG with camera motion detection results in a 20% CPU utilization. MPEG4 with server motion detection results in a 40% CPU utilization.
3.2.2 Monitor Station
Running one instance of the Monitor Station on the same machine as the IP Server will use approximately 300 MB of memory and 30-50% of the CPU. Running two instances will require double the amount of memory and CPU. Another factor in running the Monitor Station is Direct Show. The Monitor Station uses a video component called Direct Show to display full resolution images. If the client PC’s graphics card supports Direct Show, the Monitor Station will use this and not use the PC’s CPU. If the PC’s graphics card does not support direct Show, the PC compensates for this by using the CPU. If you see the CPU peaking, you can turn off Direct Show in the Monitor Station Options menu.
3.3
Supported Operating Systems
Client • XP Pro • VIsta Server • XP Pro • Vista• 2003 Server Web Edition
• 2003 Server Standard or Enterprise • 2008 Server Web Edition
4 Installing the Software
To create a fully functioning installation of the software solution, you must have both IP Server installed as well as at least one Monitor Station. These two modules can reside on the same server or different servers. There can be multiple IP Servers as well as multiple Monitor Stations.
4.1
Installing the IP Server
Install the IP server on a computer that has sufficient processing resources. To minimize network traffic, you should normally install the IP Server on the computer that will store the recorded images. Install the Monitor Station on the computer where you want to view the video.
4.1.1 Installation Checklist
1. Begin the installation with a clean version of Windows. It is not sufficient to remove existing applications
2. Remove all extra software applications that were preloaded on the system 3. Storage Considerations
a. The amount of storage required for recordings depends on the number of cameras, the FPS for these cameras, the size (resolution) of the images and the percentage of motion (assumes motion only recording
b. Type of Storage
i. RAID - A RAID is a group of three or more hard drives linked together to form one array of disks. The software uses a RAID 5 (striped disks with parity). This combines three or more disks in a way that protects data against loss of any one drive.
ii. OS drives
The software uses a separate drive for the OS. Supported OS’ are Window’s XP Professional, Server 2003, Server 2008 and Vista Ultimate. iii. Backup of OS Drive- The software includes a partition with a backup
image of the Operating System Drive as it was at the time of shipping. The image is created using Acronis True Image.
4.1.2 Tips and Best Practices
1. Lock down the PC using Group Policies - By using the Group Policy Manager the Server can be locked down in such a way that a person without the correct Window’s login cannot make a system change that can bring down the NVR. 2. Prepare Backup
a. OS and Application
Using Acronis True Image, you can create an image of the Server once configuration has been complete (i.e. cameras are added, logins and Facility Maps have been created). In the event of an OS
corruption, you can use this image to return to settings you had on Day 1.
b. SQL Database and XML documents
The software includes a System backup tool, located in $:\Program Files\TruViewIP\Enterprise Service\SystemBackup. This utility creates a .bat file that can restore your software configuration back to the settings at which the utility was run.
3. Click on Lock in Monitor Station to logout and log back in
To verify a Monitor Station Setting has taken affect, or just to ensure you are no longer logged into Monitor Station, click on the Lock icon in the upper left hand corner of Monitor Station to log out. This will prompt you to log back in once Monitor Station opens back up.
4.2
Software Installation
All video surveillance software is installed via the Setup.exe. Once began, this process brings up the following screen.
You have three options: IP Enterprise Server Install which installs the IP Server SQL Server, the Web Client and the Monitor Station, the Monitor Station Install which just installs the Monitor Station, or the Custom IP Server Install.
4.2.1 IP Enterprise Server Install
The IP Enterprise Server Install is selected, a separate install window opens for our prerequisites. This process can take several minutes
When the IP Server is installed, the Server Manager is automatically installed. The Server Manager is a utility program that is used to Start and Stop the IP Server modules and can be used for limited configuration. Once the installation of the IP Server is complete, the following screen appears. Enter your serial number and then activate via the internet or by phone.
4.3
Initialization Wizard
After you have entered the serial number, the Initialization wizard will begin and you will be asked to register your software.
Select the Next button and information about the server will appear. You can then update the Server name and where the recordings for this server will be stored. The video software also gives you the ability to have a centralized database for all settings for all servers or you can store settings on a database on each server. If you are storing your database on a server other than this computer, you can indicate the IP address for that database.
4.3.2 Camera Configuration
The next step in the Initialization Wizard is the Camera Configuration. There are three ways to setup cameras during initialization: Auto Discovery, Manual Add and Import from 3.x. If Auto Discovery is selected, the IP Camera Search Wizard is initiated. This wizard searches your current network segment for existing online IP cameras. When it detects an IP camera, it examines the MAC address to determine the manufacturer and model of the camera.
After auto discovery, the system will display the cameras that it has discovered. You can then select the desired cameras for this server.
You can also select the Manual Add option. If Manual Add is selected, the following screen appears:
Please see instruction for Manual Adds in the Camera Setup portion of this guide. For those users that are upgrading from a 3.X release of the video software, you can elect to import your camera settings. Once all cameras are set up on thru the wizard, you can then assign cameras to be managed on this server.
Note that the software keeps track on the number of licensed cameras. You can have unlimited unassigned cameras. However your cameras to be monitored cannot exceed the number that has been licensed for this server
4.4
IP Server Manager
When the IP Server is installed, the IP Server Manager is also installed. The IP Server Manager is used to Start and Stop the IP Server (which runs as a service) and to
whether the IP Server is running. Green indicates that it is running. Red indicates that the IP Server is not running. It is not necessary to run the Server Manager as the IP Server automatically starts on the startup on the computer. When you right click on the Server Manager icon, the following options appear:
To perform limited configuration, select the Server Configuration.
4.4.1 Auto Restart
Enables auto restart for this computer. You can select the days of the week and the time for the automatic restart.
4.4.2 System Log
This option displays the system log for this server. 4.4.3 Network Options
Multi Network Card Support – In case you have multiple network cards on this computer, you can select the desired card. You can also select the desired communication port for this server.
Active Directory Support – Allows you to import users from Windows Active Directory into the IP Server.
Domain Credentials – You must have the appropriate access to the domain.
Groups – Allows you to import groups of users from Active Directory into the IP server. Use the Find group function to locate the existing Active Directory groups on the domain. Then select the groups and add to the list on the right side. This will then add all of the users from that Active Directory group to the IP server. In some cases, you may want to add only certain users in the domain group. You can use the user tab to select individual users. Once the group has been selected, you can then select the users from the group and add them to the IP server.
Users
4.4.4 Diagnostics
This is an application version of the IP Server. It can help in diagnosing problems. The main screen will show whether video is being received from the camera, and you can see the live video from this application as well as perform limited configuration.
4.4.5 Update Activation
This option is used to update the activation. You may need to update this activation is the demo period has expired or you are adding camera licenses.
4.4.6 Remote Support
Remote Support allows the technical support to VNC into your system to assist in the diagnostic of problems. Call technical support and they will assign you one of the Support numbers below.
4.5
Installing the Monitor Station
The Monitor Station is used to view live and recorded video as well as to perform all setup and configuration for your servers and cameras. You can install the Monitor Station on the same computer as the IP Server or on a different computer. Once you start setup select Monitor Station from the list of options
The Monitor Station will then be installed on your computer. There are also setup parameters that can be used to tailor each Monitor Station installation. See the Monitor Station set up section of this manual for more information.
4.6
Custom Install
You have two options for where the SQL database resides: Stand alone server which installs the SQL database on the local machine or Shared Database which sets up the connection to the shared database. You can also set the option of installing the software to support the Web Client. If this option is not checked, then the web client will not be supported. If Shared database is selected, the following screen appears:
You can then set up the connection to the shared database
.
Our default SQL password for version 4.1 is V4in$ight. If SQL is installed on a different machine, you need to enter the IP address in SQL Server window. The delete database button will destroy a previously installed Video SQL database, as long as the old database was created using the same credentials entered here.
5 Server Configuration
Server Configuration is an easy to use mechanism to manage and configure your servers. Using the Server Setup and Configuration you can add servers to this Monitor Station’s view as well as manage the configuration of each IP Server and associated cameras. You can access the Server Configuration from the Administration menu option
5.1
Managing Servers
There are several options on this screen: Add New, Remove, Connect, Properties, Export List, Import List, Clear, and License.
5.1.1 Add a New Server
Select the Add New button and the following screen appears:
Enter the IP Address of the server and the port. This action establishes the connection to the IP server.
5.1.2 Remove
Removes the server from the list that is managed by this instance of the Monitor Station. 5.1.3 Connect
Establishes a connection to an IP Server. Note that the IP Server must be operational in order to connect.
5.1.4 Properties
5.1.5 Export List
This options exports the servers and camera configuration properties that have been set up on the instance of the Monitor Station. The list can then be imported into another Monitor Station so that the same configuration does not have to be done multiple times. In addition, the exported file can be used to have one central location for all configuration parameters. When a user logs in to the Monitor Station, he can select Options.
If the user selects System Administrator mode, Monitor Station looks at the local server to find the exported list. If the user selects the Network User Mode, he can then point to the location of the exported file. Then when he logins, he will obtain all configuration information from the central location. In this way, you can maintain one file containing all configuration settings that is used by all users. If you add servers to the system, you only have to add it in one place and every network user will have the latest information when they login.
The Windows Login option points to the domain of the active directory. 5.1.6 Import List
This option imports the configuration list from a previously exported list. 5.1.7 License
The License button displays the licensing information for each server, specifically the Total number of cameras licensed, the total used, and the total available.
5.2
Setup and Configuration Tab
Once a server has been added, then the Monitor Station is used to setup the server and its associated cameras. Simply highlight the server to be configured and the tabbed view appears.
There are six tabs that represent the setup of specific options for the server.
5.2.1 Name of this Video Server
The name is used to describe the server for multi-server environments. 5.2.2 IP Address
5.2.3 Automatically Update IP address
This button will automatically fill in the server’s IP address. When this option is checked, the software automatically finds the IP address.
5.2.4 Version
Version of the software that is installed on this server. 5.2.5 Database Information
The video software stores all system settings, motion events, system events and POS information inside a SQL database. This design provides a very scalable and solid software foundation. The individual video files are stored as AVIs in a subdirectory. The software comes with the Microsoft SQL database engine and is loaded as the first step of the installation. An installation on one server would point to the SQL database on the local PC.
5.2.6 Video Storage
Location for the recordings from this server
5.3
Camera Tab
The Camera Tab is used to add and assign cameras to this server. 5.3.1 Camera Licenses
Each server is licensed for a particular number of cameras. The top of this screen indicates the number of cameras licenses assigned to this server as well as how many cameras that have been selected and the number of additional cameras that you can add to this server.
There are three ways to add cameras to this server: Auto Discovery, Manual Add and Import from 3.X.
Once auto discovery has finished, the system will display the cameras that it has discovered. You can then select the desired cameras for this server.
The Manual Add mode brings up a New Camera Dialogue Box. Enter the name of the camera, the manufacturer, manufacturer model, the IP address of the camera and the user name and password for this camera.
Time Stamp gives you the option of either burning time stamps on the recorded video or not burning time stamps. If a camera does not support a Time Stamp, the Server will insert one but this will use additional CPU resources and can affect overall performance. Web Access –This is the IP address of the camera. You can access the camera’s web page by entering this IP address in your web browser. You can then view live images from that camera as well as perform camera level setup.
The advanced button opens a box allowing the entry of the Shared IP Address and alternate ports for that camera.
If you have cameras attached to a router or a multi port video encoder, this option allows you to specify which camera that you are talking to.
Alternate ports Instead of port 80.
Once cameras have been added, they can then be assigned to the server by selecting from the list
5.4
Advanced Tab
5.4.1 Server Options Enable Motion Log
The system will keep a list of all motion activity by camera, date, time and duration. This allows you to rapidly review recorded video by event. This option must be enabled to create the event log.
Keep Motion Log for X days
This specifies the number of days to keep motion activity in history. Enable System Log
The system will keep a list of all system activity. Keep System Log for X Days
This specifies the number of days to keep the system log activity in history. Enable Security
Enables security on this server. Server timeout
This option provides the ability to set a timeout period at which point the Monitor Station will no longer be receiving video streams and will pause. The Server timeout is set at the server level. However, it is the individual Monitor Stations and Web Clients that are checking for activity. Activity is defined as mouse movement. For example, we will describe a situation where there are two monitor stations running against a server, and the server timeout is set to 5 minutes. Monitor station 1 has an active user who is viewing several cameras while actively moving the mouse from pane to pane. Monitor Station 2 has a passive user that just has the Monitor Station open on his machine. In this situation, Monitor Station 1 will remain active while Monitor Station 2 will be set to Pause. When live video is paused, the software stops the streams and thus reduces bandwidth requirements.
5.4.2 Record Options File Size
Each camera is recorded in a unique file that is configured to be limited to a certain file size. A new file is created after that limit is reached. For example, if you have a camera set to 3fps with motion activation, you might find one file used for the entire day. However, if you have the same camera set to record always, you might find (5) 200MB files for the
day. The system automatically creates a new file for each camera at midnight. The system creates a new file whenever the file size has reached the specified size (default is 200MB). Reserved Disk Space
This parameter sets the amount of disk space reserved for other applications on the server. Regardless of how much disk storage is used for storing recorded videos, the maximum disk space allowed for saving recorded video will not encroach on this reserved space.
5.4.3 View Options Optimize Video Streams
This function provides a means of optimizing the video streams to the web client or monitor station. There is always a tradeoff between bandwidth utilization and CPU utilization. You can either optimize for a low bandwidth or a high bandwidth. When you optimize for a low bandwidth situation, the compression occurs at the server level. The server sends a compressed MPEG4 image to the Monitor Station or Web Client. When you optimize for a high bandwidth situation, no compression occurs at the server level. Full uncompressed images are sent to the Monitor Station or Web Client.
Low CPU/High Bandwidth- This sends uncompressed images directly to the Monitor Station
High CPU/Low Bandwidth – This compresses the image, sends them and then decompresses them. It allows the system to get a much higher frame rate over slower networks.
These options can be set at the server level or the camera level
5.5
Health Monitor Tab
5.5.1 Enable Health Monitor
The Health Monitor is a separate application that receives periodic status from the servers and cameras. See the later section of this manual for more information on the Health Monitor functionality. If you are not using the Health Monitor, ignore this section. By enabling the Health Monitor, your server will send messages to the Health Monitor giving it status of your servers and cameras.
Server Name: This is the name that will be displayed in the Health Monitor application.
The server default is used unless you overwrite the setting here.
Select Items to Send to the Health Monitor:
Lost Signal Camera Information
5.5.2 Health Monitor Server
IP of the Health Monitor: Specify the IP address of the Health Monitor
Port to Send: Specify the Port to send the Health Monitor Information Send Frequency: Specify the frequency to send updates to the Health Monitor
5.6
Client Settings
Use Data Port: This is the port that the IP Server sends live video to the Monitor Station. Command Port: This port is used by the Monitor Station to get and set system
information. The data port is only for streaming video.
Max Remote Connections: This will limit the number of Monitor Stations that can be connected to the server at one time. The more remote clients the more processing power required.
Local SMTP Server
SMTP Server – This is for all email operations performed by the server. The user id and password is for the SMTP server itself if it is required.
5.7
Access Configuration
This tab is for setting up the integration with Blackboard.5.8
Server Contact Information
Enter contact information for this server. This information is purely informational and is not used by the system.
6 Camera Setup and Configuration
To configure a camera, highlight the camera from the left navigation.
6.1
General Tab
6.1.1 Camera Name
Name of the camera, in this case Hotel View. Assigning meaningful names to the cameras facilitates the navigation to these cameras.
6.1.2 Camera Information Manufacturer and Model
The software supports a wide variety of camera models from major camera manufacturers. Each camera has a mechanism for communicating with the server. By selecting the correct model, the system then knows certain information about the camera such as method of communicating, whether it supports DIO, what type of compression it uses, and whether it supports audio. We are constantly adding cameras to its supported list.
IP Address of the camera
User Name and password for the camera if required.
If you have cameras attached to a router or a multi port video encoder, this option allows you to specify which camera that you are talking to.
6.1.3 Web Access
This is the IP address of the camera. When you click on this link, you can access the camera’s web page directly. You can then view live images from the camera as well as perform configuration and setup for that camera. Each camera manufacturer has a different user interface and setup functionality that can be performed at the camera level.
6.1.4 Display Options Time Stamp
No Time Stamp
Burn Time Stamp on Video
If you select “Burn Time Stamp on Video” and if the camera does not support a Time Stamp, the server will insert one but this will use additional CPU time and can affect overall performance.
6.2
Record Tab
6.2.1 Record Options Resolution
Any given camera can support at least one and possibly multiple resolutions. This resolution can be configured on the camera itself using the link described above under Web Access. To facilitate configuring the resolution, The software also provides the functionality for changing the resolution on the camera without going to the camera itself. This setting provides that capability. Unfortunately, different camera manufacturers have different ways of expressing resolutions. For example, Axis expresses resolution in CIF, 2 CIF, 4 CIF, D1 whereas ACTi expresses resolution as 1280 x 1024, 640 x 480 etc. As a result, the resolution settings in this option are more generic and are mapped to the appropriate resolution based on the camera.
Use Camera Settings – Uses the camera settings from the camera itself.
Low, Medium, High, Highest – By selecting one of these resolutions you can change the resolution without accessing the camera directly via the IP address. For instance, on an Axis camera, you might select Highest. This selection in turn would change the camera resolution to D1.
Note that if this option is “grayed” out, you do not have the capability to change the resolution for this camera.
The software can capture individual images at a rate between 1 and 30 per second. Adjust each camera to the desired images per second with the larger number providing more fluid movement. When adjusting cameras, give more images per second to cameras requiring more images, and decrease less important cameras. By making these adjustments, the total storage space is optimized. This will be the maximum value that the system will try to get. The system will be limited by bandwidth. This option can also be used to set up time lapse recording. If you set the fps to 1 image per day or 10 images/hour, you get a time- lapse effect.
Audio
The Record Audio and Enable Audio will only appear if the camera supports this functionality.
Enable Audio – Sets the camera to enable the audio functionality (Capture live) Record Audio – When this is set, the system will record audio along with the video. Note that Enable Audio must be set in order to Record Audio.
Capture Quality
Quality is a function of the size of the image that is transmitted from the camera, i.e. the higher the quality, the larger the image.
As with resolution described above, different camera manufacturers have their own unique labels for quality. This option allows you to utilize the current camera setting or change the quality.
Use Camera Setting – Uses the quality set at the camera level.
When you select Highest, High, Normal, Low, or Lowest, you modify the quality setting on the camera.
Note, if the camera model does not have settings for quality, this option will be “grayed” out. Recording Type
You have four types of recordings:
Record Off: The camera is not recording.
Record Always: The system will record 24hours per day at the specified frame rate. Record Motion: The system will record when it detects motion.
Scheduled: This option creates schedules for recording. When the option is selected, you can configure the schedule by selecting the Config button. When this button is selected, the following screen appears:
You can setup more than one schedule for each camera. Behind the scenes, the software is actually setting up a rule in the Task Manager. See the Task Manager section of this document for more information.
File Format
The File Format is used to optimize the rate at which images are recorded. There is a tradeoff between processor utilization and the size of the stored images. (Maximum Speed or Smallest Size)
Smallest Size – System compresses the images before storing. Since compression is occurring, CPU utilization is increased.
Maximum Speed – System stores images as they are received from the camera. Since no compression is required, additional CPU utilization is not required.
Capture Format
This option is only for Axis cameras. This is the format that is used when streaming video from the camera to the server.
Advanced Recording Options
Check Motion Status - Similar to Record always with motion. This performs motion detection when Record Always is set.
Watermark files – Automatically watermarks all recordings when set. Record Quality
This option is only required when the server must recompress images that have been decompressed. This may occur under two circumstances: if you want to burn a timestamp and the camera does not support that feataure; or you want to set privacy zones and the camera does not support that feature.
As with Resolution and Capture Quality described above, the software has standardized record quality settings so that they can be used with multiple camera models.
In general, the higher the quality, the larger the image. Use default – uses default from the camera.
Highest, High, Normal, Low, Lowest.
6.2.2 Motion Buffers Pre and Post Motion Buffers
When recording motion, the system only records images different than previous that have crossed a threshold described above. Using the Pre and Post Motion Buffers the system will save the images before and after the motion event. This has the effect of smoothing the video. For example, a camera captures a person entering a room. By using motion recording without Pre Motion, the person will just appear in the room. By turning on the Pre Motion, the recorded video will show the person entering the room. Please note that the pre motion setting does not apply when the compression is MPEG4.
Standard motion
detection records
frames 1,2 and 3
6.2.3 Camera ID
System created unique identifier for the camera. This ID number is used to identify specific file folders used to store camera images.
6.3
Advanced
6.3.1 Storage Options Maximum File Size
Each camera is recorded in a unique file that is configured to be limited to a certain file size. A new file is created after that limit is reached. For example, if you have a camera set to 3fps with motion activation, you might find one file used for the entire day. However, if you have the same camera set to record always, you might find (5) 200mb files for the day. The system automatically creates a new file for each camera at midnight. The system creates a new file whenever the file size has reached the specified size (default is 200mb). Maximum Disk Space
This dialogue box allows you to specify a maximum amount of disk space for each camera. Enter the number of Gigabytes that a camera can use. If the value is 0, then this value will be ignored.
Image Location
This option specifies the location where the recordings are stored. Recordings can be stored in different folders for each camera and can also be stored across multiple hard drives.
6.3.2 Camera Transmission Preferences
The Camera transmission preferences can be set up at the server level as well as the camera level. If they are set at the camera level, these settings override the setting at the server level.
Live Maximum Refresh Rate
Used to set live refresh frame rates sent to the Monitor Station or Web Client. By using lower fps, you can save bandwidth.
Optimize Video Streams
These settings affect the video streams from the IP Server to the Monitor Station and/or Web Client. There is a tradeoff between bandwidth utilization and CPU utilization. You can either optimize for a low bandwidth/ high CPU utilization or high bandwidth/ low CPU Utilization. When you optimize for a low bandwidth situation, the compression occurs at the server level. The server then sends a compressed MPEG4 image to the Monitor Station or
Web Client. When you optimize for a high bandwidth situation, no compression occurs at the server level. Full uncompressed images are sent to the Monitor Station or Web Client.
Low CPU/High Bandwidth- This sends uncompressed images directly to the Monitor Station
High CPU/Low Bandwidth – This compresses the image, sends them and then decompresses them. It allows the system to get a much higher frame rate over slower networks.
These options can be set at the server level or the camera level.
6.4
Motion Settings Tab
Use Camera Motion Detection
Many cameras have their own built in capability for detecting motion. When camera detection is used, there is no need to decompress the image and the CPU utilization on the server will be reduced
6.4.1 Event Trigger
The Motion Settings tab of the Camera Setup menu shows you a single setting slide bar labeled “Event Trigger”. This slide bar is a single, global control for the motion detection of the selected camera. Moving the slider to the right reduces the alertness level of the software, causing it to only watch for larger, more impressive changes. Moving that slider to the left raises the alertness level, instructing the software to watch for smaller and more subtle changes. As you set the motion detection closer to the maximum, you’ll get more and more recordings. This ensures you don’t miss important events, but can also cause you to get false positives in your recordings if the trigger level is set too high. Underneath the picture is a sliding bar showing the current level of the Event Trigger (tick mark) as well as the current level of motion in the camera (as outlined in red on the picture)
6.4.2 Sensitivity
The Sensitivity slider sets proximity distance thresholds for any changes to be counted in determining motion. At a high sensitivity, a random pixel change across the picture from another pixel change would be added to the sum of other changes to determine if motion thresholds have been met. At low sensitivity, changes would be required to be in close
proximity to other changes or those changes will be ignored. To increase sensitivity, move the slider bar to the right. To decrease sensitivity, move the slider bar to the left.
6.4.3 Sample Interval
The Sample Interval is measured in milliseconds, and determines how frequently the motion capture triggers reset. Lowering the Sample Interval will cause the motion detection to reset more frequently, and make the software less likely to detect slow-moving objects. Raising the sample interval will reset the motion detection less frequently, and make the software more likely to catch slow moving objects, but also produce more false alarms. Watching the live video, you can adjust the sidebars from left to right to find the perfect motion settings for each camera.
.
6.4.4 Motion Zones
If you need even finer control of the motion detection for your cameras, you can create specific motion zones with their own event triggers. To create a motion zone, click on the camera image in the motion settings menu, and drag your mouse to create a rectangular motion zone. You can create as many motion zones as you would like. You will be prompted to assign a name to each motion zone you create; this allows us to trigger specific actions off motion in particular parts of the picture.
When you have created a motion zone, you can alter its settings by highlighting the motion zone and selecting the Properties Button. This brings up a dialog box where you can set the event trigger level for this particular motion zone. By setting the trigger level higher, you can make that zone more sensitive than the rest of the camera signal; by setting the trigger level lower, the drawn box will become less sensitive. If the box you draw is set to 0% trigger level, it will completely prevent motion detection from operating in the motion zone. This can be handy if you have continual motion sources you wish to screen out, such as busy roads or fans. It is also possible to manually move or resize the motion zone, using the location variables at the bottom of the properties box.
Event labels are used to label particular events such as “door opens”. If there is movement in a zone labeled “door opens”, then that event name will display in the event log rather than just the name of the camera.
6.5
Video Settings Tab
This Video Setting tab provides the user with the ability to modify certain settings on the camera. Based on the camera model, the software determines which settings can be modified. Any options that can not be modified are “grayed out”. In general there are two ways of defining color, HSV (Hue, saturation, value) or RGB (red, green, blue). Most digital cameras use HSV rather than RGB.
6.5.1 Image Quality Settings
Brightness – The image brightness can be adjusted in the range 0-100 where a higher value produces a brighter image.
Hue- Hue is described with the words we normally think of as describing color: red, purple, blue, etc, i.e. all the colors in the spectrum. You can adjust the camera color to make it more true by sliding the bar from left to right.
6.5.2 Color Adjustment
Saturation – Saturation describes the difference of a color from the gray of the same lightness. Increasing saturation will deepen the colors of your images, making reds redder and blues bluer. Decreasing saturation will bring your image closer to a grayscale (i.e. monochrome, black-and-white) image.
Contrast – Adjust the image’s contrast by raising or lowering the value in this field Sharpness -
6.5.3 RGB Color Adjustments
If the camera is using the RGB color model, you can use these sliding bars to adjust the levels of red, green and blue in your image.
6.5.4 Rotate Image
Use Camera settings - take the image as it comes from camera.
6.6
Optional Controls Tab
This tab applies only to IQEye cameras.
Please see the definitions in the IQEye setup screens.
6.7
Privacy Zones Tab
Privacy zones allow a section of video to be blocked. That section will not be able to be viewed, recorded or monitored.
To create a privacy zone, left click and draw a box around the area to be blocked. You will be asked to name the zone after which the zone name will appear in the list. Please note that privacy zones can only be created for JPEG based cameras.
7 Health Monitor
You can view the Health Monitor Console from the Monitor Station. Use this function to add your various Health Monitors to the Monitor Station. Enter the IP address of the Health Monitor and select the Add button. You can add multiple Health Monitors to any Monitor Station.
The Health Monitor (s) will then appear in the navigation tree.
8 Facility Maps
When viewing multiple cameras from multiple locations, camera names might not be descriptive enough to identify a camera. Use Facility Maps to upload images of your buildings and then place cameras on the image representing camera placement. This feature supports multiple layers of maps that can link to one another and supports cameras on each map. Layouts can also be placed on Facility Maps. From the Setup menu, select “Facility Maps”
8.1
Steps to add a Map:
1. Select “Add New” 2. Enter a name for the map3. Browse folders for maps
4. This setting allows you to resize the image that you have imported. You may need to resize if your original image is too large or too small. You may need to resize your image to fit on the screen correctly.
5. After the map is displayed on the screen, click “Save” to save the map.
6. Using your mouse, drag cameras from the left tree onto the map. To add a link to another map, drag the map into the proper location. To remove a camera or map, double click on the icon you wish to remove.
8.2
Add Items to the Map (Cameras, layouts, and other facility
maps)
Once you have uploaded the map, you are then ready to add items to the map.
The left navigation shows the name of the map, the size of the map, and the server that this map is attached to. The Items Available show the various items than can be added to the facility map. The following are types of items that can be added:
Camera list – these are the cameras attached to this server.
All Servers – By expanding the “All server” option, you can view all servers that are being monitored and the associated cameras
Facility Maps – By expanding the Facility Maps, you can view other facility maps that have been set up. By placing a facility map onto another facility map, you can achieve multi layering, e.g. a map of the first floor is placed on a map of the school which is then placed on a map of the district.
Alarms – views all alarms that have been set up
Audio Sources – views all audio sources that have been set up.
To add any of these items to the facility map, simply drag and drop the item onto the appropriate location on the map. Once you have dragged a camera onto the facility map, you can then indicate the range and direction of the camera.
Drag the directional indicator by left clicking your mouse at the small end of the directional indicator and drag to the desired position.
The Show Live Video option facilitates the selection of cameras to be dragged onto the map. If this option is checked, then when a camera is selected from the Items Available tree is selected, the live video of that camera appears. In this case, we have selected the Main Entrance. By selecting Recent History, you can also view the last 30 seconds of recording video.
9 Security
The User Manager is used to setup users in the system and identify which cameras an individual user can access (recorded, live, and PTZ controls)
9.1
User Manager
If you have setup your users using the Active Directory interface in the Network Options, your Active Directory users and groups will already appear.
9.1.1 Add New User
For additional users or non Active Directory users, the first step in the process is to add your users. If you are setting up security in your installation, each user must be setup and their permissions granted. Select the appropriate server and then select the Add button.
The user name, full name, email address, and passwords must be setup. .
9.1.2 Camera Permissions
The Permissions specify if this user can view live and/or recorded video for specific cameras, audio, as well as if this user can control the specified PTZ camera. By placing a check next to the camera, the user is granted the permissions. By un- checking the box, the user is restricted from access and will not see the camera in the left side navigation.
Assign the appropriate permissions. Click Add
Click “Close” when finished.
Note: You will need to assign permissions to each new camera that is added to the system after you setup a user. The system does not automatically grant the user permission.
9.1.3 Facility Map Permissions
9.1.4 Layout Permissions
If custom layouts have been set up for this server, you can allow or disallow the user access to the layouts. For instance, in this situation we have setup two custom layouts. We will only allow access to the Southwest Campus for this user. If access to the custom layout is not authorized, the custom layout will not be displayed in the navigation tree for this user.
9.2
Group Manager
To set up permissions for multiple similar users, use the Group Manager to create groups. Select the Group Manager tab and then Add to create a new group.
Name the group and then add the users from this server to the group. You can then set up camera, facility map, and layout permissions for the group as a whole rather than user by user.
If you have set up an Active Directory group, the group will be automatically created in the IP Server user manager.
10 Layout Configuration
To customize the cameras displayed, use Layout Configuration, you can create any number of custom views and select the layout to display on startup. Custom layouts can be created using cameras from multiple servers.
10.1 Adding Custom Layouts
First select the server that will be the primary location of the custom layout, then name the layout and select the cameras. The new custom layout will then appear in the left navigation tree under the select server as well as the All Layouts option. If the user has the correct security access, he can see layouts from any server or combination of servers.
10.2 Layouts with Touring
The software also provides the capability to create custom layouts where multiple cameras cycle (tour) through one pane in the layout. To create this type of custom layout, create a layout as described above. For the pane that will contain the cycling cameras, select the “camera tour” which is the last entry in the camera list on the left side of the window.
When Camera Tour is selected and added to the right hand selected camera window, the following screen appears:
11 Rules Manager
The Rules Manager is a configuration wizard for Comprehensive Event Trigger (conditions)/ Actions. It can be used to set up a simple activity such as recording schedules.
Or complex cause and effect relationships with Boolean logic. • Triggers can be
o DIO Input o Motion Event o Alert Button o Scheduled
o Programmed -Remote triggers from the SDK • Resulting Actions include
o Create an action event for the Video Player o Send a digital Output on a specific port o Email custom message
o Email video to a specified user
o Flashback - Email a picture from a specific camera. The flashback function shows thumbnails of key motion movements for that recording. Instead of showing all motion, it analyzes the motion event and shows the most relevant image.
o Live Window – Pops up a window displaying the live feed of a camera. o Move a PTZ camera to a specific preset
o Record - Set a recording type o Create a video file with audio included •
• Example 1: When motion is detected or a door is opened during the time from 12 midnight to 8 AM, move the PTZ camera to a preset position and send an email.
• Example 2: On Sundays, if motion is detected, send an email and attach an AVI clip of the motion.
11.1 Rules
Rules in the Rules Manager are specific combinations of trigger events and schedules (if required) and their resulting actions. Each rule must have a rule name. For instance, a rule called Off hour Motion in Boy’s Gym could be set up such that when motion is detected on a camera in the Boy’s Gym during the time from 12 midnight to 6 AM, move the PTZ camera to a preset position, increase the recording frames per second and send an email to the security chief.
11.2 Steps for Rule Setup
11.2.1 Step 1 Create and Name a Rule
Select the Server and then name the task. Use the Advanced button to enable or disable the task. Task Enabled is the Default. Click the Next Button.
11.2.2 Step 2 – Schedules
Rules may or may not have schedules, i.e., the trigger events can be independent of any schedules or you may only be interested in triggers that occur during specific times.
To create a schedule, click the Add button.
Name the Schedule, in this case, Off Hours, and then set the schedule to run weekly or one time. Then select the schedule days and the schedule start and end time. Once OK has been clicked then the schedule has been setup.
Once the schedule has been set up, you can proceed to define trigger events. Note that a schedule is not required. If a rule has no schedule, then regardless of when a trigger event occurs, it will result in the defined actions. Conversely, rules do not require trigger events. For instance, you might want to execute an action such as record camera 2 always between midnight and 8 AM. In this situation you will have a schedule but no trigger events.
11.2.3 Step 3 – Define Events
Events can be Digital Input, Motion, Button, and Programmed (SDK input).
To create the condition of a back door open and setting off a digital input signal, select the Digital Input type and then the Add button. The following screen appears:
You can add as many conditions as you want. Note that you can set the Boolean logic to be “And” (all conditions must occur in order to trigger the event) or “Or” (any of the conditions will trigger the event). To add another condition (in this case Motion Detected), select a New Event of “Motion Detected” and select “Add”. Then indicate the camera that is monitoring for motion.
Lastly, SDK Events can be set up as event trigger.
Once all conditions have been set up, select the Next Button to proceed to the setup of Actions.
11.2.4 Step 4 – Define Actions
There are many available actions to define
• Create an action event for the Media Player • Send a digital Output on a specific port • Email custom message
• Email video to a specified user
• Flashback - Email a picture from a specific camera. The flashback function shows thumbnails of key motion movements for that recording. Instead of showing all motion, it analyzes the motion event and shows the most relevant image.
• Instant Replay – replays a clip of the last 30 seconds
• Live Window – Pops up a window displaying the live feed of a camera. • Message Instruction – Sends text message to all Monitor Stations currently in
operation. • Network Decoder
• Move a PTZ camera to a specific preset • Record - Set a recording type
• Record with audio
• Switch camera – This action switches the main layout of associated Monitor Stations to a specific camera. This action waits for a user defined interval before resending triggers to Monitor Stations.
• Switch layout – This action switches the main layout of associated Monitor Stations to a specific custom layout. This action waits for a user defined interval before resending triggers to Monitor Stations.
Continuing our example, we will set up three actions that will occur if the conditions have been met: Move a PTZ to a preset position, set the camera to record always, and send an email alert.
Move PTZ to a preset position.
A new recorded file can be created on Action Starting, Action Ending, or Action Starting and Ending. You can stop recording after a specified length, or at the end of the schedule. (See Advanced tab)
Once all of the actions have been setup, click the Finish button. Note that the actions will be performed in the sequence that they are listed. Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow to change the sequence of actions.
12 TV Decoders
Use this functionality to set up spot monitors for video out.
Decoder Name – Name for this Spot monitor IP Address of the decoding device
User Name and password for the decoding device.
Decoder Type – Type of decoder. Currently the software only supports Axis 292 decoders.
Video Sources – by selecting the Change button, a screen with available cameras for that server appears. You can then select the cameras to be displayed on the Video out.
