Product Evaluation Guide for MPL. Version 1.0

Transcription

1 Product Evaluation Guide for MPL Version 1.0

2 Table of Content Chapter 1 Introduction Purpose Outline...3 Chapter 2 Video Server ch/2ch/8ch Video Server Video Compression Technology Interlace and Motion Compensation Resolution Frame Rate (FPS) Bit Rate (bps) Multiple Streams Supported Low Pass Filter Built-in Hardware Motion Detection Digital Video Adjustment Audio (optional) PPPoE Supported DDNS Supported Quad Video Server...61 Chapter 3 Video Decoder Transparent Serial Port OSD Supported way Audio (Optional)...68 Chapter 4 IP Box Camera Analogue Video Adjustment Analogue Output Audio (Optional) Day & Night (Optional) PoE (Optional)...75 Chapter 5 IP Fixed Dome Analogue Video Adjustment IP66 and Vandal Proof (Optional)...77 Chapter 6 IP Speed Dome Analogue Video Adjustment PTZ function WDR (Optional)

3 Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Purpose This product evaluation guide is aimed to help customers to be familiar with ACTi products main features. After reading through this product evaluation guide, you will be confident in using ACTi products, and can easily demonstrate ACTi products to your customers at demo room or at your exhibitions. 1.2 Outline First of all, ACTi products are divided into 6 product categories which are Video Server, Video Decoder, IP Box Camera, IP Fixed Dome, IP Speed Dome and ACTi Software. Then we will go though each product category s main features by teaching you : (1) The definition of the feature (2) The benefit of the feature (3) The setup steps of the feature (4) The test method, we believe that you can be a good presenter for ACTi products. Please see the main features of each product category as the chart below. *1. Since ACTi IP Box Camera, IP Fixed Dome and IP Speed Domes include Video Server s features, so we don t repeat the same content in each session. Besides, we have some common features between IP Box Camera, IP Fixed Dome and IP Speed Dome. If you have different types of CAM series cameras, you could check the features below. Then you don t need to test same feature in different camera type. 2. Common features in IP Box Camera and IP Fixed Dome: (1) Analogue Output (2) Audio (3) Day & Night 3

4 (4) PoE 3. Common features in IP Box Camera and IP Speed Dome: (1) Audio (2) Day & Night 4. Common Features in IP Fixed Dome and IP Speed Dome: (1) IP66 and Vandal Proof Product Category Video Server Video Decoder IP Box Camera Features 1. MPEG-4 Compression 2. De-interlace Motion & De-interlace Blending 3. Resolution 4. Frame Rate 5. Bit Rate 6. Multiple Frames Supported 7. Low-pass filter 8. Built-in Hardware Motion Detection 9. Digital Video Adjustment 10. PPPoE Supported 11. DDNS Supported way Audio (Optional) 1. Transparent Serial Port 2. OSD Supported 3. 2-way Audio 1. MPEG-4 Compression 2. De-interlace Motion & De-interlace Blending 3. Resolution 4. Frame Rate 5. Bit Rate 6. Multiple Frames Supported 7. Low-pass filter 8. Built-in Hardware Motion Detection 9. Analogue Video Adjustment 10. Digital Video Adjustment 11. PPPoE Supported 12. DDNS Supported 13. Analogue Output 4

5 IP Fixed Dome IP Speed Dome way Audio (Optional) 15. Day & Night (Optional) 16. PoE (Optional) 1. MPEG-4 Compression 2. De-interlace Motion & De-interlace Blending 3. Resolution 4. Frame Rate 5. Bit Rate 6. Multiple Frames Supported 7. Low-pass filter 8. Built-in Hardware Motion Detection 9. Analogue Video Adjustment 10. Digital Video Adjustment 11. PPPoE Supported 12. DDNS Supported 13. Analogue Output 14. Audio (optional) 15. Day & Night (optional) 16. PoE (optional) 17. IP66 and Vandal Proof (Optional) 1. MPEG-4 Compression 2. De-interlace Motion & De-interlace Blending 3. Resolution 4. Frame Rate 5. Bit Rate 6. Multiple Frames Supported 7. Low-pass filter 8. Built-in Hardware Motion Detection 9. Analogue Video Adjustment 10. Digital Video Adjustment 11. PPPoE Supported 12. DDNS Supported 13. PTZ Function 14. WDR (Optional) 15. Audio (Optional) 16. Day & Night (Optional) 17. IP66 and Vandal Proof (Optional) 5

6 Chapter 2 Video Server ACTi have 1ch, 2ch, 8ch and Quad Video Server. 1ch/2ch/8ch Video Server provide independent stream for each analogue input, but Quad Video Server has only one digital output while connecting to 4 analogue devices ch/2ch/8ch Video Server Video Compression Technology 1. What is Video Compression Technology? There are many video compression standard, we can divide them into two types: Single frame compression and Multi-frame compression. (1) Single frame compression This compression technology sees each image frame as an individual picture and compresses them one by one. Single-frame compression technology includes - MJPEG MJPEG means Motion JPEG. It is a video compression algorism where each image frame is separately compressed into a JPEG image. (2) Multi-frame compression This compression technology compresses multi-images together. In the first frame, all data is stored. In the later frame, only the image variation is compressed. This technology is to reduce the image data size. With small data size, the storage and network requirement will be smaller as well. 6

7 Multiple-frame compression technology includes - MPEG-1 MPEG is a Video / Audio compression algorism which developed by the Moving-Picture-Expert-Group. MPEG-1 is their initial video and audio compression standard. It is the VCD video today. - MPEG-2 MPEG-2 is well known as DVD quality standard. It provides better quality then MPEG-1 but also requires a lot of bandwidth and storage size. - MPEG-4 MPEG-4 is developed from MPEG-2 to have better image compression ratio. MPEG-4 has different profiles like a. MPEG-4 SH (Short Header) b. MPEG-4 SP (Simple Profile) c. MPEG-4 ASP (Advanced Simple Profile) ACTi MPEG-4 follows ISO standard and provides Advanced Simple Profile (ASP) at level 5. - H.264 (known as MPEG-4 part 10) H.264 is next generation s compression standard. It provides even better compression ratio than MPEG-4 but it requires a lot more compression and decompression power on encoder and decoder site. Because of the computing power requirement for decoder site, H.264 is still some steps away from current IP video surveillance system. 2. What is the MPEG-4 Compression technology s benefit? ACTi use MPEG-4 compression technology since in IP Surveillance world, video is transmitted on limited bandwidth. Considering the bandwidth issue 7

8 and the video quality, MPEG-4 is the most preferable technology to adopt. If you see the comparison table of compression technology below, MPEG-4 can produce the smallest file of 30FPS except H.264. Compression Algorism Basic Compression Scheme Resolution Compression Ratio Typical Bit-rate 30fps 30fps H.264 Moving Picture HD / D1 / CIF 40~ Mbps 0.45 Mbps MPEG-4 Moving Picture D1 / CIF 30~ Mbps 0.75 Mbps H.263 Moving Picture CIF 25~100 - Mbps 1.2 Mbps MPEG-1 Moving Picture CIF 25~100 - Mbps 1.2 Mbps JPEG2000 Still Image SXGA / XGA / D1 / CIF Mbps 2Mbps MPEG-2 Moving Picture D1 30~120 6Mbps 3Mbps Wavelet Still Image SXGA / XGA / D1 / CIF 15~30 8Mbps 4Mbps JPEG Still Image SXGA / XGA / D1 / CIF 10~20 12 Mbps 6Mbps In addition, please see the table below for comparison based on either a. Same video quality b. Same bit rate consumed c. Bit rate requirement by frames. Same Video Quality Video Quality Bandwidth required Storage Size required MJPEG Same Very Big Very Big MPEG-2 Same Very Big Very Big MPEG-4 Same Small Small NOTE: H.264 is not listed because the discussion is about current IP Surveillance system compression standard. Same Bit rate Video Quality Bandwidth required Storage Size required MJPEG Fair Same Same MPEG-2 Fair Same Same MPEG-4 Best Same Same 8

9 NOTE: H.264 is not listed because the discussion is about current IP Surveillance system compression standard. Bandwidth requirement by frame rates MJPEG MPEG-4 3. How to set up? Basically, All ACTi products use MPEG4 compression technology. Without any settings, you can easily see the MPEG4 video on our Web Configurator or Streaming Activator Interlace and Motion Compensation 1. What is interlaced scanning and progressive scanning? And what is de-interlace feature? There are two scanning techniques of video in the world right now, which are Interlaced Scanning and Progressive Scanning. 9

10 Interlaced Scanning (SONY RZ25N: Shutter Speed 1/60sec, 2MB bit rate) Progressive Scanning (AXIS 211: Shutter Speed 1/60sec, 5MB bit rate) Interlaced Scanning divides the image horizontal lines into odd and even lines and then alternately refreshes them at 30/25 frames per second. The time difference between odd and even line causes distortion or jaggedness. + = 1 st : Odd field 2 nd : Even field One Complete Frame Progressive Scanning scans the entire image line by line. It puts every line in an order (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, etc.) so there is no flickering effect virtually. Since most of analogue cameras use interlaced scanning, ACTi MPEG-4 ASP compression chip can do de-interlace to improve the distortion or jaggedness. 2. What is the benefit of de-interlace? During video compression, the interlace problem can be solved and produce better video. ACTi de-interlace feature has two options: one is de-interlace 10

11 blending, and the other one is de-interlace motion. De-interlace blending has better still image quality since we improve the jaggedness. De-interlace motion has better motion image quality due to the removed distortion. Please see the table below for how the interlace compensation improve the interlace images. Interlaced Normal SONY RZ25N Interlace -Blending ACTi, CAM-6100 Interlace -Motion ACTi, CAM How to set de-interlace motion and de-interlace blending? 11

12 Please go to Web Configurator and in Video Setting page, there is a column called frame integration. You can select deinterlace-blending or deinterlace-motion. After you set de-interlace blending or de-interlace motion in Video Setting page, please click apply and then your setting will be changed directly (No Save Reboot). 4. How to test de-interlace feature? Then please go to Video Display page. Use your camera to watch a running car, and you will find the difference between de-interlace blending effect and de-interlace motion effect. In addition to use Web Configurator to test de-interlace feature, you also can use Streaming Activator to connect 2 cameras at the same time. 12

13 2.1.3 Resolution 1. What is the best resolution ACTi can provide? When looking at the definition of Resolution, it is a similar concept in analogue world and digital world. Resolution in analogue world means TV lines, but Resolution in digital world means the picture is made up of pixels. Since ACTi use MPEG-4 ASP compression technology, we can provide D1 resolution (720 X 480 in NTSC; 720 X 576 in PAL) which is DVD standard. If you look further, you will easily find that D1 is bigger than 4CIF resolution and VGA resolution which are other IP Surveillance manufacturers doing. 2. What is the benefit of having D1 resolution? D1 resolution means higher resolution, bigger and clear image. Most importantly, D1 resolution is DVD standard. In the security industry, video quality is essential. Customers want to see clear, especially when event happens. Here, resolution decides the image size which can let customers see clearly. 13

14 3. How to set up resolution? There are two ways you can set up resolution one from Web Configurator and the other one from NVR 2.0 software. (1) Web Configurator Login the Web Configurator and then Video Setting page. There is a column called Resolution. You can choose the resolution you want and then click apply. Your setting will be on-the-fly change. (2) NVR 2.0 Software When you click on ActiveSetup.lnk Active Setup on your PC desktop and enter your User name and password. Then click Setup Camera icon on the top. 14

15 You can find Video Setting at the bottom of the page. There is a column called 15

16 Resolution. Then you can select the resolution which meets your requirement. After changing any settings here, please remember to click Apply and Save Reboot. 4. How to test the resolution? Please go to Web Configurator and then Video Display page. You will see the video based on your resolution setting. CIF resolution 352x240 D1 Resolution 720x480 As you can see from the above, with D1 resolution, the video is larger and clearer Frame Rate (FPS) 1. What is Frame Rate? Frame Rate means how many frames can be compressed and transmitted per second. Using ACTi products, it is also doable to send video with different frame rate setting to different recipients (maximum is 4).This is very useful when the 16

17 bandwidth is critical in some local areas. 2. What is the benefit of providing Frame Rate options? When we compress and transmit more frames per second, the video quality becomes smoother. In other words, 30FPS performs better video quality than 5FPS. Since Frame Rate can be set according to different requirements, you can easily save more bandwidth if you reduce the frame rate setting. 3. How to set Frame Rate? There are two ways you can set up Frame Rate. One is from Web Configurator and the other one from NVR 2.0 Software. (1) Web Configurator Please go to Web Configurator and Video Setting page. First of all. please select Frame Rate Mode You can select Constant or Variable. - Constant Frame Rate: The streaming s frame rate remains constant at all conditions. - Variable Frame Rate: It enables ACTi IP device to send multiple video streams with different frame rates to different recipients. This is very useful when the bandwidth is critical in some applications. 17

18 Then, please select Frame Rate you can choose the frame rate you d like to have. When you set Constant Frame Rate Mode, the Frame Rate you can select is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 15,

19 When you set Variable Frame Rate Mode, the Frame Rate you can select is 1, 3, 6, 30. (2) NVR 2.0 Software 19

20 Please click ActiveSetup.lnk Active setup on your PC desktop and click Setup Camera icon on the top. After entering Camera Setup page, you can find Video Setting on the bottom of the page. Please select correct Frame Rate Mode and FPS according to your environment. And please remember to click Apply and Save Reboot after changing settings. 4. How to test Frame Rate? Connect to two cameras and set one with 30 FPS and the other one with 7 FPS. Then use NVR2.0 to record. Please click ActivePlayer.lnk Active Play on your PC desktop and click Playback icon on the top to find recording file by date or time. 20

21 Then click Export to convert your recording file to AVI. File. You can check file size from the recording file s folder: click on the right side of the mouse and select properties. 7FPS with D1 resolution and 3Mbps: 6.92MB 30FPS with D1 resolution and 3 Mbps: 43.9MB 21

22 As you can see the file size for 7 FPS (6.92MB) is a lot smaller than the one at 30FPS (43.9MB). Therefore, when you have a limited bandwidth or if you want to save storage, you can select 7 FPS. Another way to test the difference is to use Windows Media Player to play the video. 22

23 You will see that the video of 30 FPS is a lot smoother than the 7FPS Bit Rate (bps) 1. What is Bit Rate? MPEG-4 images are received in a continuous data stream. They are not individual files. The bit rate is referred to the calculator which measures the amount of video data transmitted. For instance, if you d like to set up a live video on your website and the bit rate you set is 3MB, you need to apply for at least 3Mbps (upload) from your local ISP. You can refer to the bandwidth requirement chart below, when selecting D1 resolution, 30/25FPS, and 1.5Mbps as bit rate, connecting 4 video servers simultaneously requires 6MB. Bandwidth Requirement (bps) Video Settings Number of Channels Resolution Frame Rate NTSC PAL Bit Rate 4ch 9ch 16ch 32ch M 6.0 M 13.5 M 24.0 M 48.0 M K 3.0M 6.8M 12.0M 24.0M D K 2.0M 4.5M 8.0M 16.0M K 1.0 M 2.3 M 4.1 M 8.2 M K 0.2 M 0.5 M 0.9 M 1.8 M K 3.0M 6.8M 12.0M 24.0M K 1.5M 3.5M 6.1M 12.3M CIF K 1.0 M 2.3 M 4.1 M 8.2 M K 0.5 M 1.2 M 2.0 M 4.1 M K 0.1 M 0.3 M 0.4 M 0.9 M In addition, by calculating the bit rate which is set, the result you will get is also the bandwidth you need for storage. 23

24 Calculation: Bit Rate / 8 (bits in a byte) X 3600s = KB per hour / 1000 = MB per hour MB per hour X operation hours per day / 1000 = GB per day GB per day X requested period of storage (i.e. 14days or 30days) = Storage needed Recording Requirement Video Settings Time Frame Resolution Frame Rate NTSC PAL Bit Rate 1 sec 1 day 14 days 30 days M K 16.2 G G G K 93.8 K 8.1 G G G D K 62.5 K 5.4 G 75.6 G G K 32.0 K 2.8 G 38.7 G 82.9 G K 7.0 K 0.6 G 8.5 G 18.1 G K 93.8 K 8.1 G G G K 48.0 K 4.1 G 58.1 G G CIF K 32.0 K 2.8 G 38.7 G 82.9 G K 16.0 K 1.4 G 19.4 G 41.5 G K 3.5 K 0.3 G 4.2 G 9.1 G 2. What is the benefit of setting Bit Rate? ACTi can provide 3Mbps as the highest bit rate and it shows details in the images. But this would be an ideal situation if bandwidth is not a concern for customers. While bandwidth is the common issues to be considered, D1 at 30/25FPS and the bit rate 1.2Mbps can also provide good video quality. 3. How to set Bit Rate? There are two ways to set Bit Rate, one from Web Configurator and the other one from NVR 2.0 Software. (1) Web Configurator Please go to Web Configurator and then Video Setting page and then you can set Bit Rate from 28Kbps to 3Mbps. 24

25 (2) NVR 2.0 Software Please click ActiveSetup.lnk Active Setup on your PC desktop and click Setup Camera icon. 25

26 You can find Video Setting near the bottom of the page. There is a column called Bit Rate where you can set from 28kbps to 3mbps. When having different combination of Resolution and Frame Rate, the minimum bit rate you should set is shown below: Resolution Frame Rate (FPS) Minimum Bit Rate (bps) Setting D1 30/25 750kbps D1 15/12 500kbps CIF 30/25 256kbps 4. How to test Bit Rate? Please download DU Meter from: DU Meter keeps track of the amount of your network bandwidth usage on the computer it is installed. It is an invaluable tool for: 26

27 - determining your current network traffic amount, and an average amount over time - making sure all devices are uploading and downloading at an acceptable transfer rate Installation Procedures: Please download from the link above and follow its official installation instructions. Commonly-Used Functions: Here are some useful features of the DU Meter: Table 1: DU Meter Main Window Traffic Graph: Graphically shows the current network usage relative to the previously logged usage. Current Download Rate: Numerically shows the current rate of download, in kilobits per second or kilobytes per second. Current Upload Rate: Numerically shows the current rate of upload, in kilobits per second or kilobytes per second. Pop-Up Menu: Right-click on the main window for additionally options. Options: Clicking on the Options selection brings the following window: 27

28 - Always on Top: Keeps the main DU Meter always visible regardless which program is currently active. - Display Units: Select Kilobits per Second to keep the units consistent with ACTi standard. New Stopwatch: Brings out a stopwatch which you can start and stop to measure the average transfer rate over an amount of time. Image Quality Basically, images quality is related to the Resolution, Frame rate and Bit rate. Below is a table of resolution, frame rate and bit rate setting of good MPEG4 image quality. In order to meet different requirements, you can test the image quality accordingly. MPEG4 Image Quality Good Excellent D1 NTSC: 720x480 3Mbps 30/25FPS PAL: 720x Mbps 15/12FPS CIF: NTSC: 360x Kbps 30/25FPS PAL: 360x Kbps 15/12FPS Or you can test in NVR 2.0. Connect two cameras and set one for 1.2Mbps and 28

29 the other for 3Mbps. Then preview two Cameras at the same time and you can see the quality difference as follows: 1.2Mbps 3Mbps 29

30 You will find that the bigger the bit rate you set, the clearer image you get Multiple Streams Supported 1. What is Multiple Streams? Multiple Streams mean you can get up to 4 streams from one single-channel video server and the 4 streams have same resolution, bit rate settings but with different frame rates. This feature is to provide the video streams to different downloading applications via NVR server setting. For instance, 30FPS can be recorded and previewed by A client and 30FPS can be recorded and previewed by B client. 2. What is the benefit of Multiple Streams? ACTi has always been outspoken for the importance of high resolution at low bit 30

31 rate. We designed this feature for reducing bit rate via frame rate difference. So your bandwidth would not be consumed too much. Moreover, with this feature, it can be broadly used in different applications, such as recording via LAN at higher frame rate, and preview via WAN at lower frame rate. 3. How to set Multiple Streams? Please follow the steps below to set Multiple Streams. Step 1: Web Configurator 1. Please go to Web Configurator and then Video Setting page. Select Frame Rate Mode as Variable. Step 2: NVR 2.0 Software Please click ActiveSetup.lnk Active Setup icon on your PC desktop and click Setup Camera icon. 31

32 You can find Frame Rate Setting near the bottom of the page. There is a column called Frame Mode where you can select Variable. Then you can set different frame rates from 1-30 FPS for Live View, Remote Live View, Record, Scheduled Record and Event Record based on your requirement. 4. How to test Multiple Streams? Example 1. Please select different frame rates for Live view and Remote Live View. Then go to preview and check DU Meter to see the difference. The lower the frame rate you set, the smaller the bandwidth is. *Remember whenever you have changed settings in camera setting page, if your Active Monitor is turned during setting, you have to close and re-activate Active Monitor. 32

33 (1) Live View 30 FPS / Remote Live View 6 FPS The DU Meter shows the current network usage is 3.25 Mbps. 33

34 (2) Live View 30 FPS / Remote Live View 30 FPS The DU Meter shows the current network usage is 4.41 Mbps. Example 2. Another example is to select different frame rate for Live View and Record. Remember to click Apply and Save And Reboot Then check DU meter when preview. 34

35 (1) Live View 6 FPS / Recording 30 FPS The DU Meter shows the current network usage is 2.02 Mbps. 35

36 (2) Live View 30 FPS / Recording 30 FPS The DU Meter shows the current network usage is 6.60 Mbps. As you can see, when you set Live View at 6 FPS and Recording at 30 FPS, the network usage is 5.05 Mbps which is smaller. This can be used when you have a limited bandwidth Low Pass Filter 1. What is Low Pass Filter? Low Pass Filter is to remove all the high-frequency signals. Noise is one of the high-frequency signals. However, the trade-off of this feature is the finest details of the video are also possibly to be taken away. 36

37 The pictures below show the difference between the effect of enabling Low Pass Filter and disabling it. You will find that when Low Pass Filter is enabled, the noises are reduces but the image becomes more fuzzy. 37

38 Disable the LowPassFilter Enable the LowPassFilter 2. What is the benefit of Low Pass Filter? Low Pass Filter can clean the video noises. Moreover, since the noises are 38

39 removed, the chances of increasing the bandwidth rapidly and enormously can be reduced. 3. How to set Low Pass Filter? Please go to Web Configurator and then Video Setting page, and enable LowPassFilter. There are 3 levels for your selection. 4. How to test Low Pass Filter? Please connect 2 Video Servers (or one 2ch Video Server) with 2 analogue cameras without Day & Night function. One Video Server turns on the Low Pass Filter, and the other one turns it off. You can recognize the difference of the noise and details Built-in Hardware Motion Detection 1. What is built-in hardware motion detection? 39

40 Since ACTi Video Server has built-in hardware motion detection, customers can select 3 different areas to be detected. If any motions are detected, video server can directly send , FTP or trigger digital output. Moreover, hardware motion detection means that the event handling is in the video server itself, not at the software side. 2. What is the benefit of built-in hardware motion detection? Due to the hardware motion detection, the detection is precise, accurate and do not need to use PC s CPU (software application) to analyze the event. 3. How to set up motion detection? There are two ways to set up motion detection, one from Web Configurator and the other from NVR 2.0 Software. (1) Web Configurator Login the Web Configurator and then Video Adjust page. And please follow the instructions below to set up Motion Detection area. 40

41 * How to set up Motion Detection sensitivity? 41

42 It is important to set the motion detection sensitivity to a right parameter. Please refer to the table below. Connection Type TCP/IP Multicast Motion Detection Sensitivity (2) NVR 2.0 Software Step 1. Please click ActiveSetup.lnk Active Setup icon on your PC desktop and click Setup Camera icon. Step 2. Click Motion and then you will see the screen below. Step 3. Please click Live View. You will see the video display. Step 4. Please click Get Server Setting to see if you have already set any motion detection areas in Web Configurator. If you already have any settings done in Web Configurator, the little square before the Motion 1 Event should be clicked. 42

43 Step 5. If you haven t done any motion detection setting in Web Configurator, or you d like to add more motion areas, please click the little square next to the Motion Event (1, 2, 3). Step 6. After completed the settings, please do remember to click Apply and you will see Saved! as the image below. 43

44 4. How to test Motion Detection? Step 1. Please click ActiveSetup.lnk Active Setup icon on your PC desktop and click Setup Camera icon. Step 2. Then, please go to Schedule page. Here you can set up your recording as continuous recording or schedule recording or event with streaming. Please remember to click Apply after settings. 44

45 Step 3. After you completed the settings for Motion Detection Areas and Schedule Recording, please go to Event Manager page. This section lets user select which event actions will happen when event is triggered. Use your mouse to click the Event Type you d like to choose (for instance, MD1 in the image below is marked in red). 45

46 Step 4. Then, please you will see the Action at the mid of the display also clicked like below. 46

47 Step 5. There are many actions for you to select: Trigger Digital Output Beep for how many seconds and how many times Play Audio File for how many times Activate Hot-Spot Window Activate Pop-up Window Send snapshot to FTP Send notification to (w/ or w/o snapshot) Send PTZ Command Here, we d like to take some examples for your reference. * Please note that after any settings, do remember to click Apply on the top of the page to save the setting. (1) Trigger Digital Output There are two ways to trigger Digital Output. One is in Event Manager, click Trigger DO1 / DO2 to enable/disable Digital Output when this event occurs and enter the period of the Digital Output to be triggered. The other one is when you preview, you d like to trigger the DO compulsively, you can click DO1 icon on Active Monitor page. (2) Hot-Spot Window Please click Hot-Spot Window and set the Dwell Time. Please click Apply then. Now please see the change before and after event occurs as below. 47

48 Before event occurs After event occurs (3) Pop-up Window Multi preview window will pop-up when event occurs, Pop-up window will be 48

49 dismissed when user-defined dwell time elapsed. (4) Send Snapshot to FTP Step 1. Please go to Setup System and then click System page. In System FTP Setting, please enter your information into the blanks. 49

50 Step 2. Please Click Setup Camera icon and enter Event Manager page. First, click on snapshots if you would like to see pictures in and ftp. Second, Click to enable upload FTP. (5) Send Notification to (with or without snapshot attached) Step 1. Please go to information. Setup System and go to System to enter user 50

51 Step 2. Please Click Setup Camera icon and enter Event Manager page. Then please click Action, Mail, Snapshot, and Notification via . 51

52 * If you d like to send to any new account addition to administrator, please enter Setup System page and go to Account page. Once you add a new user, you will be able to find his/her name on the mail list on Event Manager page. Step 3. Please see below to learn how to check if you have successfully set the notification. First of all, you can see uploaded snapshots when an even occurs. Here is a snapshot image. 52

53 Once there is any event triggered, you can see messages in your box Digital Video Adjustment 1. What is Digital Video Adjustment in Web Configurator? In addition to Analogue Video Adjustment, we also built in this Digital Video Adjustment in Web Configurator. Here, you can set up Hue, Brightness, Saturation and Contrast of the images. 53

54 2. What is the benefit of having Digital Video Adjustment? Since the standard of good-color pictures is not the same from everyone s point of view, via this setting, you can enhance your image s color performance according to different environments. 3. How to set and test Digital Video Adjustment? There are two ways to set Digital Video Adjustment, one from Web Configurator and the other from NVR 2.0. (1) Web Configurator Please go to Web Configurator and then Video Adjust page and change the settings based on what you see. After setting up, please click Apply and Save Reboot to reset the values of each parameter. You may click Video Display to see if the image is set correctly. (2) NVR 2.0 Software Please go to Setup Camera page of Active Setup. You can modify Hue, Brightness, Saturation and Contrast based on what you see. 54

55 Then check if the video is set correctly Audio (optional) 1. What is Audio Function? ACTi s Video Server has 2-way audio audio-input and audio-output. 2. What is the benefit of Audio Function? With 2-way audio, customers can hear what happened on site and can also speak to the people in camera site. 3. How to set up Audio function? When you connect external microphone and speaker to the video server, please use Stereo Audio Connector. 4. How to test Audio function? There are two standards when testing and demonstrating the audio function the Audio/Video synchronization and the audio clearness. Note: To test the synchronization, it is suggested connecting the video server s video-in and audio-in to a DVD player. 55

56 (1) Web Configurator Step1. Connect the video server s Audio-in and Video-in to respective devices. Step 2. Login Web Configurator andthen Video Setting page. Make sure it is using TCP2.0 protocol. Step 3. Click Video Display. Please confirm: a. is the audio clear? b. is the audio synchronized with the video? (2) Web Configurator 1. Connect the microphone to the PC running NVR Connect the video server to a speaker. 3. Setup Channel 1 with information about this video server. 4. Connect to the video server. 5. Go to Monitor page and press Talk icon to enable audio transmission to the selected video device and adjust the volume. 6. Start to speak to the microphone connected to the PC. Please confirm -is the audio coming out from the speaker connected to the video server? -is the audio clear? 56

57 PPPoE Supported 1. What is PPPoE? PPPoE means Point-to-Point over Ethernet. It is a network protocol which ACTi video server and IP cameras supported. 2. What is the benefit of using PPPoE? PPPoE is used when the streams need to go on to the internet (via WAN port). Since the internet s bandwidth is critical, the WAN port is equipped with a low latency PPPoE which has excellent transmission speed and enables the video server / IP cameras to connect to an ADSL or a cable modem directly. 3. How to set up PPPoE? Please plug your Cat5 cable into the WAN port, then please go to Web Configurator and then WAN Setting page. Click PPPoE and key-in your user name and password given by your ISP. Remember to click Apply and Save Reboot so your settings can be kept. 57

58 DDNS Supported 1. What is DDNS? Before introducing what DDNS service is, it would be helpful to explain IP address type first. All the IP addresses can be divided into two categories: one is Public IP Address, and the other is Private IP Address. And Public IP Address has two types: one is Static IP Address, and the other is Dynamic IP Address. According to the definition of Dynamic IP Address above, Dynamic IP Address is temporary. It would be troublesome that you will have different IP Address once you disconnect and reconnect with the internet. Thus, using DDNS service can allow you not to apply for a Static IP Address which is expensive, but can give you a more convenient way to be identified on the internet. 58

59 DDNS is referred to Dynamic Domain Name Server. Via Web Configurator setting, you can set the video server / IP camera at a virtual domain name at dynamic IP. Everyone can use the virtual domain name to view the video from anywhere which has the access to the internet. 2. What is the benefit of using DDNS? Using DDNS service can avoid the IP address keeping changing. You don t need to memorize each temporary IP address; instead, you can have an easily-remembered hostname for login registration. 3. How to set up DDNS? Please refer to in DDNS Server Setting column, you can find many Service ISP. You may choose any one of those DDNS service providers and apply for a hostname. Take as an example, (1) Go to visit (2) Click on Add to add new account (3) Click on Account (4) Go to Create Account to fill in all the information (5) Then, please use the account name and password to log in (6) After login, click on My services (7) Click on Add Host Services (8) Click on Add Dynamic DNS Host (9) Input the Hostname field (i.e. actidemo.dyndns.org) (10) Click on Add Host button (11) DDNS apply successfully (12) Go to Web Configurator and then Host Setting page, and enable DDNS service. 59

60 (13) Key-in the information you just set (14) Click Apply and Save Reboot (15) DDNS is set successfully (16) Run Internet Explorer, then type (17) You should be able to see the Web Configurator Screen on this hostname 60

61 2.2 Quad Video Server Since Quad Video Server is designed for building up a cost-effective solution, it has the following features: (1) 4 analogue inputs share one video stream with D1 resolution. (2) All the 4 channel can set motion detection, but the motion detection area is the whole picture of the camera screen. 61

62 Please go to Web Configurator and then Video Adjustment page. There is an option Motion Embedded. Here, you can choose the channel(s) you d like to activate motion detection. (3) Only one channel can set up 2-way audio. (4) Only one channel can set up DIO. 62

63 Chapter 3 Video Decoder Video Decoder can convert the digital video back to analogue video and display on TV monitor. Please see its main features as below. 3.1 Transparent Serial Port 1. What is Serial Port? ACTi has built in serial port (RS-485, RS-422, RS-232) in all the encoder devices (Video Servers, IP Cameras) and decoder devices (Video Decoder). You can use serial port to send PTZ command to speed dome. 2. What is transparent serial port s benefit? First, if you are a CCTV background customer, you don t need to change your user habits. You can use your existing control panel and analogue camera, and 63

64 use one set of Video Server and Video Decoder, your distance problem can easily be solved. In addition, since our built-in serial port is transparent, the maintenance job of supported protocol can be saved. When your analogue speed dome s protocol is not standard Pelco-P or Pelco-D, as long as your control panel can talk to your analogue speed dome, adding ACTi s devices in your system would not let you make any extra efforts. 3. How to set serial port? If you are using Analogue Camera + Video Server + Video Decoder: (1) Set Video Server s Dip Switch to RS-485, and connect speed dome s RS-485 with Video Server s RS-485. Dip Switch for Serial Port (2) Connect control panel s RS-485 with Video Decoder s TX+ and TX-. Terminal Blocks Pin 7~10 64

65 (3) Make sure the speed dome s settings are the same with control panel s settings (Camera ID / protocol / baud rate). (4) Go to Web Configurator of Video Server and Video Decoder to setup the baud rate, please refer to the firmware manual of each model. (Video Server: please set in Video Setting Page; Video Decoder: please set in Host Setting page). (5) Make sure the network is working. 4. How to test it? Please try to use control panel connected with your Video Decoder to do PTZ, and see if the image is moved according to your instructions. 3.2 OSD Supported 1. What is this feature? OSD means On Screen Display. In our Video Decoder setting, you can decide whether you d like to put Date Time, Server IP, Camera Name, Local IP, Motion Detect and DIO status on the display screen on TV. Furthermore, you even can select the location of OSD by setting coordinates (X, Y). 2. What is the benefit? When you look at the displayed TV monitor, OSD will help you know what happened on what time by showing the date time, motion detection, DIO status etc. In addition, when the video is disconnected or video loss, the TV screen will show ACTi logo picture saying ACTi Video Transcoder. This can help customer who are monitoring the video know what happened now. 65

66 3. How to set up? Please go to Web Configurator and then Host Setting page. (1) Please set the location by selecting the X-coordinate and Y-coordinate. (2) You can choose which item (Date Time, Server IP, Camera Name, Local IP, Motion Detect and DIO status) you d like to show on OSD. 4. How to test it? After you finish the settings, please click Apply and Save Reboot and see if your TV monitor has the OSD displayed. 66

67 67

68 3.3 2-way Audio (Optional) This feature s purpose is the same as audio function in Video Server. You can hear what happened at camera site and you can also talk to the people there. Using 2-way audio function in Video Server and Video Decoder can help you build up a video conference solution for your customers. The application diagram and bandwidth requirement are shown below. Resolution D1 (DVD Quality) CIF (VCD Quality) Real-time Video Half-smooth Video Real-time Video Half-smooth Video Video Frame Upload Download Rate Bandwidth Bandwidth NTSC PAL M 1.5 M K 750 K K 750 K K 384 K 68

69 Chapter 4 IP Box Camera ACTi s IP Box Camera contains two parts: one is analogue part (same as analogue camera), and the other one is encoder module where our core technology is. In terms of encoder module s feature, please look at the Video Server s introduction. For the rest of IP Box Camera s main features, please read the followings. 4.1 Analogue Video Adjustment 1. What is Dip Switch for? Professional camera manufacturers offer this feature to allow customers to adjust the analogue video settings according to different environment conditions; so do ACTi. In other words, the same settings cannot be used for all the lighting conditions. These settings can help you see the best image quality even at low-light condition. (1) Auto Iris Control Iris selection allows you to select between DC drive or Video drive to fit your auto iris lens. The DC level let you to adjust the aperture size of your auto iris lens. (2) Auto Electronic Shutter Iris and electric shutter is a way for camera to adopt to different lighting conditions (i.e. the light is very strong at 2:00PM and the light is very little at 11:00PM). The goal is to ensure the picture is not too bright or two dark. Iris is to control the lighting income to the CCD while electric shutter 69

70 controls how much lighting the CCD will accept by time length. Also, high speed electric shutter is very important if you d like to see high speed moving objects. But you will have less lighting income if you use high speed shutter. Disable this function when auto iris lens is attached. (3) Back Light Compensation (BLC) When a camera shooting from indoor to outdoor, you will have either a. Over bright outdoor images b. Too dark indoor images The fact you can t obtain clear images in both indoor & outdoor is called Backlighting problem. BLC (Backlight Compensation) is to solve this problem. (4) Flickerless When you set incorrect electronic shutter, your video will keep flickering, especially in Japan. Since the power supply frequency in the Kansai region is 60 Hz and that in the Kanto region (Tokyo) is 50 Hz, customers in Kanto need to enable this function to fix the electronic shutter at 1/50 sec 70

71 (5) Auto Gain Control (AGC) Gain Control allows camera to see in lower lighting environments. This is done at Analog DSP by electrically enhancing the images coming from CCD. While AGC is on, image is brighter and the noise becomes fuzzier across the image. It is because all values of video adjustment are pulled up, especially the brightness. a. Without sufficient lighting AGC OFF AGC ON b. With sufficient lighting AGC OFF AGC ON (6) Auto White Balance (AWB) When CCD transforms the lighting into electric signals, it s very hard for it to tell the color of each signal. That s why you sometimes see camera images having different colors with what human eyes see. White balance enables Analog DSP to modify to color to what human eyes see. If the white balance function is not set properly, you might see picture with wrong color as below. 71

72 True images White balance fail 2. What is the benefit of Analogue Video Adjustment s benefit? With these settings, you can set the video same as what our human eyes see. The images can be shown clearly even in low light condition or when the lighting difference is huge between indoor and outdoor. 3. How to set and test each function? You can try to adjust each setting and see if the change improves the images you are looking at. 72

73 4.2 Analogue Output 1. What is this feature? Analogue output is a composite connecter which can allow customers to (1) record video in DVR at camera site; or (2) adjust the video by watching the local TV monitor. 2. What is the benefit? With this composite connector, if you are a CCTV customer, you don t need to throw away your existing DVR and change your user habit. You can use this IP Box Camera as the analogue camera you are familiar with, record locally and display the video at camera site. 4.3 Audio (Optional) This function is designed as Video Server s audio function. The only difference is our IP Box Camera only has one-way audio which can allow you hear what happened at camera site but you cannot talk to the people there. 73

74 4.4 Day & Night (Optional) 1. What is Day & Night camera? Day & Night camera means the camera itself can switch to night mode (black and white mode) when it detects the environment is too dark. In addition, ACTi s Day & Night camera uses mechanical IR cut filter to do the switch job. Day Mode Night Mode 2. What is the benefit of using mechanical IR cut filter to do Day & Night switch? (1) Since we have built in mechanical IR cut filter, the color of images from our Day & Night camera is true, like what our human eyes see. (2) Our Day & Night camera with mechanical IR cut filter can support lower illumination than Digital Day & Night camera. Please see the difference between using electronic IR switch and using mechanical IR cut filter as below. a. Use Electronic IR Switch Day Mode Night Mode 74

75 b. Use Mechanical IR Cut Filter Day Mode Night Mode 3. How to set and test Day & Night function? You can put your Day & Night IP camera in the completely dark environment to see if it can switch to night mode automatically. 4.5 PoE (Optional) 1. What is PoE? PoE means Power over Ethernet. If you select our IP Box Camera with PoE function (CAM-5301, CAM-5321, CAM-5201, CAM-5221), and use it with PoE switch or Ethernet Switch + PoE injector, your Ethernet cable can transmit power and Ethernet at the same time. 2. What is the benefit of PoE? PoE can help you minimize the cabling and power supply job efforts. Most importantly, when your power cut down without any notice, your security system will keep working well. 3. How to set and test PoE function? 75

76 Please use ACTi PoE IP Cameras to connect with PoE equipments to try this application. You will find its convenience to use PoE model. Chapter 5 IP Fixed Dome ACTi IP Fixed Dome also contains encoder module in it so IP Fixed Dome has the same features as Video Server. The extra features which Video Server doesn t have are shown below. Besides, compared to IP Box Camera, our IP Fixed Dome has built-in lens, and has different form factor from Box Camera. Now we have two different models of IP Fixed Dome which are CAM-7200 and CAM-7300 series. CAM-7200 series is indoor and CAM-7300 series is outdoor. 5.1 Analogue Video Adjustment Our IP Fixed Dome has the analogue video adjustment settings, like our IP Box camera. So you can easily adjust the video setting according to the environment s 76

77 different conditions. 5.2 IP66 and Vandal Proof (Optional) IP stands for Ingress Protection. The rating s first digit i.e. IP66 is referred to the ingress protection against dust. 6 means dust tight, no ingress of tight. The second digit i.e. IP66 is referred to the ingress protection against water. 6 means protected against heavy water jets. 77

78 Vandal Proof means vandal resistant. For instance, our CAM-7300 is a vandal-proof camera. Its durability is up to 702 KgF. Chapter 6 IP Speed Dome Our IP Speed Dome is Analogue Speed Dome + Video Server inside. In addition to Video Server s features, please find other features IP Speed Dome has as below. 6.1 Analogue Video Adjustment Same as our IP Box Camera and IP Fixed Dome, our IP Speed Dome can allow you adjust the video by changing the analogue video setting like BLC, AWB, AGC etc. The only difference here is, the analogue video adjustment of IP Speed Dome is in OSD page. Please use Streaming Explorer to open OSD page. Then you can adjust the analogue video settings here. 78

79 6.2 PTZ function 1. What is PTZ? What is remote PTZ? PTZ is the standard feature our IP Speed Dome offers. P means Pan; T means Tilt; Z means Zoom. Besides, please see its PTZ spec as below. CAM-6500 series / CAM-6600 series Manual Speed Travel Range Zoom Lens Pan 0.6 ~ 80 / sec. Tilt Pan 360 endless Tilt -10 ~ 100 Zoom CAM-6500/CAM-6600: 22X Ratio CAM-6510/CAM-6610: 18X CAM-6520/CAM-6620: 23X Zoom CAM-6500/CAM-6600: 2.9 sec. Speed CAM-6510/CAM-6610: 2.1 sec. CAM-6520/CAM-6620: 2.9 sec. Remote PTZ means using NVR to control PTZ; or use control panel to set PTZ by connecting control panel with video decoder. 2. What is the benefit of remote PTZ? With the remote PTZ function, you don t need to stay at camera site to control PTZ. You can control the PTZ remotely via our NVR or Streaming Explorer. 3. How to set and test remote PTZ? There are two ways to control PTZ: one is to use hardware, and the other is to use software. (1) Control by hardware Controlling PTZ by hardware means you need a video decoder to connect with a control panel. 79

80 a. Connect control panel s RS-485 with Video Decoder s TX+ and TX-. b. Make sure the IP speed dome s settings are the same with control panel s settings (Camera ID / protocol / baud rate). c. Go to Web Configurator of IP Speed Dome and Video Decoder to setup the baud rate, please refer to the firmware manual of each model. (IP Speed Dome: please set in Video Setting Page; Video Decoder: please set in Host Setting page). d. Make sure the network is working. (2) Control by software Please use NVR or Streaming Explorer to test if your PTZ function can work successfully. 80

81 Before you enable PTZ on NVR or Streaming Explorer, please set up the following items so the software can talk to the IP Speed Dome. a. Protocol: Please select the protocol of your Speed Dome. b. Address ID: Set Speed Dome Address ID. The address ID just supports 001. c. Parity: Select the parity type of your PTZ device command. Please refer to your Speed Dome manual. Normally it should be Noneparity. d. Byte length: Select the Byte length of your Speed Dome command. Please refer to your Speed Dome manual. Normally it should be 8. e. Stop bit: Select the Stop bit of your Speed Dome command. Please refer to your Speed Dome manual. Normally it should be 1. f. Baud rate: Select the Baud rate of your Speed Dome command. Please refer to your Speed Dome manual. g. Please select the Pan/Tilt speed. 6.3 WDR (Optional) 1. What is WDR? 81

82 WDR (Wide Dynamic range) means the camera can accept more lighting range than normal camera. WDR aims to solve the Backlighting problem as BLC. Without WDR With WDR Without WDR 2. What is WDR s benefit? Compared with BLC, WDR is a newer technology and provides better performance. WDR can solve more Backlighting problem while BLC always fail when the Backlighting problem is not very little. 3. How to set and test WDR? You can put our CAM-6520 or CAM-6620 which has built-in WDR at the entrance of a building and focus on the people who walk from outside of the building. You can see the people s faces clearly even when the lighting difference is huge and the people are back-lighted. 82