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User’s Manual
2015/02/26
For Version 3.0.10
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NVR 3 Corporate User’s Manual
About This Manual
Target Audience
This manual is intended for End Users who actually execute security tasks such as monitoring
activities, patrolling secured zones, searching video data and managing alarms with use of
NVR surveillance system. The reader is expected to own not only the basic operation skills but
permissions to access major functionalities, as the access rights are based upon different user
roles defined by the System Administrators.
You may also check video management system section on ACTi corporate website:
http://www.acti.com/downloadcenter for updates or release information about this software
and this document.
Content Overview
This manual provides information needed for monitoring the whole system and playback
recordings. Its content consists of the following sections:
Login provides instructions on how to log in to NVR server system as different clients.
NVR User Interface Overview gives you a glance of the user interface components and
module functions.
Live View introduces the methods to add your desired channels and arrange your
customized live view layout on live view screen.
Monitoring provides guidance on how to read the system alerts and status, do live view
PTZ operations, take a snapshot and execute manual recording.
Playback gives instructions on how to perform synchronized playback and export files
from NVR server system.
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Related Documentation
Since this manual focuses on operation instructions for live view operations, playback, search
video and export files from NVR server, there is very limited information about system
installation and configurations for System Administrator. System Administrators and End
Users who would like to obtain the instructions on NVR system setup, please acquire the
latest ACTi NVR 3 Corporate System Administrator’s Manual from ACTi Download Center
http://www.acti.com/downloadcdenter
Technical Support
For technical support or feedback, please contact our engineers via our Customer Help Desk
platform http://www.acti.com/CHD
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Important Notice
Tip
The content within this box is a tip. A tip gives you an alternative method to easily or quickly
achieve an objective, usually for specific conditions.
The content within this box is an important notice. This notice is important for you to get
certain function to work properly, or to prevent from certain potential problems that may damage
your system. Make sure you read this notice and follow the instructions.
Note
The content within this box is a note. A note is some necessary information you need to know
about the action you are currently taking, like what will happen after you follow or don’t follow
certain procedure.
Conventions Used in This Manual
The following are typographic conventions used in this manual:
Bold: Bold typeface is used for a keyword, major functions of NVR, or a title of a
section/column.
Italic: Italic typeface is used for a filename or location path.
Underlined: Underlined typeface is used for a document name or hyperlink.
“Bold”: Bold interface enclosed in double quotation marks indicates the name of a button or
a choice item.
Some notices are placed within the following boxes; each type of the box indicates different
purposes or levels of importance for system:
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Legal Notice
Disclaimer.
The information contained in this document is intended for general information purposes.
ACTi Corporation shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or
consequential damages arising from the furnishing, performance, or use of this manual.
The information contained herein is subject to change without notice.
The English version of this document is the official one for all purpose. All the translated
versions are provided as a convenience. Any discrepancies or differences created in the
translations of any other languages are not legally binding.
Copyright .
Copyright ©2015 ACTi Corporation All Rights Reserved.
Trademarks
ACTi Connecting Vision and its logo are registered trademarks of ACTi
Corporation.
Microsoft® and Windows® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
All other product or company names mentioned in this document may be trademarks or
registered trademarks of their respective owners.
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Table of Contents
1 About This Manual 2
Target Audience ....................................................................................... 2
Content Overview .................................................................................... 2
Related Documentation ........................................................................... 3
Technical Support .................................................................................... 3
Conventions Used in This Manual .......................................................... 4
2 Legal Notice 5
Disclaimer. ................................................................................................ 5
Copyright . ................................................................................................ 5
Trademarks ............................................................................................... 5
3 Table of Contents 6
4 Overview 9
ACTi NVR Server-Client Architecture ..................................................... 9
5 Log in to the System 11
Access via Internet Explorer Browser ................................................. 11
Login ............................................................................................ 12
A. Enter Account & Password 12
B. Change UI language 12
C. Remember Account/Password 12
D. Retrieve the User Password 12
Access via NVR3 Workstation .............................................................. 13
Login ............................................................................................ 14
A. Choose a Server 14
B. Server IP & Server Port 14
C. Enter Account & Password 14
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D. Choose the Initial Screen 14
E. Language 14
F. Remember Login Information 15
G. Retrieve the User Password 15
Change User Profile ............................................................................... 16
6 NVR User Interface Overview 17
NVR Resident Tool Bars ........................................................................ 17
NVR Main Module Screens .................................................................... 19
Live View ...................................................................................... 19
Playback ...................................................................................... 19
Setup............................................................................................ 19
7 Live View 20
Watch Live View ..................................................................................... 21
Select a View ............................................................................... 21
Select a Camera .......................................................................... 22
Camera List 22
Remove a Channel ...................................................................... 23
Add Bookmark ............................................................................. 24
Enable View Patrol ....................................................................... 25
8 Monitor the System 26
Read System Alerts and Channel Status ............................................. 26
Channel Status ............................................................................ 26
Event Panel .................................................................................. 27
Instant Event Playback................................................................. 28
Pop-up Event Playback ................................................................ 29
Hot-spot Window .......................................................................... 29
Live View Operations ............................................................................. 31
Show Mini Live View Windows on a Map ..................................... 31
Adjust Audio-in Volume ................................................................ 32
Send Audio Signal ........................................................................ 32
Trigger Digital-out Device ............................................................. 33
Watch Instant Playback of a Channel .......................................... 34
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Manual Recording ........................................................................ 34
Take a Snapshot of Live Image .................................................... 35
Digital PTZ Operation .................................................................. 35
Optical PTZ Operation ................................................................. 36
PTZ Panel Overview 36
Using Mouse Controls 37
Navigate a Fisheye Camera Channel ................................ .......... 37
Change Fisheye Mode 37
PTZ Operation 38
9 Playback 39
Playback UI Introduction ....................................................................... 39
How to Do Playback ............................................................................... 40
Add Video Source ........................................................................ 40
Remove Unwanted Channels ...................................................... 40
Search on Time Bar ............................................................................... 42
Display Event Types ..................................................................... 42
Event Type Highlight Colors 43
Playback Controls ........................................................................ 43
Daylight Saving Time Switch ........................................................ 43
Digital Zoom on Channel View .............................................................. 44
Explore Fisheye View ............................................................................ 45
Search by Time ...................................................................................... 46
Search by Event Type ............................................................................ 47
Search by Video Analytics ................................ .................................... 48
View Search Results .............................................................................. 51
Take a Snapshot of the Playback View ................................................ 53
Export the Recordings .......................................................................... 54
Define the Section of Exported Video on Time Bar ...................... 54
Set the Export Video Settings ...................................................... 55
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Overview
ACTi NVR 3 Corporate (hereafter referred to as NVR 3) is a Windows-based software that
provides distributed network video surveillance solution with full functionality. This software
supports centralized management, scheduled recording, real-time monitoring and recording of
up to 100 ACTi video streaming devices from local or remote network, with rule-based services
to trigger multiple schedules and events.
ACTi NVR Server-Client Architecture
NVR 3 is a typical web-based server/client system. In a video surveillance system architecture,
the Server serves as a video management service provider, aimed to run 24/7 offering
non-stop services for clients. A Client makes requests of monitoring video streams or playback
recordings to Server, which can reside on the same computer with server program (as from
local) or on another computer (as from remote). Server starts automatically as soon as the
Server computer (where it is installed) boots up, and operates in the background without
requiring login by administrator. It would provide services over the TCP/IP network to multiple
Clients upon request through HTTP Protocol.
There are two types of Clients in NVR 3 system: Web Client and Workstation Client. A user,
connecting from whether web browser or workstation, will enjoy the same user interface and
NVR functions.
Workstation Client: the client application that can make accessing NVR server free from
counting on browser. The workstation contains a set of programs that provide interface
between users and the NVR server.
Web Client: the web version of interface to access NVR server without need of installing
any client program to become a client. Logging in the NVR server is as simple as visiting a
website through IE browser.
Mobile Client: the mobile client app that enables the mobile devices (iOS and Android) to
remotely access NVR server.
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Log in to the System
There are two types of clients in NVR 3 system: Web Client and Workstation Client.
Both clients will enjoy the same user interface and functions. A web client can access NVR 3
system via the Windows default browser: Internet Explorer; while a workstation client
requires the NVR3 Worksation pre-installed on the computer. This section will include the said
methods to access your NVR 3 system.
Access via Internet Explorer Browser
The computer where NVR server is installed is called Server Computer. You may access the
server directly via Internet Explorer or NVR3Workstation on any other client computer.
Please open your browser, in URL box, type http://server ip address:port number, e.g.
http://220.228.146.22:8888 (generally, the port number is 80 and can be ignored in the URL).
If your computer is exactly where the NVR server is installed, you may simply type
http://localhost:port number.
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Login
B
A
The email address input in Forgot
Password window should match
the one under your User account
saved in NVR server.
C
D
NVR 3 Corporate User’s Manual
A. Enter Account & Password
Please obtain the Account & Password
information from System Administrator
who has previously set up your User
account in NVR 3 system.
●Account (non case-sensitive): deckard
kain (example)
●Password (case-sensitive): Aa123456
(example)
B. Change UI language
To change UI language, select the desired
language from “Language” dropdown list.
C. Remember Account/Password
To have the server remember your Login Account and Password for future,
check “Remember Account/Password”. Click “Don’t Remember” will clear
your input text and reset to default.
To directly enter the main page every time you log in from this PC in the future
Check “Remember Account/Password” then “Auto Login” to skip the Login
page. If your computer may be accessed by someone without proper
authority, please DO NOT use either of these functions.
To cancel auto-login, on title bar, click “Logout” to return to login page,
and this function is cancelled.
D. Retrieve the User Password
Once you forget the password, you may first contact the System Administrator or try helping
yourself with this procedure. NVR can send your password to the email address you saved in
NVR server, and it is strongly that you update your personal information after your first login.
Please note that this procedure is only available when the NVR server has access to SMTP
service.
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B
D E F G A
C
Access via NVR3 Workstation
NVR3 Workstation includes a set of programs that provide the interface between users and
the NVR server. It may be installed in the NVR server, or in the remote client computer that
connects to the NVR server via network. For the local client of the NVR server, NVR3
Workstation will start automatically after you login to Windows; for the remote client, please
double-click the shortcut icon on your desktop to execute this workstation application.
Double-click the shortcut icon on your desktop to execute this workstation
application.
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Login
Fill in the following fields then click “Login” to log in to the system. The login process of
Workstation is very much the same as that of Web browser.
A. Choose a Server
NVR3 Workstation can remember multiple server sites and their login settings. Click on the
arrow next to Server Name, and select a site from the dropdown list to log in.
B. Server IP & Server Port
In Server IP field, key in localhost or 127.0.0.1 if NVR3 Workstation is on the same
computer with NVR server. If you are connecting from another computer, please input the ip
address of server computer, for example: 220.228.146.21.
In Server Port field, key in the server port number, default is 80.
C. Enter Account & Password
Please obtain the Account & Password information from System Administrator who has
previously set up your User account in NVR 3 system.
Account (non case-sensitive): deckard kain (example)
Password (case-sensitive): Aa123456 (example)
D. Choose the Initial Screen
NVR 3 user interface consists of three main module screens: Live
View, Playback and Setup, you may choose one where you would
like to enter after logging in. Default is Live View screen.
E. Language
Choose a UI language from dropdown list.
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F. Remember Login Information
To have NVR3 Workstation remember the Account, Password, your
choices of Initial Page and UI Language, simply check “Remember
login info”. Click “Don’t Remember” will clear your input text and reset to
default.
To directly enter the desired page every time you log in from this PC ,
check “Remember login info” then “Auto Login” to skip the Login page.
If your computer may be accessed by someone else, you might
consider not to use either of these functions.
To cancel auto-login, on title bar, click “Logout” to return to login
page, and this function is cancelled.
G. Retrieve the User Password
Please refer to D. Retrieve the User Password on page 12.
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Change User Profile
You can maintain your own account information on NVR interface without System
Administrator’s help.
On NVR screen, click “Update Profile”.
You may change the email address or password and then click “Apply” to save the settings to
NVR server.
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Layout Selection Bar
Tool Bar
NVR
Module
Bar
3
View Tool Bar
4 2 1
NVR User Interface Overview
Unlike some NVR system products on the market, whose tree-like structure may easily
confuse the User. NVR 3’s easy user interface structure saves you a lot of time and hassle
going from one page to another. Once you log in to the system, you may switch to any of the
main function modules: Live View, Playback and Setup on any screen.
Live View Playback Setup
NVR Resident Tool Bars
These resident tool bars are important functions or links that you often need through all the
operations in NVR system.
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1
4 3 2
Tool Bar: To the right of title bar reside three links to most-used functions throughout all
screens:
Options are certain useful functions you mostly need. The provided functions vary
on different screens.
Live view Screen Playback Screen Setup Screen
System Log provides the search
module for you to review the
records of user’s behavior on this server.
This is only available when your User right
has permission to access it.
About Us displays the software version number and required ActiveX Control
version number. You may also find ACTi supportive links here.
NVR Module Bar includes three main module screens: Live View, Playback and Setup. You
can click the button to enter the function page directly.
Layout Selection Bar provides different layout styles for Live View and Playback screen.
View Tool Bar provides function keys for View editing on Live View screen.
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In this module you can see live
view from cameras and devices,
perform PTZ operations with
mouse or Joystick, view system
log, receive alert on the Event
panel, setup view layouts,
perform manual recording or
take a snapshot.
You may find and playback
existing recordings in this
module. synchronously.
Snapshots or video segments
can be taken from playback files.
Recorded files can also be
exported to AVI format here.
This module includes user
setup, device setup, event
setup, schedule setup and
system-wide settings
NVR Main Module Screens
Click on the orange buttons on Module Bar to switch among these three main screens directly.
Live View
Playback
Setup
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View Tool Bar
Layout Selection Bar
Video Source Panels
View Info
Live View Display Area
QQuuiicckk CCoommmmaanndd BBaarr
Event Panel
Other Panels
Live View
Live View is the interface where you see the live views from your cameras. It is where most of
the security professionals access the surveillance system. Aside from keeping an eye on the
video, you may also cycle through View layouts, drag and drop various cameras to the screen,
review a log of events, take snapshots, control PTZ cameras, start or stop recording on a given
channel, trigger Digital output and broadcast or talk to specific cameras. In this section, you
will be given instructions on the said fundamental operations. To start, click Live View tab to
enter live view screen.
View Info: displays the information: [Current View name][Focused Channel name].
Video Source Panels: View List panel and Camera list panel provide two types of video
source for live view display area.
Event Panel: displays alerts of detected motion, abnormal system and device status.
Other Panels: POS panel and Extended Device panel display the lists of connected
devices.
Layout Selection Bar: offers different layout styles.
View Tool Bar: you may create a view and save it using the buttons here. You may also
assign specific layout to start patrolling.
Live View Display Area: you may add up to 64 channels into this area to monitor them
concurrently.
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Note
Based on your User Group permissions, you may or may not own the privilege
To create, edit or delete a Public View or a Private View
To assign a specific View as default View
To see all the cameras included in a Public View.
Therefore, you may find certain view edit functions not available on the View Tool Bar.
Watch Live View
Upon logging in to the system, you will enter the live view screen. If your System Administrator
or colleagues have already set the default layout, you may immediately see the live view, and
start monitoring without the need to arrange the cameras or layouts.
Select a View
In NVR 3 system, a View refers to the layout where the live images of a few cameras are
arranged in proper positions to suit the monitoring purpose. This is very similar to a Camera
Group, which consists of cameras in the same physical location or with the same camera
functions. For example, a View named First Floor may contain the cameras that actually
placed in the secured area on the first floor. Once created, each camera view is assigned to a
certain channel on the layout style selected by creator.
To watch a saved View, simply click on it on View List panel.
Above the View List panel title will display
[Current View name]:Camera name
The Public Views are open to every User
The Private Views are only available to the User
who created them. You may not see this folder if without the
User right to own the Private Views.
The view with a pin on it is set by System
Administrator as default view. You will enter this view every
time you log in.
For details about how to create and edit a View, please refer to the chapter Customize Views
in NVR 3 Corporate Administrator’s Manual.
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By Device IP By Device ID (default)
Select a Camera
To watch the live view of individual cameras, you need to identify and add this camera video
stream to a blank channel in display area. All the cameras that you are allowed to see are in
the Camera listpanel on the left. The permissions to watch different cameras are defined by
your User Group, the details of which are managed by the System Administrator.
To pull in video sources to the display area:
From Camera panel, double-click on a camera or drag it to Display area. By double-clicking
on “All Cameras”, all the cameras will be added to the Display area.
Camera List
To view the camera information, put the cursor over the
camera figure to bring the info box up.
In Camera panel, you may also sort the cameras in different order. Click on title bar, select
“Camera Sort”, and choose “by IP” or “by ID” as the sorting method.
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Remove a Channel
To remove a channel from display window, you may right-click to bring up quick menu on the
channel, and select “Remove” to remove this video source.
Remove All Channels
You may disconnect all cameras by clicking in title bar and selecting “Remove All”.
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Tip
Full Screen
On system title bar, click then select “Full Screen” to enter full screen mode. Click
the icon on top right corner of title bar to return to normal mode.
Stretch/Un-stretch Channel View
On title bar, click then select “Stretch” to make the width of video to fulfill the
window.
Add Bookmark
During live monitoring, you can create a bookmark of any time on any channel and edit your
remark for it. Select a channel, on the floating command bar, click on the bookmark button. On
Bookmark window, input the name and description of this bookmark and then click on “Apply”.
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Enable View Patrol
You may have the saved Views patrol in turns. In this way, the views in different areas in your
site may cycle through themselves for you automatically.
On title bar, click to select a saved patrol. As patrolling is running on Live View is doing
patrol, click to stop.
You may create an Instant Patrol, which will only temporarily take effect during your current
login.
To configure the instant patrol, please:
1. Define the Global Dwell Time between the
views. If you want to set different dwell time
length for individual Views, do not check this
option, and configure them separately in
below table.
2. Choose the Views to display in patrol. If you
select the All Cameras group, you will also
need to select “All Camera Layout Style” for
it.
3. Click “Apply” to save the settings. This patrol
will instantly start running until you click .
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The indicators
The color of two indicators on top right
channel title bar shows the following
status:
●Right
:Device is connected with video
presence
:Devices is not connected
:Device is connected, video is not
received
●Left
: Performing manual recording
: Taking snapshot
Device Name+ Date & Time
Monitor the System
The security monitoring, in surveillance world, involve monitoring or patrolling the whole site,
discovering unusual circumstances or investigating the scene at the earliest time. The said
tasks would require knowledge and skills to make use of NVR server functions. This section
will introduce the essentials of how you achieve the goal with NVR 3.0 server.
Read System Alerts and Channel Status
On NVR Live view screen, it is essential to observe the system status events. As unexpected
environmental factors or human behaviors may take place to influence your surveillance
system like power failure or internet connection interruption, NVR server may lose the
connection with cameras, and hence you might lose the important video evidence.
Channel Status
The title bar of each channel window displays certain status information about this camera.
If this camera is triggered by events such as video motion,
PIR motion or digital input device, the channel title bar would
turn red for a while to alert you that some movements have
been detected.
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Motion Name
Date & Time
Device Name
Detected Motion
Digital Input triggered
PIR Motion
Video Recovery
Video Loss
Network Recovery
Network Loss
Delete File Fail
Disk Full
Disk Not Found
Disk is Available
Server Recovery
Server Loss
Video Motion
Digital Input
PIR Motion
On a map channel, if a camera is triggered by events such as video motion, PIR motion or
digital input device, an event icon will blibk besided the camera icon for a few seconds.
Click on the camera icon to see mini live view window on the map.
Event Panel
It is important to check out the messages pushed into Event panel all the time. These
messages are arranged in a reverse-time order (newest on top, oldest on bottom).
The messages notify you of the following camera or system status:
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Important Notice
When NVR server fails to connect a device, to get the video or have disk problems, it might be
caused by a temporary network disconnection in your overall environment. The connection
might recover after the problem is fixed. If not, please contact your System Administrator.
Instant Event Playback
Among these types of Event messages, you may individually watch the event playback of a
motion (video motion, DI or PIR) event or transmission status event (video recovery & loss,
network recovery& loss).
To bring up the instant event playback window, double-click on an event entry:
As the window pops out, it will immediately start playing live view stream. You may draw the
time bar back and forth to search.
Click to play video, to pause, or to play live view video.
On time bar, click the blue mark or which indicates the event’s occurrence, and then
to playback this event.
Click to start manual recording the currently-playing video.
Click to take a snapshot of this view.
Click to switch to Playback screen.
Click on top right of the window title to close.
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Pop-up Event Playback
Sometimes the instant event playback window would automatically pop-up to notify you of
events detected on certain camera sites. As the events in certain sensitive spots will have
higher priority than other channels, your System Administrator would apply this “Pop-up Event
Window” function to these cameras. In this way, these critical events will be pushed into your
sight actively.
On the left of the window may list a series of motions detected within the same period. You
may double-click on any entry to see its live view or playback the event. This window would
automatically disappear after a while, and you may still look these events up in the Event
panel.
Hot-spot Window
In your Live View screen, the upper left window may sometimes display a camera video
instead of the original channel. This is because the events detected in certain sensitive spots
will have higher priority than other channels. Whichever View you are watching, the events
detected by those cameras will be temporarily displayed in this window to catch your attention.
You can set any other channel on your live view screen to be the default hotspot channel.
Right-click on the desired channel and select “Default Hotspot”
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Motion Region Indicator
The motion region indicator is a red frame that blinks when motion inside this ROI (Region of
Interest) is detected.
You can turn off the indicators of all
channels on Live View screen. On Live
View screen, click “Disable
Motion Alert”.
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Live View Operations
Aside from pure watching, there are more benefits provided by NVR server to accomplish
more tasks. For example, you may make use of the audio function to commutate with people
on camera side, look into more details with PTZ cameras, or navigate the whole scene on the
maps.
Show Mini Live View Windows on a Map
You may open mini live view windows of all cameras on a map channel to get an overview of
what is happening on this map.
Click on the icon to enter another linked map.
Double-click on a camera icon to open its live view window.
On the map channel, right-click and select “Show All Live View”.
If certain mini windows appear out of view, you can drag on anywhere on the map to move the
image until the window reveals.
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Microphone Off Microphone On
Adjust Audio-in Volume
If one or more cameras are connected with an audio-in device like a microphone, or supports
two-way audio function, the audio signal will be recorded along with video stream. You may
listen to the real-time audio on Live View screen or recorded audio in Playback screen. In
Live view, NVR server will send out the audio signal when you select a channel. On bottom
right of Live View screen is the audio-in volume control.
To mute the channel audio, click .
To activate the channel audio, click .
To adjust audio volume, drag on the volume meter.
Send Audio Signal
To talk to the audience through speaker connected to one camera, right-click on a channel
to bring up the quick menu, and select “Audio Out”. When this icon appears in orange, your
audio-out function is activated, every sound you make through the microphone on your client
computer will be sent out to this camera only.
To broadcast to multiple cameras, click on Live View Control
panel. Your audio will be sent to all the channels connected to a
speaker in current View.
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Trigger DO and sending audio to a specific device are only available on a single camera
channel. On a map channel, you may do “Audio Broadcast” to all devices in this view.
Note
Trigger Digital-out Device
If a camera is connected with a digital-out device such as a door contact or an alarm, you may
trigger it via NVR server on Live View screen. Do either of the following:
On the channel, right-click to bring up the quick menu, the DO icon will appear available if the
corresponding DO device is connected. Click “DO” to trigger it, click again to stop triggering.
As a channel is focused, click on Live view Control panel, click again to stop
triggering.
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Manual Recording
Watch Instant Playback of a Channel
You may watch the playback of any channel in a pop-up window on Live View without
switching to Playback screen. As a channel is focused, click on Live View Control
panel.
Manual Recording
You may manually record the real-time video on Live view screen. This video will only be
searchable in Playback. You may switch to Playback screen to find this clip (please refer to
the section in this manual: How to Do Playback on page 40 for instructions).
To do manual recording, do one of the following:
On a channel, right-click to bring up the quick menu, then select “Manual Record”.
Once the recording starts, the left indicator on the channel title bar will turn red. To stop
recording, click “Manual Record” again on quick menu.
To manual record all channels in current View, on Live view Control panel, click to
start; click to stop.
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Cancel Zoom area
Draw Zoom area
Take a Snapshot of Live Image
You may take a snapshot on a channel live image on Live View screen. The snapshot will be
saved to default folder on your client computer as .jpg format (The system default location is
Windows Desktop). You may find the location path on the bottom of NVR window after taking
a snapshot.
You may do one of the following to take a snapshot:
On a channel, right-click to bring up the quick menu and select “Snapshot”. While the
snapshot is being taken, the left indicator on the channel title bar will turn blue. After the picture
is taken, the indicator will then turn grey.
As a channel is focused, click on Live view Control
panel to take a snapshot.
Digital PTZ Operation
Regardless of the camera models, you may perform digital zooming on Live view screen.
1. Click and drag a highlight rectangle over
any channel, and the area highlighted will
be displayed in the full live video window.
In this mode, a picture-in-picture view will
show in the lower right of live view window.
A red rectangle will mark the currently
enlarged view area within the full size
video. You may drag the red rectangle
over the image to zoom another area.
2. To go back to the original full video view, just right-click on the minimized Picture in Picture
view.
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Zoom Controls
If the camera has controllable zoom,
these two buttons will zoom the lens
in or out.
Focus Controls
If the camera has
controllable focus, this will
shift the focus of the
camera.
Iris Controls
If the camera has
controllable iris, these two
buttons will modify Iris
level.
Pan/Tilt/Zoom Speed
Controls
Click on the speed
meter to define the
speed of PTZ
movement.
8-directional PTZ
navigation controls
Click to control PTZ
movements.
Digital/Optical Zoom switch
Click to switch the PTZ mode between digital PTZ and
optical PTZ mode . A non-PTZ device will only have digital
PTZ mode.
Goto Preset Menu
Select the preset point name
from the list to go to the spot.
Click the title “Goto Preset”
to close menu.
Preset Tour Menu
Select a tour name from the
list to start a PTZ tour.
Click ”Stop” to stop touring.
Click the title “Preset Tour”
to close menu.
PTZ Command Menu
Select a command from the
list to execute particular
action command. Click the
title “PTZ Command” to
close menu.
Optical PTZ Operation
If there is a camera supporting optical pan/tilt/zoom function in current view, you may operate it
via the PTZ panel.
Once you select the camera, the optical PTZ controls will become available on PTZ Panel.
PTZ Panel Overview
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Zoom in
Zoom out
Pan/Tilt
Using Mouse Controls
You may also use mouse to perform PTZ negation on a channel view or a mini live view
window on a map.
Place the mouse over the channel to do the following PTZ operations:
To execute optical Panning and Tilting, click anywhere on the live window to allow the
camera to move in that direction. The length of the direction indicator is proportional to the Pan
and Tilt speed. The farther you place the cursor from the center, the faster the Pan/Tilt
movement.
To execute optical Zoom in or Zoom out, scroll the mouse wheel forward to zoom in; scroll
the mouse wheel backward to zoom out.
Navigate a Fisheye Camera Channel
On a fisheye camera channel, you may change the fisheye view mode and view point at will.
What you see on Live View screen will not affect what is being recorded, and you can have an
alternative of view mode when doing playback.
Change Fisheye Mode
On this channel, right-click to bring up channel menu, click “Fisheye Mode” and select one
mode.
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Note
By changing a the fisheye modes to the following five modes : Dewarping, Panorama, Double
Panorama, Panorama/Focus and Quad, the live stream of this channel will
Zoom in
Zoom out
Pan/Tilt
8 directional buttons
Zoom in / Zoom out
PTZ Controls on PTZ Panel
Note
Once a channel is changed to any of the following fisheye modes: Dewarping, Panorama,
Double Panorama, Panorama/Focus or Quad, the resolution of this live stream will become
1920x1080, so will the resolution of the snapshot.
When you click on a channel which is set to such modes : Panorama mode with Wall
mounting, Double Panorama mode with Wall mounting, Panorama Focus mode with Wall
mounting and Double Panorama mode with Ceiling mounting, a clickable cursor will appear
on the view to allow you explore the image.
PTZ Operation
Select a fisheye mode; click the entire channel or a region of interest to navigate this view
Use PTZ Panel controls to operate PTZ movements:
Click the mouse anywhere on the view to pan/tilt, scroll the mouse wheel to zoom in/out.
To reset the PTZ navigation area back to default viewing angle, right-click to bring up
channel menu, and then click “Reset”.
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Playback Display Area
Search
Tool
Time Bar
Video
Source
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Playback
NVR Playback is the NVR module that processes recorded clips, where you may search,
playback and export video. Multiple channels can be played synchronizedly, and video clips
may also be exported in either RAW or AVI formats.
Playback UI Introduction
Playback screen consists of four function areas: Video Source, Playback Display, Time Bar
and Search Panel.
Video Source: Provides both saved Views and Camera Tree, you may drag a view or
camera to Playback Display Area to view the recordings.
Playback Display: You may have multiple-channel synchronized playback in this area
Time Bar: The time bar of the video source in Playback Display area will be shown here.
You may drag on the time bar back and forth to your desired time spot.
Search Tool: Other than navigating the recordings by scrolling the time bar, you are
provided with two search methods: IVS smart search and event type search. In this area,
you will define your customized search filters.
Playback Control Bar: All the controls related to video playing including play speed switch,
play or pause button.
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The view of a map channel will not be record, and therefore it has no time bar or recordings for
playback.
Note
How to Do Playback
On NVR screen, click into “Playback” page to enter Playback view, none of the video sources
is selected in the beginning, and you have to select your desired channels.
Add Video Source
There are two ways to pull in video sources:
1. In View area, click on a saved view.
2. From Camera panel, double-click on a camera or drag it to Display area.
Through either way, you may add video sources, and their time bars will display in Time Bar
area. Your playback operations and search will be based on these selected channels.
In the meanwhile, you may change the layout styles from Layout Selection Bar on title bar.
Remove Unwanted Channels
You will only need the desired channels to be kept in Display area, as you don’t want too
many unnecessary results after you perform a search.
To remove a channel from Display area, you may place your cursor over the channel, and
right click the mouse, then right-click menu provides “Remove”, “Export Video” and
“Snapshot” for a single channel.
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To remove all channels at one time, on title bar, click to bring up the most used
playback-related commands menu, and select “Remove All”.
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Search on Time Bar
You may focus on a certain channel as a search base. Its time bar will be highlighted as well.
1. To adjust the time frame seen on the Time Bar, you can click on any location on the Time
Bar and use the scroll wheel on your mouse:
●Scroll upwards to view a narrower time frame (For ex: Change the time frame from 1
hour to 30 minutes)
●Scroll downwards to view a broader time frame (For ex: Change the time frame from
1 hour to 2 hours)
Note that if your mouse doesn’t provide a scroll wheel, this function can also be achieved
by adjusting the “Time Bar Scale” in the Playback Control Bar.
2. To find specific later time spot, drag the cursor to the left.
3. To find specific former time spot, drag the cursor to the right.
4. Click on to previous time section; to next time section.
Display Event Types
By default, the “Manual” recording will display in orange, while “Schedule” recording displays
in grey on the time bar. To highlight specific events, you may enable the “Event” and “DI” event
highlighters on Playback Control Bar.
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Reverse Play Pause Play
Previous Recording
Play Speed
Time bar scale
Define Specific time
Go to current time
Next Recording
Show/Hide Time bar
Daylight Saving Time Status
Event Type Highlight Colors
Playback Controls
The playback related controls reside in Playback Control Bar. You may adjust the video play
speed, do a reverse / forward play, or pause the video to spot your desired view. For
non-continuous recording types such as DI, or Event recording, you may use the “Previous
Recording” or “Next Recording” buttons to jump to the part directly.
Daylight Saving Time Switch
NVR Server will detect and display your client computer local time on Live View and Playback
screen. Once you apply Daylight Saving Time rule on your computer, NVR server will
automatically enable this function on Control Bar. By default, this function will be enabled
automatically as daylight saving time begins. You may disable this function to view playback
according to Coordinated Universal Time.
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Cancel Zoom area
Draw Zoom area
Digital Zoom on Channel View
Regardless of the camera models, you may perform digital zooming while the video is playing.
1. Click and drag a highlight rectangle over any channel, and the area highlighted will be
displayed in the full live video window. In this mode, a picture-in-picture view will show in
the lower right of live view window. A red rectangle will mark the currently enlarged view
area within the full size video. You may click and drag the red rectangle to see another
area.
2. To go back to the original full video view, just right-click on the minimized Picture-in-
Picture view.
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Explore Fisheye View
You may change to the desired fisheye view mode on Playback screen. Select a fisheye
camera channel, right-click to bring up the channel menu Fisheye Mode select one view
mode.
In a view mode where ePTZ operation is available (e.g. Quad mode), you may explore the
region of interest using mouse or PTZ Panel at will. For ePTZ operation instructions, please
refer to Navigate a Fisheye Camera Channel on page 37.
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Search by Time
If you simply want to skim through the footage record around a certain time, you can start by
locating the specific time on the time bar.
1. Double-click on your desired channel or drag it to the display window. The channel
view will appear in the window.
2. On Playback Control Bar, click , and specify the target date and time on the
calendar window, and then click “Apply”.
3. The time bar will immediately locate the target time.
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Search by Event Type
If you are clear about (1) When (2) as which event type (3) Where the incident happened, you
will not need to drag on time bar all the way to the spot. The event search tool can sort out the
video clips that match your criteria.
1. Double-click on your desired channel or drag it to the display window. The channel
view will appear in the window.
2. Drag time bar to the target time.
3. On Search Tool panel, two search tools will appear, click
4. Select an event type from dropdown list, and click “+” to create this filter. You can
select an unwanted filter and delete it by clicking on the “x” on the right.
5. Select the desired filter and click “Apply” to start searching.
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Search by Video Analytics
NVR server is equipped with two useful video analytics that can perform advanced search –
Motion and Tamper.
Motion
- Unlike the typical motion detection method, this motion video analytics algorithm can detect
a maximum of six regions in a view, including rectangle regions and polygon regions.
Tamper
- A camera that has been tampered with is not able to serve its purpose. To avoid this, NVR
offers an algorithm to detect whether any form of tampering has been done to a camera,
whether it be in the form of redirecting the angle of the camera, de-focusing the camera,
covering, or spray-painting the camera.
To start,
1. Double-click on your desired channel or drag it to the display window. The channel
view will appear in the window.
2. Drag time bar to the target time.
3. On Search Tool panel, two search tools will appear, click
4. Define the time range.
5. Select the video analytics type
6. Click “+” to create this filter. You can select an unwanted filter and delete it by clicking
on the “x” on the right.
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Multiple results that
occurred within a
single second will
be count as one
result.
By enabling this,
this search will
analyze the view
using higher
number of pixels
(default is 320x240).
It is suggested that
you only enable this
when you consider
obtaining more
results.
4
5
6
7
7. After this filter is created, draw the regions on the channel view. ( You can define a
total of six regions for a motion filter, while tamper filter will us the whole camera view
for analyzing)
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x2
If the area you want to mark does not fit to the form of a rectangle, you may also
choose to draw a polygon by selecting the icon. To draw the lines for the sides of
your polygon, click your cursor to mark the endpoints of each line. Double-click on
the final endpoint of the final line to confirm and highlight the polygon in light blue, as
shown in the illustration below. Make sure your lines connect (a minimum of three lines)
to form a closed shape.
8. Click “Apply” to start searching.
To create a new search, simply double-click on a camera ion Camera list, and follow the steps
narrated above again.
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Search Result Viewer
Search Result Tool Bar
View Search Results
The search results will then start being generated in thumbnails in Search Result Viewer
window. However, it might take a few seconds if a large number of results are found. The
thumbnails are listed in sequential order, left-to-right and top-to-bottom. You can drag on the
Search Result Viewer to your desired time to find the snapshots of the incidents.
For easy exploring the search results, on Search Result Tool Bar, you can
● Adjust the size of the snapshots, the smaller the thumbnail’s size is, the
more results you can see in the view.
● Select a thumbnail and click to download its snapshop.
● Select a thumbnail and click to directly start playing this event.
● Select a thumbnail and click to view the event card list instead of thumbnail view.
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The event card list will be displayed in the Search Tool panel. You can click to browse
throuth the event list, or duoblie-click on an event card to start playing this event.
To return to thumbnail view, click .
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Take a Snapshot of the Playback View
You may take a snapshot of a channel live image on Live view screen.
The snapshot will be saved to default folder on your client computer as .jpg format (The
system default location is Windows Desktop). You may find the location path on the bottom of
NVR window after taking a snapshot.
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3
Note
Other than defining the time duration, on time bar, you can rest the time cursor on a desire time
and then click to enter Export Video window. The default time duration will be one minute
before this time spot plus one minute after it, at a total length of two minutes.
Export the Recordings
NVR playback offers two choices of video format for the exported video. The *.raw file, as the
original video file format captured from video source, is able to be played on ACTi Archive
Player. You may download the this utility from http://www.acti.com/downloadcenter
The*.AVI file, as The most widely adopted video format on Windows system, can be instantly
transferred by NVR server and played directly in Windows Media Player.
Before starting to export the video, please make sure there is enough memory space on the
hard drive of your destination computer.
To play the exported *.AVI file in other video players, you must have FFDShow or DivX
codec installed in your computer. They can be found over the internet at the following
sites:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffdshow/
http://www.divx.com/en/software/divx
Define the Section of Exported Video on Time Bar
You may define the video duration on time bar during the playback. In this way, you don’t
spend extra time and effort on finding the specific date and time information.
1. On time bar, drag to the start point of the video, right-click to bring up quick menu, then
select “Mark Export Start”.
2. If you have successfully set the start point, the time duration will turn yellow as you drag to
another point. Drag to the end, right-click to bring up quick menu, and then select “Mark
Export End”.
3. As both start point and end are set, you may right-click again the quick menu and find
these two options are already gray out. Select “Export Video”
Depending on your scenario, you may first set the ending point, then the start point.
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Set the Export Video Settings
You may export video with or without defining the time duration beforehand since you can
configure all the settings on Export Video window. On Search Result Tool bar, click to
enter the window.
1. Select the cameras. If more than one camera are selected, you will get multiple
recordings.
2. Set the time duration. The minimum duration is 10 seconds, maximum is 1 hour. (For
individual recording, if the total size is over 2 GB, or the video encoder type, frame rate,
resolution of this channel’s stream once altered during the selected Time Duration, this
file will be divided).
3. For Video Settings, you can (1) choose the video format,(2) enable the “Filter no video”
function to skip the video gaps, (3) enable “Add Watermark” to embed a unique code in
every frame of this exported video footage, (4) if this channel is a fisheye camera, make
sure you select the desired fisheye view from right-click menu “Fisheye Mode”, and
check “Export current fisheye view” here. The exported video will be displayed in the
view mode you are seeing now; otherwise, the default fisheye view for exported video is
Original View.
4. Set the overlay text if needed. The maximum number of characters for Text is 40.
5. This exported video can be saved to your current client computer. Please choose the
location. By default, the files will be saved to Desktop.
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Note
Certain fisheye camera view modes (e.g. Quad mode) display multiple regions in a single
channel. When being exported, these regions will still be put together as a single video file.
Note
By changing a the fisheye modes to the following five modes : Dewarping, Panorama, Double
Panorama, Panorama/Focus and Quad, the live stream of this channel will
Note
Once a channel is changed to any of the following fisheye modes: Dewarping, Panorama,
Double Panorama, Panorama/Focus or Quad, the resolution of this live stream will become
1920x1080, so will the resolution of exported video clip.
6. Click “Apply” to start file converting and exporting. The export process window will appear.
In the Camera column displays the processed/ total number of video clips of that camera.
You may also observe the remaining processing time of each camera’s video files.
There are five types of process status: success, converting, waiting, no data and fail
It might happen that there is certain section in a recording that exists no video data; if the
status shows “Fail”, it may be that your disk drive does not have enough space for video files,
please make some space and click again to re-execute this export task.
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