Axis 221 User Manual

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AXIS 221 Network Camera

User’s Manual

About this Document

This manual is intended for administrators and users of the AXIS 221 Network Camera, and is applicable for software release 4.45. It includes instructions for using and managing the AXIS 221 on your network. Previous experience of networking will be of use when using this product. Some knowledge of UNIX or Linux-based systems may also be beneficial, for developing shell scripts and applications. Later versions of this document will be posted to the Axis Website, as required. See also the product’s online help, available via the Web-based interface.

Safety Notices Used In This Manual

Caution! - Indicates a potential hazard that can damage the product.

Important! - Indicates a hazard that can seriously impair operation.

Do not proceed beyond any of the above notices until you have fully understood the implications.

Intellectual Property Rights

Axis AB has intellectual property rights relating to technology embodied in the product described in this document. In particular, and without limitation, these intellectual property rights may include one or more of the patents listed at http://www.axis.com/patent.htm and one or more additional patents or pending patent applications in the US and other countries.

This product contains source code copyright Apple Computer, Inc., under the terms of Apple Public Source License 2.0 (see http://www.opensource.apple.com/apsl/).

The source code is available from: http://developer.apple.com/darwin/projects/rendezvous/

Legal Considerations

Video surveillance can be prohibited by laws that vary from country to country. Check the laws in your local region before using this product for surveillance purposes.

Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC)

This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation.

If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

Re-orient or relocate the receiving antenna. Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver. Connect the equipment to an outlet on a different circuit to the receiver. Consult your dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. Shielded (STP) network cables must be used with this unit to ensure compliance with EMC standards.

USA - This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B computing device pursuant to Subpart B of Part 15 of FCC rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference when operated in a commercial environment. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause interference, in which case the user at his/her own expense will be required to take whatever measures may be required to correct the interference.

Canada - This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.

Europe - This digital equipment fulfills the requirements for radiated emission according to limit B of EN55022/1998, and the requirements for immunity according to EN55024/1998 residential, commercial, and industry.

Japan - This is a class B product based on the standard of the Voluntary Control Council for Interference from Information Technology Equipment (VCCI). If this is used near a radio or television receiver in a domestic environment, it may cause radio interference. Install and use the equipment according to the instruction manual.

Australia - This electronic device meets the requirements of the Radio communications (Electromagnetic Compatibility) Standard AS/NZS CISPR22.

Liability

Every care has been taken in the preparation of this manual. Please inform your local Axis office of any inaccuracies or omissions. Axis Communications AB cannot be held responsible for any technical or typographical errors and reserves the right to make changes to the product and manuals without prior notice. Axis Communications AB makes no warranty of any kind with regard to the material contained within this document, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Axis Communications AB shall not be liable nor responsible for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance or use of this material.

Trademark Acknowledgments

Ethernet, Internet Explorer, Linux, Microsoft, Mozilla, OS/2, UNIX, Wfine, Windows, WWW are registered trademarks of the respective holders. Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Axis Communications AB is independent of Sun Microsystems Inc. UPnPTM is a certification mark of the UPnPTM Implementers Corporation.

Support

Should you require any technical assistance, please contact your Axis reseller. If your questions cannot be answered immediately, your reseller will forward your queries through the appropriate channels to ensure a rapid response. If you are connected to the Internet, you can:

•download user documentation and firmware updates

•find answers to resolved problems in the FAQ database. Search by product, category, or phrases

•report problems to Axis support by logging in to your private support area

•visit Axis Support at www.axis.com/techsup/

Safety Notice - Battery Replacement

The AXIS 221 uses a 3.0V CR2032 Lithium battery as the power supply for its internal real-time clock (RTC). Under normal conditions this battery will last for a minimum of 5 years. Low battery power affects the operation of the RTC, causing it to reset at every power-up. A log message will appear when the battery needs replacing.

The battery should not be replaced unless required!

If the battery does need replacing, please observe the following:

•Danger of Explosion if battery is incorrectly replaced

•Replace only with the same or equivalent battery, as recommended by the manufacturer.

•Dispose of used batteries according to the manufacturer's instructions

AXIS 221 User’s Manual Revision 3.0

Part No: 29833 September 2007

AXIS 221 3

Contents

Product Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Accessing the Camera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Access from a browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Setting the root password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Accessing the camera from the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Focusing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 The Live View page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Video Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Video stream types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 MPEG-4 protocols and communication methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 How to stream MPEG-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 The AXIS Media Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Other methods of accessing the video stream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Setup Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Accessing the setup tools from a browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Video and Image Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Image Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Overlay/Mask Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Advanced settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Live View Config . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

HTML Examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 External Video. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Sequence Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Event Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Event Servers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Configuring Event Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Camera Tampering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Motion Detection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Port Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

System Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Security - Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Security - 802.1x . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Date & Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Network - Basic TCP/IP Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

4 AXIS 221

Network - Advanced TCP/IP Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Network - SOCKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Network - QoS (Quality of Service). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Network - SMTP (email). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Network - SNMP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Network - UPnP™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Network - RTP (Multicast)/MPEG-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Network - Bonjour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Ports & Devices. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 LED Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Advanced. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Resetting to the Factory Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Unit Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

I/O Terminal connector. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Power connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 The RS-232 connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Checking the Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Upgrading the Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Emergency Recovery Procedure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Replacing the lens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Removing and attaching the lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

General performance considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Optimizing your system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Frame rates - Motion JPEG and MPEG-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 Bandwidth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Glossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

AXIS 221 - Product Features 5

Product Features

The AXIS 221 is part of the latest generation of fully featured Axis Network Cameras, based on the AXIS ARTPEC-2 compression chip. It features a DC-Iris and supports Power over Ethernet. It also features a metal casing and an infrared (IR) filter for day and night operation.

Video from the camera is made available on the network as a real-time, full frame rate Motion JPEG stream and/or MPEG-4 video stream. The camera includes Video Motion Detection, which can be used to trigger e.g. image uploads when there is activity in the video image. Uploads can also be scheduled to run at specified times. Security features include IP address filtering, encrypted browsing with HTTPS and multilevel password protection.

The AXIS 221 is equipped with two alarm inputs and one output, which can be connected to various external devices, e.g. door sensors and alarm bells.

Video can be viewed in various different resolutions. Up to 20 viewers can access the AXIS 221 simultaneously when using Motion JPEG and MPEG-4 unicast. The number of simultaneous viewers can be increased by using multicast MPEG-4.

Each MPEG-4 viewer requires a separate MPEG-4 decoder license, of which one is included. Additional licenses can be purchased separately from your Axis dealer. If using other clients to view the MPEG-4 video stream, no further MPEG-4 decoder licenses are required.

The camera has a built-in Web server, providing full access to all features through the use of a standard web browser. The built-in scripting tool allows the creation of basic applications. For advanced functionality, the camera can be accessed via the AXIS HTTP API (more info at www.axis.com/developer).

6 AXIS 221 - Product Features

The AXIS 221 features a varifocal lens with DC-Iris, which automatically regulates the amount of light entering the camera. Tele/wide and focus are adjusted manually with the aid of the pullers mounted on the lens. The AXIS 221 is also available without a lens.

The AXIS 221 can be powered from the network cabling and supports Power over Ethernet (PoE) network transformers conforming to IEEE 802.3af.

Overview

Status

indicator Zoom puller (Tele/wide)

Focus puller

Serial number

on underside DC-Iris label

DC-Iris control cable

Rear panel

10-pin I/O terminal	RS-485	Reset	Power indicator
	connector	button
connector			Network indicator

Network

connector

(also PoE)

Power

connector block

		DC-Iris control cable
	RS-232	DC-Iris control cable
Power adapter	RS-232
Power adapter	connector
connector*	connector
connector*

Connect AC power (10-24V) on pins 2 and 3.

Connect DC power (7-24V) on pins 1 and 2.

*only use the supplied PS-K power adapter

AXIS 221 - Product Features 7

Power adapter connector - for connection of the PS-K power adapter (included).

Power connector block - for connection of a power supply. See Power connections, on page 48 .

I/O terminal connector - The I/O terminal connector provides the physical interface to one solid state relay output, two digital photo-coupled inputs, RS-485 and an auxiliary connection point for DC power. For more information, see Unit Connectors, on page 46.

Network connector - The AXIS 221 connects to the network via a standard network cable, and automatically detects the speed of the local network segment (10BaseT/100BaseTX Ethernet). This socket can also be used to power the AXIS 221 via PoE (Power over Ethernet). The camera also negotiates the correct power level when using PoE.

RS-232 connector - Single 9-pin D-SUB RS-232 connector, max 115 kbit/s, half-duplex.

Serial number - This number is used during installation.

Reset button - Press this button to install the AXIS 221 using the AXIS Internet Dynamic DNS Service (see the installation guide), or to restore the camera to its factory default settings, as described in Resetting to the Factory Default Settings, on page 45.

LED indicators

After completion of the startup and self test routines, the multi-colored Network, Status, and Power LED indicators flash as follows:

	Amber	Steady for connection to 10 Mbit/s network. Flashes for network activity.
Network
Network	Green	Steady for connection to 100 Mbit/s network. Flashes for network activity.

	Unlit	No connection.

	Green	Shows steady green for normal operation. Can be configured to flash green at intervals
		whenever the camera is accessed. See the online help for more information.

Status	Amber	Shows steady amber during reset to factory default or when restoring settings.
	Red	Slow flash for failed firmware upgrade (see Emergency Recovery Procedure, on page 51).

	Unlit	When configured for “no flash” on camera access.

Power	Green	Normal operation.

	Amber	Flashes green/amber during firmware upgrade.
	Amber	Flashes green/amber during firmware upgrade.

8 AXIS 221 - Accessing the Camera

Accessing the Camera

Follow the instructions in the AXIS 221 Installation Guide to install the camera.

The camera can be accessed with most standard operating systems and browsers. The recommended browser is Internet Explorer for Windows, and Mozilla with other operating systems. See also the Technical Specifications, on page 56.

Note: To view streaming video in Microsoft Internet Explorer, you must set your browser to allow the AXIS Media Control (AMC) to be installed on your computer. The first time an MPEG-4 video stream is accessed AMC also installs an MPEG-4 decoder for viewing the video streams. As a license is required for each instance of the decoder, the product administrator may have disabled the installation. See page 21 for more information. If your workstation restricts the use of additional software components, the camera can be configured to use a Java applet for updating JPEG images. See the online help for more information.

Access from a browser

1.Start a browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Mozilla)

2.Enter the IP address or host name of the camera in the

Location/Address field of your browser.

3.If this is the first time the camera is

accessed, see Setting the root password, on page 9. Otherwise enter your user name and password, as set by the administrator.

4.The camera’s Live View page is now displayed in your browser.

Note: The layout of the live view page in the camera may have been customized to meet specific requirements. Consequently, some of the examples and functions featured here may differ from those displayed on your own Live View page.

AXIS 221 - Accessing the Camera 9

Setting the root password

1.When accessing the camera for the first time, the ‘Configure Root Password’ dialog will be displayed on the screen.

2.Enter a password and then re-enter it, to confirm the spelling. Click OK.

3.The Enter Network Password dialog will appear. Enter the User name: root Note: The default administrator user name root is permanent and cannot be deleted or altered.

4.Enter the password as set in step 2 above, and click OK. If the password is lost, the camera must be reset to the factory default settings. See page 45.

5.If required, click Yes to install the AXIS Media Control (AMC). You will need administrator rights on the computer to do this.

Accessing the camera from the Internet

Once installed, the camera is accessible on your local network (LAN). To access the camera from the Internet you must configure your router/firewall to allow incoming data traffic. For security reasons this is usually done on a specific port. Please refer to the documentation for your router/firewall for further instructions.

For more information, please visit the AXIS Internet Dynamic DNS Service at www.axiscam.net or, for Technical notes on this and other topics, visit the Axis Support Web at www.axis.com/techsup

Focusing

To focus the AXIS 221, follow the instructions below.

1.From the Basic Configuration page in the setup tools, open the Focus adjustment page.

2.Set the DC-Iris to Disabled and click Save.

3.Unscrew the zoom puller on the lens by turning it anti-clockwise. Adjust the zoom setting as required. Re-tighten the zoom puller.

Zoom puller

(Tele/wide)

Focus puller

4.Unscrew the focus puller on the lens. Adjust the focus as

required. Re-tighten the focus puller.

5.From the Focus adjustment page, set the DC-Iris to Enabled and click Save.

Note: The DC-Iris should always be disabled while focusing the camera. This opens the iris to its maximum, which gives the smallest depth of field and thus the best conditions for correct focusing. When the focus is set with this method it will then be maintained in any light conditions.

10 AXIS 221 - Accessing the Camera

The Live View page

Depending on whether or not the Live View page has been customized, the buttons described below may or may not be visible.

The Video Format drop-down list allows the video format on the Live View page to be temporarily changed.

The Output buttons, Pulse and Active/Inactive below, control the output directly from the Live View page. These buttons are configured under Setup > Live View Config > Layout.

Pulse - click this button to activate the output for a defined period of time, e.g. to switch on a light for 20 seconds.

Active/Inactive - click these buttons to manually start and stop a connected device, e.g. switch a light on/off.

These buttons start and stop the Sequence Mode. This mode is created in

Setup > Live View Config > Sequence mode, and automatically displays the view from 2 or more video sources at set intervals.

From the Source list, select the desired external video source. Note that Sequence Mode must be stopped before selecting a source from this list.

The Trigger buttons can trigger an event directly from the Live View page. These are configured under Setup > Live View Config > Layout.

The Snapshot button saves a snapshot of the image currently being displayed. Right-click on the video image to save it in JPEG format on your computer. This button is intended for use when the AMC viewer toolbar is not available.

The AMC (AXIS Media Control) viewer toolbar is available in Microsoft Internet Explorer only. It displays the following buttons:

Play/Stop buttons - start and stops the live video stream.

The Snapshot button saves a snapshot of the video image currently being displayed. The Snapshot function and the target directory for saving snapshots can be configured from the AMC Control Applet in the Windows Control Panel (Internet Explorer only).

The record button is used to record the current (MPEG-4) video stream. The location where the image file is saved can be specified using the AMC control panel. To enable recording, Select Live View Config > Viewer Settings >

Enable recording button.

AXIS 221 - Accessing the Camera 11

Click the View Full Screen button to make the video image fill the entire screen area. No other windows will be visible. Press Esc (Escape) on the computer keyboard to exit full screen.

12 AXIS 221 - Video Streams

Video Streams

The AXIS 221 provides several different image and video formats. The type to use depends on your requirements and on the properties of your network.

The Live View page in the AXIS 221 provides access to Motion JPEG and MPEG-4 video streams, as well as to single JPEG images. Other applications and clients can also access these video streams/images directly, without going via the Live View page.

Video stream types

Motion JPEG

This format uses standard JPEG still images in the video stream. These images are then displayed and updated at a rate sufficient to create a stream that shows constantly updated motion.

The Motion JPEG stream uses considerable amounts of bandwidth, but also provides excellent image quality and access to each and every individual image contained in the stream.

Note also that multiple clients accessing Motion JPEG streams can use different image settings.

MPEG-4

This is a video compression standard that makes good use of bandwidth, and which can provide high-quality video streams at less than 1 Mbit/s.

The MPEG-4 standard provides scope for a large range of different coding tools for use by various applications in different situations, and the AXIS 221 provides certain subsets of these tools. These are represented as Video object types, which are selected for use with different viewing clients. The supported video object types are:

•Simple - sets the coding type to H.263, as used by e.g. QuickTime™.

•Advanced Simple - sets the coding type to MPEG-4 Part 2, as used by AMC (AXIS Media Control)

When using MPEG-4 it is also possible to control the bit rate, which in turn allows the amount of bandwidth usage to be controlled. CBR (Constant Bit Rate) is used to achieve a specific bit rate by varying the quality of the MPEG-4 stream. When using VBR (Variable Bit Rate), the quality of the video stream is kept as constant as possible, at the cost of a varying bit rate.

Notes: •MPEG-4 is licensed technology. The AXIS 221includes one viewing client license. Installing additional unlicensed copies of the viewing client is prohibited. To purchase additional licenses, contact your Axis reseller.

•All clients viewing the MPEG-4 stream must use the same set of coding tools.

AXIS 221 - Video Streams 13

MPEG-4 protocols and communication methods

To deliver live streaming video over IP networks, various combinations of transport protocols and broadcast methods are employed.

•RTP (Realtime Transport Protocol) is a protocol that allows programs to manage the real-time transmission of multimedia data, via unicast or multicast.

•RTSP (Real Time Streaming Protocol) serves as a control protocol, to negotiate which transport protocol to use for the stream. RTSP is thus used by a viewing client to start a unicast session, see below.

•UDP (User Datagram Protocol) is a communications protocol that offers limited service for exchanging data in a network that uses the Internet Protocol (IP). UDP is an alternative to the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). The advantage of UDP is that it is not required to deliver all data and may drop network packets when there is e.g. network congestion. This is suitable for live video, as there is no point in re-transmitting old information that will not be displayed anyway.

•Unicasting is communication between a single sender and a single receiver over a network. This means that the video stream goes independently to each user, and each user gets their own stream. A benefit of unicasting is that if one stream fails, it only affects one user.

•Multicast is bandwidth-conserving technology that reduces bandwidth usage by simultaneously delivering a single stream of information to multiple network recipients. This technology is used primarily on delimited networks (intranets), as each user needs an uninterrupted data flow and should not rely on network routers.

How to stream MPEG-4

Deciding on the combination of protocols and methods to use depends on your viewing requirements, and on the properties of your network. Setting the preferred method(s) is done in the control applet for AMC, which is found in the Windows Control Panel. When this has been set, AMC will test all the selected methods in the specified order, until the first functioning one is found.

RTP+RTSP

This method (actually RTP over UDP and RTSP over TCP) should be your first consideration for live video, especially when it is important to always have an up-to-date video stream, even if some images are lost due to network problems. This can be configured as multicast or unicast.

Multicasting provides the most efficient usage of bandwidth, especially when there are large numbers of clients viewing simultaneously. Note however, that a multicast broadcast cannot pass a network router unless the router is configured to allow this. It is thus not possible to multicast over e.g. the Internet.

14 AXIS 221 - Video Streams

Unicasting should be used for video-on-demand broadcasting, so that there is no video traffic on the network until a client connects and requests the stream. However, as more and more unicast clients connect, the traffic on the network will increase and may cause congestion. Although there is a maximum of 20 unicast viewers, note that all multicast users combined count as 1 unicast viewer.

RTP/RTSP

This unicast method is RTP tunneled over RTSP. This can be used to exploit the fact that it is relatively simple to configure firewalls to allow RTSP traffic.

RTP/RTSP/HTTP or RTP/RTSP/HTTPS

These two methods can also be used to traverse firewalls. Firewalls are commonly configured to allow the HTTP protocol, thus allowing RTP to be tunneled.

The AXIS Media Control

The recommended method of accessing live video (MPEG-4 and/or Motion JPEG) from the AXIS 221 is to use the AXIS Media Control (AMC) in Microsoft Internet Explorer for Windows. This ActiveX component is automatically installed on first use, after which it can be configured by opening the AMC Control Panel applet from the Windows Control Panel. Alternatively, right-click the video image in Internet Explorer.

Setup Tools

The AXIS 221 is configured from the setup tools, which are available from the link in the web interface. The setup tools can be used by:

•Administrators, who have unrestricted access to all the Setup tools

•Operators, who have access to the Video & Image, Live View Config and Event Configuration settings.

Accessing the setup tools from a browser

Follow the instructions below to access the Setup Tools from a browser.

1.Start your browser and enter the IP address or host name of the camera in the location/address field.

2.The Live View page is now

displayed. Click Setup to display the Setup tools.

Setup tools

AXIS 221 - Video and Image Settings 17

Video and Image Settings

The following descriptions show examples of some of the features available in the AXIS 221. For details of each setting, please refer to the online help available from the setup tools. Click to access the online help.

Image Settings

Image Appearance

Adjust these settings to optimize the video images according to your requirements.

All configuration of images and overlays will affect the camera’s overall performance, depending on how it is used and on the available bandwidth. Lower compression improves video image quality, but increases the bandwidth.

Changed video image settings have immediate effect on the MPEG-4 stream, but the Motion JPEG stream will have to be started (or restarted) before the settings take effect.

Text Overlay Settings

The date, time, and user defined text can be included on one line, either on the top or bottom of the video image.

It is also possible to set how the text and text background are displayed. You can set the text to be either black or white, and the text background can also be set to black, white, semi-transparent, or transparent.

18 AXIS 221 - Video and Image Settings

Please see the online help for further information on these settings.

Video Stream

Define the maximum video stream time per session in seconds, minutes or hours. When the set time has expired, a new stream can be started by refreshing the page in the Web browser. For unlimited video stream time, set this value to 0. This setting is only applicable to Motion JPEG.

The frame rate allowed to each viewer can also be limited, to avoid bandwidth problems on the network.

Test

To preview the image before saving, click Test. Note that the preview image will be in JPEG format, even though the settings are valid both for Motion JPEG and MPEG-4.

Overlay/Mask

Settings

Overlay/Mask Type

When using an image overlay, select from the following options the type to use:

•Uploaded image as overlay - usually used to provide extra information in the video image.

•Uploaded image as privacy mask - conceals part of the video image.

Text, date and time overlays

Overlay image

•Configurable areas as privacy masks - up to 3

black areas are used to conceal parts of the video image.

The difference between an overlay and a privacy mask is that a privacy mask cannot be bypassed by accessing the video stream with the help of the AXIS HTTP API, whereas an overlay can.

Selecting the overlay/mask type will display further settings available for the selected type. See the online help for further information.

AXIS 221 - Video and Image Settings 19

Upload and use an overlay

To upload an overlay image to the camera:

1.Select the type of overlay to use in Overlay/Mask Type.

2.In the field Upload own image, click the Browse button and locate the image file on your computer or server.

3.Click the Upload button and follow the on-screen instructions.

To use an already uploaded image:

1.Select an uploaded image from the Use image drop-down list.

2.Place the image at the required location by entering the x and y coordinates.

3.Click Save.

Overlay image requirements

Image Formats		Image Size

•	Windows 24-bit BMP (full color)	The height and width of the overlay image in
•	Windows 4-bit BMP (16 colors)	pixels must be exactly divisible by 4.
•	Windows 4-bit BMP (16 colors)

There are a number of limitations when using overlay images, such as the size and positioning of images. Please refer to the online help for more information.

20 AXIS 221 - Video and Image Settings

Advanced settings

These web pages include different settings for fine-tuning the video image.

Camera settings

To compensate for the Lighting Conditions, the Color level, the Brightness, the Sharpness, the Contrast, and the Exposure control, the Exposure area and the IR cut filter can all be adjusted. DC-Iris should always be enabled, except when focusing, or when using a non-DC-Iris lens.

The settings for Low Light Behavior determine how the camera will behave at low light levels. These settings all affect video image quality and are basically a measure of how much noise to allow in the video images.

Please see the online help for further information on these settings.

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