AXIS 247S User Guide

AXIS 247S

Video Server

User’s Manual

About This Document

This manual is intended for administrators and users of the AXIS 247S. It includes instructions for using and managing the Video Server on your network. Previous experience of networking will be of use when installing and using this product. Some knowledge of UNIX or Linux-based systems would 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 licensed third-party software. See the menu item “About” in the product’s user interface for more information.

Legal Considerations

Camera and audio 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. This product includes one (1) MPEG-4 decoder license. To purchase further licenses, contact your reseller.

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.

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 light industry.

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, Windows, WWW are registered trademarks of the respective holders. QuickTime™ is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. 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. UPnP™ is a certification mark of the UPnP™ Implementers Corporation.

Support Services

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 staff by logging in to your private support area

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

Safety Notice - Battery Replacement

The Video Server uses a 3.0V CR2032 Lithium battery as the power supply for its internal real-time clock (RTC). This battery will, under normal conditions, 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 battery replacement is required.

The battery should not be replaced unless required! If the battery does need replacing, observe the following points:

Caution!

• 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 247S - Table of Contents

Table of contents

Product Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Using the Video Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Accessing the Video Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Video and Audio Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Video Stream Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

MPEG-4 protocols and communication methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The AXIS Media Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

How to stream MPEG-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Other methods of accessing the video stream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Configuring the Video Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Accessing the Setup tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Video & Image Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Image Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Video Source Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Advanced - MPEG-4 Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Overlay/Mask Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Audio Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Live View Config . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

HTML Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

External Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Sequence Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Event Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Event Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Event Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Port Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

System Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Date & Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Network - Basic TCP/IP Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Network - Advanced TCP/IP Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

SOCKS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

QoS (Quality of service) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

SMTP (email) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

SNMP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

UPnP™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

RTP (Multicast)/MPEG-4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Bonjour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Ports & Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Advanced . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Unit Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Connection diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Checking the Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Upgrading the Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Optimizing your system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Frame rates - Motion JPEG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Bandwidth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Product Description

Video Server Connectors

Network (PoE)

AXIS 247S - Product Description

Power out Video in Audio in

Video In

75 Ohm switch

Line/Mic in

Power out

PoE Class 2/ Class 3

Control button

I/O terminal connector

Indicators for: Network Status Power

Product label includes: Product ID & Serial number (S/N). The serial number may be required during the installation.

Network Connector - The Video Server connects to the network via a standard, shielded network cable, and automatically detects the speed of the local network segment (10BaseT/100BaseTX Ethernet). PoE Supported.

Control Button - Press this button to restore the factory default settings, as described in Resetting to the Factory Default Settings, on page 30, or to install using AXIS Internet Dynamic DNS Service (see

www.axiscam.net).

I/O Terminal connector - The I/O terminal connector provides the physical interface to 1 digital transistor output, 1 digital input and an auxiliary connection point for DC power. See

Unit Connectors, on page 31 for

more information.

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

LED Color Indication

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

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

Unlit No network connection.

Status Green Steady green for normal operation.

Amber Steady during startup, during reset to factory default or when restoring settings.

Red Slow flash for failed upgrade.

Power Green Normal operation.

Amber Flashes green/amber during firmware upgrade.

Video Input - Coaxial BNC connector supporting a single composite video source. The physical connection is made using 75 Ohm coax video cable with a recommended maximum length of 800 feet (250 meters).

Mini-DIN - 6 pin Mini-DIN connector for power out, video in and audio in. See Unit Connectors, on page 31 for more information and a detailed description.

Line/Mic In - 3.5mm input for a mono microphone, or for line-in mono signal (only the left channel is used from a stereo signal).

Power out - Used to power a camera or other auxiliary equipment 12V DC, max. load 5W (420mA).

For more information on these connectors, please refer to Unit Connectors, on page 31.

AXIS 247S - Using the Video Server

Using the Video Server

The Video Server can be used with most standard operating systems and browsers. The recommended browser is Internet Explorer with Windows, and Mozilla with other operating systems. See also the Specifications, on page 37.

Note: For information on installing the Video Server, please refer to the Installation Guide.

Accessing the Video Server

1. Start your browser.

2. Enter the IP address or host name of the Video Server in the Location/Address field of your browser.

3. Enter the user name and password set by the administrator.

4. A video image is displayed in your browser.

Technical

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. AMC is required to use audio in the AXIS 247S. AMC also provides an MPEG-4 decoder for viewing MPEG-4 video streams. This decoder is installed the first time an MPEG-4 video stream is accessed. Please note that the product administrator may have disabled the installation of the decoder, as a license is required for each instance. See page 17 for more information.

•If your workstation restricts the use of additional software components, the Video Server can be configured to use a Java applet for updating JPEG images. Please see the online help for more information.

AXIS 247S - Using the Video Server

The Live View page

If your Video Server has been customized to meet specific requirements, the buttons and other items described below may or may not be displayed on the Live View page. The following provides an overview of each available button:

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

The Output buttons control an output directly from the Live View page. These buttons are configured under Setup > Live View Config > Layout.

Pulse - click this button to activate the port 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/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 video image(s). The list can contain internal video sources or external video sources.

The Action buttons trigger an event directly from the Live View page. These buttons are configured under Setup > Live View Config > Layout. Click these buttons to manually start and stop events.

Use the Snapshot button to capture a snapshot of the image currently being displayed in the window. Right-click on the image to save it in on your computer.

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

The Play/Stop buttons start and stop the media stream.

The Record button is used to record the current video stream (MPEG-4 only). The Record function and the target directory for saving snapshots can be configured from AMC (AXIS Media Control), which is available from the Windows Control Panel (Internet Explorer only).

The Snapshot button takes a snapshot of the currently displayed image. The Snapshot function and the target directory for saving snapshots can be configured from AMC (AXIS Media Control), which is available from the Windows Control Panel (Internet Explorer only).

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

Audio controls

Click the Sound/Mute button to switch the sound on and off.

Use the slider to control the volume (0 - 100).

Note that these AMC toolbar functions can also be accessed by right-clicking in the image.

AXIS 247S - Video and Audio Streams

Video and Audio Streams

The Video Server provides several different video and audio stream formats. The type to use depends on your requirements and on the properties of your network.

The Live View page in the Video Server provides access to Motion JPEG and MPEG-4 video and audio streams, as well as to single JPEG images. Other applications and clients can also access these video and audio 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 Video Server 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

• Advanced Simple - in Axis products, this sets the coding type to MPEG-4 Part 2

AMC (AXIS Media Control) supports both object types, whilst e.g. QuickTime™ requires the Simple object type.

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 Video Server includes one license for the decoder required for viewing in AMC.

Installing additional unlicensed copies of this decoder is prohibited. To purchase more decoder licenses, contact your Axis reseller.

•All clients viewing the MPEG-4 stream must use the same image settings.

AXIS 247S - Video and Audio Streams

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 (Real-Time 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 pri marily on delimited networks (intranets), as each user needs an uninterrupted data flow and should not rely on network routers.

The AXIS Media Control

The recommended method of accessing live video (MPEG-4 and/or Motion JPEG) and audio from the Video Server is to use the AXIS Media Control (AMC) in Microsoft Internet Explorer in 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.

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 do get dropped. 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.

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, if more and more unicast clients connect simultaneously, the server will at some point become overloaded. There is also a maximum of 20 simultaneous viewers to be considered.

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.

AXIS 247S - Video and Audio Streams

Other MPEG-4 clients

Although it may be possible to use other clients to view the MPEG-4 stream, it is not guaranteed to work in all cases.

For some other clients, e.g. QuickTime™ the Video Object Type must be set to Simple. It may also be necessary to adjust the advanced MPEG-4 settings.

To assess the video stream from e.g. QuickTime™ the following path can be used:

rtsp://<ip>/mpeg4/#/media.amp

This path is for all supported methods, and the client will negotiate with the Video Server to determine exactly which transport protocol to use.

Notes: • <ip> = IP address.

• # = video source number. This is set to 1 if omitted.

Audio transmission methods

The audio stream can be accessed in the Live View page when viewing either Motion JPEG or MPEG-4.

Using Motion JPEG

The basic transmission method of audio used in conjunction with Motion JPEG video streaming is transmission over HTTP. The video and audio streams are not synchronized when using Motion JPEG so the streams may be slightly out of sync. The latency in any stream should be low, but this will depend on the network infrastructure.

Using MPEG-4

When using MPEG-4, audio is streamed using the same protocol as the video stream.

When audio is transmitted using MPEG-4, the Axis product sends synchronization information along with the streams to the client that is performing the synchronization.

Note: Audio is streamed from the client to the server over HTTP when using Motion JPEG and MPEG-4.

Accessing the Audio Streams

In addition to accessing audio in the Live View page using AMC, audio from the Video Server can also be accessed in the following ways:

AXIS 247S - Video and Audio Streams

HTTP-API

You can read about accessing audio for the other protocols through the HTTP-API at http://www.axis.com/techsup

QuickTime/Windows Media Player

It is possible to use QuickTime and Windows Media Player to listen to the audio stream using the same methods to access video streams.

Java Applet

The Java applet supports simplex audio.

AXIS 247S - Configuring the Video Server

Configuring the Video Server

This section describes how to configure the Video Server and is intended for:

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

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

The Video Server is configured from the Setup link, in a standard browser (see also the Technical Specifications on

Accessing the Setup tools

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

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

2. The Live View page is now displayed. Click Setup to display the Setup tools.

page 37).

Setup tools

AXIS 247S - Video & Image Settings

Video & Image Settings

The following descriptions show examples of the available features in the Video Server. For details of each setting, please refer to the online help available from each page. Click

to access the online help.

Image Settings

Image Appearance

Modify the Image Appearance to optimize the video images according to your requirements.

All configuration of images and overlays will affect the performance of the Video Server, depending on the usage and the available bandwidth.

• High resolution generates larger files

• Lower compression improves image quality, but generates larger files

• Black & White uses less bandwidth than Color

See also the specifications for frame rates and bandwidth on page 39.

Text Overlay Settings

Include date, time and/or text of your choice to be viewed on the image. The position of the text is set either to the top or the bottom of the image.

Video Stream

The Maximum video stream time can be set as Unlimited, or a maximum stream time per session in seconds, minutes or hours can be defined. When the set time has expired, a new stream can be started by refreshing the page in the Web browser. Note that the maximum video stream time does not apply to clients connecting via multicast.

To avoid bandwidth problems on the network, the frame rate allowed to each viewer can also be limited. Select either Unlimited or define a maximum frame rate per viewer.

Test

For a preview of the image and overlay settings before saving, click Test. When you are satisfied with the settings, click Save.

AXIS 247S - Video & Image Settings

Video Source Settings

Eliminate any black borders surrounding the image, by making Offset adjustments. See the online help for more information.

Advanced - MPEG-4 Settings

Tools for adjusting the MPEG-4 settings and for controlling the video bit rate.

The MPEG-4 standard provides many different coding tools for various applications in different situations. As most MPEG-4 clients do not support all of these tools, it is usual to instead define and use subsets for different clients or groups of clients. These settings allow you to define the type of viewing client to use.

Adjusting the maximum bit rate and setting it to variable or constant is a good way of controlling the bandwidth used by the MPEG-4 video stream.

For more information on these advanced settings, please see the online help.

Overlay/Mask Settings

Overlay/Mask Type

Overlay/Mask Type allows you to place an overlay, or up

Text Overlay

Image Overlay

to three privacy masks over the video image:

• Upload and place an image as an overlay usually used to provide extra information in the video image.

• Place up to three privacy masks - up to 3 configurable masks can be used to conceal different areas of the video image.

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

Note: If you need to see an area of the video that is covered by an overlay or mask, a privacy mask cannot be bypassed. An overlay image,

however, can be bypassed via the AXIS VAPIX. See the Video Developer section on the Axis Web site for more information.

Upload and use an overlay image

To upload an overlay image:

1. Select Uploaded image as overlay in the drop-down list for Overlay/Mask Type. New options appear.

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.

AXIS 247S - Video & Image Settings

Overlay image requirements:

Image Formats Image Size

• Windows 24-bit BMP (full color)

• Windows 4-bit BMP (16 colors)

Overlay image limitations:

• The maximum overlay image size supported by the Video Server is the same as the maximum image resolution. See Technical Specifications,

• When a text overlay is also used, this reduces the amount of space available to the overlay image. To keep the text readable at lower resolutions, the text overlay occupies proportionally more of the image at lower resolutions.

• If the overlay is initially positioned so that part of it is outside the video image, it will be relocated so that it appears over the video image, i.e. it is always the entire image that is displayed.

Please see the online help for more information.

Use a Privacy Mask

To use privacy masks to hide different areas of the video image:

1. Select Configurable areas as privacy mask in the drop-down list for Overlay/Mask Type. New options appear.

The height and width of the overlay image in pixels must be exactly divisible by 4.

on page 37.

2. Enter the (x,y) coordinates of the top left hand corner of the mask, and the height and width to define the masks’ placement and size.

3. Select the privacy masks’ color: black, grey, white, or red.

4. Click in the box beside Enable to enable one or more of the masks you have defined and click on

Save.

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