AXIS 27756R1 User Manual

AXIS Camera Station

User’s Manual

About This Document

This manual is intended for administrators and users of the AXIS Camera Station, and is applicable for software release 2.01. It includes instructions for using and managing the AXIS Camera Station on your network. Previous experience of networking will be of use when using this product. 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/bonjour/

Legal Considerations

Camera 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.

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, Macintosh, Microsoft, Mozilla, Netscape Navigator, OS/2, UNIX, 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. UPnP is a certification mark of the UPnP Implementers Corporation. Axis Communications AB is independent of Sun Microsystems Inc.

Axis Customer 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 software 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/

AXIS COMMUNICATIONS

<Product Name> Quick User’s Guide

AXIS Camera Station - Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Requirements and Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

User’s Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Background service:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Monitor Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Playback Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

File menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

How to... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Add cameras/video servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

AXIS Image Enhancer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Motion triggered recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Recording Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Camera Storage Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Schedules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Sequences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

External I/Os . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Event Search. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

AXIS Image Enhancer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

AXIS Camera Station Client. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

AXIS Camera Station Client Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

AXIS Camera Station Client Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

AXIS Camera Station Web Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Enable Web Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Access AXIS Camera Station Web from a client PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

AXIS Camera Station Web Control Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Network Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

NTFS file system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Windows security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

IIS Secure Login from the AXIS Camera Station Web interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Multi-user login . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Removing AXIS Camera Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

To remove the entire program. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

To remove AXIS Camera Station Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Glossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

AXIS Camera Station - Requirements and Recommendations

Requirements and Recommendations

Install AXIS Camera Station on a stand-alone computer dedicated mainly for running this application

Hardware:

• Intel Pentium 4 with 2 GHz processor

•CD-drive

• 512 MB RAM

• Hard disk: 1 GB available space for installation

• NTFS file system

• XGA (1024 x 768) or higher resolution monitor

• Separate graphics card, Direct Draw with 32 MB or more memory

• 100 MB Ethernet with a static IP address

System:

• Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2, 2000 (SP4) 2003 Server (SP1), Internet Explorer Version 6.0 or later, DirectX 9.0c or later

• TCP/IP support

• Internet Information Server (IIS) - for Web client

• Microsoft .NET 1.1 runtime environment (included in installation package)

Minimum recommended requirements for a full 25 camera system:

• Dual XEON 3 Ghz, 1024 MB RAM, Multiple SCSI disks

• 1000 Mbit Ethernet backbone

Recommendations

For optimal software performance, use these PC setup conditions:

• When more than 16 cameras are enabled, use dual processors and/or hard disk controllers for optimal performance.

• Install one hard disk for each 6-8 cameras enabled for optimal performance.

• SCSI disks perform better than IDE disks, since no PC processor power is used to control the disks and the access time is shorter than IDE. Hard disks should be minimum 7,200 RPMs.

• Better performance and less bandwidth usage can be obtained using cameras with built-in motion detection or external alarm detectors like PIRs.

• For optimal network performance, 100 Mbit switches should be used. Hubs can be used for installation using less than 6-8 cameras. There are no known limitations on networks when switches are used. If this software is installed in an existing network with high traffic, consider using a dedicated switch and add a second network adapter to the PC.

• As preventative maintenance, it is recommended that you regularly check that cameras, recordings, triggered events, motion detection, etc. are functioning properly.

• It is recommended to install a UPS to secure camera operation in case of power failure.

Important!

It is recommended that you defragment your hard drives on a regular basis to improve system performance. See your Windows documentation for instructions.

AXIS Camera Station - User’s Interface

User’s Interface

This chapter provides a brief description of AXIS Camera Station user’s interface, control buttons and menu options from the main view. For a more detailed description of buttons and menu items refer to the online help. To configure your cameras and video servers see

AXIS Camera Station One has all the basic features of AXIS Camera Station for one camera/video channel. Features that are not available in AXIS Camera Station One are disabled in the Menu and Controls.

AXIS Camera Station - Extended and contracted views

How to..., on page 9 for detailed instructions.

Click to

expand

Color-coded frames

Background service indicator

The frames surrounding the images are color-coded:

• Blue frame: Camera connection OK, no motion detected.

• Red frame: Camera connection OK, alarm or motion triggered recording has started.

• Yellow frame: Camera network connection problem.

Background service:

• The background service retrieves images from the connected cameras and stores them on the hard disk. From the AXIS Camera Station you can start or stop the background service, click File > Start Server or Stop Server.

• A flashing green indicator in the upper right corner of the window and the icon in the taskbar show that the service is running, where red means the service is not running and yellow indicates that the service is starting up or experiencing problems connecting to one of the cameras.

• Recording is only possible if the background service is running, and will continue even after logging out from the PC where AXIS Camera Station is installed.

AXIS Camera Station - User’s Interface

Controls

The control pad contains buttons for quick access to the many functions of AXIS Camera Station.

View Selection - Select one of the layouts for viewing live images from

multiple network cameras. The views are configured under Options > Views. See Views, on page 17 for instructions.

Extended menu for camera selection - Click here to open a drop-down list to select a camera for One monitor view.

No Live Images - Click the No Live Images button to close the camera window views.

process power and bandwidth required by the application. In the Views

section under Options it is possible to set up AXIS Camera Station to always startup in this mode, see

Select Camera - Selecting a network camera from the drop-down list will open a pop-up window showing the live image from the chosen camera. Depending on the network camera/video server model and settings, controls for Pan/Tilt/Zoom, audio and AXIS Image Enhancer may also be visible.

Not displaying live images reduces the amount of

Views, on page 17.

Monitor Buttons

I/O Status - Opens a window displaying the status of the Input/Outputs defined in AXIS Camera Station. Each I/O is shown on one line, along with a colored indicator.

•Green - the I/O is in its normal state

•Red - the I/O is active. Recording may be in progress depending on the setup

•Yellow - there is a connection problem with the I/O device.

Single camera pop-up

click to open camera view

AXIS Camera Station - User’s Interface

Click on the camera button to open the device's window with live image stream. Buttons for starting and stopping an output are also shown. I/O Status window can also be opened by selecting menu items Views > Show I/O Status.

See External I/Os, on page 19 for configuration of inputs and outputs.

Camera Sequence - Opens the Camera sequence window. A camera sequence is a defined "tour" or configuration that automatically switches through the cameras included in the tour. Select the sequence to view from the Camera Sequence drop-down list.

The configured switching interval can be overridden by clicking the command buttons, or by changing the interval in the Switching Interval drop-down list. See

How to set up a sequence, on page 19.

Playback Buttons

Recorded Events - Opens the Event Search window. An event is a recording which is triggered by an alarm or scheduled. See

4-camera playback - search through recorded events from four cameras simultaneously. Click on the 4-camera playback button and a new window opens, showing images from the recorded files.

Event log - shows recent events in the server. By clicking on a recorded event item the

Recorded Event Window opens. See

Taskbar icon menu - The icon in the task bar indicates the status of the service. Green indicates that the service is running, red that it is stopped and yellow means the service is starting up or experiencing a problem connecting to a camera. Right-click on the icon to bring up options to start/stop the recording server. Hide removes the icon from the taskbar, but the service continues. Icon will re-appear when the computer is restarted.

How to search using Event Search, on page 20

How to search using Event Search, on page 20.

AXIS Camera Station - User’s Interface

File menu

In the menu you will find many of the functions that are located in the control panel as well as all the configuration windows for AXIS Camera Station.

Start/Stop Server

From the File menu you can start or stop AXIS Camera Station as a background service. This is the part of the program that gets images from the cameras and stores them to hard disk. Images are available in the main window at any time, but images are only saved to disk when the service is running.

Note: The service is automatically restarted after changes have been made.

View menu

Select the view according to the number of cameras you want to show. See Views, on page 17.

No Live Images- Closes the camera window views. Not displaying live images reduces the amount of processor power required by the service, while not affecting recordings in any way. The amount of bandwidth required is also less when live images are not displayed. Under Options > Views it is possible to set up the system so that it always starts in this mode, see

Show I/O status - This option opens a window that displays the I/O Status of all units. See I/O Status, on page 6.

Camera Sequences - Click to open the Camera Sequence window. See Camera Sequence, on page 7.

Views, on page 17.

Event Log - The Event log tracks camera and server events. Use the drop-down lists to choose date, time, type and source of the events to list. The generated list can be saved as a text file by clicking Save As.

Audit Log - This useful tool allows you to search User actions by time, user, type of happening or camera. The generated list with the chosen criteria can be saved as a text file by clicking Save As.

Monitor menu

Select the number of cameras to view in a new window that occupies the entire screen and shows live images from the cameras on the AXIS Camera Station server. Press Alt+F4 or Esc to exit the monitor mode.

Playback Menu

Open Events or 4-Camera Playback window. See Recorded Events, page 7.

Options Menu

This is the administration section of AXIS Camera Station. A detailed description of the steps to setup and maintain AXIS Camera Station are found in see AXIS Camera Station Help pages.

Help Menu

Help - Opens a full descriptive Online Help.

Online Support - Opens the AXIS Camera Station Support page in your Web browser. Requires Internet connection.

How to..., on page 9. For detailed descriptions of the menu items

Configuration Sheet - Compiles a report in HTML format of your network camera/video server, recording and motion detection settings. This report may be helpful in support issues.

Server Report - If you are in need of support, Server Report prepares a .zip file containing parameter and log files that can be sent to Axis Customer Support for analysis of your system.

AXIS Camera Station - How to...

How to...

After installing the software, it must be configured for your cameras and video servers. Among other things this chapter describes how to configure and maintain AXIS Camera Station as well as how to set up recording, motion detection, and alarms. For installation instructions refer to AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide.

Add cameras/video servers

The first time AXIS Camera Station is started, a search function automatically finds and adds cameras/video servers that are on your network to AXIS Camera Station. If there are more cameras on your network than you have a license for, an Install Cameras dialog opens automatically. Simply check the boxes of the camera/video servers you would like to add in AXIS Camera Station

Note: If a camera/video server is accessed through a proxy server you

must change the service logon account from” System”. See Problems with remote disks or proxy servers., on page 32.

Add a camera/video server - using search

1.From AXIS Camera Station, select Options > Camera settings from the menu and click on the Add button.

2. The camera’s details can be entered manually or click on the Search button to get a list of available cameras/video servers.

3. A Search List window opens with a list of the cameras found on your local subnet and all the devices with routers that support multicast traffic. Double-click on the desired camera/video server or click on the camera and the OK button.

Search function supports AXIS 2XX video products with firmware version of

4.03/4.10 or higher except AXIS 205/230/250S.

AXIS Camera Station - How to...

4. All pertinent information appears in the window, such as the camera/video server’s name, IP address, Device model and Video Port. The Camera enabled box must be checked to make recordings and viewing images possible. Camera name is how the camera will appear in AXIS Camera Station. If you like, you may change the name to something more descriptive. The change will only affect AXIS Camera Station and not the camera.

The WAN IP address is where AXIS Camera Station will get live images. This might be the same as your LAN IP address, but depends on

Note:

your network/Firewall/NAT. The WAN must be specified if a Client or Web Interface Client is run from another network than AXIS Camera Station. If no WAN address is available, enter the LAN address. See Network Configuration, on page 27 for more information.

5. Credentials - If the camera is setup to use a common user name and password check the Use Master Password box under Credentials. Master Credentials is set up under Options > General Settings > General. If the camera has a unique password, check Use Specific Password and enter User Name and Password information.

6. Live View Options - Specify the file format to show images in. The options that appear in the drop-down list are dependant on what is available for the camera. File formats MJPG, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 are supported.

If applicable for the model of camera chosen, you can enable Pan/Tilt/Zoom and Audio. Note, that audio must be enabled in the camera as well. Image Enhancer is enabled if you have installed your AXIS Image Enhancer license in AXIS Camera Station. By enabling these features the controls are displayed when viewing the camera’s image in the Live View window (see Select Camera

on page 6).

Add a camera/video server - manually

1. Make sure Camera Enabled box is checked to make recordings and viewing live images possible.

2. Enter Camera name. This is how the camera will appear in AXIS Camera Station and will not affect the camera’s settings.

3. Enter the camera’s IP addresses and Port number. If Port is left blank, AXIS Camera Station will assume the default number 80. The WAN IP address is where AXIS camera Station will get live images. This might be the same as your LAN IP address, but depends on your network/Firewall/NAT. The WAN must be specified if a Client or Web Interface Client is run from another network than AXIS Camera Station. If no WAN address is available, enter the LAN address. See Network Configuration, on page 27 for more information.

4. Enter Device model. Select a model from the drop-down list or click on Get Model button.

5. Enter Video port number if you are adding a multiport video server.

6. Follow steps 5-6 in Add a camera/video server - using search to enter Credentials, and Live View

Options.

AXIS Camera Station - How to...

AXIS Image Enhancer

AXIS Image Enhancer improves the quality of images taken in conditions such a fog, smoke, rain and snow. If you have a registered license for AXIS Image Enhancer follow these steps to enable it for a device. To register your license for AXIS Image Enhancer, Select menu item Options > General Settings > License.

Set up AXIS Image Enhancer

1. From AXIS Camera Station, select Options > Camera settings. Select the camera to configure

image enhancing by double-clicking on it or click on the camera and the Edit button.

2. Under Live view options, check the box for Enable image enhancement.

3. By clicking on Settings, the camera’s Live View window opens. Move the slider to find the level of enhancement that gives the best image

4. When satisfied with image, click on the Close button. The Enhancement factor in numeric form now appears in the textbox.

Note:

Setting the Image enhancement factor here is for viewing live images. The setting can be adjusted in Playback mode.

AXIS Camera Station - How to...

Recording

Recording can be set up as continuous, scheduled or triggered by motion or alarm. For information about setting up the database for recorded events see

Recording Database, on page 15.

Set up continuous recording

With this procedure you can set the server to continuously save images. Note that this option uses more disk space than an Alarm triggered recording.

1. From the AXIS Camera Station, click Options > Camera settings. Select the camera to configure by double-clicking on it or click on the camera then the Edit button.

2. Click on the Recording tab and check Enable under Continuous Recording.

3. If you would like to record every few seconds. Check the radio button for Record image every and select the number of seconds between image recordings. If you would like to set a higher frame rate than 1 per second, choose Frame rate and select how many frames to record per second.

Note:

The Frame rate is a target value. The actual frame rate depends on the type of camera, network conditions and your PC configurations. If you are running on a powerful server and using only a few cameras, the frame rate can be set high.

Choosing recording quality/image settings

4. Choose a Video format. MPEG-4 video quality is comparable to MJPG, but often requires less bandwidth.

5. Choose the resolution or pixel size for recordings from the Image resolution drop-down list. The resolution available can fall into different ranges dependant on the camera. For more information consult your network camera’s user manual.

6. Set Image quality (compression). Changing the compression level affects the amount of bandwidth required. Lower compression improves image quality, but uses more bandwidth.

7. Click the Apply button.

Note:

A high frame rate and image resolution will require more bandwidth, processor power and hard disk space. Lower compression improves image quality, but uses more bandwidth.

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