AXIS Camera Station User Guide

USER MANUAL

AXIS Camera Station

About This Document

This manual is intended for administrators and users of AXIS Camera Station and is applicable for software release 3.50 and later. It covers conﬁguration of AXIS Camera Station Server and AXI S Camera Station Client as well as instructions for using and managing AXIS Camera Station on your network. Later versions of this docum e nt will be posted on Axis web site, as required. See also the product’s help pages.

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.

Legal considerations

Video and audio surveillance can be regulated 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 A B 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

Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista, WWW, Internet Explorer, DirectX, Intel, Intel Core, Pentium and Xeon are reg istered trademarks of the respective holders.

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 software updates

• ﬁnd answers to resolved problems in the FAQ database. Search

by product, category, or phrase

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

support area

• chat with Axis support staff (selected countries only)

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

AXIS Camera Station

Table of Contents

SystemRequirements ........................................ 4

Overview .................................................. 5

AXISCameraStationServer ....................................... 5

AXISCameraStationClient ....................................... 5

MultipleServers ................................................ 6

Workspaces ................................................ 8

LiveView ...................................................... 8

Recordings ..................................................... 12

CameraManagement ............................................ 16

Logs .......................................................... 18

Conﬁguration .................................................. 19

AlarmsandTasksTabs ............................................ 20

Licenses ................................................... 22

RegisteringLicenses ............................................. 22

LicenseTypes ................................................... 22

SupportLicense ................................................. 22

LicenseTransition ............................................... 23

Decoders ...................................................... 23

Howto... .................................................. 24

AddCamerasandVideoEncoders .................................. 24

Add Auxiliary Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

SetUpRecording ................................................ 26

SetUpRecordingStorage ......................................... 30

CreateViews ................................................... 31

AddaPTZPresetPosition ......................................... 36

EnableAudioinLiveView ......................................... 36

EnableAudioinRecordings ....................................... 36

Conﬁgure a Media Proﬁle ......................................... 37

Override Media ProﬁlesinLiveView ................................ 37

UseAudiofromanAuxiliaryDevice ................................. 38

AddInputsandOutputs .......................................... 38

SetUpSchedules ................................................ 39

Send E-Mail NotiﬁcationonSystemAlarm ........................... 40

ExportRecordings ............................................... 40

UpgradeFirmware ............................................... 40

AssignIPAddresses .............................................. 42

RegisteraMyAxisAccount ........................................ 42

Event ConﬁgurationWizard ................................... 43

CreateaRule ................................................... 43

AddTriggers .................................................... 44

AddActions .................................................... 45

SetaSchedule .................................................. 47

RuleDetails .................................................... 47

Network

NATandFirewall ................................................ 49

ServerProxySettings ............................................ 49

ClientProxySettings ............................................. 50

Server Port Conﬁguration ......................................... 51

UserPermissions ................................................ 51

InputDevices .............................................. 53

Hotkeys ....................................................... 53

AXIS T8311 Video Surveillance Joystick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

AXIS T8312 Video Surveillance Keypad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

AXIS T8313 Video Surveillance Jog Dial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

AXIS 295 Video Surveillance Joystick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

AXISCameraStationServiceControl ........................... 58

ModifyServerSettings ........................................... 58

AXISCameraStationServiceAdministration ..................... 61

SupportedOperations ............................................ 61

Troubleshooting ............................................ 63

Contact Customer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

and Security Conﬁguration ............................

AXIS Camera Station

System Requirements

For best performance and stability these minimum requirements must be met.

AXIS Camera Station Client

• Windows® 7 P rofessional, Windows Vista® Business, Windows® XP Professional

• CPU: Intel® Pentium® 4, 2 GHz (Intel® Core™ i7 recommended for larger systems)

• RAM: 1 GB (4 GB recommended for larger systems)

• Hard drive: 1 GB free memory

• Screen: 1024 x 768

• Graphics card with DirectX® 9.0c; Onboard video memory of 256 MB

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

Note

Use the latest graphics card driver.

AXIS Camera Station Server

• Windows® 7 Professional, Windows Vista® Business, Windows® XP Professional, Windows® Server 2008 R2, Windows® Server 2008, Windows® Server 2003 (64–bit versions recommended for larger systems)

• CPU:Intel®Pentium®4,2GHz(Intel®Xeon®recommendedforlargersystems)

• RAM: 1 GB (8 GB recommended for larger systems)

• Microsoft® .NET runtime environment (included in installati

Network

• 100 Megabit n etwork (Gigabit network recomme

Hard disk conﬁguration

• At 30 fps in VGA with comp

Note

Make sure to always have the latest service packs and video drivers installed on your system.

ression30upto15camerasperharddisk

ndedforlargersystems)

on package)

AXIS Camera Station

Overview

AXIS Camera Station is a complete monitoring and recording system for Axis network cameras and video encoders. AXIS Camera Station is comprised of

• AXIS Camera Station Server — handles all com munication with the cameras and video encoders and recordings. Each server can communicate with up to 100 cameras/encoders.

• AXIS Camera Station Client — graphical interface enabling remote viewing and control from anywhere on the Internet or corporate network

Several Clients can be connected to the same Server, and each C lient can be connected to several Servers. See Multiple Servers, on page 6 .

AXIS Camera Station One has all the basic features of A X IS Camera Station for one camera/video channel.

Installation scenario. AXIS Camera Station Server, installed on a dedicated computer, handles the communication with cameras both inside and outside the local (corporate) network. The cameras are monitored and controlled from two AXIS Camera Station Clients — one on the local network and one connected via the Internet.

AXIS Camera Station Server

AXIS Camera Station Server handles all communication with the c ameras that are included in the system. It also han dle s recordings, events and user management in the system. Once AXIS C amera Station Server has been installed on your computer, the Service Control allows you to start and stop the server as well as modify server settings if needed. If AXIS Camera Station Server and any cameras in the system are separated by a proxy server, you may need to open the Service Control to manually enter the appropriate proxy settings. See AXIS Camera Station Service Control Help for more information.

An icon in the system taskbar shows if the service has stopped the icon to open Service Administration, on page 61.

AXIS Camera Station Service Control, see A XIS Camera Station Service Control, on page 58 and AXIS Camera Station

, or is running . To modify server settings you can double-click

AXIS Camera Station Client

The user interface is developed with a focus on ease-of-use and intuitive handling with navigation too ls providing quick access to cameras and recordings in the system. AXIS Camera Station is divided into six areas called workspaces: Start page, Live View, Recordings, Camera Management, Logs and Conﬁguration.

AXIS Camera Station

Overview

The ﬁrst time the application is started, AXIS Camera Station automatically ﬁnds and adds the cameras and video encoders that are on your network. If there are more cameras than you have a license for, the Camera Search dialog will pop up allowing you to select which devices to add, s ee Add Cameras and Video Encoders, on page 24.

Multiple Servers

AXIS Camera Station Client can be connected to multiple AXIS Camera Station Servers. Select N to connect to a new server. Servers can also be organized in server lists, see Server Lists,below.

Recent Connections in the File menu displays recently used servers. Select a server to connect to or disconnect from that server.

The Selected server drop-down list is available in the client toolbar and in several dialogs when connected to more than one server. When this list is shown, the client displays the cameras, recordings, events, logs, etc on the server selected in the list. Select another server to access devices and recordings on th

at server.

ew Connection from the File menu

AXIS Camera Station

Overview

The Camera Management workspace and the Alarms and Tasks tabs at the bottom of the client’s main window, see Alarms and Tasks Tabs, on page 20, display devices and alarms from all connected servers. In the Live View workspace, you can create split views

with cameras from different se rvers.

Server Lists

Server lists are useful when working with a large number of servers, and when using the s ame servers for clients on different computers.

To create and edit server lists, go to File > Switch to Servers > Server Lists. A server can belong to more than one list.

Once created, you can connect to all servers in a list by selecting the list from the Multiple servers drop-down list in the Connect to AXIS Camera Station dialog displayed when starting the client. To switch between server lists, open the File menu, point to Switch to Servers and select the server list to connect to.

Server lists can be exported and imported into other AXIS Camera Station Clients. To export/import a server list, open the File menu, select Import/Export and then Export Server Lists or Import Server Lists.

AXIS Camera Station

Workspaces

AXIS Camera Station i s divided into workspaces:

The Start page gives an overview of AXIS Came ra Station, highlights new features and contains contact information for technical support. When disconnected from the server, this is the only workspace available.

The Live View workspace provides a single interface to organize, monitor and control Axis network cameras and video encoders.

The Recordings workspace handles recording se arch, playback, export and management.

The Camera Management workspace provides tools for efﬁcient administration and maintenance of connected devices, such as ﬁrmware upgrade, assigning IP addresses, setting passwords and date and time settings.

The Logs workspace contains alarm, event and audit logs.

The Conﬁguration workspace is a collection of all the important links for conﬁguring AXIS Camera Station.

The workspaces are easily acce ssed by clicking on the naviga tion buttons in the toolbar or by selecting the workspace from the View menu.

Devices and Cameras

In AXIS Camera Station, the terms device and camera are used as follows:

Device A network product that has its own IP address. A device can be:

•anetworkcamera

• a video encoder (video server)

• an auxilia ry device

Camera

Auxiliary device

Example

A 4–port video encoder is one device with four cameras.

Note

Some video encoders have one IP address for each video port. In this case, each video port is treated as one device with one camera.

A video source, that is,

•anetworkcamera

• a video port (with a connected analog camera) on a video encoder

Each camera requires one AXIS Camera Station license.

A network device without video ports, for example a without an additional AXIS Camera Station license.

n I/O audio module. Auxiliary devices can be added

Live View

The Live View workspace provides a single interface to organize and monitor Axis network cameras and video encoders on your network. You can, for example, set up view groups, record, and control a udio and pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) functionality.

AXIS Camera Station

Workspaces

Live View workspace

Server selection list

Toolbar

Recording indicator

Workspace buttons

View groups

Audio, PTZ Control, Foc us Control, Image Enhancement and Ca mera Status

Alarms and Tasks tabs

Alarms a nd Tasks toolbar

Views

There are ﬁve view types in AXIS Camera Station:

Split View Displays up to 25 views in one window. One frame can be set as a hotspot that automatically loads the view from

another frame when clicking in that frame.

Sequence Switches automatically between selected views, with variable dwell times.

Camera View Live video from one camera or video encoder. Camera views c an be added to split views, sequences and map s.

Map Imported image, for example a ﬂoor plan, on which camera views, split views, sequences, web pages and other

Web Page

maps can be placed. Providing a visual overvie w, maps make it easy to quickly locate and acces s individual cameras in t

External web application integrated into AXIS Camera Station. Web pages can be shown in a split view or a sequence together with live video.

he network video insta llation.

For instructions on how to add split views, sequences and maps, see Create Views, on page 31.

AXIS Camera Station

Workspaces

Views can be used in event actions, see Event Conﬁguration Wizard, on page 43.

View Groups

Views can be organized into view groups. A view group contains automatic or user-deﬁned views. The following view groups are available in the pane in the left hand sid e of the Live View workspace:

• Auto Views — Automatically created split views for up to 25 cameras.

• My Views — User-created views. These views are available to the current user only.

• Shared Views — Views created by an administrator or operator that are accessible by all users.

• Camera Views — All cameras and video encoders that have been added to AXIS Camera Station.

You can add your own view groups as subgroups to M y Views or Shared Views, see Create a New View Group, on page 32.

For instructions on how to add views to My Views a nd Shared Views, see Create Views, on page 31.

For instructions on how to add cameras and v ideo encoders, see Add Cameras and Video Encoders, on page 24.

Audio

The Audio control under Tools in the Live View workspace includes Master Volume and Mute controls for cameras with audio capability. A volume control is shown for the selected camera if it has audio capability. To display the volume control in the image, place the mouse pointer over the desired camera view.

Note

• The audio control will be inactive but visible in Tools and will not appear in the image if the user does not have proper authority for audio, see User Permissions, on page 51.

• Audio is not available in M-JPEG streams.

Master audio control

me control in image

Volu

AXIS Camera Station

Workspaces

PTZ Controls

AXIS Camera Station has two types of pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) controls:

• Mechanical is f or PTZ cameras (including cameras where digital PTZ has been enabled in the camera’s Setup page)

• Digital canbeusedwithanycamera

IntheLiveViewworkspace,PTZ Control is available under Tools.

Mechanical PTZ Control

The pan, tilt and zoom functionality for PTZ cameras can be controlled:

•usingtheMechanical PTZ Control under Tools

•usingthemouse

When using the Mechanical PTZ Control, click on the arrow buttons to pan and tilt. Click on the center buttons "+" and "-" to zoom in and out.

To steer the camera view to a preset position, select the position from the Presets drop-down list. For more information on presets, see Add a PTZ Preset Position, on page 36.

When using the mouse, click in the camera view to pan and tilt. Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.

Note

For information on using a joystick, see Input Devices, on page 53.

Digital PTZ Control

Digital PTZ can be used with cameras that do not have mechanical PTZ support. Digital PTZ can be controlled:

•usingtheDigital PTZ Control under Tools

•usingthemouse

When using the Digital PTZ Control, use the zoom in and out buttons (represented by magnifying glasses) to zoom in and out. After zooming in, use the red navigation box in the Digital PTZ Control to pan and tilt. Click and drag the box to the desired location. To zoom o

When using the in the lower right-hand corner of the live view to pan and tilt. Click and drag the box to the desired location. To zoom out, right-click or use the mouse wheel.

ut, right-click or use the zoom out button.

mouse, click in the camera view and use the wheel to zoom in. After zooming in, use the navigation box that appears

AXIS Camera Station

Workspaces

Focus Control

The Focus Control is available under Tools in the Live View workspace.

Click AF to focus the camera a utomatically. If the result is not satisfactory, click the Near and Far buttons to adjust focus manually:

•UsetheNear buttons to focus on objects close to the camera.

•UsetheFar buttons to focus on objects fa r away from the camera.

The large Near and Far buttons move the focus position in multiple steps and are used for coarse adjustments. Use the small buttons to ﬁne-tune focus.

Note

Focus control is not available for all camera models.

Image Enhancement

Image enhancement improves video quality in challenging conditions such as fog, smoke, heavy rain or snow. In the Live View workspace, Image Enhancement is available under Tools. Select Enable and use the slider to adjust the amount of enhancement.

Camera Status

The Camera Status ﬁeld shows information about the selected camera’s connection and recording status.

Recording Indicators

A recording indicator in the upper right hand corner of the live view image signiﬁes an ongoing recording:

• Yellow — Manual recording in progress

• Red — Motion detection or event recording in progress

• Blue — Continuous recording in progress

Recording indicator

Area Zoom

In the Live View workspace, you can use the mouse to magnify a selected area in the image. To zoom in, click in the image and drag to draw a rectangle surrounding the area to be magniﬁed. To zoom out, rotate the mouse wheel.

Recordings

The Recordings workspace handles recording search, playback, export and recording management. The workspace is divided into tabs:

AXIS Camera Station

Workspaces

• Playback — Recordings from up to 25 cameras can be played simultaneously. By default, playback starts automatically after a recording search.

• Timeline — View the search result on a timeline.

• List —Viewthesearchresultasalist.

Recording Search

Use Recording Search to ﬁnd recordings from a desired time interval.

To search and play recordings:

1. In Recording Search,specifythetimeintervalforthesearch.Selectarange of dates from the calendar and, optionally, select the start and end times from the drop-down lists.

2. Select the cameras to include in the search. Multiple cameras can be selected.

3. Click Search.

4. Playback starts automatically when recordings are found. Select the Timeline or List tab to view the search result on a timeline or as a lis t.

Playback

Playback starts automatica lly after a recording search. To play recordings from the Timeline or L ist tabs, select the recordings and

. Recordings from up to 25 cameras can be played simultaneously.

click

Note

To disable playback autostart, open the Options menu and select Customize. Select the Recordings tab and clear the

der Autostart.

box un

The timeline below the pla yback window can be used to navigate through the recordings. Click in the timeline to position the playback marker. Use the scroll bar to pan the timeline. Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.

AXIS Camera Station

Workspaces

Selection start marke r

Playback m arker

Selection end marker

Stop — Stops playback

Jump to previous — Jump to the start time of the ongoing or previous recording

Play/Pause — Starts, pauses and resumes playback

Jump to next — Jump to the start time of the next recording

Step Back — Step to the previous frame

Step Forward — Step to the next frame

Playback Speed — Move the slider to set the playback speed

Master Mute/Unmute — Mute and unmute audio for all recordings. Place the mouse pointer over the button to display the master volume control

Image Enhancement — Place the mouse pointer over the button to display the enhancement level control

Digital zoom can be used in playback mode. Click in the image and use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out. Area zoom can also be used, see page 12. The navigation box in the lower right-hand cornercanbeusedtonavigatearoundtheimage.

Playback Toolbar

In Playback mode the following toolbar buttons become available:

Export

Selection start marker

Selection end marker

Smart search

Take sn aps hot

Area zoom

Zoom in/Zoom out

Add bookmark

Show bookmarks

Export selected recordings to ASF ﬁles. See Export Recordings, on page 40.

Setastartmarkerinthetimeline. Themarkerdeﬁnes the start of a time interval and will be inserted at the same position as the playback marker. Click the button again to remove the marker.

Set an end marker in the timeline. The marker deﬁnes the end of a time interval and will be inserted at the same position as the playback marker. Click the button again to remove the marker.

Search for motion in a speciﬁc area in recordings. This is especially useful wh en searching continuous recordings. See Smart Search.

Take a snapshot image from the sel speciﬁed under Options > Customize.

To zoom in on a period of time, click this button and use the mouse to select the desired time period in the timeline.

Zoom in and out on the timeline.

Create a new bookmark. Bookmarks can be placed anywhere in a recording; playback will start from the bookmarked time.

Open the list of bookmarks. Click on a bookmark to start playback. Right-click to edit or remove a bookmark.

ected camera. The snapshot is saved to the snapshot folder

Smart Search

To use the Smart search functionality:

AXIS Camera Station

Workspaces

1. Click the Smart search button in the toolbar, a Smart search next button will appear in the playback panel, a motion window will appear in the image and a sensitivity slider will appear in the lower right-hand corner

2. Drag and size the motion window to the desired area of the image.

3. Adjust slider to the proper sensitivity. A high value indicates high sensitivity to motion.

4. Click the Sm art search next button to jump to the place in the recording whe re motion takes place.

Timeline

Select the Timeline tab to view the search result on a timeline.

Recordings are color coded:

• Red — Motion detection recording

• Yellow — Manual recording

• Blue — Continuous recording

• Green — Failover recording

In timeline view, the fo

Play Play selected recordings.

Export

Selection

lection end marker

llowing toolbar buttons are available:

Export selected recordings to an ASF ﬁle. See Export Recordings, on page 40.

start marker

Set a start marker in the timeline. The marker deﬁnes the start of a time interval and will be ins remove the marker.

Set an end marker in the timeline. The marker deﬁnes the end of a time interval and will be in the marker.

erted at the same position as the playback marker. Click the button again to

serted at the same position as the playback marker. Click the button again to remove

AXIS Camera Station

Workspaces

Area zoom

Zoom in/Zoom out

Show bookmarks Open the list of bookmarks

Right-click the recording in the timeline to open the Recording Details dialog. The dialog provides information about the recording and includes options such as start playback, export, bookmark and take a snapshot of the recording.

To zoom in on a period of time, click this button and use the mouse to select the desired time period in the timeline.

Zoom in or out on the timeline.

List

Select the List tab to view the search result as a list.

In List view, the following toolbar buttons become available:

Play Play selected recordings.

Lock/Unlock

Export

Show/Hide

Show bookmarks

Lock or unlock selected recordings. Locking prevents the r ecording from being deleted. Note: Locked recordings will be deleted if the camera is removed from AXIS Camer a Station.

Export selected recordings to an ASF ﬁle. See Export Recordings, on page 40.

Show or hide thumbnail images in the recording search list.

Opens the list of bookmarks.

Camera Management

The Camera Management workspace provides tools for efﬁcient management, administration and maintenance of devices connected to AXIS Camera Station. Devices can be organized using tags, see Tags, on page 18.

Note

A device i s a network product with its own IP address, see page 8 .

Use the search ﬁeld to locate desired d evice s, or click on the headings to lis t devices in the desired order.

AXIS Camera Station

Workspaces

Camera Management workspace

Search ﬁeld

Device Tags

Alarms and Tasks tabs

Tasks

Tasks can be performed on one or multiple devices. The f ollowing task are available from the Actions menu:

Assign IP address to selected devices, see page 42

User management tasks:

Set password for selected devices

Addusertoselecteddevices

Remove user from selected devices

List users on selected devices

Upgrade ﬁrmware for selected devices, see page 40

Set date and time on selected devices

Refresh selected devices

Restart selecte d devices

Restore selected devices. This will reset most settings, including the password, to their factory default values. The following settings are not reset: boot protocol (DHCP or static), static IP address, default router, subnet mask, product interface lan

The status of ﬁnished and ongoing tasks is shown in the Tasks tab at the bottom of the workspace. See Alarms and Tasks Tabs, on page 20.

guage, system time, IEEE 802.1x settings.

AXIS Camera Station

Workspaces

When connected to multiple AXIS Camera Station Servers, devices on all servers are displayed in the Camera Management workspace’s main window. W ith the exception of assigning IP addresses, tasks can be performed on different servers at the same time.