No doubt you’ll be wanting to jump right in and start using your new camera straight away.

However it’s worth taking just a few minutes to go through this setup article first, as there’s a few basic fundamentals that you need to be aware of.

By following the steps provided inside and you will have your first MOBOTIX camera up and running in no time…

Watch the full program

Recommended follow up tutorial…
>>  MOBOTIX Admin Password Policy and Factory Default Reset Procedure

Connect the camera
Connect the camera to a power source, then either to a network switch or directly to your computer.

Start Up Sequence - M12/D14
As soon as the MOBOTIX camera’s power supply has been established, the camera’s LEDs will show the progress of the starting sequence, as follows:

Start Up Sequence - D24/Q24/M24/S14 
Unlike the M12 and D14, these devices have only two LEDs.  As soon as the camera’s power supply has been established, the LEDs will show the progress of the starting sequence:

Finding Your Cameras Quickly
You can force a MOBOTIX camera to announce its IP Address via the internal speaker (not the D24).  To do this, once the camera has completed the start up sequence, press and hold the L-Key and it will announce the following - IP address, network mask and MAC address.

Another way to find out the camera’s IP Address, is to launch MxControlCenter or MxEasy, and the Bonjour Service in these applications will send a multicast packet to the network looking for cameras.  Every MOBOTIX camera that receives this kind of packet will reply to the sender announcing its own information such as – Camera Name, Camera Model, Firmware Version and IP address.

MxControlCenter or the MxEasy will display the list of the devices found within the Local Network.  To view the list of devices detected:

• Within MxControlCenter, click Video Source > Add
• Within MxEasy, click Camera > Add Cameras

This will now launch the following “Add Video Sources” window…

Note – Bonjour can discover devices connected to daisy chained switches, but, cannot find devices located over a router because the router blocks the multicast packets.

All devices with a green dot next to them, can be added to the application.

If a yellow dot appears next to a device, this means the Bonjour detected the camera on the network but the computer cannot establish a full HTTP connection.

In order to establish a HTTP connection between computer and camera, Right click on the camera name and select “Configure Network”.

Now a new window will pop-up allowing you to specify the IP address for the camera, and also a network mask and a default gateway, like this…

The IP address entered for the camera must be in the same subnet as the computer. Let’s make an example: if our computer has the IP address 172.22.0.200 / Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0 then a valid IP address for the camera must to be in the range 172.22.0.1 – 172.22.0.254.

Only allocate an IP address that is not in use by another device. If the camera’s IP address is being used by another device (your computer, another camera etc), you will have connection issues.

Reset Camera Factory Default IP Address
You can reset a MOBOTIX camera back to its factory default IP Address  - this is located on the back of every MOBOTIX IP camera, directly under the barcode.

By pressing and holding down the L-key during the Boot Mode, wait for the “boing”, the camera’s IP address will be reset to the factory default.  This procedure does not reset the  camera’s usernames and passwords.

By pressing and  holding down the R-key during Boot Mode, the camera will restart in DHCP mode.  This is useful where there’s a DHCP server on the network, the server will then allocated an IP address to the camera.

TROUBLESHOOTING Connection Issues
If you find that you cannot connect to a camera, make sure you check ALL of the following…

1. check that the camera is powered on.

2. no IP device on a network can share the same IP Address. Therefore, start by double checking that your computer and camera have a different IP address – this is very important as duplicating of IP addresses is a very common cause of camera connectivity issues. If you can confirm that IP Addresses are correct and there are no duplications, but there’s still a problem, go to step 2…

3. try connecting the camera using a different network cable – the original cable may be faulty (don’t assume this is not the problem!).

4. if the problem still persists, power on and power off the camera.

If after trying ALL 4 steps, you find you cannot access the camera, contact your local MOBOTIX supplier for assistance.

Accessing the camera without MxCC or MxEasy
If for some reason you want to access the camera just using a web browser (without installing MxCC or MxEasy), then refer to the following tutorial…

How to access a MOBOTIX camera using a web browser

Recommended follow up tutorial…
>> POE Troubleshooting Guide for MOBOTIX Cameras

© 2013 mxinstaller.com.  Content may not be used or copied without our written approval. All rights reserved.

In this tutorial I am going to show you a very simple way to set this up, using the MOBOTIX Storage Failure Detection function.  Setup correctly, it enables the camera to notify you directly  if a storage issue is detected.

Setup an E-Mail Profile

There is a number of ways Storage Failure Detection can notify you – Audio Message, Phone Call or Email.  I am going to show you how to setup to receive Storage Failure Detection via E-Mail notification.

To get started we need to first create an E-mail Profile for storage failure.  To do that open a web browser and enter the MOBOTIX camera’s IP address:

From within the camera’s live view, click on Admin Menu > Transfer Profiles > E-Mail Profiles.

Click More, then “Add new profile” to create a new profile (or you can edit one not being used)

Tip: I would recommend you set this up on more than one camera as insurance.  This is not a necessity but something I do, as a notification back-up, just in case.

1. Name the E-mail Profile
Give the profile a meaningful name, that is easy to identify, I will use “StorageFailure”.

2. E-mail Subject Text
The email heading needs to be attention grabbing.  Something that will get the user’s attention, so when they get the email they know immediate actin is required.
For example – !STORAGE FAILURE! $(id.nam), which would look like this in the email subject - !STORAGE FAILURE! AcmeCOFrontWest!

3. E-Mail Body Text
This is where you provide further information relating to the storage failure.  You can enter anything in this box.  You could enter simple text message which outlines a course of action to take.  Additionally, you can enter some variables which will auto display in the E-Mail with the relevant information.
If you look under “Body Text” you will see a “variables” link. Click on that and it will gain access to a list of text variable display options that you can use.  find the ones you want and simply copy and paste them into the E-mail Profile message box.

For example, here are some of the default variables that I would recommend you add for Storage Failure Email notification:

$(STORAGE.BUFFERFILL.CURRENT) – buffer fill load in percentages (0-100). This indicates how much the camera is holding before it can write the files to the storage device. If it shows “100%” then there is a major issues with the NAS.  If the NAS has rebooted and the subsequent emails show the % falling then the issue is resolving.  Keep in mind high buffer % could also be a network issue.

$(STORAGE.TRANSFERDELAY.CURRENT) – indicates current buffer delay in percentages (0-100). This is a delay in writing the images from the camera to the storage device. Delays could be due to:
- HDDs that are faulty or getting too full
- the storage device has gone down
- the storage device has a network connection issue.
- insufficient write speed (e.g. underspecified NAS)
- Event dead time is not sufficient as the storage con not write the new folders fast enough.

As you can see variables used correctly, provide the information you need to receive enabling you to quickly diagnose the issue.

Tip: in a single drive recording device, a high percentage display, usually indicates the HDD is beginning to fail. Although I don’t recommend recording to single-bay devices – RAID with 2 or more HDDs is always the best option for obvious reasons.

Note: The MOBOTIX capture and recording process is very robust as it ensures the images are not deleted from its  internal buffer until the camera has acknowledged that the full file is on the storage device.

4. Enter Camera Link
I would also recommend that you make it a habit to enter a camera link in all Email Messages for faster access to the camera:
Enter the external IP address of the camera and port (example – http://58.108.212.11:8003).   When the email comes in, users can then click the link and this will provide an instant connection to the live view of the camera. Most smart phones and PC’s will recognise HTTP addresses even if they are not hyperlinked.

5. Server settings and Signature
For these settings, and troubleshooting Internet/network connection issues, please refer to this video tutorial

6. Save the -Email Profile
Click Set >> Close (wait for the page to refresh) >> OK

Apply E-Mail Profile to Storage Failure Detection

Why use Storage Failure Detection?  This feature when enabled will get the camera to notify you via email should a storage failure occur. I am amazed at how many installers don’t take advantage of this brilliant function, as it’s a great storage management tool.  It really does help you keep track of the the storage device’s health and connection status.  Enabling this feature will really impress customers, as you will always know if there’s a recording issue before they do!

Now we need to apply our E-Mail Profile to the Storage Failure Detection function:

From within the camera’s live view, click on Admin Menu > Storage > Storage Failure Detection

1. Check select ‘Enabled’ from the drop down
2. Tests select all 3 Tests - ping test, check reminder and lost events
3. Sensitivity - select High
4. Startup Delay set to  5 minutes
5. E-Mail select ‘StorageFailure’
6. E-Mail Frequency of the Storage Failure E-Mail notifications, select how often you wish to receive the error message
7. Save click Set >> Close (wait for the page to refresh) >> OK

And that’s it! Congratulations – you have successfully setup Email Notification on Storage Failure Detection in your MOBOTIX system!

© 2013 mxinstaller.com.  Content may not be used or copied without our written approval. All rights reserved.

This is a fast set up guide that will show you how to get instant email notification from a MOBOTIX camera, with meaningful information that will tell you when an event has occurred and provide other useful system updates.

Hello, this is my first contribution to the MX community.  I hope you find this article useful in improving your MOBOTIX system.  As I get time, I will endeavour to upload more tutorials!  If you would like to say “Hello”, please feel free to message me.

So let’s get the ball rolling…

This tutorial assumes you have already Armed the MOBOTIX camera, as the Email Profiles will only be useful when they’re linked to specific alarm triggers.  If you haven’t already done this, go into Setup Menu > General Event Settings and Enable Arming.

Here are two profiles that are easy to setup and require very little know how by the end user to view.

To get started, launch a web browser, type in the IP Address of the MOBOTIX camera, then go into Admin Menu > Transfer Profiles > E-Mail Profiles.

AlarmMail

The AlarmMail profile is where you setup E-mail alerts actioned by the camera’s event triggers such as – MxActivitySensor, VMD, Audio, Temperature, Microphone, or Event logic etc.

1. E-mail Subject Text
For any event triggers that should be immediately actioned, I make sure they are emailed from the camera with “IMPORTANT!” in the email subject heading. To do that type”IMPORTANT! into the email message.  By default the E-mail Message also includes other important information such as:

- Alarm from $(id.nam) – “$(id.nam)” represents the name of the name you have given the camera.  Usually I give the camera a meaningful name  in terms of where it has been installed geographically in reference to the company’s location, (example AcmeCoFrontWest).  I recommend using whatever camera naming conventions that work best for you.

- Alarm type $(EVT.EST.ACTIVATED) – “$(EVT.EST.ACTIVATED)” represents the event type that has triggered the alarm action – in this base being an email notification.

So if I just enter into Email Message as follows -
“IMPORTANT! Alarm from $(id.nam) Alarm type $(EVT.EST.ACTIVATED) … the email notifications from this profile will appear as follows:

IMPORTANT! Alarm from AcmeC0FrontWest Alarm Type VM

The objective here is for the users to appropriately respond to important email notification sent from the camera.

2. E-Mail Body Text
This is where you provide further information relating to the event.  You can put anything in here.  You could enter simple text message which outlines a course of action to take.  Or you can enter some variables which will auto display with the relevant information.

For example, here are some of the default variables that may appear.  You can add or delete these:

$(id.nam) - will display the camera’s name
$(fingerprint.timestamp) - it will display the time and date stamp
$(SEN.MIC) – it will provide a noise level from the camera’s microphone
$(SEN.TIN.CELSIUS) - it will indicate noise level from the camera’s microphone
$(SEN.ILR) - displays illumination level of right lens (0 is dark, 1000 is sunlight)
$(SEN.ILL) - displays illumination level of left lens (0 is dark, 1000 is sunlight)

If you click “variables” link next to “Body Text” you will see a list of display options that you can use.

I would also recommend that you enter a camera link for faster access:
Enter the external IP address of the camera and port (example – http://58.108.212.11:8003).   When the email comes in, users can then click the link and this will provide an instant connection to the live view of the camera. Most smart phones and PC’s will recognise HTTP addresses even if they are not hyperlinked.

3. E-Mail Attachment
- Select Image – this will enable the camera to send a JPEG attachment of the actual event image (the frame that first captured the trigger).
- Select Video Clip  - if bandwidth is not an issue video maybe selected an an alternative) and a mega sized image.

4. Server settings and Signature
For these settings, and troubleshooting connection issues, please refer to this video tutorial

5. To Save the -Email Profile
Click Set >> Close (wait for the page to refresh) >> OK

Now you can start linking your E–Mail Profiles to specific Alarm Triggers – see video tutorial

NotifyMail

The NotifyMail Profile is ideal for receiving emails containing general information and errors from the camera, such as possible over-heating,  reboots, ntp issues etc. Keep this one simple as you will find that all you need is the heading for a quick review and some system text. The use of this is mainly to identify patterns.

1. E-mail Subject Text
So if I just enter into Email Message as follows -
Mx Notification  $(id.nam)  … the email notifications from this profile will appear as follows:
Add to the heading something like “Mx Notification” $(id.nam), so that the subject will appear like this - Mx Notification AcmeCOFrontWest

2. E-mail Body Text
The body can remain as above for a quick snap shot of what the camera is doing. If you want to display specific information, click the “variables” link next to “Body Text”, and you will see a list of system update display commands that you can use. Personally, I think it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with these as it will help you create some powerful and useful email messaging.

3. E-Mail Attachment
For the attachment select System messages and for System Message Scope, leave is set to “Last 1 hour” is enough information.

4. Server settings and Signature
For these settings, and troubleshooting connection issues, please refer to this video tutorial

5. To Save the -Email Profile
Click Set >> Close (wait for the page to refresh) >> OK

Now you can start linking your E–Mail Profiles to specific Alarm Triggers – see video tutorial

Summary

In this tutorial I’ve covered just two E-mail profiles of the many profiles available. Don’t be afraid to try different combinations of profiles and experiment with linking them to various Event triggers. Once you get used to setting up Profiles and linking them to specific alarm triggers you can create some really powerful solutions, that will not only keep you informed, but also increase your level of customer service.

© 2013 mxinstaller.com.  Content may not be used or copied without our written approval. All rights reserved.

On the surface, MxActivitySensor could appear “too good to be true”, so we’ve put together a compilation of demo videos showing how MxActivitySensor performs under various conditions. Check out the results with your own eyes >>

Watch the full program

What is MxActivitySensor?
MxActivitySensor is a motion analyser that is installed directly inside the MOBOTIX camera by upgrading to firmware version MX-V4.1.6.x.  This feature is fully managed by the camera, therefore no additional software or server is required to complete this solution.

Once enabled, MxActivitySensor analyzes and accurately registers only continued traveling motion of objects, ignoring other environmental changes within the scene. This function can be used by the camera to trigger alarm actions such as recording, email, sms, phone call etc.

MxActivitySensor by default references motion within the entire scene.  However inclusion and exclusion zones within the camera’s field of view can be defined, so that motion triggers are limited to, or, excluded from those areas.  Alarm actions can also be setup based on predefined direction of movement.

Who developed MxActivitySensor?
This is a development out of the MX-Video-Analysis-Group founded 3 years ago at the MOBOTIX world headquarters in Germany.

How does MxActivitySensor differ from VMD?
While both are motion analysis technologies, they’re totally different:
- VMD registers any and all pixel changes within defined zones, so can be fairly inaccurate in outdoor conditions and generate a lot of false alarms.  It can require reasonable amount of configuration time, to achieve highly accurate results.
- MxActivitySensor will only register traveling movement of objects across mulitiple frames. All other redundant changes in the environment such as cloud movement, light, snow, rain, insects, shadows etc – are ignored. This is going to bring massive savings in bandwidth, not to mention storage costs.  For most installs, MxActivitySensor will only need to be enabled – without configuration and still result in very few false alarms.

Will MxActivitySensor replace MOBOTIX VMD?
MxActivitySensor is going to replace the use of VMD in applications requiring intelligent alarm-based monitoring of human activity, and other scenarios already outlined above.

However, VMD is better suited for specialised applications such as close up, high speed movement triggering (e.g. LPR/ANPR).  So within the camera settings you can use MxActivitySensor in conjunction with VMD.   

VMD is the best option for alarm triggering in any of the follow scenarios – close up viewing (tele-photo/L135 lens), high speed movement, change in object color, lights turning on/off.  MxActivitySensor is best for registering general movement and activity.

Where is MxActivitySensor most effective?
MxActivitySensor is by far the best option for initiating alarm actions based on perimeter fence monitoring and general movement of people, objects and vehicles. It can be setup to detect objects or people that pass through pre-defined detection zone or move steadily towards or away from the camera.

IMPORTANT NOTE – for highest accuracy the following should be observed:
1. when configuring up MxActivitySensor direction settings in cameras with L11/L22 lenses - always configure MxActivitySensor in the raw, uncorrected image.
2. the captured scene should be a general overview, not close up capture of moving objects. For this reason we suggest using wider angle lenses (e.g. L11, L22), or setup MxActivitySensor in cameras capturing a general area overview for best results.
3. cameras should be configured to capture video at a minimum of 6 frames per second. This is because MxActivitySensor is analysing motion across multiple frames, to verify whether or not the movement is meaningful – so a minimum frame rate setting is required to ensure accuracy.

As with all technology, MxActivitySensor has its limitations. Insufficient contrast between the moving objects and the background (e.g. black on black), heavy fog and poor lighting will likely reduce accuracy.

How do I enable MxActivitySensor?
Once you have upgraded the camera’s software to MX-V4.1.6.x, you can then enable MxActivitySensor via the camera’s web interface.  To do this launch a web browser, go into the camera’s Setup Menu >> Event Control >> Event Overview >> Image Analysis Events >> Edit >> Add a new profile >> Select MxActivitySensor.  If you now click Set, Close and Ok – this will save to the default settings. MxActivitySensor will reference the entire image area and sensitivity is set to medium level, represented by the number “33″.  The camera’s Arming also needs to be Enabled within Setup Menu >> General Event Settings.

Why is there a slight lag when MxActivitySensor verifies movement?
MxActivitySensor analyses motion across multiple frames, to verify whether or not the movement is meaningful – causing a brief lag before the activity is registered on screen.  The algorithm’s reading of movement across multiple frames, partially explains why a minimum frame rate setting @ 6fps is recommended. Setting up pre-alarm recording of at least 3 seconds is recommended to ensure the entire event is captured.

Which cameras can use MxActivitySensor?
Currently, MxActivitySensor is only available for the following models – Q24M, M24M, D24M, T24M, D14Di, S14 and V14 megapixel camera models, (not IT/VGA models).  Later releases, such as the 15-series cameras (S15/D15/M15), will ship with MxActivitySensor pre-installed. (pssst…it’s been rumoured that MxActivitySensor might be made available for the MOBOTIX M12 in July 2013.)

In Summary
Installers are going to absolutely love MxActivitySensor because it’s available as a free upgrade and reduces both false alarms and storage requirements – which means reduced cost. The setup time for MxActivitySensor is negligible, whereas configuring VMD is often a complex procedure, with each camera usually requiring individual tweaking to cater for the variables within the environment such as change in light conditions and redundant movement.

Clearly the high accuracy within this technology will be of enormous interest to security companies wanting to offer more accurate back-to-base monitoring services.  This could prove to be a powerful solution for alerting security guards to human activity in outdoor situations.

© 2013 mxinstaller.com.  Content may not be used or copied without our written approval. All rights reserved.

Everything is plugged in and seems to be in place. Now what?  

In this article we will step you through a quick checklist to help you get your cameras powered up and running…

Watch the full program

The following steps should be followed, IF you have confirmed that the PoE switch is not faulty and configured correctly…

1. Check the cable
Plug the same camera or one that’s close on hand, using a different Ethernet cable, into the PoE port that is not powering. If the camera connects and powers on, this tells you the initial problem was likely caused by the original cable, being faulty. If that doesn’t resolve your issue, go to step 2.

2. Check the cable length
You should also check to make sure that the cable length has not exceeded the IEEE recommended maximum PoE distance of 100m/328ft.  If you are wanting to extend the PoE distance beyond 100m/328ft, a viable option is to use a PoE extender, such as Mx2wire+ - this technology provides PoE to cameras located 500m from the power source

3. Check the PoE budget
Insufficient power from a PoE switch usually occurs when the PoE budget has not been accurately calculated.  Under normal operation each MOBOTIX camera draws around 3W of power, and 4.5W if recording to SD card around 4.5W.

But you cannot work your budget based on these figures alone. The 802.3af/at PoE standard works on minimum power allocation per port.  For example, the minimum power budget allocation for Class 2, is 7W.  So, even though each MOBOTIX camera draws only 3W of power, (or 4.5W if recording to SD), the PoE switch will allocate a minimum 7W per port, from the switch’s total PoE budget. It sounds inefficient, but that’s how the current PoE standard works.

So if you connected four MOBOTIX (24/14-series) cameras to a switch, the maximum power drawn would be 28 Watts (4 cameras x 7W = 28W).

Note – if a MOBOTIX function box has been connected to the camera, such as a MX-GPS-Box or MX-232-IO-Box.  The default PoE class of “2″ needs to be changed in the camera needs to class “3″.  You can do this by going into the cameras Admin menu >> Ethernet Interface >> Power Supply >> click change. Now,  if you click OK – then OK again it will switch the camera to PoE Class 3, (a camera reboot is then required to save the settings).

Once the camera has been switched to PoE Class 3, the PoE switch will now allocate a minimum of 15.4W per port from its total PoE budget.

Also, if you are connecting any class “0″ devices, such as the 12-series cameras (M12/D12), to a PoE switch the power allocation per port is also 15.4W.

Understanding the basics of PoE budgeting for an IP camera system will help you to select the right PoE network switch.

If this doesn’t resolve your power issue, go to step 4.

4. Final checklist
Re-check the following…
• the Ethernet cable is wired correctly and within the IEEE recommended PoE distance
• the switch is not faulty and is IEEE standards compliant (802.3af/802.3at)
• the PoE budget is correct

If you have confirmed the PoE device is configured correctly, then the problem could be that the camera’s internal power supply circuit needs repairing.  In that case you should contact a local MOBOTIX repair centre.

© 2013 mxinstaller.com.  All rights reserved.

To access any MOBOTIX software for download, you will need to be obtain be registered at mobotix.com and logged in. Then go into the software downloads page.

Watch the full program

Downloading the software
The latest software release is always located at the top of the list.  Click on the software version you wish to download.  At the bottom of the software version page, you will be presented with four download options. The two ZIP files are the best option for installing MxControlCenter onto Windows.

You are provided with the option of a 32-bit or 64-bit version. Before you download, you need to find out what type of operating system your PC is running. To do that, click on the Start button in Windows, right click Computer, select Properties, and within the System dialogue, refer to System type.  This will tell you whether you OS is 32-bit or 64-bit.

Of the two MxControlCenter options, the 64-Bit release is going to deliver best performance in terms of live viewing and search and playback, but this requires more in terms of PC hardware.

On the same page, you will notice MOBOTIX provides a System Requirements section, which tables the system options, maximum no. of displays, maximum display resolution and so on. It’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the recommendations outlined here. For example if you are looking at a system with two or more display monitors, then a 64-Bit version of Windows and MxCC is recommended.

New Installation
Once you have downloaded the Zip file, go to the Download section of your PC and select the software ZIP folder, right click and choose Extract all, choose the location you want to extract the file to.

Then open the extracted folder, and scroll down until you find the MxControlCenter icon. If you right click and select Create Shortcut, you can drag the shortcut icon to the desktop for easy access when launching the application.

Upgrade from an older version
If this is to be an upgrade from a previous version of MxControlCenter, then make sure you do not place the MxControlCenter folder it the same Windows folder as the previous version.  Again, both versions much remain in separate locations withinWindows.

Copying configurations across
If you wish to retain the existing camera and software settings, layouts etc, then you should copy the configuration file across to the newer version of MxCC. To do that launch the older version of MxCC and click File, then Save As, and save the configuration file directly into the new MxCC folder, or save to desktop and drag the config file across.

Now launch the new version of MxCC and click File, Open – select the config file, then click Open and OK. MxControlCetner will save the settings and restart.

If you have any saved templates, backgrounds, sound files etc that you want to copy across, open both the old and new MxControlCenter folders and drag the files across.

Now your ready to launch the new version of MxControlCenter and start adding cameras.

© 2013 mxinstaller.com.  All rights reserved.

If you haven’t upgraded to this latest version as yet, you can get it here >> download 2.5.3.1

The new list of features include – Time Lapse Export, Creating Sub Layouts, Multi-Monitor Display Event Searching, HD format display (16:9), Improved Search, Fast forward and Rewind – plus a swag of bug fixes …

Watch the full program

Time Lapse Export
Now you can export recorded sequence as time lapse video, by reducing the number of frames within the sequence.  To set this up go into MxControlCenter, click on the Event Search, select a recorded sequence , then right click and select Add to Export List. In the “Export As” drop down, select Time Lapse.  Within Settings you can configure the exported time-lapse settings in terms of resolution, frame rate, video type and codec.

Creating Sub Layouts
Within the Layout Manager you can now create sub-layouts, by right clicking on an existing Layout choose new sub layout – this will create a new layout within a existing layout.  Sub Layouts serves to further improve the video management when you have multiple video devices in varied locations, so will be especially useful for centrally managing cameras located over two or more sites.

HD format display (16:9)
Now you can display video from third party HDTV cameras, in the native HD format.  To set this up, right click the layout where you wish to change the format and select HD format, 16:9, (the default format for MOBOTIX cameras is 4:3). If you do select the 16:9 format, make sure you do it within a layout that is a single grid, this will ensure the entire image can be displayed. By clicking “Edit Grid” within the Layout Manager, you can also create customised grids suited specifically for 1080 and 720 HD layouts, and any other resolution formats.

Multi-Monitor Display Event Searching
Finally, in the past releases of MxControlCenter, while viewing several MxCC windows over multiple monitors from one PC was possible, the event searching was only possible from one of the MxControlCenter windows. Now event searching can be done from any and all running MxControlCenter windows, since each one can now create it’s own event cache. This is going to be especially useful for sites running MxControlControl over multiple monitors.

NOTE: Event Cache can be draining on the computer’s performance, so you should only multi-display setup and multi-window searching on 64 bit computers with 8 GB RAM or more.

Improved Search, Fast forward and Rewind
Another improvement is found with in the Player. The fast forward and rewind has been enhanced for faster searching and smoother playback. The event search, find and playback timing is noticeably better.

© 2013 mxinstaller.com.  All rights reserved.

Take our survey and tell us what frame rate you most commonly set your systems to record at.   We understand that the requirements for each application varies, but we are seeking a “default average” across all installations.

>> UPDATE

The poll is now closed and the votes have been tallied, here are the results…

These were the questions we asked the installers to consider…

[ - Also, tell us what your main objective is when it comes to setting the system recording frame rate? Is it to capture in the highest image quality, to conserve bandwidth or save on storage costs?  Or is your preferred option to find a happy compromise between the three.We'd also love to find out what resolutions your system are usually set to record at.  Do you discuss resolution and frame rates with the customer, or do you use your own discretion? - ]

UPDATE: SURVEY RESULTS

A total of 79 systems installers from around the world participated in our survey and here are the final figures:

Analysis

Interestingly, 62% of the installers configure their IP camera systems to record at 10 frames per second (fps) or less. 83.5% record at 15fps or less.  Only 16.5% of respondents record at 16fps or higher.

Based on the feedback we received, the majority prefer to opt for higher resolution and image quality at lower frame rate recording.

Here are a few of the emails we received from integrators discussing this point:

• “In the early days we recorded at higher frame rates. But over time, through trial and error, we found 6fps to be more than adequate for most of our installs.“

• “For clear ID during playback, you need high quality images and detail much more than super fast recording.“

• “Mostly we help businesses record people based activity and we have yet to recommend recording anything over 10 frames per second. I would say 3-5 frames/sec in 1.3 megapixel is about the average for our customer sites.“

• “Sometimes I will set the cameras to record continuously at 3fps, and increase to around 12 fps on motion.”

• “Our company does a fair amount of hemispheric camera setups into retail and hotels.  We configure recording at lower frame rates in 3 megapixel, usually sub 5-frames-second, motion event triggered.”

• “We’ve wound back the recording frame rates on a number of our earlier installs mainly because we found that recording at 10+ frame/second is simply a waste of storage space. For 95% of our sites, we now set the cameras to record in mega resolution between 3 – 6 frames a second.”

• “Security managers/operators want detail, so we give it to them in the form of megapixel video @ low compression. For outdoors, street and carparks we use <5fps, indoors <8fps. The only time we’ve set cameras to capture at fast frame rates was for a license plate recognition install.”

• “Since migrating from SD to megapixel, our focus has changed from high speed capture to high quality image capture. Where we’d previously set SD cameras to record at 15-30 fps, we now record at 3-5 fps but at much higher resolutions. This new recording model has worked for us in practically every megapixel installation we’ve completed thus far.”

Summary

This report is not exhaustive, and does not focus in on niche applications such as high speed cash handling, as these represents a comparatively small percentage of installations.  However 62% of the total number of respondents, believe IP cameras set to record between 3 – 10 frames per second, is a viable setup for the majority of video surveillance applications.

© 2013 mxinstaller.com.  All rights reserved.

This is a collection of all the key material we’ve written in the last year on camera configuration and enabling the essential functions.

We offer tips to make the most of some of the latest features along with troubleshooting guides.  We’ve also thrown in 9 key video tutorial to help you get your first system up and running quickly.

Within 44-pages we navigate you through the camera’s web interface, MxControlCenter and MxEasy — and we have included helpful hints for using the latest MxAnalytics function.

Want a peek inside? You can preview the guide from our website…

Click to order and DOWNLOAD the full edition of the MOBOTIX Starter Guide by mxinstaller

But German software developer euroNAS believes that a growing number of installers want to build customized storage systems.  With their latest offering, it appears euroNAS has a viable solution that caters to the BYO storage model.

IRISVDO could be a good fit for MOBOTIX installers who want to custom-build their own storage solutions.  The software is hardware agnostic meaning it can be installed on almost any computer hardware - branded or white-box.

According to the developer, IRISVDO is “a NAS OS software optimized exclusively for MOBOTIX camera systems, that will run on any 64bit AMD/Intel processor based server hardware with 4GB RAM and two hard disks. It can be installed on virtual machines within an existing hardware environment.”

In terms of RAID, users can view and configure both software RAID and hardware RAID controllers such as those from Adaptec, ATTO, Areca, LSI and HP (SmartArray).

What we really like is the “IRISVDO Cluster” function, where “the recording data is replicated in real time and cameras automatically continue to record on a 2nd server in case one server fails.”  So if the primary recording device fails the backup storage device takes over the recording.  This is a must have feature for sites where recording failure is not an option.

Time scheduled backups of the recordings can be setup and transferred to a secondary local or offsite storage server.

IRISVDO is pre-installed with camera installation wizards, MxRemotePreview and MxEasy which is automatically configured with the connected cameras once launched. Videos can be viewed directly from the storage device, if a monitor has been connected, so no additional viewing PC is required.

The integrated monitoring tool will send email notification if the cameras are not recording or unavailable on the network. The software also checks and notifies issues related to UPS and RAID status.

Using the right hardware, the software will provide recording support for up to 120 cameras per system.

For installers who don’t want to build their own storage solution, euroNAS can also provide a pre-assembled NAS.

Pricing is very attractive. For example, IRISVDO can be purchased as a 10-camera licensing pack for around USD$270 MSRP.

A trial version of IRISVDO can be downloaded here

About
IRISVDO is a brand of euroNAS GmbH, a German NAS software developing company. Owner and founder is Tvrtko Fritz. IRISVDO channel sales are done exclusively through the MOBOTIX authorized distribution channel.

Product enquiries can directed >> here

Images used are the property of euroNAS GmbH. © 2013 mxinstaller.com.  All rights reserved.