From the encoders local web interface there are two main ways to add an IP camera:-
FastConnect – designed to make it simple to add new cameras ‘out-of-the-box’ directly to an encoder, without the need for the user to know the camera IP Address or configure the camera in advance of connection.
Auto-Discover – designed for discovering cameras, either directly connected to the encoder or through a LAN connection that has already been configured with the correct network settings.
Consider the following questions when deciding which method to use:
| FastConnect | Auto-Discover |
Who is it for? | Users with new Axis, Bosch or Canon cameras who are directly connecting the camera to the encoder | Users of a compatible camera who have configured the camera to be on the same network subnet as their encoder |
Suitable for one-to-one connections between camera and encoder? | YES | YES |
Suitable for finding cameras on a LAN network? | NO | YES |
Supports adding more than one camera per port? | NO | YES |
Compatibility | Axis, Bosch and Canon cameras on the compatibility list | Any named camera on the camera compatibility list |
Prerequisites | - Camera must have default IP Address and default admin password set. - Camera must be connected directly to the device. - The LAN port configured for use on the IP Series device must be set for Static IP. | - Encoder LAN port in use can either be set to static IP for direct connection or configured to connect to a LAN network. - Camera must be pre-configured with an IP Address that can be accessed by the encoder (usually on the same sub-net) |
The first entry on the video feeds page displays the maximum number of cameras that can be added to the encoder. This is determined by the hardware limitations of the encoder and the number of EdgeVis licences assigned to the encoder’s account on EdgeVis Server.
Adding an IP camera using FastConnect
From the Camera Settings page click the Add button to start the Add Camera wizard.
Select the Add a camera via FastConnect menu option.
Select the network interface the camera is directly attached to.
Select the brand of camera you are adding to the encoder.
Enter a friendly name that EdgeVis should use to refer to this camera
Enter a new administrator password for the IP camera
Please take note of both the new IP Address and password, as these may be required later if configuring the camera through its web configuration pages.
The next stage is for the encoder to then attempt to find the camera attached to the device, and if found, will reconfigure the camera and add it to the list of cameras connected to the encoder.
NOTE: This will only succeed if the camera has factory default settings, including all network settings.
Auto discover a connected IP Camera
For cameras that are not configured using FastConnect, it is recommended to search for the camera using the Search local network for cameras menu option.
NOTE: The IP camera and the port (on the encoder) it is connected to must have compatible IP Address settings. Usually this means that the IP Address of the camera, and address of the encoder port must both be 192.168.X.Y, where X is the same, but Y is unique on the network.
The encoder will search all enabled network interfaces for IP cameras and display a list of all cameras available.
To select a camera, click on its entry in the list. This will then prompt for:
A friendly name that EdgeVis should use to refer to this camera
The login details of the camera (required for most cameras)
Whether to allow EdgeVis Client to access the camera’s web interface via SecureConnect
Whether to automatically configure the camera to ‘safe’ quality settings – see Supported Camera Settings section for further details
Once entered, the camera should now be added to the encoder’s list of video feeds.
If the desired camera is not listed in the discovered cameras, it may still be possible to add the camera, either by reconfiguring the camera/encoder’s network settings to match or by adding the camera manually. Appendix D offers some advice and trouble-shooting tips if required.
Adding a camera manually
There are two reasons why it may be necessary to add a camera using the add manually option:
The camera was not discovered using ONVIF discovery
The camera does not support ONVIF, but you do have the RTSP address of the camera feed.
To add an ONVIF camera… you must know these details in advance:
The camara’s IP address
The port number (this is usually 80, but some cameras allow this to be changed)
A username / password that has permission to view the stream
To add an RTSP camera… you must know these details in advance:
The camera’s IP address
The port number (this is usually 554, but some cameras allow this to be changed)
A username / password that has permission to view the stream (some cameras allow unauthenticated access)
The URL path to the appropriate camera feed
You may be supplied the IP camera’s RTSP address as a full URL. For example:
rtsp://admin:password@192.168.10.1:554/playstream.sdp?channel=1&subtype=0
This can usually be broken down to obtain the information using this format (although many fields are optional and may not be present)
rtsp://<user name>:<password>@<ip address>:<port>/<url path>
To add a camera:
Select the encoder interface the camera is connected to
Select the feed type (either ONVIF / RTSP)
Enter the IP address and port of the camera (the port number will automatically be set to the appropriate default port number)
(RTSP Only) Enter the URL Path
Enter a friendly name for the camera – this will be displayed to the user in EdgeVis Server and EdgeVis Client
Most cameras will also require a username and password to access the camera feed
The last two options allow you to decide:
Whether to allow EdgeVis Client to access the camera’s web interface via SecureConnect
Whether to automatically configure the camera to ‘safe’ quality settings – see Supported Camera Settings section for further details
Supported Camera Settings
IP Cameras must supply a feed that complies with the following characteristics:
Incoming video format must be H.264, audio format (if present) must be G711
Video resolution must be 1080p, 720p, 576p or 480p – higher/non-standard resolutions are not supported
Frame rate must not be greater than 30fps
It is not recommended to use bitrates higher than 10 Mbps. IP cameras bitrates can often spike over configured settings with high motion scenes. This can negatively affect encoder performance and recording duration
When adding an ONVIF camera, by default, the encoder will automatically configure the camera to 1080p, 25/30fps @ 10 Mbps. This ensures that the quality is the highest possible, while keeping the camera bitrate to recommended levels.
It is possible to stop this default behaviour by unticking the Auto configure ONVIF camera to optimal settings while adding the camera. It is then the user’s responsibility to check the camera meets the above requirements. After adding the camera, the Stream Information section will display the live characteristics of the received stream:
Connecting directly to attached IP cameras
The camera details page allows the user to connect directly to the web interface of any IP camera by proxying the data via the configuration web page. This functionality can be accessed by selecting the Connect directly to this camera menu option. This feature allows for easier configuration of any camera specific settings that require the camera’s web interface.
The Return to encoder button can be used to navigate back to the encoder configuration pages. The button in the top right of the page will open the camera’s web interface in a new browser window, which may be required if the camera web interface fails to load.
Special instructions for Axis camera users
ONVIF access is enabled by default on any new ONVIF-capable Axis devices, and it should be possible to add a new camera without issue. However, if the user uses the camera independently of the encoder (and sets a new root password on the camera using the web interface) ONVIF access is automatically disabled.
To re-enable ONVIF access:
Use the Connect Directly feature described above or from a PC, access the camera’s interface using a web browser (http://<camera IP address>/)
Click Setup from the main page
Navigate to System Options -> Security -> ONVIF
Click Add to create a new user in the Users List
Enter a username and password, and ensure the User Group is set to Administrator
This user is only for ONVIF access, and is separate from users created in System Options -> Security -> Users
Some Axis cameras also require Relay Attack Protection to be disabled before an encoder can use the camera – the following steps can be performed if the above steps are not enough to successfully add/use the camera with your encoder.
Navigate to System Options > Advanced > Plain Config
From the dropdown menu Select a group of parameters to modify and click WebService
Click Select Group
Un-check Enable relay attack protection
Click Save
It should now be possible to add the Axis camera to the encoder.
Wired HDMI/3G-SDI/Composite cameras (4K-R800 only)
There is no special configuration required to enable wired cameras – simply plug the camera into the encoder.
Add a Picture-in-Picture or Quad View layout
For an encoder with more than one camera it is possible to create virtual video feeds which can either contain:
a 4-way quad view, where each camera fills one quarter of the image
a Picture-in-Picture view where one camera fills the whole image, and a second camera is superimposed in a smaller window on top of the image in one of the corners (selectable)
To create a new layout, use the Add video layout menu option and select the desired layout format.
