The InstarVision Surveillance Center allows you to keep an eye on your home from anywhere, turning your PC into a video surveillance system, remote controlling your IP camera via pan & tilt zoom function. This webcam software can also broadcast the cameras live RTSP video stream to the internet or integrate it into your website with via video plugins or as a auto-refreshing JPG stream.

The advanced video motion detection algorithm can be set up to notify you by Email alerts and record video in case of an alarm event. Other features include a multi-level user management, an electronic interactive map displaying your cameras on a site plan and stand-alone multi-channel video player to quickly screen your video recordings.

Overview

When you start the InstarVision Surveillance Center, you will be greeted by the main graphical user interface (GUI). The left area of the UI is the video canvas region. On the right you find the side navigation. You can hide or show the navigation at any time to maximize the space available for your cameras. Maximize the GUI to fit your screen, hide the program to windows tray, or arbitrarily change the GUI size via dragging with your mouse. Click on Exit to stop the program and get back to the Windows desktop.

System Requirements

Server Setup:

(All cameras were connected by Ethernet cable.)

As bare minimum requirements for 4 HD cameras we recommend:

Systemanforderungen

Video Mode, Default Login and Language

IF YOUR CAMERA´S VIDEO STAYS BLACK even though you are able to record videos and take snapshots, there might be a problem with the video encoding on your PC graphic card. Please open the System Menu and switch the Yuy2 Video Encoding. The video of your camera should become visible after you restarted the software.

InstarVision v3 for Windows

You do not have to login to the software by default. But there is actually a default admin login and you might activate it by clicking the LOCK ICON in the top right of the user interface (above the INSTAR logo). Once the software is locked, you are no longer able to access any of the Side Navigation menus without logging in with the default username and password! Please be aware that these default values can be changed in the Side Navigation Users Menu.

You can also activate the user lock by default – so that nobody but you can access the software. Consider writing down your login somewhere – there will be no way to access the software, if you forget your password!

To change the LANGUAGE of the user interface, please go to the side navigation and open the System Menu. Now choose your language from the drop down menu.

Registration

When you first start the Surveillance Center you will see the following registration dialog:

You can click “Trial Version” button to test the software for 14 days for free – the software will be fully functional but limited to 16 camera channels! After you purchased the software and received your license code, please input the code here, and click Register Online. Alternatively, use the Email function to register your software by an ID token – Click on Create ID File and send that file to us by Email.

InstarVision v3 for Windows

Once the software is registered this dialog will no longer be displayed, but can be accessed from the Advanced menu in the Side Navigation Bar in the software´s main window. In case you want to upgrade the software, just delete your old license key, copy & paste the new key into the input field and click on Register Online

Side Navigation

The Side Navigation Bar gives you quick access to all the software´s functions. There are 10 sub-categories you can click to display corresponding settings:

InstarVision v3 for Windows

User Interface

Camera List

Add or edit your cameras and interactive site plans.

More

Layout

Arrange your cameras according to your needs.

More

Camera PTZ

Control your camera´s Pan, Tilt and Zoom functions.

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Image Adjust

Adjust your camera´s brightness, contrast and saturation.

More

About

Information about your software installation.

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Record

Recordings, Emails and FTP uploads.

More

System

UI language, Start-up view and TCP ports.

More

Users

User management for incremental user rights.

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Advanced

Software log and settings export function.

More

System

How to use the RTSP Stream in VLC Player

1 – It is recommended to change the Webserver Port to a port higher than 8080. If you use your web server locally, you might want to deactivate the requirement for a login. It should be kept on if you plan to access the server from the internet. Make sure that InstarVision is running in the background, open the VLC Player – go to the Media Menu and choose to Open Network Stream. You can also just press Ctrl + N to open the network stream dialogue.

2 – Type in the RTSP stream path (see above) and change the IP/DDNS address, RTSP port and channel (CH=1-64) according to your setup. You can use the local IP address of your InstarVision server from all computer connected to your local network. To access the RTSP stream over the internet, use a DDNS address from your local camera instead and forward the RTSP port to your InstarVision server.

3 – The RTSP stream should start to run, once you pressed Play. You can also deactivate the requirement for a login – remember to remove the login from the RTSP stream path, if you do.

Camera List

The camera list displays all added cameras for an easy configuration. Besides network IP camera, you can also add USB webcams and remote instances of the InstarVision Surveillance System. Just click on the + button at the bottom or right-click on Camera to open the Add Camera dialogue:

Add INSTAR IP Cameras

The Add Camera menu allows you to add three different types of cameras. A USB camera can be the camera on the laptop the Surveillance Center is installed on, or Webcams connected to your servers USB interface. Network Cameras are IP cameras on your local network (e.g. local IP´s like 192.168.1.101) as well as cameras you want to connect to over the internet (e.g. DDNS addresses like abcd12.ddns-instar.de). The InstarVision Remote Access refers to a function of the Surveillance Center that enables you to connect to a second remote InstarVision installation. The list order defines the camera viewport arrangement on the video canvas.

Just click on the + button or right-click Camera in the Camera List.

Edit

Right-click a camera to edit your camera settings and setup. Or delete / duplicate your camera.

Rename

Left-click a camera twice to rename it. Or right-click it and change the name inside the Properties menu.

Right-Click an added camera in the list to deactivate, delete or duplicate it. The properties option allows you to adjust its network and video parameters, which were set when you added the camera. Under Bitrate you can adjust the quality of the video stream that is retrieved from the camera. Please be aware that high quality settings result in high bandwidth requirements – as well as high demands on your computers CPU.

Add INSTAR P2P Cameras

To add a camera via it’s P2P UID, you can follow the steps above, just switch the search mode to P2P, select your camera from the result list, type in your login and confirm.

If your camera is not inside the same network, you can manually switch the Camera Model to the P2P Mode, type in your P2P UID (1080p Models / 720p Models) and login and confirm to add your camera:

Also check out our free mobile app InstarVision – here you can use the network scanner to find cameras on your local network. Or open the P2P menu (1080p Series / 720p Series) to scan your camera´s QRcode for the easiest way to add your camera via it’s P2P UID:

Add USB Webcams

The InstarVision Surveillance Center automatically detects cameras attached to the PC or laptop. Just select the video and audio source from the list and click OK, to add it to your Camera List. If you are using video capture cards, please install a WDM driver for it to live stream the video. In case of camcorders or external USB Webcams, please attach them to your PC´s USB interface and restart your PC to make them available as a video source.

The video source you add here, will be available for all advanced features of the Surveillance Center – turning your laptop camera into a full-fledged Surveillance System. You want to know if someone uses your Laptop or enters your office without permission? The InstarVision Surveillance Center is the solution for your peace of mind.

Add Network IP Cameras

The InstarVision Surveillance Center automatically detects INSTAR Full HD, HD and VGA cameras on your local network. Open the Search window, select your camera type (FullHD, HD or VGA) and click on search. Selecting a camera from the list automatically fills out the needed parameters above. Please adjust your private camera login – you don´t have to change the Video/Audio Access or Ports anymore. Then click OK to add the camera to your Camera List.

If you want to add a camera that is not on your local network, it is best practice to simply add a local camera first, duplicate it in the camera list and then change the IP address to the Internet Address (DDNS) of your remote camera and adjust the Port and Login.

The default Video Path for INSTAR IP cameras is livestream/11?action=play&media=video_audio_data for FullHD and HD and videostream.cgi for VGA cameras.

If you want to add a third-party camera, please adjust the video and audio path according to your manufactures documentation. The Search function might work – if your third-party camera uses the same chipset as an INSTAR camera. But it is more likely that you have to type in the parameters manually. You can also check the iSpy Database for the most common third-party camera models.

Add a Remote Instance

The InstarVision Surveillance Center allows you to stream videos to the internet. You can use this function to stream video from one installation of the Software to another and add those streams as remote cameras.

This enables you to stream all your cameras from site A to site B through one open TCP port in your firewall – if you would connect each camera directly via it´s DDNS address, each camera needs a unique port forwarded to its IP address. This also helps you to manage your network resources more efficient and secure by letting your local Surveillance Center access your local cameras.

While your camera limits the amount of simultaneous streams to 3, the server you use to run the Surveillance Center will not confront you with such strong restrictions. Remember that you can use the DDNS address of one of the remote camera to connect to the remote Surveillance Center. Just type in the camera´s DDNS address and add the port that you forwarded to the server IP address in the remote network. You can change the Surveillance Centers Server port in the System settings.

Camera Viewport

The viewport on-screen display shows you the name of the channel and six channel status buttons.

You can add up to 64 cameras to the InstarVision Surveillance Center (depending on your license type). Each camera will be displayed in its own viewport on the left of the side navigation. The amount of cameras displayed can be adjusted in the Layout menu. Each viewport offers you a couple of functions to control your camera.

You can double-click the video with left mouse to maximize the camera´s viewport or restore it back to the multi view. A right mouse click opens the viewport layout in a full screen mode – or restores it. Your mouse wheel allows you to digitally zoom in or out of the camera view. While zoomed-in, you are able to drag the image with your left mouse button to pan or tilt your camera virtually. The “virtual Zoom Factor” will be displayed above the live video, once the Zoom is active. The viewport further offers you the following control elements in the onscreen display.

IR LEDs: Switch your camera´s nightvision LED´s on and off. The “On” function refers to the automatic mode, in which the LEDs are automatically switched on when it is getting dark.

Maximize Viewport: This button maximizes viewport for the selected camera or restores the video to normal. The function is can also be triggered by double-clicking the video area with left mouse.

Microphone: This button activates the microphone on your PC/Laptop. Use this function to send an audio stream to your camera´s internal or external loudspeaker – if available.

Audio: The audio button enables or disables this channels audio stream. When activated, the audio is of the channel is played when the cameras viewport is selected.

Snapshot: The button takes a snapshot of the current video stream and saves it as a JPG file. The file is placed in the current record directory inside the “Snapshot” folder.

Recording: This button starts or stops a manual recording of the camera´s video stream. The colours green, blue and red display the current recording status of this channel.

Once the recording function is started, this icon will flash every second. The colour green signals a manual recording, which can be stopped by clicking the icon again. The blue stands for a scheduled recording that can be configured in the recording menu under Permanent Recording. A red symbol means that the motion detection for this channel is active and triggered an alarm recording. The Alarm recording is configured in the Recording menu under Alarm.

Disconnect: This button stops or starts the video stream of the selected camera. Use this function to deactivate streams and reduce network traffic.

Overview Map

Use an architectural drawing of your property or a snapshot from Google Maps as a location map for your surveillance. Load the image (jpg, png, etc.) file by right-clicking “Map” in the Camera List and choose “Add Map”.

You can rename your map by clicking on it with your left mouse button or delete it again by right-clicking it and choosing “Delete Map”. Double-clicking the map opens it in place of the video canvas. Drag & drop cameras from your Camera List onto the map. The camera location pointer will change its appearance if the camera triggered a motion alert or if the software lost connection to the camera. Right-clicking the pointer gives you direct access to the camera´s live stream. You can go back to the video canvas by double-clicking any of your cameras in the Camera List.

Add

Add a map by right-clicking and choose Add Map.

Delete

Delete a map by right-clicking and choose Delete.

Rename

Click twice to rename – Double-click it to open the Map View.

Edit

Drop cameras on your map from the Camera List.

How to use the Map Function?

1 – Browse the web for a map of your surveillance area. Click the Print Screen button on your keyboard to save the image to your clipboard.

2 – Open MS Paint (or similar) and click Ctrl + V at the same time to copy the image to the program. Use the cropping tools to adjust the image. After saving the image, you can add the image file as a map to the InstarVision Surveillance Center.

3 – Drag and drop your cameras from the camera list onto the map. Position them according to their installation location.

4 – Double-click the white camera icon to open a window with the camera´s live video feed. Close the feed by pressing Esc.

5 – The camera icon will start to flash red, whenever an alarm is triggered. Double-click the camera name inside the Camera List to get back the Video Canvas.

6 – If the camera icon turns into a red, blinking exclamation point, the software has lost the connection to the camera.

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In order to integrate your INSTAR IP camera in the QNAP Surveillance Station we recommend you to download the latest version from QNAP app store.

QNAP Surveillance Station Setup Guide

Add a HD Camera

Start the Surveillance App from the QNAP web interface and click on the Add button. Now choose type in the address for your local HD camera, the HTTP & RTSP port and your login credentials.

Fig1. Start the Surveillance App from the QNAP web interface and click on the Add button.

Fig2. Type in the camera´s local IP address and your login credentials.

Fig3. Adjust the video quality of the camera´s live stream to fit your needs.

What to do in case of a model mismatch?

Fig4. If you want to integrate a model that is not supported by the Surveillance Station yet, you will be faced with a Model Mismatch error.

Fig5. Simply change the camera name under Multimedia/Image to a supported camera model and retry.

Add a VGA Camera

Start the Surveillance App from the QNAP web interface and click on the Add button. Now choose type in the address for your local VGA camera, the HTTP port and your login credentials.

Fig6. Start the Surveillance App from the QNAP web interface and click on the Add button.

Fig7. Type in the camera´s local IP address and your login credentials.

Fig8. Adjust the video quality of the camera´s live stream to fit your needs.

Fig9. Both cameras are now available after confirming your settings.

Event Management

Open the event manager to activate the alarm recording in case of a motion detection event or bind the recording function to the external alarm input – so that an external sensor (e.g. a PIR motion detector) can trigger an alarm recording. Go to Advanced settings to adjust the length of the alarm recording and for a simple storage management.

Fig10. Set your camera to record a video in case of an alarm trigger event.

Monitor and Playback

Use the Monitor window to keep an eye on your cameras real-time feeds from your INSTAR cameras. Whenever a suspicious event is found, take a snapshot to keep a record and take immediate actions accordingly. The Playback window allows you to quickly find videos of suspicious incidents on the Surveillance Station with the support of an intuitive timeline, image preview, Intelligent Video Analytics’s (IVA), and more.

Fig11. Use live-view to watch real-time feeds from the IP cameras.

Fig12. Quickly find videos of suspicious incidents on the Surveillance Station with the support of an intuitive timeline.

QVR Pro 2.1

Adding a Camera

QVR Pro is built-in in the QVR Pro appliance provides embedded monitoring channels, allowing you to quickly build a home surveillance environment.

Open the QVR Pro application from your QNAP dashboard, select Camera Settings and click on the Plus icon to add a new camera:

You now have 3 choices:

ONVIF

If you choose to add your camera via it’s ONVIF service you don´t have to change anything. Just click on Test to verify that everything is set up correctly. And click Next to continue:

Note that all INSTAR HD and Full HD camera models support the ONVIF S Profile. Only the 2k+ WQHD models provide support for the newer T Profile. The main difference here is, that the latter allows you to use the camera’s PIR sensor as an alarm trigger for the QVR Motion Detection.

INSTAR Preset

By stopping the ONVIF network and clicking on Next you now have the option to add your camera manually:

Select INSTAR as Brand and your camera Model. In addition you now have to specify your camera’s IP Address, HTTP Port and RTSP Port. Test your settings and click next.

Note that the INSTAR profile allows you to use the (HD, Full HD and WQHD) camera’s PIR sensor as an alarm trigger for the QVR Motion Detection.

Generic RTSP

By stopping the ONVIF network and clicking on Next you now have the option to add your camera manually:

Select Generic as Brand and RTSP Model as Model. Add your camera’s IP Address, HTTP Port and RTSP Port. In addition you now have to specify your camera’s RTSP Streaming URL. Test your settings and click next.

Default Streaming URLs (high, middle and low resolution):

Activating the Video Recordings

You will now be asked to set the video streaming and recording settings. Make sure to add the tick to Enable Recording or you won´t be able to see your camera’s video stream:

Click next and you will see an overview over all connected cameras:

Motion Detection

Close the Camera Settings menu and open the Motion Detektion menu:

Here you can now configure the motion detection and select action rules that should be triggered when motion was detected.

Detection Settings

Select if you want the QVR Pro Software to use it’s internal, software-based, motion detection, or if you want your camera to use it’s own motion detection (including the PIR motion sensor – only available if you added your camera via the preset or the ONVIF T Profile).

If you use the QVR Pro motion detection you can set sensitivity levels and motion detection areas.

Rules

With the motion detection configured we can now add an If/Then rule set to specify what we want to happen when motion is detected:

The first step is to name your rule, activate it and set a time schedule when it should be applied:

The event we want to react to is of type “Motion Detection” from a specific camera:

When this event occurs we want to trigger an action – e.g. an Email or Push Notification or sending a command to another camera to move to one of it’s preset positions:

Once everything is set up click on Next to save the configuration:

The Rule specified above waits for a motion detection event from camera 1. When this event occurs it will send a command to camera 2 to move to a specified preset position.

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