Using iSpy you can do pretty much anything, from protecting your business and home with realtime SMS and Twitter alerts to scanning the skies for UFOs, nanny cams, machinery monitoring, neighbourhood watch, iSpy does it all! The best thing about iSpy though is that it’s open source and can therefore leverage some of the best open source libraries around representing literally millions of man hours of work – code that isn’t available to proprietary developers. No wonder iSpy is the most popular and downloaded home and business security and surveillance application in the world! It’s not just us saying that – check out our feedback.

This manual is a detailed guide to how iSpy works, what it can do and how you can get the most out of it. New software can seem daunting at first so we’ve put a lot of effort in to cover the most common scenarios along with comprehensive coverage of every feature of the software. iSpy has been designed to be easy to use although that simplicity belies the complexity under the hood – iSpy is capable of much more than just motion detection!

Throughout this guide we assume you have an iSpyConnect subscription and so have access to remote services, alerts, remote commands and the full feature set of the web side of iSpy. Without an online services subscription you are missing out on a large part of the functionality available within iSpy and iSpyConnect. Choose a subscription.

Supported Operating Systems

iSpy currently works on Windows based PCs only (both x86 and 64 bit versions). iSpy has been tested on Windows 7, 8 and 10 but may work on other Windows variants that support the .Net v4 Framework.

Recommended Hardware

Hardware recommendations vary a lot depending on how many cameras and microphones you are going to be using at any given time. A modern PC with 2GB of RAM and 200 GB of free hard disk space should be more than capable of running 4 cameras simultaneously at 320 x 240 resolution.

Performance Tips

iSpy will let you add an unlimited number of cameras and microphones – right up to the point where your computer cannot cope and will crash. Keep an eye on the performance counters on the status bar of iSpy as they will tell you when you are running out of memory or CPU. Note that CPU can spike when recording video and encoding. There are a number of things you can do to squeeze better performance out of iSpy:

You can also set a maximum CPU target value in settings. By default this is set to 90%. This means that when your CPU usage goes over 90% iSpy will start reducing the framerates of your cameras to help protect against a crash. Once the CPU drops back below 90% iSpy will increase the framerates again. Common causes for this are multiple simultaneous recordings or scheduled tasks like disk defragmenting.

Of course the better the hardware the better results you will get from iSpy. Using iSpyConnect you can connect multiple computers to one online account with a web based management interface that allows iSpy to scale up to any number of monitored cameras and microphones. A few of our users are monitoring over 150 cameras simultaneously via iSpyConnect. To work with multiple computers you must assign each computer a different external port address. See Multiple Computers for more information.

Agent DVR USER Guide

About

Agent DVR is a standalone replacement for iSpy that runs as a service, uses less CPU and features a web user interface that is accessible from anywhere with no port forwarding required!

We recommend that you use either iSpy or Agent – you can use both but it may cause issues with device drivers and network access.

Tip: Click the Menu button above to show/ hide the userguide index.

Using Agent DVR

Agent does not have a windows forms user interface like iSpy does. The user interface is all browser based via the local portal, web portal or mobile applications

Agent runs it’s own webserver. By default this is running at http://localhost:8090 on the PC running Agent (although it may be using a different port if that wasn’t available or was changed when it was installed – see the link “Agent UI” on the desktop on Windows). Agent will also work over your local network – you can use private IP addresses or computer names to access Agent locally (examples: http://192.168.1.10:8090 or http://nvr:8090). You may need to open your firewall to Agent for your local network.

Getting Started

Once you have the local UI open you can start adding devices to Agent. To add your first device click on the red Edit button in the UI:

You can use the top left menu to navigate Agent’s interfaces. The padlock indicates whether Agent is armed or not (will generate alerts). Click it to toggle. A green unlocked padlock means it’s disarmed. The  icon opens a menu to configure your Agent server settings. The menu next to that provides links to all the content views in Agent. The icon will change depending on which view you are currently working with.

Agent has help built into it – click on the “?” icon at top right of nearly all panels and menus to access contextual help.

Tip: Enable shortcut keys in Account menu – Theme Settings. “C” opens the Commands menu, “S” opens the server menu. Numeric digits open the various views. Enable Tool-Tips and mouse-over the bottom controls in the UI to show additional shortcut keys.

Any issues? First thing to check is the logs at /logs.html on the local server. That will give you details about any problems Agent is having. If that doesn’t help please feel free to jump onto our Reddit group and ask a question – include the logs and steps to reproduce the problem if possible.

Pro Tip: Watch a video to learn how to add cameras into Agent DVR with the wizard. Be sure to read the Performance Tips to get the most out of your system.

Supported Languages

The Agent DVR application has been translated into English, Arabic, Bengali, Czech, Danish, German, Spanish, Finnish, French, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Polish, Portugese, Russian, Swedish, Mandarin and Taiwanese.

To change the language, click on Account  – Language.

Installing

Download Agent DVR from here and run the installer. Agent runs as a service or as a console application on Windows 7+, Linux X64 (tested with Ubuntu 18.04+), OSX (+M1), Arm and Arm64 based operating systems (like Raspberry Pi).

Follow the setup instructions for your operating system on the download page

Once Agent is running, you can access it via most web browsers at http://localhost:8090

Installing (offline/ manual) on Windows

If for some reason you can’t use the installer from the download page (eg: no internet on the target device) then you can install AgentDVR on Windows offline instead. Note that the computer you install Agent DVR on will need to have network hardware installed and active for it to be able to start the server. Follow these steps:

Updating

Before updating Agent make sure you backup your configuration – either copy the files in Agent/Media/XML or export them via the web interface via server menu – backup/ restore.

You can check the update log for update inforrmation

If you have a business license or a subscription you can update Agent by clicking on the server menu and “Update Agent” at the top (will only display if an update is available).

To update Agent for Linux or OSX manually see the update instructions on the readme page of the install scripts

To update Agent for Windows manually just re-run the installer from the download page.

Uninstalling

If you installed Agent using the installer it will be in the add/ remove programs list on Windows. Use that to uninstall it. If it’s not there:

If Agent is running as a service then stop the service:

To remove the Agent DVR files just delete the Agent directory. By default Agent DVR is installed to C:\Program Files\Agent on Windows. On Linux/ OSX it will be installed wherever you ran the install script.

Troubleshooting Install

See offline install instructions for Agent DVR on Windows.

If the installer on Windows fails to complete and Agent doesn’t start or you are having issues accessing Agent or you need to use functionality that isn’t available when running as a windows service (like some GPU drivers and desktop monitoring) then you can run Agent from a command prompt:

Agent will then tell you if there are any problems starting and what local port it is running on. You can quit Agent at any time by pressing the enter key. When Agent is running in the console it is able to use more GPU devices and can record from the Desktop.

If you get an error like The type initializer for ‘Emgu.CV.Cuda.CudaInvoke’ threw an exception. on Windows you will need to install the Windows Media Feature Pack for your OS

If there is an anti virus app or firewall blocking Agent from listening on a local port then you may need to add Agent.exe to a safe list or open the port it is listening on in the local firewall.

If you are using a Windows N variant you will need to install the media feature pack for Windows N

On OSX, Linux and Raspberry Pi your system may not have some required libraries installed and Agent may fail to start with an error like libcvextern.so could not be found. You will need to use ldd or “objdump -r –dylibs-used /path/to/failed/library” on OSX to find which libraries are missing. To do this, open a terminal window, change to the Agent directory and run ldd libcvextern.so (or whatever library is causing issues). The output should tell you which dependencies need to be installed. Please let us know what’s needed and what operating system you are using so we can update our docs.

Corrupted Video / Playback Issues

Agent defaults to using UDP to connect to cameras. UDP is a fast network protocol which prioritises real-time, low delay video. Unfortunately UDP doesn’t have any error correction built into it so any electronic noise from faulty cabling to interference from power cables, amplifiers or other sources can result in corrupted video by the time the signal gets to Agent. You can switch to TCP instead which does have error correction built into it – but at the cost of some buffering and potential lag on the live feed. To switch to TCP instead, edit the camera, click to edit the Source on the General tab, select “FFMPEG” in the menu at top right and change the RTSP mode to TCP.

If you can’t get a good connection other options to try are available under General – Edit Source Type:

Corrupted video can result from too much noise on the network or when your computer is under too much load to decode the live video stream. Other ways to avoid it are to use a lower resolution video feed from the camera or to check the Resize option on the Adjustments tab when editing the camera.

Reolink Cameras are known to be susceptible to corrupted RTSP streams. You may get better results by going into the camera’s own User Interface and setting the encoder to use H264 instead of H265 (if available). Reolink cameras sometimes have alternate video endpoints that use the RTMP:// protocol instead of RTSP://. You can try using the Add Camera wizard in Agent DVR to scan the camera for RTMP:// options instead.

Stuttering Video? Some cameras (notably Reolink) emit frames in groups of audio and video which can result in stuttering live and recorded playback. To work around this, edit the camera, click to configure the videosource settings, select the FFMPEG tab and set a value for Max Delay (for example 4 seconds) and a value for Max Reorder Queue Size (for example 500).

Accessing Logs

Agent provides formatted live logs on the local server at /logs.html (so on a default install at http://localhost:8090/logs.html). As of version 3.5.6.0+ Agent also saves the 5 most recent raw logs in .json format to your Media location (on Windows that’s C:\Program Files\Agent\Media). You can use these for debugging and getting more information on what Agent is doing. You can also download the raw logs remotely via the server menu in the web portal. Feel free to jump on our Community boards to ask questions!

Upgrading from iSpy

Moving to a new Computer

Windows

Linux

OSX

Important

If you have a subscription you will now need to connect the new instance to your account – click on the Server icon in the local UI and Remote Access to pair it with your online account.

If you have a business license you will need to copy the license code to the new PC. See your license receipt email for instructions.

If you have a basic subscription and have 2 instances of Agent connected to your account only one will be visible on the web portal – you will need to stop the first one for the other to connect successfully.

If you had setup drives and storage directories on your old PC you will need to go into settings on the new PC and configure the storage settings for your new environment

Remove an instance from my account

You can either just uninstall Agent or if you want to keep it running just not connected to your account then:

Using Claim Codes

99% of the time you won’t need a claim code – they’re only used if you have installed Agent DVR on an operating system without a GUI and have retrieved a claim code by using the command line options. To connect your server to website services you just need to click on the server icon in the local Agent DVR UI and Remote Access. This will pass through the code to the website automatically.

Move instance to another account

Reset local login

If you’ve forgotten your login for local Agent DVR you can reset it (back to no login):

Remote Access

Agent DVR uses WebRTC to setup remote connections so doesn’t require any port forwarding setup and will work even over mobile internet connections. To connect remotely you will need to pair Agent with your iSpyConnect account. To do this, click on the server icon  in the local web interface and “Remote Access”. You’ll be redirected to the online portal.

Important: You do not need to install Agent DVR on other computers or setup port forwarding for remote access. Just open up a web browser on any device at https://www.ispyconnect.com/app once Agent is connected. Remote access to Agent is a subscription service.

Subscription not applied?: Usually payment notifications come through immediately and you are good to go – but sometimes it can take a few days for things to clear. With Agent DVR you don’t need a license code so no need to waiit for one to appear in your inbox – it’s all automatically done on our side.

If your trial had ended before you subscribed you will need to use the local UI of Agent DVR and click on the server icon and Remote Access button. This will tell Agent to reconnect to your account.

Is Agent is connecting with the same account you have upgraded? If it isn’t you will need to change it to link with the right account Any problems? Please Contact Us

No UI?: If you have downloaded Agent DVR to a VPS or a PC with no graphical UI you can still setup Agent for remote access by calling “Agent.exe register” on Windows or “agent-register.sh” on Linux/ OSX. This will give you a claim code you can use to access Agent from another PC.

Can’t connect?: In rare instances a connection may fail due to content filtering on a VPN connection. You’ll need to add exceptions in your content filtering software for *.ispyconnect.com and *.azurewebsites.net

Why use the website?: Agent uses webrtc for media connections which gets around most firewalls and port forwarding issues. On your local network your web browser can connect directly to Agent but for remote access web browsers can require SSL connections, STUN, TURN and relay servers for connection establishment which we provide via ispyconnect.com

Port Forwarding Access

Port forwarding is disabled with the free version of Agent DVR. To enable port forward access you will need to purchase a license. Note that port forward access isn’t guaranteed to work as some networks and firewalls will block the traffic that webrtc needs to establish a connection. If you have issues accessing Agent via port forwarding check that your firewall is not blocking the application and you have forwarded the following ports (both in and out) and unblocked them from any firewall or antivirus:

See SSL for instructions on setting up SSL connections.

LAN Access

To access Agent over your LAN you may need to open up several ports in your firewall/ antivirus as Agent uses Web RTC for connections:

To secure LAN access setup a login under Server Settings – Users. If you forget this password you can reset it by stopping Agent and calling “Agent.exe reset-local-login” on Windows or “agent-reset-local-login.sh” on OSX and Linux.

Some browser extensions can also block access so if you have issues connecting locally try a different browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox and the latest version of Edge should all work). Also try disabling any extensions and clearing your cache.

Passing in Parameters

You can add parameters to the url of the Agent DVR UI to customize it:

Set default theme options (theme options are available in the account menu – theme settings):

Auto play audio on load (v3.7.7.0+ may also require changing browser settings):

Start in minimised mode (top and bottom UI bars hidden) (v3.8.7.0+):

Pass in local username and password for auto login (v4.7.6.0+) (caution – this will expose your credentials to the network):

Start on a specific view and select a device (v4.9.8.0+)

Adding Cameras

Click on the Server icon  at the top left of the Agent UI and “Add Device” under Devices. Or in Live View click on the Edit icon  at the bottom right and “Add New Device”

Choose from the available list. To start the wizard, which walks you through discovering devices on the local network and uses the Agent camera database to connect to your camera click on “IP Camera Wizard”. If you have an ONVIF compatible camera click on “ONVIF”. If you have an RTSP or MJPEG or other URL already for your camera click on Video Source or if you are adding an audio source like a local USB microphone or other network audio source click on “Audio Source”.

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Configuration

The second step when adding a new device is to setup some basic features. If you check “Alerts” Agent will setup your camera with a simple motion detector so it’s ready to raise Alert events. To record when Agent detects motion check the “Record on Detect” option. If you have a high resolution camera you can check “Resize” to reduce the resolution of it and save some CPU usage. “Record Raw” means that Agent will record the stream directly from the camera to disk without encoding it which can dramatically reduce resource usage. Raw Record is only available for network video sources (not USB cameras or other local devices like Desktop streams). All of these options can be edited later.

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Using the Wizard

Start by typing the name of your camera manufacturer. Agent will provide suggestions. Click on a suggestion to select it. If your manufacturer isn’t known or isn’t listed you can choose “Unlisted” or if the model isn’t listed you can choose <Manufacturer>: Unlisted. Agent will use this to narrow down the addresses it will try to get a video connection (using just Unlisted may take a while as Agent has a database of tens of thousands of cameras).

Next enter your camera username and password. These should be the details you enter into the web or app interface to login to your camera (not your iSpyConnect.com login details!)

Enter the Channel (usually 0 for IP cameras but if you have a DVR with multiple cameras attached to it this might be a different number)

Next you will need to find or enter the Network Address of your camera. Agent can discover local addresses automatically. There’s usually not a lot of information available about the devices from the network scan unfortunately so this might take a bit of trial and error. Click on the Device name to open the address up in a web browser (if you’re on the same network Agent is running on) and if it’s your IP camera click “Use” next to it. Alternatively you can enter your network address manually. This should be formatted like http://IP-ADDRESS:PORT or https://WEB-ADDRESS:PORT if you are adding a camera from an internet address. Click the  icon to make Agent re-scan your network for devices.

Tip: It’s important to setup your IP cameras with static IP addresses on your local network. If the IP address changes then Agent won’t be able to connect to it. You can usually do this via your router configuration. There’s a good guide for this here 

When you have selected an address Agent will use the information you provided to scan the camera for available video endpoints. The ones it finds are provided in a list. Click “Use” to select it and finish adding the camera.

Tip: Try to choose an IP Camera option (instead of MJPEG or JPEG). IP Camera options frequently have audio and better framerates.

If nothing is found double check the details you entered are correct. You may need to contact the manufacturer and ask them how to connect directly to their camera video streams and then add a device using “Video Source” and manually configure the video stream URL instead of using the Wizard, or if it supports ONVIF then add it as an ONVIF device instead.

Live View

The live view is where you watch live streams from your devices. You can setup multiple live views in Agent and add whatever devices you like to them. Agent will intelligently arrange your devices to maximise the available space on whatever device you are using.

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Panel markers

The live view has some markers to provide device state and recording status:

Buttons/ Icons

The live view has icons along the bottom for controlling the selected device and the view itself. Buttons on the left control the current active device in the UI and on the right control the current View. The buttons on the left can change depending on what type of device is selected and what state it is currently in. Mouse-over the buttons to see a tool-tip explaining what they do and optional shortcut keys.

Buttons you may see in the device (left) section include:

Buttons you may see in the view (right) section include:

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Using Views

Click the views icon  at bottom right to open the views menu. Each view shows a preview of the layout that is associated with it. Click on a view button to switch to that view. If you set Cycle to a non-zero number like 3, Agent will automatically cycle through any views containing devices every 3 seconds. Default View sets the view that Agent first displays when you open the browser.

To edit the view (add devices to the view, rename, change layout etc) click on the edit icon  at bottom right.

To manually cycle through configured views from the live screen use the  and  controls (note: these will only show views you have added devices to)

See layouts for more information on using and customising layouts.

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Using the PTZ Controller

Click on the  icon to show/ hide the PTZ controller. Click on a device in the live view to select it and then you can use the PTZ controller to control it. Make sure you have configured PTZ on the device – edit the device and see See PTZ.

Gamepad/ Joystick control:

As of v3.9.7.0+ Agent supports PTZ via gamepad controls:

Tips:

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How to Use CMS Multi-Monitor

1.1 CMS Multi-Monitor Introduction

The Milesight CMS provides a powerful monitor surveillance tool that enhances security by providing administrators flexibility to monitor the live video from the network camera. It’s a video management system that works with the network cameras to provide video monitoring.

Quick Guide

1. Hikvision Password Reset Do It Yourself
2. Finding the Latest Hikvision Firmware
3. SmartPSS Installation and User guide

1.2 Environmental Requirement

The multi-monitor function supports up to 4 monitors. This function requires your PC need to support at least 4 display interfaces(HDMI/DVI/VGA).

1.3 Performance Overview

When your PC accesses multiple screens simultaneously, you can choose the appropriate mode as needed. There are four more options for you to choose.

When your PC accesses four screens simultaneously, it will be shown as below:

Chapter II Operations and Settings

Step 1: Add additional displayers to the PC. Click this icon to enter the configuration shown as below.

Step 2: Then the window will pop up:

Step 3: There are four more options for you to choose.

2.1 Live View Screen

If you have a lot of devices connected, you can play the Live View with multiple screens and get a more intuitive visual experience.

If you choose the second screen as the Live View Screen, the second screen will show the display:

Left click your interested channel, it will quickly display the Live View of this channel.

You can select the different Layouts View to see more channels.

you can also select the customized layouts View which configured in the Main CMS monitor.

When playing Live View, you can right click the mouse. The list is shown follow:

The icons on toolbar in the second Live View Screen are as below:

The description of the icons can be referred to the table below:

The toolbar of the Live View window:

For more details please refer to User Manual of CMS.

2.2 Alarm Screen

If you choose the screen as the Alarm Screen. When alarming, the alarm channel will pop up to this screen, the screen what you have set up will show the display:

When alarming, the alarm channel will pop up to this screen:

You can select the different Layouts View to see more channels or select the customized layouts View which configured in the Main CMS monitor.

It is worth mentioning that the Alarm Screen features with intelligent adjustment of the number of windows. For example, if you selected the Layout View of four windows and five or more devices trigger the Motion Detection at the same time, the Layout View of the Alarm Screen is automatically converted into nine windows.

When playing Live View, you can play it in full screen mode by right click the mouse and choose the”Show In Full Screen”.

2.3 Full Screen and None

You can also choose the screen as the Full Screen. If you want to see more details, you can double click the channel that you have chosen on the Live View Screen or the Alarm Screen and then it will will display the main stream in full screen.

When you need to use a screen for other purposes, you can choose the screen as None and means that the Live View temporarily turn off.

How to Use NVR P2P on M-Sight Pro

1. P2P

A peer-to-peer (P2P) network is a type of decentralized and distributed network architecture in which individual nodes in the network (called “peers”) act as both suppliers and consumers of resources, in contrast to centralized client–server model where client nodes request access to resources provided by central servers. Networks in which all computers have equal status are called peer-to-peer or P2P networks.

In a peer-to-peer network, tasks (such as searching for files or streaming audio/video) are shared amongst multiple interconnected peers which each make a portion of their resources (such as processing power, disk storage or network bandwidth) directly available to other network participants, with no need for centralized coordination by servers.

With the P2P enabled on NVR, you can add the NVR and view the live video over WLAN remotely without doing any port forwarding on the router.

2. How to Use P2P on M-Sight Pro

You can use P2P function directly after enabling it on the NVR’s web or monitor.

Way 1: Enable on the monitor

Right click on the live view and choose“Menu”->“System”->“Network”->“P2P”, you will see the image as below; Then choose “Enable” and click “Apply” to enable P2P; You can see the P2P state turns to “Activated”, then you can use it freely on “M-Sight Pro”.

If failed to apply this setting, please check these tips:

Way 2: Enable on the web

Enter the web page of NVR ->“Settings”->“System”->“Network”->“P2P”. Details are the same as on the monitor.

If failed to save, please check these tips:

Note:

A. We recommend that you upgrade the firmware version to 7X.7.0.9-r2 or above for better user experience.

B. P2P is a WLAN-required function, so you need to make sure that the network of Default Gateway and Preferred DNS Server are available.

2.3 Settings on M-Sight Pro

Step 1: Open the M-Sight Pro, and click on these icons to add device:

Step 2: Choose “P2P” as “Type”:

Step 3: Add MAC

There are two ways to add MAC:

Way 1: Input manually after touching area ①;

Way 2: Automatically input by scanning bar code/ QR code after touching icon ②;

Step 4: Input the NVR name, the user name and the password to finish adding device.

2.4 Device management

After adding the NVR via P2P, you can manage it by touching ”Device Manager”. If you want to edit the NVR, touch the icon ①;

If you want to view the live video of your network cameras in the NVR, touch the “Play”;

If you want to delete the NVR, you can slide left on the“Device Name”column and then select“Delete”.

Two Methods to View the Camera from M-Sight Pro

M-Sight Pro is an Milesight Application designed for Milesight camera. There are two methods for us to use M-Sight Pro to view the cameras remotely.

1. Port Mapping

Please do the port mapping as follows:

Step1: Log in router via “winbox” software, enter the IP address, username and password:

Step2: Click IP→Firewall→NAT

Step3: Click [+], add a new NAT rule, refer the mapping and fill in the info as follows:

HTTP: 117.29.166.6:6006→ 192.168.8.151:6006

RTSP: 117.29.166.6:5594→ 192.168.8.151:5594

HTTP:

RTSP:

Step4: Click [Mangle]→[+], add a new rule to set the Wan:

Step5: Change the HTTP port and RTSP port via Web:

Step6: Change the Subnet Mask, Gateway and DNS:

Step7: There are two ways to visit the camera, Fixed IP or DDNS:

Fixed IP:

Open the App and enter the public IP address to check whether the port mapping is working or not:

DDNS:

If you feel that it is difficult to remember the IP address when visiting the camera, we can link the camera IP address with a domain name, and visit the camera by the domain name. The steps are as follows:

Add a subdomain on the website http://freedns.afraid.org;

Link the domain name with the IP address, 117.29.166.6, which we have mapped before:

Add the camera to M-Sight Pro by domain name(ONVIF mode);

Or add the camera to M-Sight Pro by domain name(RTSP mode);

2. P2P

Send the MAC address of your camera to us, we will activate your camera. Then M-Sight can visit the camera by the P2P mode.

Please do steps as follows:

Step1: Click on the top-left button, choose “Device Manager”, click top-right button and choose “Add Camera” to add device. There are three adding types, you should choose to add via “P2P”;

Step2: Enter the MAC address of the camera, the user name and the password. The MAC address of the camera can be generated automatically by scanning the bar code, or you can scan the QR code from web interface. The default user name is: admin, default password is: ms1234;

Step3: Click on the “Save” button to save the device info. After being added successfully, it will get the device number and device name automatically;

Step4: Play the devices. You have two ways to play live view via P2P;

Choose the devices you want to play in the “Device Manager” interface, and click the devices to play the live view;

Click on the top-right button in the “Live View” interface, choose the devices you want to play, and click the “Play” button ;

Note:

You can enter the MAC address of the camera as well as scan the bar code/QR code to automatically generate the MAC address.

VMS Enterprise Architecture

Chapter I Introduction

The Milesight VMS Enterprise is featured with Client/Server architecture. The user accesses a system by logging into any server of the system on the client side.

l Server

Server refers to Milesight VMS Enterprise Server which are installed on the computer. The initial state of a server is an undefined server. Available on Windows.

A server is responsible for:

• Communicate with clients and other servers (Only master server)

• Camera management

• Get video stream from cameras and forward to client

• Record video from cameras to local or NAS storage

• Get event signals and trigger different actions

• Smart analysis – Store license plate recognition results and black/white list comparison

Recommend: The maximum number of cameras per server is 128.

 

 

 

l System

Icon

A system is made up of one or more servers. Any undefined server needs to be created as a new system or added to an existing system for use.

Multiple servers can form a system which can manage lots of network cameras in different locations. Every server in the same system shares all information about all cameras, users and settings except for recording files.

Recommend: 

The maximum number of cameras per system is 2000. The maximum number of servers per system is 25.

l Client

Client refers to Milesight VMS Enterprise Client which are installed on the computer. Available on Windows.

A client is responsible for:

• Connect to any server, but only to one at a time

• Camera management, configuration and control

• View Live videos, up to 4 monitors and 64 channels per monitor

• Video playback, up to 64 channels synchronously or asynchronously

• Smart analysis – Black/white list management, ANPR settings and smart search

• View event notification

• System and server settings

• View event logs and audit trail

Note: D3D is required

 

l User

Every system has a list of user accounts that can have different rights. Only authorized user can access the system. Users are authorized by roles, and there are different types of roles.

Owner: There is only one ‘Owner’ user in the system. It is created when the system is created. It has the highest privileges

Administrator: It owns full access to function and operation permissions, resource access including Camera and Layout

Operator: It can see all cameras and own part access to function and operation permissions in the system

Viewer: It can see all cameras and have view permissions for only partial functions in the system 

Custom role: Customize access permission to function, operation and resource including Camera and Layout

Recommend: The maximum number of users per system is 100. 

l Login Interface

Interface Description:

 

Chapter II Operations

2.1 How to add an undefined server into a system

1. Add an undefined server into a new system

Step 1: Click an undefined server in the login interface. (Undefined servers are shown at the bottom of the list.)

Step 2:Select “New System”to create current server as a new system. (“New System” is shown at the bottom of the selections.)

 

 

Step 3:Set the system name, server name and an “Owner” user of the new system, then click “Save”. 

You can check “Connect After Save”, then it will log in the system automatically after clicking “Save”.

2. Add an undefined server into an existing system

Step 1:Click an undefined server in the login interface.

Step 2: Select an existing system.

Step 3: Configure server name and enter the owner’s authentication credentials of the system, then click “Save”.

You can check “Connect After Save”, then it will login the system automatically after clicking “Save”.

Note: If the password is entered incorrectly more than 6, the system will be locked for 30 minutes.

2.2 How to detach a server from a system

Step 1:Click “Settings” in the top menu bar. And Click “System & Servers” -> “Server Settings” in the left menu bar. Select the sever in the server list, click “Detach Server”.

Step 2: Click “I Agree”. 

If there are multiple servers in the system, you can choose to remove or keep the cameras added to this server.

l Remove cameras of this server from system: after detaching the server from the system, the cameras added to this server will be deleted at the same time.

l Keep cameras of this server in system: after detaching the server from the system, the cameras added to this server will be allocated to other servers of the same system automatically for load balancing.

After detaching the server from the system, then it becomes an undefined server.

Note:

1．Only the Owner user has permission to perform the “Detach Server” operation.

2．When a server is offline, if you click “Delete Server”, the server isn’t really detached from the system. It just doesn’t be shown in the server list. Once the server restores online, it still can be displayed in the server list and start working.

   

If a server has been added into a system, it needs to be detached from the system as an undefined server, then add the undefined server into other system.

How to Use VMS Enterprise Video Wall

Chapter I Introduction

“Milesight VMS Enterprise” supports Video Wall function, which is a necessary advanced function for professional VMS. The Video Wall function supports custom screen combinations and split. It can divide a single monitor into multiple screens, which can be divided into up to 4 screens, or combine multiple monitors into one screen. It controls the maximum number of screens that can be run with a license. If the number of screens connected to the client computer is large enough, more screens can be generated. Moreover, the screens generated by the Video Wall are independent of each other. In particular, the Video Wall function can push the computer desktop to the wall.

Here are some professional terms related to Video Wall, so that you can better understand the function.

• Monitor

Refers to the monitors actually connected to the client computer.

• Screen

Refers to the areas created based on monitor for displaying video.

• Video Wall

It’s made up of screens.

• Matrix

It is composed of the contents and layout displayed on the Video Wall screen.

Chapter II Operations

2.1 How to Set Video Wall?

Note：

① Make sure that there is a license for Video Wall in the system, and the license quantity is sufficient.

② Make sure the Video Walll Server is installed and running on the Client you want to connect to.

Step1: First, click the button [Creat Video Wall] to create the Video Wall in the Settings -> System & Servers -> Video Wall Settings interface.

Then you can click to rename the Video Wall.

Step2: Click the button to pop up the Add Screens window, and all Clients in the LAN will be displayed in the list. You can refresh the list and search the Client.

Step3: Then select the Client whose screen does not exist in the current Video Wall in the LAN from the list, and click the button. You can also add multiple Online Clients as needed. Then these added Clients will be displayed in the Screen Setting list. And all monitors actually connected to these Clients will be displayed on the Clients.

You can refresh the Screen Setting list and search for the added Clients. If you want to delete the Client, you can click the button.

Step4: Click on a blank area of a monitor on the Client to create a new screen, then you can click and drag the screen to adjust the position. And the screen selected box has 8 small squares that you can drag to adjust the screen size. Each monitor can be divided into up to 4 screens.

In addition, you can click the screen and then click the screen name to rename it, and delete the screen by clicking the icon  in the upper right corner of the screen.

Step5: Click the screen you want, and then click the button  to add the screen to the Video Wall. You can add multiple screens as needed.

You can click and drag any screen on the Video Wall to adjust the position, and drag the small squares of the selected box to adjust the screen size. Click the icon  to delete the screen on the Wall. And you can also adjust the layout of the Video Wall by clicking the icons  or sliding the mouse wheel.

Step6: Click the button  to apply the settings.

Step7: Then click the button  to run the Video Wall. And then you can use Video Wall function in the Live View interface.

When the Video Wall is running, you can still click and drag any screen on the Video Wall to adjust the screen position and size, which is convenient to match the actual physical position composition of each screen.

In addition, click the button  to identify the corresponding screens. And you can click the button to stop running the Video Wall. Or click the button  to delete the Video Wall.

2.2 How to Use Video Wall?

The Video Wall list created in the Video Wall Settings is displayed in the left Resource panel of the Live View. And you can use all screens in the local area network.

Note:

The icon  indicates that the screen is not available, you need to check if the Video Wall Server is running normally.

2.2.1 How to Run Video Wall?

Step1: Right-click the Video Wall and a menu window will pop up as below:

[Control Video Wall]: Pop up the Video Wall control window to use the Video Wall.

[Start Wall]: Run the Video Wall.

[Rename]: Rename the Video Wall.

[Video Wall Settings]: Jump to the Video Wall Settings page.

Step2: Select [Control Video Wall] option, and then the following window pops up:

Step3: Click the button  to run the Video Wall. Then you can drag and drop the cameras, layouts and tour plans to the screens.

After running the Video Wall, you can also do the following:

• l Click the button  to identify all running screens in the Video Wall.

• l Click the button  to clear the content on all screens in the Video Wall.

• l Click the button  to stop running the Video Wall.

In addition, you can double-click the screen to enter the specific screen. And you can also right-click the screen to do something. For more details, please refer to How to Run Screen?.

Step4: When the Video Wall is running, you can right-click the Video Wall and a menu window will pop up as below:

[Control Video Wall]: Pop up the Video Wall control window to use the Video Wall.

[Stop Wall]: Stop running the Video Wall.

[Clear Wall]: Clear the content on all screens in the Video Wall.

[Rename]: Rename the Video Wall.

[Save Matrix]: Save the content currently playing on each screen of the Video Wall. For more details, please refer to How to Save and Load Matrix?.

[Identify Screens]: Identify all running screens in the Video Wall.

[Video Wall Settings]: Jump to the Video Wall Settings page.

2.2.2 How to Run Screen?

Step1: Right-click the screen and a menu window will pop up as below:

[Control Screen]: Pop up the screen control window to use the screen.

[Start Screen]: Run the screen.

[Rename]: Rename the screen.

Step2: Select [Control Screen] option, and then the following window pops up:

Step3: Click the button  to run the screen. Then you can drag and drop the camera, layout and tour plan to the screen.

After running the screen, you can also do the following:

• l Click the button  to refresh the screen.

• l Click the button  to identify the corresponding screen.

• l Click the button  to clear the content on the screen.

• l Click the button  to stop running the screen.

Step4: When the screen is running, you can right-click the screen and a menu window will pop up as below:

[Control Screen]: Pop up the screen control window to use the screen.

[Stop Screen]: Stop running the screen.

[Rename]: Rename the screen.

[Clear Screen]: Clear the content on the screen.

[Identify]: Identify the corresponding screen.

[Push My Desktop]: Push the desktop to the screen for display. If there are multiple desktops, select any one to push as needed.

2.2.3 How to Save and Load Matrix?

Step1: Right-click the Video Wall and select [Save Matrix] option to save the content currently playing on each screen of the Video Wall. The Save Matrix window will pop up, you can edit the matrix name, and then click the button .

Note:

Make sure the Video Wall is running.

Step2: Then right-click the matrix and a menu window will pop up as below:

[Load to Video Wall]: Each screen will play the content according to the matrix.

[Save]: Save the content currently playing on each screen of the Video Wall to the matrix.

[Rename]: Rename the matrix.

[Set As Default]: Set the matrix as default. Every time you run the Video Wall, each screen will play the content according to the matrix. There is at most one default matrix.

[Delete]: Delete the matrix.

Step3: Select [Load to Video Wall] option, and then the following window pops up:

Click the button , and then each screen will play the content according to the matrix.

How to Use Record and Playback in VMS Enterprise

1. Introduction

For a VMS software, Live View, Record and Playback must be the three most important functions. Milesight VMS Enterprise has powerful video recording and playback, which are the critical parts of the forensic process. This document will introduce how to configure and use these two functions in order to solve some doubts and problems in use.

2. Disk Settings

Ensure that one or more of the server’s disks are enabled and have space left before configuring record. In addition to local disks, NAS external storage is also supported.

Select Settings→System&Servers→Server Settings→Storage Management and enable one or more disks to save record. It is recommended that the hard disk is used for storing recordings only. Move the mouse to the capacity bar to display more capacity information of the disk.

3. Continuous Recording

3.1 Enable Continuous Record

Step1 Select Settings→Devices→Camera Record Schedule→Schedule;

Step2 Click Server List or Group List to show devices from different servers or groups. Click one camera to configure this channel’s record.

Step3 By default, the time bars in the schedule have been all selected. Click Select All or Clear All to quickly choose or clear all times. When the time bar is blank, you can select a time period by crossing over it. Click one time period and then you can modify its specific time. Click  to copy one day’s schedule to others’.

Step4 Enable Continuous Recording and do not forget to Click Apply to save.

3.2 Continuous Record Settings

Step1 Select Settings→Devices→Camera Record Schedule→Record Settings;

Step2 Click Server List or Group List to show devices from different servers or groups. Click one camera to configure this channel’s record.

Step3 Configure specific settings of the camera after continuous recording is enabled.

Table1 Description of the settings

Parameters	Function Introduction
Record Stream	Set record stream as primary, secondary or both of them
Record Contain	Select whether the record includes audio or not
Pre Record Duration	Set the duration of pre-recording from 1s to 10s
Post Record Duration	Set the duration of post-recording from 10s to 60s
Archive Minimum Retention Time	Set minimum time for recording to expire: Auto(delete the oldest recordings based on the disk capacity); Preset times; Custom time from 1 to 365 days
Archive Maximum Retention Time	Set maximum time for the recording to expire: Auto(delete the oldest recordings based on the disk capacity); Preset times; Custom time from 1 to 365 days
ANR	Set whether to enable ANR which needs a SD card inserted in Milesight camera added via MSSP

3.3 Copy Record Schedule and Settings

Both Schedule and Record Settings support copy one channel’s to others’. We take Record Settings as an example.

Step1 Click Copy to and then check the cameras you want to copy the configuration to.

Step2 You can also see all cameras from different Servers or Groups by selecting Server List or Group List.

Step3 Click Save and you will find the checked cameras’ configuration is the same as the first one.

4. Event Record

Event Record of VMS Enterprise is based on Event Rules. So you need to set it in Event Rule Settings interface.

Step1 Select Settings→System&Servers→Event Rule Settings and click Add to set a new rule;

Step2 Select the event which you want to trigger the recording. We take Region Entrance in Front-end VCA as an example. Then click <Any Camera> and all cameras will show up in Server List or Group List. Check one or more cameras as the source and click save.

Step3 Click  to bring up the window of schedule. The way to configure it is just the same as it in Continuous Recording. Don’t forget to click Save.

Step4 Check Do Recording or Primary Emergency Recording in Action List. Primary Emergency Recording is based on recording schedule, which should be configured first at Camera Recording Schedule. Trigger primary stream recording when event occurs.

Table2 Description of the settings

Parameters	Function Introduction	Do Recording	Primary Emergency Recording
Target	Set which camera to record: Source Camera(One-to-one means that event from a particular camera triggers recordings of not all source cameras but only this camera when there are more than one source cameras); Custom selected cameras	√	√
Action Interval	Set time interval between two Actions: Instant; 5s; 10s; Custom time from 1 to 3600s	√	√
Pre Record	Set the duration of pre-recording from 0s to 10s	√	×
Duration	Set the duration of whole action: While Trigger Happening; Custom time from 1 to 3600s	√	√
Post Record	Set the duration of post-recording from 0s to 120s	√	×
Record Stream	Set record stream as primary or secondary stream	√	×
Description of Rule	A brief description as needed for easily finding this rule	√	√

Step5 Configure the event record rule as needed and click Save.

Step6 Click Apply to save the rule changes.

Take the following figure as an example, when Panoramic Dome Camera detects Region Entrance, it will trigger recording its video. Don’t forget to click Apply in Event Rule Settings interface.

Note: All front-end triggers should be enabled on Milesight camera side first. You can configure it in Device Events module.

5. Basic Playback

Click Playback on the top. And then the playback interface will show up. Choose and double click a channel from Server List or Group List to replay your recordings. The icon  means this channel has recordings to play.

(1) Toolbar on the top

Move your mouse to the video, and then the toolbar will show on the top.

Click  to turn on Speaker, and you can adjust the volume of the speaker from 1~100. This item is available only for cameras which support built-in mic or Audio I/O.

Click  to enable digital zoom. A thumbnail of the enlarged position is displayed in the lower right corner. Mouse dragging and wheel scrolling to move and zoom in/out.

Click  to take a snapshot. The blue text will lead you to the snapshot storage path.

Click  to open the Fisheye toolbox. Here are a list for each icon of Fisheye toolbox.

Click  to close this channel’s playback.

(2) Right-Click Menu

Right click the video and the menu will show up.

The meanings of the items on the right-click menu can be referred to the table below:

Item	Description
Stream Type	Auto, Primary and Secondary supported. Auto means the playback video will automatically switch stream according to computer performance.
Display Info	Choose to display stream information at Left or Right, or customize the position of info. You can also hide the stream information.
Split Playback	Divide the video files into several channels during specified time period. Users can watch playback videos of different time periods simultaneously.
Add Tag for	Add tag for the selected cameras or all cameras in the playback panel.
Remove	Choose Selected Views or All Views in Layout to remove the camera playback.
Save As Layout	Click it to save the current layout to Layouts list.
Cell Spacing	Set the cell spacing size among the live view windows in the layout. There are four options available, including None, Small, Normal and Large.
Aspect Ratio	Choose 1:1, 4:3, 16:9, 3:4 and 9:16 to show the window aspect ratio.
Pause/Resume all	Pause/Resume all playback in the current layout.
Turn on/Mute All Speakers	Enable or disable the speakers of all cameras in the current layout.
Stream Type for All	Set stream type for all cameras in the current layout.
Display Info for All	Set to display stream information of all channels in the current layout.
Full Screen	You can choose Layout to display all cameras in the layout to full screen. Click again the Exit Full Screen to restore the normal window.

Right click on a position in the layout where there is no video and the menu will change into:

There are two more items:

Add Tag for All	Add tag for all cameras in the playback panel.
Remove All Views	Remove all cameras’ playback from this layout.

(3) Playback Toolbar

Select a certain channel in the current layout and click     to show the calendar. The blue date and time both indicate availability of recordings. Click the date and time you want to locate to.

Clickto lock recording file, and you can set locked time duration and notes.

Click  to add tags for selected channels, and you can set tag name, note and time duration.

Click  to show Archive Management which can be used to check and retrieve tag and lock files.

Click      to switch to Asynchronous Playing or Synchronous Playing.

Asynchronous Playing: The timeline only represents the recording of selected channel.

Synchronous Playing: Playback all channels in the current layout synchronously. The thick timeline bar represents recordings of currently selected camera, while the thin bar represents recordings of all channels in the current layout.

Click /to play previous or next event video.

Click/to play previous or next frame of the recording.

Click/to adjust the playback speed to 1/32, 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 1X, 2X, 4X, 8X, 16X or 32X.

Click//to rewind, play or pause the video.

Clickto move the current playback time to the center of timeline bar. The short white vertical line which represents the position of the current playback moment will move to the centre of the time bar.

Dragto zoom in/out timeline bar. Or you can just scroll the mouse wheel on timeline bar to do so.

(4) Right-Click Timeline Bar

Right-Click the timeline bar and hold down to drag to move the time bar sideways.

Right-Click the timeline bar, the menu will show up as follows. If there has been a part of video selected and it contains locked video and tags, right-click menu will have more items.

The meanings of the items on the right-click menu can be referred to the table below:

Item	Description
Start Selection/End Selection	Select start/end time of period on the timeline.
Clear Selection	Clear selection on the timeline.
Zoom to Selection	Extend the selected period to whole timeline.
Add Tag	Add tag for the selected period.
Lock File	Lock the selected period.
Split Playback	More Details in 6.2 Split Playback
Export Video	Export the selected period.
Unlock File	Unlock the locked video file.
Edit Tag	Edit tag which you set.
Export Tag	Export tag which you set.
Play Tag Video	Play videos with tag you set.
Delete Tag	Delete tag which you set.
Show Thumbnails	Show thumbnail of the corresponding time. Users can also resize the thumbnail timeline as needed.
Show Tags	After setting the tags, you can choose the option to show the tag on the timeline
Show Locks	After setting the lock files, you can choose the option to show the lock file on the timeline

(5) Tags for Playback

Click the Hide/Show bottom to pop-up right side menu and click the tag icon to show Tags for Playback.

Select which channels to search tags from.

Select which types of tags to search.

Select the time duration for searching tags

Search keyword of tags’ names and notes. Refresh the tag list and chose how to sort the tag list (Tag Start Time, Tag Name, Camera Name and Create Time).

Double click the tag you want, and the video of the corresponding channel then jumps to the time of the tag and flashes the window.

6. Event and Split Playback

(1) Event Playback

If the channel is configured with rule-triggered recording, the timeline bar of Playback will have different colors representing different events.

Click Show Event Mask to check event type to be shown on the timeline, the timeline will show different colors according to selected event type as below:

Click the  button to enter Event Mask Colors Setting interface, it supports customizing different colors for different events according to the user’s requirement.

Click Event Only to exclude continuous recording.

(2) Split Playback

Split Playback allows you to divide a period time of recording into several parts when watching playback, so that users can watch videos of different time simultaneously.

Split Playback setting steps are as below:

Step1: Right click the playback window of a channel and click Split Playback, or right-click the selected time period on the timeline and choose Split Playback, and a window will pop up.

Time Period setting

Specific Number setting

Step2: Check a type to split the video file. If you choose the Time Period, and set Time Interval and Start/End Time, then the channels will be split automatically by VMS system as above. If you choose the Specific Number, and set channel number and Start/End Time, then Time Interval will be calculated and split automatically by VMS system as above.

Step3: After setting, click, and the selected video will be split to new channels to replay asynchronously on the playback layout as shown below:

How to Set VMS Enterprise Event Rules

Ⅰ. Introduction

Event rules are used to associate events and actions. Milesight VMS Enterprise supports rich events, multiple actions and alarm modes, which you can combine freely and configure as your need. Every event can be set to trigger many kinds of actions at the same time. Also, every event can be set to trigger different actions in different time periods. After configuring the event rules, when an event is detected, it can promptly remind or automatically trigger actions according to your settings. In this case, focusing on events becomes easier and you won’t miss the events you care about.

By default, some rules have been automatically created for you in the system. These rules are used to notify the abnormalities that may occur in the system. If an event is detected, you will receive a notification in the Notifications panel. It is strongly recommended to keep them. You can also adjust them as needed.

Ⅱ. How to set an event rule

If you’re not an owner or administration, make sure you have permission for event rule settings.

2.1 Add an event rule

Step 1: Click “Settings” -> “System & Servers” -> “ Event Rule Settings”.

Step 2: Click “Add”, set trigger, schedule and action, then click “Save”.

There are many kinds of events and actions. Different events or actions have corresponding settings. Here you can check the below table to know more about them.

• Trigger

• Action

Note:

When an event is detected, if you want the corresponding camera in live view interface to be prompted with a flashing box, only need to check “Show Flashing Border” in “Settings” -> “Client Settings” -> “Local Settings” -> “Alarm”.

Each event can trigger different actions. If the checkbox of action is disabled, the event doesn’t support triggering this action.

Step 3: After adding event rules, you can see them in the list.

Optional: You can also edit or delete the event rules as needed.

Step 4: 

After completing all operations, click “Apply”.“*” means the rules haven’t been saved, don’t forget to click “Apply”.

Ⅲ. Example

• Setting

Set the following event rules in the system.

①． From 1 p.m to 4 p.m, when a motion event is detected in “ipc demo”, call “ptz demo” preset and show a notification.

②． From 4 p.m to 6 p.m, when a motion event is detected in “ipc demo”, do recording, show notification and email to user “Test”.

③． When any camera in the system has video loss, show a notification.

④． When any camera in the system fails to record, show a notification.

⑤． When any user login the system, show a notification.

⑥． Add an icon to each camera. After clicking the icon, show text in live view of the camera and push the live view of the camera to display on full screen.

• Result

①． From 1 p.m to 4 p.m, when a motion event is detected in “ipc demo”, call “ptz demo” preset and a notification will be shown in Notifications panel.

②． From 4 p.m to 6 p.m, when a motion event is detected in “ipc demo”, a notification will be shown in Notifications panel. User “Test” will receive an email. And you can view the recording in Playback interface.

③． When a camera in the system has video loss, a notification will be shown in Notifications panel.

④． When a camera in the system fails to record, a notification will be shown in Notifications panel.

⑤． When a user login the system, a notification will be shown in Notifications panel.

⑥． After clicking the icon, text will be shown in the live view of the camera.

All events will be recorded, you can view them in Logs interface.

How to Enable VMS Enterprise Multi-Monitor

Chapter I Introduction

“Milesight VMS Client” supports multiple monitors display setting, which supports up to 4 monitors. Multi-Monitor function meets the needs of users for more application scenarios. Each monitor has 4 modes to choose from, including [None], [Live Screen], [Alarm Screen] and [Full Screen]. Both Live Screen and Alarm Screen support up to 64 channels in single screen. The Full Screen only supports displaying 1 channel. In addition, Multi-Monitor function also supports identifying monitors of corresponding screens.

Different screen modes support different functions.

l None: 

No settings are made for other monitors.

l Live Screen:

For this mode, you can add any camera you want to display on the specified monitor so that you can view the real-time video. In addition, the Live Screen mode supports up to 4 monitors and 64 live view channels per monitor.

l Alarm Screen:

For this mode, you need to set the event rules and select the action of [Show on Alarm Screen] for the camera, then the real-time video will be played on the specified monitor when the corresponding event is triggered. This is helpful for users to track camera event in time and view the real-time video.

l Full Screen:

For this mode, you can directly set [Show on Full Screen] for the selected camera in the Live View interface, then the real-time video will be showed on the specified monitor as full screen mode. Of course, you can also set the event rules and select the action of [Show on Full Screen] for the camera, then the real-time video will be played on the specified monitor when the corresponding event is triggered. It solves the inconvenience of not being able to operate other interfaces after the Live View interface channel goes full screen.

l E-Map:

Users can use the E-map function in this mode. 

l Playback:

For this mode, users can search and play back the recorded files of selected cameras.

Note: You can only set one Alarm Screen and one full screen, and there is no limit to the number of Live Screen, E-Map Screen and Playback Screen.

 

Chapter II Operations

2.1 How to Enable Multi-Monitor?

First, click the Enable icon to enable Multi-Monitor and then click [Apply] button to apply Multi-Monitor in the Settings -> Client Settings -> Multi-Monitor interface.

Note:

l This page can only display configuration items of four monitors, even if you have more than four monitors.

l There is no configuration quantity limit for Live Screen, but Alarm Screen and Full Screen can only set one separately.

In addition, you can click [Identify] button to see the corresponding number of each available monitor.

 

2.1.1 How to Set [None] Mode?

If you don’t want to make any settings with the specified monitor, you can select [None] option and then click [Apply] button to apply [None] Mode.

2.1.2 How to Set [Live Screen] Mode?

Step 1: Select [Live Screen] option for the specified monitor and then click [Apply] button to apply [Live Screen] Mode.

Step 2: Drag the camera which you want to show on the specified monitor from the list on the left and move it into the Live View window, then you can view the real-time video on the specified monitor.

Step 3: If you want to close Live Screen, you can move the mouse to the top of the screen to display the top bar, then you can click the icon  and select [Close] button to close it. After the screen is turned off, the monitor will automatically change to [None] Mode. If you want to use Live Screen again, you need to reset [Live Screen] Mode.

2.1.3 How to Set [Alarm Screen] Mode?

Step 1: Select [Alarm Screen] option for the specified monitor and then click [Apply] button to apply [Alarm Screen] Mode.

Step 2: Click [Add] button to add the event rule in the Settings -> System & Servers -> Event Rule Settings interface, then set the trigger type, the source of trigger and schedule you want, and set the action of [Show on Alarm Screen]. After setting the event rule, click [Save] button.

Note:

The following trigger types support the action of [Show on Alarm Screen]:

Front-end Motion Detection, Front-end Audio Alarm, Front-end External Input Alarm, Front-end VCA, ANPR, Record Failure, RTP Packet Loss and Client Trigger.

Step 3: Then the event rule will be added to the event rule list. Click [Apply] button to apply the customized event rule.

Step 4: When the camera is triggered, the real-time video will be played on the specified monitor.

(Note: The picture on the left is Monitor1 and the picture on the right is Monitor2.)

Step 5: If you want to close Alarm Screen, you can refer to Step 3 of 2.1.2 for operation steps.

2.1.4 How to Set [Full Screen] Mode?

Step 1: Select [Full Screen] option for the specified monitor and then click [Apply] button to apply [Full Screen] Mode.

Step 2: Right-click the Live View window for the selected camera, and set Multi-Monitor as [Show on Full Screen] option. Then the Live View window of the camera will be displayed on the specified monitor as Full Screen.

(Note: The picture on the left is Monitor1 and the picture on the right is Monitor2.)

In addition, you can also set the event rule and select the action of [Show on Full Screen] to trigger [Full Screen] Mode. Please refer to Step 2 and Step 3 of 2.1.3 for operation steps.

Step 3: If you want to close Full Screen, you can refer to Step 3 of 2.1.2 for operation steps.

2.1.5 How to Set [E-Map] Mode?

Step 1: Select [E-Map] option for the specified monitor and then click [Apply] button to apply [E-Map] Mode.

 

Step 2: The E-Map interface will display on the selected screen. Click ”Create” button

to create a new map.

 

Step 3: You can drag the camera onto the map and make some further settings.

 

2.1.6 How to Set [Playback] Mode?

Step 1: Select [Playback] option for the specified monitor and then click [Apply] button to apply [Playback] Mode.

 

Step 2: The Playback interface will display on the selected screen. You can search and play back the recorded files of selected cameras.

 

Step 3: If you want to close Playback Screen, you can move the mouse to the top of the screen to display the top bar, then you can click the icon  and select [Close] button to close it. After the screen is turned off, the monitor will automatically change to [None] Mode. If you want to use Playback Screen again, you need to reset [Playback] Mode.

How to Set VMS Enterprise Paging & Layouts & Tour Plans & Instant Playback

Chapter I Introduction

Live View is mainly used for viewing real-time video. The interface is mainly made up of left Resource Panel, center Viewing Panel and right Function Panel.

The left Resource Panel displays all servers and cameras in the VMS system. The center Viewing Panel supports up to 64 individual live camera streams on a single page. The right Function Panel has four tabs, including Notifications, ANPR Preview, PTZ Control and Tour List.

Here we focus on the Paging, Layouts, Tour Plans and Instant Playback function in the Live View interface.

1.1 Paging

Live View supports paging function. A single page can play up to 64 channels. Users can select the number of channels to play on a single page according to their needs.

1.2 Layouts

Both Live View and Playback support layouts. Layouts can be customized, so you can save the currently playing channels and their locations, which helps you watch and manage Live View and Playback more efficiently. In addition, users of Administrator or Owner role can share all layouts within the system with Operator or Viewer or the customized roles, so that users in Operator or Viewer or the customized roles can use the layouts and access the devices in the layouts.

1.3 Tour Plans

Live View supports Tour Plans, including Camera Tour Plans and Layout Tour Plans. All channels currently playing or the layouts will automatically switch Live View window by using the function, which makes it easy for users to view the live view by auto-switching.

1.4 Instant Playback

Live View supports Instant Playback function for the channel with video recording. Users can quickly view the video file in the last 5 minutes. In addition, when Instant Playback is enabled, it supports integrated window functions, including Digital Zoom, Fisheye Setting, Snapshot, Recording and so on.

 

Chapter II Operations

2.1 Paging

2.1.1 How to Set Paging?

Step 1: Enable “Paging in Live View” in the Settings -> Client Settings -> Local Settings -> Performance interface, and then click [Apply] button.

Step 2: Then the icon  will be displayed in the upper left corner of the center Viewing Panel, and click it to pop up the page controller.

Step 3: In the page controller you can set the number of channels to play on a single page, and you can click to jump to the first page/last page/previous page/next page.

2.2 Layouts

2.2.1 How to Set Customized Layout?

Step 1: First, determine the channels and their locations you’re interested in, then right-click the camera live view window in the Live View interface to pop up a menu. And select [Save As Layout] option to save the layout.

Step 2: You can name the new layout, and click [Save] button to save it. Then the layout will be displayed under the Layouts module in the left Resource Panel.

Step 3: Right-click the corresponding layout and select [Play] option to preview the camera in the layout. You can also directly double-click the corresponding layout for quick viewing.

Note:

The operation of setting layout in the Playback interface is the same as that in the Live View interface.

2.2.2 How to Share Customized Layout?

Step 1: In the Settings -> System & Servers -> User Settings -> Role Management interface, users of Administrator or Owner role can select the corresponding role to share the layout.

Step 2: Then check the layout you want to share on the Layouts page, and then click [Apply] button, the layout icon  will change to. In this way, all users under the corresponding role can use the layout and have access to the devices in the layout.

Step 3: You can click [Show Details] button to check devices in the layout. Hover your mouse over the channel to see the thumbnail and related information.

2.3 Tour Plans

The operations of Camera Tour and Layout Tour are similar. Here we take the operations of Camera Tour as an example.

2.3.1 How to Start and Configure Tour?

Step 1: There are three ways to start Camera Tour.

Method 1: Determine the channels you’re interested in, and right-click the camera live view window in the Live View interface to pop up a menu. And select [Start Tour] option to configure tour.

Method 2: Multiple cameras in the list can be selected by holding down [Ctrl] key on the keyboard, then right-click on the list to pop up a menu. And select [Start Tour] option to configure tour.

Method 3: If you already have a saved tour plan, you can right-click the corresponding tour under the Tour Plans module in the left Resource Panel, and select [Play] option to start tour. You can also directly double-click the corresponding tour to start tour quickly.

Step 2: After starting tour, you will enter the Tour Config interface. Then you can edit the name, the number of channels per play and tour interval. And click [Play] or [Save and Play] button to enter the real-time Tour interface. The saved tour will be displayed under the Tour Plans module in the left Resource Panel.

Step 3: Click the Tour List icon  , and all channels added to the tour will be displayed in the right panel. The icon  indicates that the channel is currently playing.

Step 4: After clicking the icon  to pause the tour, you can modify the tour name, the number of channels per play, tour interval. You can also drag the camera from the left Resource Panel to the Tour List to add it. And click the icon  to delete it by moving the mouse over the corresponding channel in the list. After the operation is completed, then click the icon  to save the current configuration. You can click the icon  to stop the tour.

2.4 Instant Playback

2.4.1 How to Enable Instant Playback?

Step 1: For the channel with video recording in the last 5 minutes, you can click the Instant Playback icon  on the top toolbar of video window to view the video.

(Instant Playback is supported for multiple channels at the same time.)

Step 2: When Instant Playback is enabled, it supports the following integrated window functions. And you can use the corresponding function as needed.

① The top toolbar functions of video window:

Turn on Speaker, Start Talking, Enable Digital Zoom, Snapshot, Start Recording, Fisheye Setting, Close.

② The right – click menu function of video window:

Stream Type, Display Info, Add Tag for Selected Cameras or All Cameras in Layout, Full Screen Current View or Current Layout, Start Tour, and so on.

③ The bottom toolbar functions of video window:

Play, Pause, Play in Playback, Control playback progress through timeline.

Note:

Only when the continuous recording schedule is set, Instant Playback can support adding tag.