Configuring Global Recording Parameters

[Startup] The Startup options instruct the system to enable selected features at main system startup.
       Start Monitor: Selects one of the following monitor control modes at startup:
       Monitor All: Allows you to monitor all cameras and I/O (if available) at startup. It is the same as to manually mouse click Monitor button, Start All Monitoring. (Refer to “Start/Stop Monitoring” later in this chapter for detail information).
       Schedule Monitor: Allows you to monitor cameras by schedule. Alternatively you may click Schedule button, Schedule Start. Refer to Running the System at a Scheduled Time on page 50.
       I/O Monitor: Allows you to monitor all I/O devices. Alternatively you may click the Monitor button, and then select I/O Monitoring.
Note: By adjusting Monitor Control, you may record or invoke alert methods of each camera with individual settings. See Adjusting Individual Camera on page 22 to set up your Monitor Control.
       Multicast Server: Allows connection to IP Multicast (one of the remote application) at startup. (Or click the Network button and select Multicast Server.)
       TCP Server: Allows connection to Remote View (another remote application) by TCP. (Or click the Network button and select TCP Server.)
       WebCam Server: Allows connection to WebCam Server at startup. (Or click the Network button and select WebCam Server.)
       Modem Server: Allows connection to Remote View by a modem. (Or click the Network button and select Modem Server.)
       Connect to VSM: Allows connection to VSM Server (Or click the Network button and select Connect to VSM(G).)
       Twin Server: Allows connection to Twin Server at startup. (Or click the Network button and select Twin Server). Twin Server is discussed in Chapter 13.
       Connect to CenterV2: Allows connection to CenterV2. (Or click the Network button and select Connect to CenterV2.)
       Enable Directdraw Overlay: Enables full-screen at startup. (For the related applications, see Switching to Full –Screen View on page 45).
       Enable De-interlace Render: Avoids interlace of the odd and even video lines. This feature affects only single channel view mode with the resolution of 640 x 480. To apply this feature for the first time, follow these steps:
           1. Click the Configure button, and select System Configure from menu.
           2. In the System Configure dialog box, select Enable De-Interlace Render in the Startup section.
           3. Clicks OK to apply the setup.
           4. Exit and restart the Main System. Without the restart, the function will not apply.
Note: Most of the VGA card supports DirectX9. Enable Directdraw Overlay and De-interlace Render if your VGA card supports DirectX9. The settings will greatly enhance the quality of image.
      Startup Auto Login: Select and press the Arrow button to assign an ID used at system auto startup. After the setup, system will automatically login using this ID at next startup, without asking for ID and Password. For related settings, see Launching Main System from System Tray on page 31.
      Panel Resolution: Select the resolution (between 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768 from drop-down list) that best fits the monitor screen on your computer screen.
      Mini-View for Remote Desktop: Squeezes all video channels into a single 320x240 view. Since you may use Microsoft Remote Desktop (a feature that comes with Windows XP Professional Edition) to set up a main system through network, it is important to get smallest size possible data to transfer over network. To apply this feature for the first time:
          1. Press Configure button in function panel, and select System Configure from menu.
          2. In the System Configure dialog box, select Mini-View for Remote Desktop in Startup               section.
          3. Press OK to apply the setup.
          4. Exit and restart the Main System. Without this step the function will not apply.
          5. After system restart, select Configure button again, then enable Mini-View Switch from menu. If wish to go back to normal view, go back to the menu and deselect the feature.
Note: You may see a warning message “Directdraw Create Overlay Failed” when trying to use WebCam Remote Control to connect to a server. The message indicates the server has selected the Enable Directdraw Overlay function. It only means the remote side will not see the images with DirectDraw applied. It is safe to press YES to continue the connection.
Tip: To check version of your DirectX, search for file name dxdiag. Open the file and find version of your DirectX in this dialog box. DirectX 9 is also included in system CD-ROM. Find DirectX9 folder and run dxsetup to upgrade to DirectX 9.
[Location Name] The given name (maximum 14 characters) is displayed in main screen as the name of the server.
[Log Storage] Selects storage type (recycle or not recycle) and location.
       Available: Shows remaining hard disk space.
       Recycle Log: Indicates the recording date of the next video file to be erased.
       Set Location…: Press Set Location to select location to save video files to.
       Recycle: When this option is selected, it will cause the oldest files to be deleted when the system requires storage space for new surveillance videos. If it is not selected, the system will stop recording when disk space is full.
       Keep Days: Set to keep the files in storage for a set number of days. Users may specify to recycle at 1 to 999 days. If designated storage space is not big enough to keep all video files for the defined days, Recycle setting then overrides the Keep Days setting.
[Caption] Enters heading to have it displayed on the upper left-hand corner of the camera screen. You may choose No for no heading; ID to show only camera ID, or ID+Name to show both camera ID + Name.
[Send Alerts Approach] Click the arrow button to choose whether to be notified by E-mail, telephone or SMS when an alert condition occurs under the surveillance area. For the telephone setup, see Configuring Hotline/Network Notification on page 28. For the E-mail setup, see Sending Alerts thru E-Mail Accounts on page 41. For the SMS setup, see Short Message Service in Chapter 12.
[Exit Option] Check the box to enable the feature. Press the blue Arrow button to switch between Select Auto Shutdown and Auto Restart Windows. Auto Shutdown closes Windows OS after exiting GV system. Auto Restart Windows restarts Windows OS after exiting a GV system.
[PTZ Control] Adds PTZ cameras to the system. See the later section of PTZ Control Panel for operation details.
[Monitor Option]
      Start Delay: Starts monitor after x second(s) when system is activated.
      Post-Rec Motion: Records video after motion has stopped for a specified period of time (1 – 10 seconds).
      Send Event Alerts: Allows you to send out the assigned E-Mail/Hotline/SMS notification when the selected alert conditions occur. To enable the function, follow the steps below.
         1. Check the Send Event Alerts item, and click the arrow button beside to display the following window.
         2. Select the desired alert events to send out the assigned notification, and then click OK for the application.
             The alert events of Intruder Event, Missing Object, Unattended Object, and POS Loss Prevention Event are only available when the alarm settings are activated in Counter Application, Object Monitor, and POS Application separately.
Note: To select the type of notification, see Send Alerts Approach on page 19.
      Pre-Rec Motion: Records video just prior to an activity event for a specified period of time. To use this feature, follow these steps:
         1. Select the Pre-Rec Motion check box to enable the feature.
         2. Click the blue Arrow button next to Pre-Rec Motion to bring up the Pre-Record Setup dialog box.
       

[Pre-Record Performance] The amount of physical memory of the computer that the system is running on determines the pre-recording performance. The selection is grayed out if computer does not have enough memory for the selection.
Note: The recording frame rate is calculated base on a 320x240 recording size.
[Pre-Record Option (per camera)] Determines numbers of pre-record frames.
      Total Frames: Determines the maximum pre-recording frames of a system.
      Frame/Sec Limitation: Determines the maximum pre-recording frame rate (fps) of a camera.
Dividing the Total Frames by Frames/Sec Limitation, you will get the pre-recording duration of each camera (in the above case, each camera will record 5 seconds pre-activity).
[EventLog Size] Determines the amount of time (from 1 to 5 minutes) of each event file. If selected 5 Min, a 30-minute video clips will be chop into six 5-minute event files; if selected 1 Min, a 30-minute event will be chop into thirty (30) 1-minute event files. To decide what to set up here, consider how often you back up your event files, and how intensive the activity is in your surveillance area. Smaller file size makes backup process faster.
[Camera Scan] Select to rotate through the screen division. Click the drop-down list and specify the amount of time that elapses before switching to the next screen division group. Press the blue Arrow button to select the mode of screen division.
[Video Record] Click the check box to watermark all recorded videos. Watermark is a way to verify authenticity of the video streams, and to ensure that they have not been tampered with or modified in any way.