AI Digital Video Recorder Quick Start Guide Version 1.0.1.
Contents Welcome ................................................................................................................................................ 3 Important Safeguards and Warnings ..................................................................................................... 3 Front/Back Panel Diagrams & Descriptions .......................................................................................... 3 Front Panel ................................................................
Welcome Thank you for purchasing an Amcrest AI DVR! This document is designed to be a reference tool for the installation and operation of your AI DVR. To access or download the full user manual for your DVR, please visit https://amcrest.com/support Important Safeguards and Warnings ● ● ● ● ● Use of this product should conform to your local electrical safety codes. We assume no liability or responsibility for any fires or electrical shocks caused by improper handling or installation.
11 🔺/🔻 Enter 12 Up/Down/Enter USB 2.0 port numeric and English characters (small/capitalized), etc. Activates other special functions. Activates current controls, modifies settings, and allows navigating up and down through options. Increases/Decreases numerals. Goes to the default button. Assists in functions such as PTZ menu. USB 2.0 port: connect a mouse, USB storage device, etc. Rear Panel Please note, the rear panel image below is used for reference purposes only.
The DVR has connections for only 1 hard drive inside the case and the hard drive must be no larger than 10TB (Terabytes). To install your hard drive, the following is needed: ● ● ● A medium sized (regular) Phillips-head screwdriver - not included A hard drive - not included (unless you purchased a ‘kit’ that does have one included) Four hard drive fastening screws – included Note: Before installing the hard drive, make sure the DVR is powered off and completely disconnected from power. 1.
If you need further assistance with installing your hard drive, feel free to contact us at amcrest.com/contacts Hardware Setup Before setting up the DVR, you will need the following items which are not included. A computer monitor or TV with either an HDMI or VGA input A power strip or surge protector with enough room to power your devices. A Phillips Head screwdriver to install a hard drive (HDDs may be sold separately).
Password Setting Create a new admin password for your device. The password for your device should be between 8 and 32 characters with a combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. Note: Please do not use special symbols like ‘ “ ; : & Once you have entered a new password for your device, confirm the password in the next field. Lastly, you will be asked to enter a prompt question for your account.
If you have assigned an unlock pattern, you will need to draw the pattern again to confirm. Password Protection An Additional means of password protection and retrieval can be set up in this menu. If you would like to reset your password via email, toggle the Reserved Email toggle switch to the on position and enter a valid email address in the Reserved Email field. The email address will be retained in the system. If you do not wish to use an email address, you can enter security questions.
Once this section is complete, click on the OK button to save your information to the device. Basic The next screen is the Basic settings screen. This screen allows you to set a language, video standard and other basic settings for the DVR. Once you are satisfied with the settings on this screen, click the Next button at the bottom of the screen. Date & Time This menu allows you to set the date and time for the DVR.
Note: Make sure to toggle the NTP toggle switch to the off position if you do not want to sync your device to the NTP server. Network In this screen you can configure basic network settings. Please note, it is highly recommended to have a static IP to ensure the device has a more stable connection with your network, as well as provide a more efficient means of accessing your device remotely. Toggle the DHCP toggle switch to the off position.
Note: To test the connectivity of the device to your network, click on the Test button. The device will return a network status. To return to the previous menu, click the Back button. Click Next to continue. P2P This option will be enabled by default. It is highly recommended to keep this enabled if you want to use, the Amcrest View Pro mobile app or AmcrestView.com to view your cameras remotely using a P2P connection.
After adjusting the video and audio settings, click Next to continue. Snapshot This screen allows you to adjust the settings such as the image size, quality, as well as intervals in which the snapshot is retained. Once set, click Next to continue. Basic The next screen that will appear will be labeled Basic. This is where you can configure your hard drive settings including, when to overwrite a full hard drive or customizing an auto-delete option.
Record The DVR is configured by default to record general (continuous recording), motion detection, and IVS record types on all channels 24/7, however, this section allows you to create a schedule for your recording types. For more information on how to setup a recording schedule, please refer to section, “Recording Schedules Setup”. Click Next to continue. Snapshot The snapshot menu allows you to configure your snapshot settings for scheduled recordings.
Once the setup process is finished and you have clicked the “OK” button, the system may automatically switch the output resolution if you are using an HDMI output connection. Click OK If you would like to switch the resolution. Before following this guide to the next step, that covers the main menu, you will need to right-click on the video wall to display the features menu. In the features menu, click “Main Menu” to access the main menu of the DVR.
Below are short descriptions for each of the menu items on the main menu: SEARCH: View general, motion, and AI event recordings. ALARM: View and configure live alarm information and notifications. AI: View, modify, configure, and search for AI events. MAINTAIN: View system information, updates, configuration import/export settings, etc. BACKUP: Search and backup video data via an external USB or flash drive. DISPLAY: Configure resolution and display output settings.
3. Click on Apply to save the settings to your device. Recording Schedules Setup 1. From the Main Menu, click on STORAGE in the MANAGEMENT section: Make sure you are on the SCHEDULE > RECORD page. This is where you can configure recording schedules for specific recording types. To configure a snapshot schedule, click on the Snapshot tab. All events will be saved and accessible via the Search menu if a hard drive is installed, whereas snapshot events can be emailed.
To choose a channel (or camera) for which to configure, click the number next to Channel, then select either a single channel or All if you would like the schedule to apply to all channels currently connected to your DVR: By default, the DVR will have the schedule for each recording type to record 24/7. Also note, that the DVR uses military time from 00:00 to 24:00 instead of 12 a.m. to 12 a.m. To edit a recording schedule, select a recording option from the colored boxes.
To the left of each day, there are small boxes which can be marked to ‘link’ days together. This is useful if you want to save time by instantly making changes to multiple days simultaneously. In the below example, Sunday and Monday are linked, so any blocks that are added or removed for Sunday will automatically and immediately reflect the same for Monday and vice versa: The same concept applies when configuring other recording schedule types such as IVS.
Another way to configure recording schedules is by manually setting time periods. Click the “gear‟ icon to the far right of any day to open the Period page: Here, the periods (Periods 1 - 6) will be in displayed in chronological order. You can set either General, Motion, Alarm, M&A or IVS, checkboxes. You can also copy the period settings over to other days by checking them individually or checking All. Make sure to click OK when finished.
In the Copy to window, you can select individual channels for any cameras you have added to the DVR or select All. Click OK when finished. Click Apply in the Record menu to save your recording schedule. Setting Up Email Alerts Setting up Email alerts will allow you to receive snapshots of events via your email. These events can be motion detection, IVS, Face Detection, or other snapshots of events captured by your device.
10. Click Apply and Test to verify connectivity. 11. Once the test has been successfully sent, check your email to see if you received the email test. Note: Certain email services, such as Gmail, may require you to allow less secure apps to be enabled to receive a notification. For more information on how to setup email alerts, please visit amcrest.
3. Ensure the toggle switch for motion detection is enabled and adjust any motion detection settings or motion schedules accordingly. Adjusting Region Settings You can set up “regions‟ for motion detection using the region grid on your DVR. By default, the entire area of view for your cameras will be highlighted with red blocks indicating that all areas of the live view screen will have active motion detection.
If you hover your mouse pointer over the top-center of this window, another small window will appear with options to configure sensitivity and threshold settings as well as to choose from up to four regions. Sensitivity - is the measure of how many pixels on the screen need to change before being considered motion. 0 is the lowest value and 100 is the highest. In plain English: Sensitivity is the difference between a squirrel running up a tree, versus a big dog running up to and barking at that tree.
You will be able to click individual blocks or click-and-drag an area with the new selected color to highlight portions of the screen. Each new region (or color) has its own unique sensitivity and threshold settings. The different regions/colors can also overlap one another. To exit the regions setting screen, right click your mouse on the interface. Adjusting Motion Detection Schedules Motion detection schedules work like the schedules outlined in section: “Setting Up Recording Schedules.
3. Click on Apply to save the settings. Once you have set up your settings for one channel, you can copy them to other channels in the system. If you did not select All after clicking Channel as previously described, click Copy to, to select channels to copy the motion schedule to, then click OK. Click Apply to complete the motion detection setup process. Setting Up AI Events This section will cover basic setup of the AI events provided by the DVR.
2. It is best to leave the Rule settings as default, however, they can be adjusted by clicking on the View Setting button. Use your mouse to adjust the minimum (Min) and maximum (Max) size of the face detection area. 3. When triggered, the face detection event will be retained in the face detection smart search menu, or snapshots of the event can be emailed to you.
Viewing Face Detection Data All face detection data retained by the system can be accessed via the Face Detection option located in the Smart Search menu. Enter a start and end date and time for the event you would like to view in the Smart Search interface and click Smart Search. A display of all face detection data will be displayed along with facial attributes. Click on the event you would like to view, and a clip of the event will be displayed in the built-in player.
How to Use Common Mode 1. Click on the Face Recognition option in the Parameters menu and verify the correct channel (camera) is being used. Click on the Enable toggle switch to enable the feature. Click on Apply. 2. Click on the Database option located in the AI menu then click on Add to begin registering images to a face library. A face library must be registered for this feature to function properly. Enter a name for your face library and click OK. The library will now be saved to the database.
4. Navigate back to the Face Recognition menu in the Parameters section and click on the Setting option in the Target Face Database field. Select the face library you just created and click OK to insert the library of registered images into the interface. Note: Enable Stranger Alarm to allow the system to alert once an unrecognized face is detected. For more information on stranger alarm and how to use face recognition, please visit amcrest.com/support 5.
If searchable images are already uploaded into a face library click on Face Library and select an image from the interface, then click OK to begin a search. If you would like to add images locally click Local Upload and follow the on-screen prompts to upload images. A USB flash drive with applicable images (in jpeg format) can be used to upload images to the DVR. Once an image has been loaded, enter a start and end time of the event, and click Smart Search.
The system will display all face recognition data based on the image selected. All face recognition data can be backed up locally using a USB flash drive. Setting Up an IVS Rule IVS stands for intelligent video system analytics which are the basis of all AI rules associated with your device. The DVR currently has 2 built-in IVS features available (Tripwire and Intrusion) For more information on how to setup IVS rules on the DVR, please refer to the information below. 1.
3. Use your mouse to draw an area or line on the interface. Click on the interface and use your mouse to draw an area or line, click your mouse on the interface when done, then right click to set the area or line to the system. If you would like to add a name for the rule, enter a name in the Name box. The Direction drop down menu allows you to choose a direction in which the rule will be triggered. Object filters (Human and Motor Vehicle) can be enabled for accuracy. Click OK.
4. If you would like to add multiple rules to the device, click on Add and repeat the IVS setup process for the rule. Click Apply once all IVS rules are set. Use the Parameters (gear) icon to apply any additional settings to an IVS rule, such as enabling email snapshots, etc. To delete an IVS rule, click on the delete (trash can) icon. Note: Once an IVS rule is triggered the line or area visible on the live view screen will flash.
Smart Motion Detection (SMD) Smart Motion Detection (SMD) uses an advanced algorithm to differentiate human and vehicular shapes within a scene and send alarms only when a person or vehicle is detected. For more information on how to setup SMD please refer to the information provided below. 1. Click on the SMD option located in the Parameters menu and verify the correct channel is being used. Click on the Enable toggle switch to enable the feature. 2.
To view recordings from the search menu, select the camera you wish to view from the Camera Name section by clicking on a checkbox next to the device. A timeline of the recordings will appear in the interface. Click the Play button ( ) to play all recordings available on the timeline.
Additionally, all days with recordings available will be highlighted in the calendar portion of the interface with a dot. To select specific days/months or years, use the navigation arrows provided in the calendar. A file list of recordings can also be shown by clicking on the File List icon ( ) located in the interface. Once clicked, a list of recordings will be shown based on the time the events were recorded. To play a recording from the File List menu, double click on the file you want to view.
6. Locate the firmware file that is on the USB flash drive and then click OK. 7. Allow the system to upgrade. The device may reset after the firmware update is complete. Computer Access Setup There are 2 ways to access your DVR from a computer, locally or remotely. Local Access: Logging into your DVR’s web interface from a computer or laptop connected to the same network as your DVR (home, office, etc.).
4. This brings you to the main screen of the Amcrest IP Config Software. Your DVR will automatically be found on your network and appear in the list (if properly connected with an Ethernet cable to your router). You will also see the IP address associated with your DVR. The ‘e’ icon to the right allows you to launch directly into your web browser from this screen. Built-in interface method 1. Log into your DVR. The live view interface will load. 2.
Note: It does not matter what your IP address looks like, however, the IP address is needed to access the DVR from a web browser. If DHCP is enabled, it is highly recommended to disable it to allow the device to maintain a static IP address. This will help to increase the overall efficiency and security of your device. Accessing the Web User Interface To access the web user interface (web UI) for your DVR, open a web browser and type the IP address for your DVR into the browser and press Enter.
It is recommended to ensure the port number is at least 5 digits long to prevent any port conflicts. You can change the port to any 5-digit number that is less than 65535 (e.g. 12345) by clicking the number field and entering a new port number. Write it down, then click OK. 2. The system will need to reboot for this change to take effect. Click OK. 3. Once the DVR has come back online, log back into the web UI and navigate back to the Connection menu to verify the HTTP port has been updated properly. 4.
on how to port forward your specific device, please visit portforward.com or refer to the user manual for your specific router. Note: When port forwarding the DVR in your router, make sure to use the TCP, UDP and updated HTTP protocols displayed in the DVR. If DDNS is not an option, the device can be accessed remotely using the public IP address for your network and the HTTP port used that was port forwarded in your router.
Call Amcrest Support using one of the following numbers Toll Free: (888) 212-7538 International Callers (Outside of US): +1-713-893-8956 USA: 713-893-8956 Canada: 437888-0177 UK: 203-769-2757 Web Interface Walkthrough The web interface will be the main hub for all of you DVR’s features. This interface allows you to view manage and control every aspect of your device similarly to the built-in local user interface. This section provides a brief description of the items listed in this menu.
AI: This menu allows you to manage and view artificial intelligence features such as, face detection, face recognition, IVS, as well as smart search and IVS playback features. For more information on the features listed in this menu, please refer to section, “Setting Up AI Events”. Maintain: This tab allows you to access system logs, current firmware/version information, import/export system config files, upgrade firmware, and other related system operation features.
3. Tap “Start”. 4. Tap “DVR/NVR”. 5. Tap “P2P Connection”. 6. Scan the QR code. The QR code can be found on the serial tag along with a scannable barcode. Note: IP/Domain/DDNS can be used to establish a DDNS connection. For more information on how to setup a DDNS connection, visit amcrest.
7. Create a name for the device and enter a username and password. The default username and password will be admin. 8. Update the default password for the device and tap “Start Live View” to view the device. Tap “Start Live View”. Note: To locate the serial number, you must either have physical access to the DVR or computer access to the web interface to access the P2P menu. The SN QR code will be the serial number for your device.
and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation.
