USER’S MANUAL AXIS Camera Station
About this Guide This guide is intended for administrators and users of the AXIS Camera Station, and is applicable for software release 3.11. It covers the configuration of AXIS Camera Station Server and AXIS Camera Station Client as well as instructions for using and managing the AXIS Camera Station on your network. Later versions of this document will be posted to the Axis Website, as required. See also the product’s help pages.
AXIS Camera Station - Contents Contents Minimum Recommended Requirements 4 Introduction 5 AXIS Camera Station Server 5 AXIS Camera Station Client 6 Workspaces 9 Start page 9 Live view 9 Recording and Playback 12 Logs 16 Configuration 17 Licenses 18 License modes 18 Registering licenses 18 License type 19 Support 19 License transition 19 Decoders 20 AXIS 295 Video Surveillance Joystick 21 How to...
AXIS Camera Station - Minimum Recommended Requirements Minimum Recommended Requirements For best performance and stability these minimum requirements must be met. Hardware Client PC: • Windows Vista Business, XP Professional • Windows Media Player 11 • CPU: Intel Pentium 4 or higher, 2 GHz (Intel Core 2 Quad recommended for larger systems) • RAM: 1 GB (4 GB recommended for larger systems) • Screen: 1024 x 768 • Graphics card with DirectX 9.
AXIS Camera Station - Introduction Introduction AXIS Camera Station is a complete monitoring and recording system for up to 50 cameras. It is comprised of AXIS Camera Station Server, which handles the communication with the cameras/video encoders and recordings, and AXIS Camera Station Client, which enables remote viewing and control from anywhere on the Internet or corporate network. AXIS Camera Station One has all the basic features of AXIS Camera Station for one camera/video channel.
AXIS Camera Station - Introduction AXIS Camera Station Client The user interface is developed with a focus on ease-of-use and intuitive handling with navigation tools providing quick access to cameras and recording in the system. AXIS Camera Station is divided into five areas called workspaces. They are Start page, Live View, Recordings, Logs and Configuration.
AXIS Camera Station - Introduction View Navigates to Start Page, Live View, Recordings, Logs, and Configuration workspaces. While in Live View menu items Full Screen, Refresh Live View, and Stop Live View become active. Actions Record Manually - Opens a dialog to start and stop manual recordings. I/O Monitoring - Opens a list of Input/Output ports available to the user in the cameras added to AXIS Camera Station with their current status. See Add Inputs and Outputs, on page 29.
AXIS Camera Station - Introduction Alarm log At the bottom of workspaces Live view and Recordings is a list of server alarms. The alarms are listed by date/time, a title and a description of the alarm. See Alarms, on page 16, for a description of the toolbar buttons on the right-hand side of the list.
AXIS Camera Station - Workspaces Workspaces For easy navigation, AXIS Camera Station is divided into workspaces that can easily be accessed by simply clicking on the navigation button in the toolbar or under the menu item View. Start page The Start page gives you a quick overview and what’s new in AXIS Camera Station. Live view Provides a single interface to organize and monitor Axis network cameras and video encoders on your network.
AXIS Camera Station - Workspaces View groups View groups is divided into four parts; Auto Views, My Views, Shared Views and Camera Views. For instructions on setting up custom views in My views and Shared views see Create views, on page 23 in the How to section. Auto Views - Live views from cameras and video encoders are automatically added here as they are added to AXIS Camera Station. My Views - Views can be custom designed by the current user to be viewed by the current user.
AXIS Camera Station - Workspaces PTZ Controls AXIS Camera Station has two types of pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) controls; Mechanical and Digital. Mechanical is for PTZ cameras, while Digital can be used for both mechanical PTZ cameras and cameras that do not have this support. Mechanical - PTZ cameras can be controlled with the PTZ Control panel. Select a PTZ camera by clicking in its Live View. The camera can now be directed to move according to the buttons clicked on in the PTZ control.
AXIS Camera Station - Workspaces Recording and Playback Recording Search Search for continuous, manual, motion detection or event recordings from one or many different cameras in a desired time interval.
AXIS Camera Station - Workspaces 4. Check Add digital signature if a digital signature should be included. Select Include AXIS File Signature Tool to include a signature tool to verify the digital signature. 5. Click Export. To export part of a longer recording, using the timeline function, zoom in on the portion of the recording or under Time Interval enter the desired start and end time of the recording and click the search button again and then click Export.
AXIS Camera Station - Workspaces Playback How to start playback: 1. To start recordings from a specific time click at the top of the timeline. 2. A red line appears that can be placed at a desired point in time. 3. Click the play button to start playback.
AXIS Camera Station - Workspaces Playback toolbar During playback the following toolbar buttons become active: Return to recording search - Click this button to return to the recording search results. Smart search With Smart search you can search for motion in a specific area in recordings. This is especially useful when searching continuous recordings.
AXIS Camera Station - Workspaces Logs For easy navigation and an instant overview of the system, the Logs workspace includes alarm, event and audit logs. When Live logs is enabled, it shows all current alarms, events and user audits. To list a specific time period, select the Search radio button and enter the date and/or time and click Search. Logs shows all alarms, events and user actions.
AXIS Camera Station - Workspaces Events The Events tab shows all camera and server events such as recording, triggers, alarms and system messages. Listed is the date and time the event took place, plus a short description of the event. Audit The Audit tab shows all user actions in AXIS Camera Station, such as manual recordings, video streaming started or stopped, and event configuration. Configuration Configuration is a collection of all the important links to get AXIS Camera Station up and running.
AXIS Camera Station - Licenses Licenses License modes When starting the application for the first time, AXIS Camera Station offers a choice between three license modes: • Licensed version: Complete version of AXIS Camera Station allowing up to 50 camera channels. • Demo: A 30 day evaluation version of AXIS Camera Station with up to four camera channels and full functionality. • AXIS Camera Station One: A free version of AXIS Camera Station with one camera channel.
AXIS Camera Station - Licenses If AXIS Camera Station Server has no connection to the Internet, you can still add the license to AXIS Camera Station. License will start in Grace mode, which means that you have 5 days to activate it on Axis web site: http://www.axis.com/techsup/acs Note carefully the server ID given in the License Registration dialog as you will need it to register your license on the web form.
AXIS Camera Station - Licenses Decoders If you are running AXIS Camera Station in Licensed version, installation of missing decoders can be done easily through the menu Options > Install Decoders or in the Live View workspace from the view itself. Due to licensing issues, decoders are not included in Demo mode and AXIS Camera Station One. Decoders can be installed from the cameras if the licensing terms are accepted.
AXIS Camera Station - AXIS 295 Video Surveillance Joystick AXIS 295 Video Surveillance Joystick The AXIS 295 is a USB device that gives responsive and accurate control of the pan, tilt, zoom functionality in PTZ and dome cameras. A newly installed joystick is detected on startup or when the refresh button is clicked in Live View.
AXIS Camera Station - How to... How to... After installing the software, it must be configured for your cameras and video encoders. Among other things, this chapter describes how to configure and maintain AXIS Camera Station as well as how to set up recording, motion detection, and alarms. For installation instructions, refer to AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide.
AXIS Camera Station - How to... Enabled - The Enabled box should be checked. Recordings and Live View are not possible from this device, if this box is not checked 4. A valid administrator user name and password are required to access and configure Axis network cameras and video encoders. Master Credentials is the default user name and password to access a device and can be set under the menu item Options > Set Master Credentials. You also have the option of using specific credentials for a device.
AXIS Camera Station - How to... Create a sequence With AXIS Camera Station, you can set up sequenced views from multiple cameras. Each sequence can be set with a unique combination of camera views and variable dwell time. 1. Right-click on My Views, Shared Views or a created group under View Groups in the Live view workspace and choose Add Sequence from the pop-up menu. 2. Enter a descriptive name. 3. Drag-and-drop the cameras, views and maps you would like included into Sequence Items. 4.
AXIS Camera Station - How to... 4. Drag-and-drop cameras, views and other maps on the map. 5. To delete a view on the map, select the view and click Delete View. 6. Click OK to save settings and close the dialog. Add a preset position For cameras with pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) functionality, preset positions provide quick access to predefined camera views. Preset positions can be added to Sequence Views and used with the mechanical PTZ control. Follow these steps to add a preset position 1.
AXIS Camera Station - How to... Set up recording storage To specify where to store your recordings select Configuration > Recording Storage. To prevent the hard drive from becoming full a maximum disk capacity should be set. Additional server and network disks can be added for security and more space. 1. Click on Add server disk or Add network disk. 2. Enter the path of the disk and click OK to save. 3. Select the newly added disk. 4.
AXIS Camera Station - How to... Scheduled recording 1. To set up a scheduled recording, start with the Continuous Recording Settings above and select the Custom schedule radio button. 2. Choose a schedule from the drop-down list, click Edit to revise an existing schedule, or click New to create a schedule. 3. Click OK to save settings. See Set up schedules, on page 30 for more information on setting up schedules for recording or events.
AXIS Camera Station - How to... 2. Click the Motion Settings button to configure motion detection windows. 3. Set the area for motion detection by clicking on the Add button. 4. Select the Include radio button. 5. Position the window in the desired area of the camera’s view. The motion detection window can be resized and moved by clicking on the sides of the box. 6. Under Settings the Include radio button should be selected by default. 7.
AXIS Camera Station - How to... Configure media profile settings Media profiles are entered to be used in Live View and Recording Settings. The available formats are automatically loaded in the drop-down list. Enter Profile settings 1. Choose a Format for your media profile from the drop-down list. The options that appear in the list depend on the formats supported in the camera. Note: Cameras configured for MPEG-4 can only have one MPEG-4 profile at one time. 2. Select the Resolution to use.
AXIS Camera Station - How to... Initial State Output ports can be set to an initial state upon startup and when AXIS Camera Station establishes contact with the camera. Check ‘On startup set to’ to enable setting the initial state of the output port and choose the initial state of the Output port from the drop-down list. The names for the states were defined under Names. Set up schedules Timetables can be set up to be used in Event Configuration Wizard and Recording Settings.
AXIS Camera Station - How to... Send e-mail notification on system alarm A system alarm occurs when connection is lost to a camera, access to a recording disk is denied, or when a recording disk is full. Here you can set up an e-mail notification when a system alarm occurs. 1. Navigate to Configuration > System Alarm... from the menu. 2. Check Send e-mail on system alarm to the following recipients. 3. Enter the e-mail addresses alarm messages should be sent to. 4.
AXIS Camera Station - Event Configuration Wizard Event Configuration Wizard Event Configuration Wizard helps you set up rules for triggers and actions in AXIS Camera Station. By setting up a rule you can design actions to events; for instance when motion is detected, a siren will sound and recording will begin on designated cameras. Triggers are classified as Motion detection, Input/Output and System event. A Motion detection trigger is when an Axis camera detects motion within its defined area.
AXIS Camera Station - Event Configuration Wizard 2. Choose the port and the trigger’s state to activate an event from the drop-down lists. In this example, the door switch is connected to the input port of the camera viewing the Garage backdoor. The event should be triggered when the door is opened. Note: The contents of the drop-down lists depend on how the port was defined under Configuration > I/O Settings. See Add Inputs and Outputs, on page 29 for more information. 3.
AXIS Camera Station - Event Configuration Wizard Raise alarm action 1. In the New Rule dialog, Actions step, click Add and select Raise alarm. 2. Type a title for the alarm message and a description. The alarm message will be displayed in the alarm log in the Live View and Logs workspaces. An alarm procedure containing instructions for the camera operator can be included in the message. The alarm procedure is an uploaded file, for example a text or image file. 3.
AXIS Camera Station - Event Configuration Wizard Rule details Click Next to go to the Details section. Type a descriptive name for the Rule and make sure the Enable this rule box is checked. Click Finish to complete the rule.
AXIS Camera Station - Network and Security Configuration Network and Security Configuration Server port configuration The ports 55752 (control) and 55753 (media streaming) are used on the AXIS Camera Station Server computer for communication between the server and the AXIS Camera Station Client. These ports are used on the AXIS Camera Station Server computer for communication between the server and the AXIS Camera Station Client.
AXIS Camera Station - Network and Security Configuration AXIS Camera Station Client behind a firewall AXIS Camera Station Server AXIS Camera Station Client From the AXIS Camera Station Client connection dialog, select the appropriate option depending on your setup. Direct connection - Select this option if there is no proxy server between AXIS Camera Station Client and AXIS Camera Station Server. Use Internet Explorer settings - AXIS Camera Station will use the same settings as Internet Explorer.
AXIS Camera Station - Network and Security Configuration Manual settings Address - Enter the address or host name of the proxy server. Port - Enter the port number of the proxy server. Do not use proxy server for addresses beginning with - Allows you to exclude certain servers from access by the proxy. Use semicolons to separate the entries. Wildcards can be used in the addresses or hostnames, for example: "192.*" or "*.mydomain.
AXIS Camera Station - Network and Security Configuration User permissions Using Windows Active Directory, a high level of security can be implemented in AXIS Camera Station when granting user permissions. Before users can be granted access to AXIS Camera Station, they must be added to the local computer or have an Active Directory user account. A user can be granted access as an individual or as part of a group.
AXIS Camera Station - AXIS Camera Station Service Control AXIS Camera Station Service Control AXIS Camera Station Service Control is the application that controls AXIS Camera Station Service. The Service Control is started when the user logs on to Windows and is located in the system tray.
AXIS Camera Station - AXIS Camera Station Service Control Database backup The database stores information about configurations, recordings etc that is needed for AXIS Camera Station to work properly. The database is backed up every night. The backups are saved to a Backup folder which can be located on the local computer or the network. To change the backup folder, click Browse and navigate to the desired location.
AXIS Camera Station - AXIS Camera Station Service Control Server status Server status shows the current status of the AXIS Camera Station Server. The buttons Start, Stop or Restart change the server status.
AXIS Camera Station - AXIS Camera Station Service Administration AXIS Camera Station Service Administration The console application AcsAdminConsole.exe is located under Program Files/Axis Communications/AXIS Camera Station 3 if the default path was used when installing AXIS Camera Station Server. This console application can be used when wanting to integrate control of the AXIS Camera Station Service in environments where AXIS Camera Station Server is installed.
AXIS Camera Station - Troubleshooting Troubleshooting Symptoms, possible causes and remedial actions Area zoom Area zoom does not work. Area zoom is not supported by AXIS 209MFD and AXIS 212 PTZ. Use the digital or mechanical PTZ controls instead. Audio There is no audio from one or more cameras in Live View Follow these steps to troubleshoot audio. - Make sure the camera has audio capabilities - Check that audio is activated in Live view settings: 1.
AXIS Camera Station - Troubleshooting The Graphics card driver is more than 3/12 months old. (cont) In Windows Vista 1. Select Start 2. Enter dxdiag in the Start Search field 3. If a prompt appears for the Diagnostic Tool, click Yes 4. Select the Display tab. The name of the Graphics card appears under Device To download the latest driver you need to visit the graphics card manufacturer's web site. Some of the more common ones are • nVidia - www.nvidia.com • ATI - www.ati.com • S3 - http://www.s3graphics.
AXIS Camera Station - Troubleshooting Recording storage Network disk is listed as "Unavailable" The computer that AXIS Camera Station Server is installed on, should be part of the same domain as the shared folder that is entered as a Network disk. Lost data Data lost due to hardware failure or other problems The AXIS Camera Station database contains information about recordings and other meta data that is needed for the system to work properly. This database is backed up every evening.
AXIS Camera Station - Troubleshooting Contact Customer Support Before contacting technical support create a Server Report of your system by selecting Help > Server Report from AXIS Camera Station's main menu. Screenshots (copying what is currently displayed on a screen to a file) will assist Customer Support in assessing your problem. 1. Press Alt - Prt Scr 2. Open Paint 3. In Paint select Edit > Paste 4. Save file Attach the screenshot and Server Report to your support case.
