Install a videoDriverNetwork and device

Not all Video Driver networks support or require a DVR device. The following procedure applies to a Video Driver that supports a DVR device.

To install the Video Driver Network with a DVR device component, do the following:

1. In WorkbenchAX, connect to the target station (where you want to install the network driver). Expand the Config node in the nav tree and double-click on the Drivers node . The Driver Manager view displays.

2. At the bottom of the view, click the New button. The New dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 46.

   Figure 46. Use the New dialog box to add a Video Driver (Dedicated Micros driver example)

   
   
   
   
   

3. In the New dialog box, select the desired network for the specific video driver from the option list, enter the number of networks to add, and click the OK button. The New dialog box appears again with the selected driver(s) displayed in the table pane across the top. Select a Video Driver from the option list and edit the following fields, as desired:

   • Name

     Type a meaningful name in this field to identify the Video Driver instance.

   • Type

     This is the same option list as in the previous step. Verify the current selection is the desired Video Driver.

   • Enabled

     Set this value to true (default) to enable each added Video Driver, as desired.

4. In the New dialog box, click the OK button. The Video Driver appears in the Driver Manager view and in the nav tree, as shown in Figure 47.

   Figure 47. Video Driver under Drivers node in nav tree

   
   
   
   
   

5. Double-click the newly added Video Driver. The Video Driver Manager view displays.

6. At the bottom of the view, click the New button. The New dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 48.

   Figure 48. Use the New dialog box to add video devices (Dedicated Micros DVR example)

   
   
   
   
   

7. In the New dialog box, verify that the desired video device is selected in the option list, enter the number of video devices to add, and click the OK button. The New dialog box appears again with the selected video device(s) displayed in the table pane across the top. Select one or more of the listed devices and edit the following fields, as desired:

   You can batch-edit the Type and Enabled fields by selecting all entries in the table pane. However, you must individually select each entry to name it.

   • Name

     Type a meaningful name in this field to identify the device.

   • Type

     This is the same option list as in the previous step. Verify the current selection or choose a different device, if desired.

   • Max Retry Count

     Set this value to zero or greater to specify the maximum allowable attempts at establishing a network connection with the device.

   • Ip Address, IP Port

     In these two fields, enter the local area network IP address and port number for the specific video device that you are adding.

   • Response Timeout

     In this field, set a maximum amount of time to wait for communications from the device before indicating a “timeout” status.

   • Username, Password

     In these two fields, enter the credentials for user level access to the device.

   • User Name, Password (For Device Config)

     In these two fields, enter the credentials for admin level access to the video device (if applicable).

   • Description

     Type text in this field to represent and identify each video device.

   The new video device appears under the Video Driver network, as shown in Figure 49.

   Figure 49. VideoDriverNetwork with video device (Dedicated Micros DVR example)

   
   
   
   
   

   Some video device extensions include one or more default child nodes. For example, a DVR device may contain a “Cameras” device extension”. These specific device extensions are container components that organize and provide manager views for the associated devices. However, some video devices may not contain or support these types of subordinate device extensions.

Adding a Video Driver camera to a station (non-DVR)

This procedure requires that a non-DVR Video Driver network is already installed in the station. Refer to Install a videoDriverNetwork and device, if necessary.

To add a Video Driver camera to a station, do the following:

1. In WorkbenchAX, connect to the target station (where you want to install the camera). Expand the Config node , the Drivers node, and then the Video Driver node to display the Cameras device extension in the nav tree.

2. In the nav tree, double-click the Cameras device extension . The Camera Manager view displays.

3. In the Camera Manager view, click the Discover button at the bottom of the view. The Discovery Parameter dialog box appears with default settings.

   For initial setup, you can usually accept all default settings.

4. In the Discovery Parameters dialog box, click the OK button. The discovery job runs and “discovered” cameras appear in the Discovered pane at the top of the view.

   Only the cameras that are configured and accessible on the network are available for discovery. Refer to the specific Video Driver and associated documentation for camera configuration instructions.

5. In the Discovered pane, select one or more discovered Cameras to add.

   The Camera Manager's Add button is available when you have one or more items selected (highlighted) in the top Discovered pane. Also, the toolbar has an available Add tool and the Manager menu has an Add command. Also, you can simply double-click a discovered item to bring it up in the Add dialog box.

6. At the bottom of the view, click the Add button. The Add dialog box appears, with all selected points in the top pane of the dialog box.

7. In the Add dialog box, edit properties as desired (refer to Camera device for a description of typical camera properties) and click the OK button. The camera(s) are added to the Database pane and appear in the nav tree, as shown below.

   Figure 50. Cameras under the Cameras device extension (non-DVR)

   
   
   
   
   

Adding a remote camera to a station

This procedure requires that a Video Driver network is already installed in the remote station and that the remote station has been discovered and added under the local station’s NiagaraNetwork. In addition, the following prerequisites apply both the target (remote station) and local station:

To add a remote camera to a station, do the following:

1. In WorkbenchAX, open the supervisor station and, in the nav tree, expand the Config node , the Drivers node, and the NiagaraNetwork node to display the remote station in the nav tree.

   If the desired remote station is not visible under the NiagaraNetwork node you must do a Discover and Add from the supervisor’s Station Manager view to add the desired remote station.

2. In the nav tree, expand the remote Niagara Station node and double-click on the Cameras node . The Niagara Camera Mgr view displays.

   If the Cameras node is not visible, it is possible that you have not installed the RemoteVideoService under the station’s Services node. The RemoteVideoService component is available in the remoteVideo palette.

3. In the Camera Manager view, click the Discover button at the bottom of the view. The Discover job runs and “discovered” cameras appear in the Discovered pane at the top of the view. These are all cameras that have been added at the remote station.

4. In the Discovered pane, select one or more discovered Cameras to add.

   The Camera Manager's Add button is available when you have one or more items selected (highlighted) in the top Discovered pane. Also, the toolbar has an available Add tool and the Manager menu has an Add command. Also, you can simply double-click a discovered item to bring it up in the Add dialog box.

5. At the bottom of the view, click the Add button. The Add dialog box appears, with all selected points in the top pane of the dialog box.

6. In the Add dialog box, edit properties as desired (refer to Camera device for a description of typical camera properties) and click the OK button. The camera(s) are added to the Database pane and appear in the nav tree, under the NiagaraNetwork, as shown below.

7. Figure 51. Remote cameras under the NiagaraNetwork

   
   
   
   
   

Creating camera “Move” Presets

“Presets” are memorized camera configurations that you can create, store (save), and Go to (invoke) for cameras that support pan, zoom, and tilt controls.

Both the Video Playback view and the Live Video view have a Presets control. The Presets option list and the Go and Store buttons are located at the top of the Video Playback view and at the bottom of the Live Video view.

To create a camera Preset, do the following:

1. In the NiagaraAX nav tree, expand nodes, as required, under the Station > VideoDriverNetwork to expose the desired camera node.

2. Right-click on the desired camera node and select Video Playback or Live Video from the popup menu. The selected camera view displays.

3. Use the available camera controls to move and adjust the camera to a point and state that you want to store (save) for reference.

4. From the Presets option list, select an available Preset option (an unused one, or one you are willing to change) and click the Store button. The Preset is stored.

   You can add, name, and delete “Preset” options for cameras that support Presets. Use the Preset Text property in the camera Property Sheet view to open the Enum dialog box where you can Add, Modify, or Remove Preset options.

Using the Playback Viewer (Playback Chooser)

You can use the Playback Chooser component to automatically populate an option list with all cameras in your station. However, before the Playback Viewer can be used, you must install it in the running station. It can be installed at any location within the station nav tree, but you must be sure to only install one instance of this component.

Starting with NiagaraAX-3.4 or later, cameras associated with remote stations are visible to “remoteVideo” licensed supervisor stations. The remote stations must be added and cameras “discovered” under the supervisor’s NiagaraNetwork.

You can also add the Playback Viewer component directly to a Px page. If you drag a Playback Chooser to a Px page, choose the Playback Viewer from the Workbench Views options in the Make Widget Wizard.

To use the Playback Viewer (Playback Chooser), do the following.

1. In the NiagaraAX Palette side bar, open the videoDriver palette.

2. From the videoDriver palette, drag and drop the Playback Viewer component in the desired location (a Property Sheet view or directly in the nav tree). The Playback Viewer automatically populates a Video Playback view with an option list of all cameras in the station.

3. From the Playback Viewer option list (located in the top left corner), select the desired camera. The camera Playback Viewer view displays the selected camera video.

Using the Surveillance Viewer

You can use the Surveillance Viewer component to automatically populate a “Camera Pane”’ with a list of all cameras in your station. Each of these cameras may be dragged to a pre-designed grid of your choice. However, before the Surveillance Viewer can be used, it must be installed in the running station. It can be installed at any location within the station nav tree, but you must be sure to only install one instance of this component.

Starting with NiagaraAX-3.4 or later, cameras associated with remote stations are visible to “remoteVideo” licensed supervisor stations. The remote stations must be added and cameras “discovered” under the supervisor’s NiagaraNetwork.

You can also add the Surveillance Viewer component directly to a Px page. If you drag a Surveillance Viewer to a Px page, choose the Surveillance Viewer from the Workbench Views options in the Make Widget Wizard.

To use the Surveillance Viewer (Playback Chooser), do the following:

1. In the NiagaraAX Palette side bar, open the videoDriver palette.

2. From the videoDriver palette, drag and drop the Surveillance Viewer component in the desired location (a Property Sheet view or directly in the nav tree). The Surveillance Viewer automatically populates a a “Camera Pane” with a list of all cameras in the station.

3. In the property options fields, select the desired Frame Rate, Resolution, Compression. These properties affect the amount of bandwidth and picture quality of the video displayed in this view. Refer to “Types of Surveillance Viewer properties” on page 2-9 for details about these properties.

4. The layout option list provides several different arrangements for a differing number of live video views. From the Layout option list, select a pre-configured layout. The Surveillance Viewer View changes to match the selected layout.

5. From the Camera Pane list, drag cameras, as desired, onto an unoccupied grid in the main view pane. The camera Playback Viewer view displays the selected camera video.

6. Click the Save button at the bottom of the view. The view is saved.

7. Click any view in the grid to take you to the selected camera’s Video Playback view.