Getting started with a Video Driver

This section provides procedures that describe how to install a Video Driver network and setup a DVR and Camera device using WorkbenchAX. Procedures include:

Install a videoDriverNetwork and device

NoteNot 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 2.

    Figure 2. Use the New dialog box to add a Video Driver (Dedicated Micros driver example)


    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 3.

    Figure 3. Video Driver under Drivers node in nav tree


    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 2.

    Figure 4. Use the New dialog box to add video devices (Dedicated Micros DVR example)


    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:

    NoteYou 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 5.

    Figure 5. VideoDriverNetwork with video device (Dedicated Micros DVR example)


    VideoDriverNetwork with video device (Dedicated Micros DVR example)

    NoteSome 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.

The following procedure describes how to add a camera device under a a video device such as a DVR or NVR. As an example, the procedure shows how to add cameras under a Dedicated Micros DVR.

Adding a Video Driver camera under a DVR

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

To add a Video Driver camera, do the following:

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

  2. In the nav tree expand the DVR device node and 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.

    NoteFor 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.

    NoteOnly the cameras that are configured and accessible from the DVR device are available for discovery. Refer to the specific Video Driver and associated documentation for camera configuration instructions. As an example, refer to Dedicated Micros DVR setup for instructions specific to the Dedicated Micros driver.

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

    NoteThe 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 in Figure 6.

    Figure 6. Cameras under the Cameras device extension


    Cameras under the Cameras device extension

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.

    NoteFor 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.

    NoteOnly 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.

    NoteThe 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 7. Cameras under the Cameras device extension (non-DVR)


    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:

  • NiagaraAX-3.4 or later is installed.

  • The stations are licensed for remote video.

  • The remoteVideo.jar file (module) is installed, in addition to the standard video module requirements that are listed in Chapter 1, Video Driver Installation.

  • The RemoteVideoService component is installed under the station Services node.

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.

    NoteIf 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.

    NoteIf 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.

    NoteThe 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.

    Figure 8. Remote cameras under the NiagaraNetwork


    Remote cameras under the NiagaraNetwork