Knowledge Base

IP Camera Settings

Prerequisites

• All computers in the Viso network were set up following the procedures in Computer Setup.
• The network allows data transfer of at least 1 Gb per second.
• The cables must be suitable for Gigabit Ethernet. The minimum cable quality is CAT5e; CAT6 is recommended. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable
• You have IP devices that are supported with Viso. See Requirements.
• All cameras and computers are connected to the switch and all devices are powered. See Connections.
• We recommend using a dedicated network for the entire Viso system with the cameras.

Which Situation Applies to You?

Noldus IT installed your Viso system. The cameras are already installed and Viso has been set up to use these cameras. You can set up your locations, create users, and start creating sessions. To set up locations and to add users, see Set Up Viso. To create sessions, see the Viso Reference Manual.

You bought an extra camera from Noldus IT and want to add it to the Viso system. The camera settings have been created by Noldus IT. You can directly connect it and use it to set up locations. See Add and Edit Departments.

You bought extra cameras somewhere else. Carry out the entire procedure below.

Steps to Install IP Cameras

1. Set camera IP address.
2. Set camera password.
3. Select power line frequency.
4. Create camera settings.
5. Give priority to video and audio streams.
6. Create settings for push-to-talk audio.

Note: The procedures apply to Axis IP cameras. If you bought cameras from a different brand, look for comparable settings in the camera manual.

Note: We recommend using Axis IP cameras since these were tested with Viso.

Note: The Axis cameras sold by Noldus IT support ONVIF.

Set Camera IP Address

Set the IP address of the camera to the same range as computers in the Viso network.

1. Insert the installation USB stick into your computer and copy the file IPUtility.exe from the folder Software\Axis Tools to your computer. Do not copy it to your desktop, as the tool will not work correctly from there.
2. Run IPUtility.exe. A window opens in which all connected devices are listed.
3. Right-click the device and select Assign IP Address.
4. Enter the IP address and choose Assign.
5. According to the message that appears, disconnect and reconnect the camera and click Assign. Wait until the IP address is set.
6. Right-click the camera and select Test IP Address. When the details were entered correctly, a message appears confirming the camera is accessible.
7. Repeat steps 3 to 6 for all cameras. Make sure you use different IP addresses for all cameras, computers, and other network devices. Unique IP addresses within one network differ only in the last of the four numbers that form the IP address. The other numbers must be the same, otherwise devices are treated as belonging to another network. Each computer, camera, and other component in the network must have a unique IP address.

Set Camera Password

Give the camera a password, which is compulsory for security reasons, and select the power line frequency of your country.

1. In the IPUtility tool, click on the Home Page button. The camera opens in a browser. You can also access this page by typing the IP address in the address field of a browser such as Google Chrome.
2. The first time you open the camera in a browser, you must set a password. If you obtained cameras from Noldus IT, this password is Noldus. The user name root cannot be changed. Do not use the characters @, space, or colon (:) for the password, as these characters cannot be used in Viso.
3. As soon as you set the password, you must log in to the camera with the password you just set.

Select Power Line Frequency

The first time you log in to the camera, you must select a power line frequency. Look up the correct power line frequency of your country on the Internet.

Important: Close the browser before you start recording. Leaving it open may cause recording problems in Viso.

Create Camera Settings

Configure the camera for optimal recording with Viso by carrying out the following steps:

1. Access camera settings.
2. Create ONVIF user name and password.
3. Disable replay attack protection.
4. Switch on IR cut filter.

Note: The procedure below describes Axis camera firmware version 7.20.1. For other firmware versions, search for comparable settings.

Access Camera Settings

1. Open the camera in a browser by clicking the Home Page button in the IPUtility tool or typing the IP address in the address field of an internet browser. Then enter the password.
2. Click the Settings button in the bottom-right corner of your window.

Create ONVIF User Name and Password

Configure the camera so that pan, tilt, zoom, and audio recording is possible.

1. Open the camera settings (see Access Camera Settings).
2. Open the System tab and click ONVIF.
3. Click Add and enter the same user name and password as set in Set Camera Password. Do not use the characters @, space, or colon (:) for the user name or password, as these characters cannot be used in Viso. If you obtained the camera from Noldus IT, the ONVIF user name is root and the ONVIF password is Noldus.
4. Select Administrator as the User Group.
5. Click OK.

Disable Replay Attack Protection

Prevent camera connection failures when the time of the Viso Recorder computer differs from the time in the camera.

Replay attack protection is a camera security setting. When enabled, it causes the camera connection to fail if the timestamps of Viso Recorder and the camera are not exactly the same. Replay attack protection is necessary for security cameras but not for IP cameras in a dedicated network.

1. Open the camera settings (see Access Camera Settings).
2. Open the System tab and click Plain Config.
3. From the list at the bottom, select WebService and click Select Group.
4. Under WebService UsernameToken, make sure the checkbox Enable Replay Attack Protection is not selected.

Note: If you do not want to disable this option, make sure that the clock times of the computer and camera are exactly the same.

Switch On IR Cut Filter

Make sure the camera does not switch to black and white at low light levels.

The IR cut filter removes infrared light during daylight. With the default camera settings, the IR cut filter is switched off at low light intensities, causing the camera to record in near-infrared and produce a black and white image. If you do not want this, set the IR cut filter to On instead of Auto so that it stays on regardless of the light level.

1. Open the camera settings (see Access Camera Settings).
2. Open the Image tab.
3. Check if there is an option IR Cut Filter. If so, set it to On.

Note: Not all IP cameras supported with Viso have an IR cut filter. That is not a problem.

Create Audio Settings

Select the recording volume.

1. Open the camera settings (see Access Camera Settings).
2. Open the Audio tab.
3. Move the Allow Audio switch to the right.
4. Open the Stream tab and scroll to the right.
5. Under Audio, move the Include switch to the right.
6. Adjust the Gain slider in the Input section so that the green field in the Level indicator is maximal with normal speech in the location.

Note: You cannot record the audio of non-ONVIF devices in Viso. Optionally, record audio from a separate microphone connected to the microphone input of the computer running Viso Recorder. The cameras supported with Viso support ONVIF.

Give Priority to Video and Audio Streams

Set the priority of data from the camera over the network so that video and audio data flows as smoothly as the network allows, especially when the network is busy with other data transport.

1. Open the camera settings (see Access Camera Settings).
2. Open the System tab and click Plain Config.
3. From the list, choose Network and click Select Group.
4. Scroll down to Network QoS Class1 and enter the required settings.
5. Click Save at the bottom of the window.

Create Settings for Push-to-Talk Audio

Enable audio to be sent from the test leader at the Viso screen to the camera speakers elsewhere.

1. Open the camera settings (see Access Camera Settings).
2. Open the Audio tab.
3. Move the Allow Audio switch to the right.
4. Under Mode, select Half Duplex, or if available, Full Duplex.
5. From the Encoding list, select AAC - 16 kHz - 32 kbit/s.
6. Move the Gain slider in the Output field to adjust the push-to-talk volume.

Test the volume of the microphone near the camera. If the camera is not close to the Viso screen where you are adjusting the volume, ask a colleague to stand near the camera and give feedback verbally or by using hand signals in the camera view.

What's Next?

1. Create all camera settings from Set Camera IP Address onwards for each camera.
2. Close the browser and the IPUtility tool.
3. Continue with setting up locations.

Source: Viso 12 Setup Manual - IP Camera Settings, Noldus Information Technology