Glossary Term: Remote Access for IP Cameras
Remote access is the term used to describe access to an IP camera or other device on your own network from anywhere in the world. This can provide great peace of mind to home users who are away from home on vacation or business to see that their home and belongings are safe.
As standard, most home and small business networks operate in a Network Address Translation (NAT) configuration. Essentially the devices on your network, such as computers, printers and IP Cameras, do not have any direct access to the internet and instead have to go through a modem or router. This means that the modem or router is the entry point into your home network and as such most connection devices contain extensive security functions to prevent anyone from the internet accessing your devices.
In order to set up remote access you need to instruct your router to allow access to your camera. This can often be performed by means of Port Forwarding and is usually performed on a per-device basis.
When setting up remote access you need to be aware of “ports”. Every network item has over 65,000 ports which data can be transmitted on. You may like to think of your internet connection as a bookcase with many shelves. If a book (data) is sent to the bookcase it needs to be assigned a certain shelf. When accessing a book in a library you need to know which bookcase and which shelf the book is on. In this case the book may be designated as bookcase:shelf. The same is true of the internet but the form is http://address:port.
When accessing the interface on any IP camera you connect to its network address and its port. In order to allow access from within your router you need to know which port your IP camera is on. Once you know this you can instruct your router that any information received from the internet with this port number needs to go to your camera. Two devices cannot share the same port number so it may be necessary to alter it if you have more than one camera. Once your router has been configured you should be able to access your camera from anywhere in the world by typing in “http://your_ip_address:camera_port”.
What is an IP camera?
IP cameras are known by many different names such as IP camera, network camera, IP network camera, Internet camera, network webcam, and so on but they all refer to the same item: An IP video device which which can deliver live images over IP-based networks such as a Local Area Network (LAN) or the Internet.
Stand-alone device
The IP camera is a stand-alone network device which can operate without the support of a PC. This means the camera does not rely on software from a PC to help it produce images in the same way a USB web cam would, but instead the IP camera can be connected to a local network based in any home or business and deliver images to any connected PC be it at the same location or half-way round the world across the internet. IP cameras come with a wide variety of features such as fixed lenses, pan-tilt-zoom control, endless 360 degree panning, indoor or outdoor use, 2-way audio, infrared illumination, intelligent video analytics etc. There’s always a camera to suit your needs.
Benefits of IP video
Flexible and powerful, IP video provides many advanced features not found in traditional analog CCTV systems making it ideal for video survelliance, monitoring and recording. Examples of advanced features include remote access from anywhere in the world, motion/audio detection, object detection, people counting, image upload by FTP, alarm notifications by email or SMS text messaging, true digital recording to dedicated recording devices or to hard disks on local PCs or across the Internet, and many more features which enhances the level of protection you can offer your property or business and its personel.
Many IP cameras also now include Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology which allows the camera to be powered using the same Ethernet cable as the data. This simplifies installation and allows a camera to be placed at a location where there is no convential means of power.
Applications
Security is but one of the many uses for IP cameras. Some other applications include health & safety, retail marketing, remote management of construction projects, web attraction for leisure and tourism industries or keeping an eye on loved ones or pets…
More information
This IP Camera Learning & Resource Center contains detailed information on IP cameras and IP camera technologies. Check back for the latest articles or search for articles which relate to specific cameras. A full feedback section is available on every page and we’d love your comments and please also feel free to call is on our toll free 1-888-813-CAMS in the US or on 0151 633 2111 in the UK.
Glossary Term: Tamper / Vandal Resistant IP Cameras
Cameras which are defined as tamper or vandal resistant either have software which is designed to detect malicious activity around the camera, or incorporate hardware to prevent access to the physical hardware.
Manufacturers who describe their cameras as tamper proof often use tamper proof screws with their housings to prevent anyone other than the installer having access to the main camera body or lens. The housings are most often flush mounted to walls to prevent people manually pulling the camera from its mount. Vital data and power sockets are hidden within the camera to prevent it being simply unplugged. In addition to this, some cameras come with mechanical anti-tamper sensors inside the housing so that should it be opened the camera will notify you accordingly.
Vandal resistant cameras tend to be a bit more robust, often using rugged metal casings and polycarbonate domes to prevent damage to the camera. Software is also used a lot more to detect vandalism. Panasonic’s i-Pro range of cameras offer Scene Change Detection software which detects whether a camera dome has been spray-painted or covered and will notify you should an attack be detected. Mobotix have even taken this a step further making one model of their cameras bomb and bullet proof.
HOWTO: Get your Sony camera to work on your wireless network
A great selling point when it comes to Sony IP cameras is that they offer wireless connectivity in their high-end PTZ and dome models, something which is lacking from all other ranges.
This feature is not built-in to the camera but is offered as an optional extra with the purchase of a wireless compact flash card. The card has an internal antenna and will slot into the camera directly (or indirectly using an adaptor) and this will provide wireless connectivity. The range can also be extended by using an optional external antenna which connects to the wireless card.
Confusingly Sony has two wireless cards which appear identical apart from the wireless speeds but they aren’t. We will discuss compatibility in a future article.
This guide is suitable for the following:
SNC-P5
SNC-Z20
SNC-CS50
SNC-RZ25N
SNC-RZ30N
SNC-RZ50N
SNC-RX530N
SNC-RX550N
SNC-RX570N
Glossary Term: Auto-Tracking for Pan-Tilt-Zoom IP Cameras
PTZ Auto-tracking is camera based software, closely linked to motion detection, which will make a PTZ camera follow a moving object should it move out of frame. The software is largely available on Panasonic’s i-Pro range of PTZ IP cameras such as the WV-NS202.
The auto-tracking system works in the same way as motion detection in that the camera will compare the current image taken with the previous image. If too many of the pixels are different the camera will register motion. In addition to this though, the auto-tracking system will work out which portion of the image is moving and register it as an object. It will then move the camera to keep that object in frame for as long as it can (comparing frames to understand the direction of movement). This means that even if the system is not actively monitored, the camera can follow possible intruders around the area picking up vital evidence where a normal PTZ camera would not. Once the object no longer registers the camera can be set to return to a preset position.
This feature is perfect for security solutions where a single PTZ camera is being used to cover a wide area and where cameras are not often monitored.
Automatic Day/Night Switching
For around-the-clock surveillance or for environments which may restrict the use of visible or artificial light, it may be worth considering a camera which supports automatic day/night switching.
A true day/night camera will produce high-quality color images during the day and infrared sensitive black and white images in periods of low-light or in complete darkness (with infrared illumination). The way it achieves this is by using an IR cut filter.
Infrared light
Infrared light can be found naturally from many sources including sunlight or artificial light. The human eye cannot register light in the infrared spectrum but the image sensor in a camera can. The problem is that when infrared light is allowed to hit the camera’s image sensor the colors produced by the camera will be distorted from what our eyes normally see and the picture will look unnatural.
The IR cut filter
To get around this problem most cameras contain a special component which filters out infrared light and this gives a high quality image using the colors we are used to. This component is called an IR cut filter. However, having a permanent filter in the camera renders it useless if we want to monitor in the dark using infrared light.
In true day/night cameras the IR cut filter is removable. This means that the camera can produce high-quality images during the day as normal but when the light levels drop the camera automatically removes the filter allowing the camera to see infrared light, enabling the camera to produce high quality images 24 hours a day.
HOWTO: Transfer images from your Sony IP camera by email when motion is detected
A useful security feature found in every Sony IP camera is the ability to have live snapshot images sent to your email address when the camera detections motion.
This is ideal for monitoring your business or property and provides you evidence from potential intruders which remains safe and in your possession even if the camera is discovered.
This guide will explain in step-by-step fashion the process of configuring the camera to send an email when it detects movement.
We have based this guide on the Sony SNC-P5 but this should be relevant to most IP cameras in the Sony range.
HOWTO: Use the event configuration wizard in Axis Camera Station V3.0
Part of the focus in the recent update to Axis Camera Station was to make the software easier to use and nothing makes setting up events quicker and easier than the new Event Configuration Wizard.
Let’s have a look at how simple it is to configure an event using this new tool.
For this guide we will choose a common event which will start recording when motion is detected.
Multi-Camera Monitoring
Multi-camera monitoring is a feature found in some IP cameras which allows multiple cameras to be viewed from a single screen simply by using the software built into the camera. This is ideal for small installations of two or more cameras where a full recording solution is not required.
Cameras which support this option will have a separate configuration screen where the IP addresses for the additional cameras will be added. Once set up, the cameras can be viewed live using the camera’s dedicated multi-camera viewer.
Example of multi-camera monitoring shown in a Panasonic BL-C111/131 using full-screen mode.
The number of cameras supported by this feature is dependent on the model of camera but typically this will be around 12-16 cameras shown in groups, rather than all at once.
Some camera ranges which feature this are Panasonic consumer ranges and all IQeye models.
IP Video Recording Software
A standard Internet browser provides adequate viewing for most camera functions when utilizing the camera’s built-in web interface. This is fine for single camera viewing but to view several cameras at the same time and record their output, dedicated recording software is required.
IP Video Recording Software typically comes as a stand-alone application which will run independently from any camera on a PC or server to provide the basis for live video monitoring, recording and playback. It will often support many cameras to begin with or provide a simple upgrade path so new cameras can be added as the security system expands.
A wide range of software is available. Manufacturer produced software will be designed only to work with their own cameras while software developed by a third-party may support a wide range of different camera models from many manufacturers.
At its most basic the software will provide live multi-camera viewing, recording and playback but advanced software will offer many more features such as:
- Scheduling
- Various recording modes (continuous, alarm, event)
- Support for multiple compression formats (JPEG, MPEG-4, H.264)
- The capacity to handle large amounts of data and frame-rates
- Real-time audio support
- Remote access from a local network or across the Internet
- Direct control for pan-tilt-zoom cameras with preset and patrolling support
- Multiple search functions for recorded events
- Visual timelines for easy searching
- Alarm management functions (email notification, sound alarm, pop-up windows)
- Control to external devices such as alarms or lights
- SMS text alerting
- Support for dual monitors and PDAs
- Integration into external systems such as cash registers etc.
- Intelligent video analytics
- …and many more.
Examples of dedicated IP video recording software:
Milestone XProtect Basis+ or Milestone XProtect Professional
Axis Camera Station
Panasonic Network Camera Recorder
Sony Realshot Manager