Main Interface
in this chapter we will introduce you to the main interface
let's go through the icons from the bottom left to right
start button- click on it to open the menu
in this menu we will find
active user display- this line is inactive for interaction
it shows the active user that is currently logged into the system
search and backup- to find and backup events
play back- to play back recorded videos
settings- to configure the system
logout- this locks the system and prevents unauthorized use
shutdown- performs logout, reboot or shutdown procedures
full screen button- this will switch to view full-screen mode and make the icon bars auto hide
click it again to exit the full screen mode
screen split buttons- to switch between different split screens
different models will offer different split options according to the device supported channels
sequence button- click on it to set the dwell time and start the sequence
please note that starting the sequence will automatically switch to full screen mode
but stopping the sequence will not exit from full screen mode
OSD button- click on it to enable or disable the OSD
this will remove any markings made by the system but will not affect the cameras OSD
the OSD system markings include-
yellow running man for signaling on active motion
yellow dot for motion recording on
blue dot for scheduled recording
red dot for sensor recording
green dot for manual recording
PTZ- indicating that the channel supports PTZ operations
audio- indicates active audio from a specific channel
channel name and window number
instant playback button- click on the up arrow to set the default instant playback time
click on the play button to activate instant playback for all the channels
and at the same layout you are currently viewing
this supports up to 16 channels.
for instance if you choose 5 minutes ago as the default playback time
you can quickly playback the record from the past 5 minutes
manual record button- click on it to enable or disable manual record for all channels
manual alarm button- click on it to trigger or clear the alarm out manually from the pop-up window
you can customize the delay duration for each of the relays
record status- show the recording status and parameters for all channels
alarm status- show all the alarm information including alarm in/out, motion and exceptions
information button- click on it to view different system information
now let's get familiar with the options on the right control panel
camera tab- displays all the available cameras
to view the video of a camera you have two options-
either drag the camera name from the right panel to the selected window on the left
or select one of the windows on the Live View area
and then double-click on the camera name you wish to view in that window
in channel sequence tab- allows you to run a sequence of cameras within a specific Live View window
in channel sequence needs to be configured in order to be active
we will discuss the configurations later on in the tutorial
for now we will use our pre-made group for demonstration purposes
also here you can either drag the group name from the right panel to the selected window on the left
or select one of the windows on the Live View area
and then double click on the group you wish to view in that window
customized display modes tab- allows you to save a layout of cameras just the way you like it
so it will always be available
first set the camera layout as you wish and then save it
double click on the desired display preset from the list to activate it
now that we are done with the main interfaces
let's go to one of the more sophisticated features of the system
in channel operations
clicking on any of the channels will open a menu
which offers actions that will take effect only on that specific Channel
in this menu you will find
move option- click and drag it to move the toolbar
manual record- start or stop manual recording for the specific camera
instant playback- to start instant playback for the specified camera within the specific window
the time of the instant playback is set by the main instant playback button on the main bar
audio- to enable or disable audio from the selected camera. this feature requires a camera supporting this
snapshot- takes a snapshot from the live view and opens a snapshot pop-up
that shows the taken snapshots together with all the necessary options and snapshot information
click Save in the window to save the image or export to export the image
PTZ- gain control over PTZ cameras. we will show the PTZ interface later on
digital zoom- allows you to digitally zoom in and out. we will show this feature in a minute
image adjustment- set the image parameters for the camera to improve video appearance
we will show this interface later on
from this in channel menu we want to get deeper into three interfaces
PTZ, digital zoom and image adjustment
the live PTZ interface can be reached by clicking on the camera
and then on the PTZ icon within the camera mini menu
the PTZ icon will be active only if the camera supports PTZ features
such cameras can easily be recognized by the PTZ blue icon on the top right corner of the window
once in the PTZ interface you can switch between supported cameras
using the drop down menu on the top right
controlling the PTZ can be done by two methods. first is the onscreen control
in order to move the PTZ click and hold the arrow across then drag it to the desired direction
as further away you drag it from the middle the faster the PTZ will move
release the button to stop the movement. the cross will return to the center
click and hold the left mouse button anywhere on the image to zoom in
click and hold the right mouse button anywhere on the image to zoom out
the second control method is the good-old PTZ control panel
you will see it in the bottom right side of the screen
use the movement arrows to move the PTZ to the desired location
use the speed bar to set the movement speed
use zoom focus iris - and + as you wish
presets can be used to save important and frequently used locations and quickly recalling it when needed
as default the preset list is empty so you will have to add and configure the presets that are important to you
move your camera to a location you wish to save as a preset
click on the preset tab and click the Add button to pop up a setting window
select the desired preset number and input the preset name. click OK to save the settings
in the same manner you can also set predefined presets
for example preset 95 which opens the camera OSD menu
in the same manner you can set and use cruises.
cruises are built from a sequence of presets
and are used for creating a specified patrol between presets for an endless duration
cruise will run until you stop it or move the camera
digital zoom can be achieved in one of two methods
the first and more intuitive one is the mouse scroll wheel
just left-click on the channel you wish to control
point the mouse cursor on the object you want to zoom on
scroll mouse wheel up to zoom in and down to zoom out
the second method is by the digital zoom interface
click on the camera you wish to control and then click on the digital zoom icon from the channel menu
in the opened interface you can zoom in or out by using the mouse scroll wheel
or by the zoom buttons on the bottom right
scroll and navigate within the picture by clicking and dragging the red box on the bottom right
click back to go back to the live view interface
last is the image adjustment interface
click on the camera you wish to adjust and click on image adjust from the mini menu
use the sliders to set the image brightness, contrast, saturation and hue values
if the camera supports additional features you may tick them here to set them
click the default button to set these parameters to their default values
the lens control feature must be supported by the camera
click on lens control tab to access the feature menu. use zoom + and - to set the zoom ratio
and then either set the focus manually by focus + and -
or click on one key focus which will set the focus automatically
lastly, tick the day-night mode switch auto focus tab
if you wish for the camera to readjust the focus when switching between day and night modes
now that we are done with the live view interfaces we will continue to the system configuration