Monitor Live Views

Live View allows you to customize layouts, watch live feeds of multiple cameras or camera groups, and add corresponding e-maps to the view.

Layout Management

Users that belong to the administrators group or have a manager privilege profile can configure layout settings.

To customize the live view display:

1. Click Management under Layout.
2. Click Add to create a new layout or click any existing layouts on the left panel to edit.
3. Enter a layout name in the Name field.
4. Select the corresponding e-map. If you select None, the e-map button will be disabled.
5. Select layout type.
   • 1-100 Channels: Displays 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, 13, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81 or 100 channels of camera feeds.
   • Camera Group : Displays the feeds of a selected camera group.
   • Sequential Rotation : Switches Live View between different layouts periodically, according to the set rotation sequence.
   • Triggered Event : Switches Live View to a layout when an event is triggered on one of its included cameras.
6. Click Customize and drag-and-drop the panels to change the layout pattern (only available to 4 to 100-Channel layouts). Click Reset anytime to reset the layout to the default pattern.
7. Drag cameras, access controllers, transaction devices, speakers, or e-maps from the left panel to your target position on the layout. To remove items, drag them back to the left.
   • If your device is a CMS host, click the Filter icon and choose from the server list to view cameras by server.
   • If you selected Camera Group , drag a camera group to the layout position (only one group can be added). Surveillance Station will automatically create a layout with sufficient channels (100 at most) to accommodate the group. Extra channels will be excluded if there are more than 100 cameras in a group.
     Note: The cameras of the included group will display in tree view when the display mode is Text instead of Preview.
   • If you selected Sequential Rotation , drag layouts to the Rotation sequence area. The included layouts will be played in the same order as they are arranged on the list. You can set the rotation speed from the Interval (sec.) drop-down menu.
   • If you selected Triggered Event , drag layouts to the Rotation sequence area.
     • If a camera belongs to multiple included layouts, when an event is triggered, the layouts will be played in the order they are arranged on the list.
     • The interval between each change of layout will depend on the Buffer time (sec.).
   • If you configured regions or 180° panoramic areas of a fisheye camera, you can drag the regions from the fisheye camera list to the layout position.
   • You can enter a keyword in the search field to help you quickly find the item you wish to add.
8. Click Preview to see a preview of the current layout.
9. Tick Set as my default to set the current layout as the default page when you enter Live View. Each user can set their own default layout. If the default layout no longer exists, the first authorized layout of a user will be applied instead.
10. To remove an unwanted layout from the layout list, select the layout and click Delete .
11. Click Save when finished.

PTZ Control Panel

If your camera supports PTZ (pan/tilt/zoom), you can select a camera and use the Controller panel to adjust the camera's direction. Clicking the home button will return the camera back to its default position. If the camera only has partial PTZ support, unsupported functions on the Controller panel will not light up when you hover over them.

On-Screen Camera Operation

Depending on camera models and compatibility, you can use the following on-screen functions to view and control your cameras and e-maps on the live view of the chosen camera or e-map.

To operate cameras on the live view:

1. If the camera supports pan/tilt/zoom functions, the mouse cursor will become directional arrows when you click on the desired live view and mouse over it. You can left-click on the mouse to adjust the direction of the camera, or scroll the mouse wheel to optically zoom in/out.
2. If supported by the camera, the following on-screen buttons will appear when you mouse over the bottom of the selected live view:
   • To view recordings in the past 24 hours, click Instant playback .
   • To modify camera or e-map information and settings, click Edit .
   • To restore the camera to its default position, click Home .
   • To optically zoom in/out, scroll the mouse wheel, or click Zoom .
   • To set another position as the center of the live view, click Absolute position . Move the mouse pointer to the place where you want to position your camera and then left-click for the change to take effect. The camera will take the selected position as its central focus and adjust the lens accordingly.
   • To activate a pan-tilt camera's auto-pan function, click Auto pan .
   • To activate object tracking, click Object tracking .
   • To save the current live view image, click Snapshot .
   • To digitally zoom in on a specific area, click Drag and zoom , and then click and drag with the mouse. Scroll the mouse wheel to further zoom in/out as necessary. Click Reset digital zoom at the upper-left corner to return to the default zoom level.
   • To pause the live view video, click Pause . Click again to resume.
   • To view detailed camera information (including the codec, FPS, bit rate, and video resolution), click Camera information .
   • To adjust the volume (for cameras with audio support), mouse over Volume and adjust with the volume bar. You can also click on this button to mute/unmute the audio.
   • To start manual recording, click Manual recording .
   • To adjust the camera lens iris, click Iris .
   • To adjust the camera lens focus, click Focus .
   • To switch live view stream profiles, click Stream Profile .
   • To activate the microphone to have a two-way conversation with the people on the screen, click Two-way audio .
   • To turn on the LED light, click LED .
   • To turn on the wipers, click Wiper .

To view sub e-maps and cameras on e-maps:

1. Hover over any sub e-map or camera icon on the e-map. A tooltip will appear indicating the name of the chosen icon.
2. Open and view sub e-maps or cameras on the e-map with the following options:
   • Double-click on the icon of any sub e-map to open it in E-map Viewer.
   • Double-click on the icon of any camera with a normal status to check its live view.

Instant Playback

On the live view of each camera, you can easily view and manage recordings taken in the past 24 hours.

To view recordings with instant playback:

On the live view of your desired camera, click the on-screen Instant Playback button to open the playback window. For more information on the operations of Recording Player, please refer to this article.

Alerts

Alerts allows you to track targets in Live View. You can choose from several alert events for your IP cameras, and track suspicious events intelligently to trigger smart recording on-the-fly. The Alerts icon shows that you have enabled Live View alerts.

Stream Profile

Stream Profile allows you to switch stream settings during live view.

• By camera settings: Switch the stream of live view channel to the camera settings you have configured in IP Camera.
• High quality/Balanced/Low bandwidth: Switch the stream of live view channel to the selected stream profile.

Sequential Rotation Layout

Sequential Rotation layout allows automatic switching to different layouts periodically. You can pause or resume the rotation any time, or switch to a particular layout you are looking for.

• Pause and Start: Click / from the Layout panel to pause or resume the layout rotation. When the rotation is paused, you can select a camera and perform actions such as taking snapshots or controlling volumes.
• Switch: Select a layout from the drop-down menu to display.

Triggered Event Layout

Triggered Event layout allows auto switching to different layouts when events are triggered on the included cameras.

• Pause and Start: Click / from the Layout panel to pause or resume the layout rotation. When paused, layouts will not be switched even if events are triggered.
• Switch: Select a layout from the drop-down menu to display.

Other Features

On the Live View page, you can also use the following features:

• Click Show information , and the camera name and status will be displayed using the following icons at the corner of each live view window:
  • Connected: The camera is working properly.
  • Disconnected: The camera malfunctioned or its network/power connection has been lost.
  • Connecting: Surveillance Station is trying to connect to the camera.
  • Recording: Surveillance Station is recording videos according to the camera's recording schedule.
  • Manual Recording: Surveillance Station is manually recording a video initiated using the Manual Recording button.
  • Storage Removed：The server storing this camera's video has been removed.
• Click Camera information , and the codec, FPS, bit rate, and video resolution will be displayed at the corner of each live view window.
• Click E-Map to see the corresponding e-map.
• Click Fixed aspect ratio to preserve the original aspect ratio.
• Click Full screen to see the live view in full screen.