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Video Insight

Video Insight Support | Video Server FAQ's

Motion Activated Recording is a very powerful tool that compares each picture to the previous picture. This comparison eliminates storing duplicate images, saving valuable disk space. As new images are received, the system compares them and if they are the same, the system discards the new image and then waits for a new picture. Depending on your frame settings this can happen up to 30 times per second per camera. Every camera acts differently depending on light conditions as well as the contents of the image. If you have any other issues, please contact technical support.

Common Support Questions:

How do I change the Motion Detection settings?

Using the Motion Settings Dialogue Box from the Tools/Cameras/Motion Settings you can adjust each cameras motion detection settings.

  • Sample Interval: This is the number of milliseconds between sample images. The lower the number, the more frequently the system samples for motion.
  • Area Change: This is the percent of the picture that has to change before the system saves the file. If the picture changes less than this percentage, the image is discarded. The default setting is 10% of the picture.
  • Sensitivity: This is an overall adjustment to the motion detection to correct unwanted or missed motion events. We recommend experimenting with all the settings to fine tune your capturing.
How do I increase the motion sensitivity?

To increase the sensitivity of a camera:

  1. Turn on the Motion Indicator in the Tools/Server/Setup/Live Video menu. This will help you identify when the system detects motion.
  2. Lower the "% Area Change" number in the Motion Settings menu. For example, the default settings is 10%. Lower this to 5%
  3. Restart the application and watch the red indicator.
  4. Repeat step 2 and 3 until correct.
How do I decrease the motion sensitivity?

To decrease the sensitivity of a camera:

  1. Turn on the Motion Indicator in the Tools/Server/Setup/Live Video menu. This will help you identify when the system detects motion.
  2. Lower the "% Area Change" number in the Motion Settings menu. For example, the default settings is 10%. Increase this to 15%
  3. Restart the application and watch the red indicator.
  4. Repeat step 2 and 3 until correct.
How are Motion Zones used?

Motion Zones are useful to identify specific areas in a picture that need to have greater sensitivity. You can create as many zones as necessary for each cameras. Follow these steps for setting up a zone:

  1. Right mouse click on the camera name and select Motion zones.
  2. Click on the image while holding down the left mouse button and drag a box over the area you are making a zone.
  3. Release the mouse and a box will appear on the screen.
  4. Right mouse click inside the box and select the "Percent Setting".
  5. Select the desired percentage of motion that is required to activate recording.
  6. To create additional zones, repeat steps 1 through 5, otherwise click "Save".
  7. Click "Close".
  8. It's best to restart the application after creating the zones to ensure that all aspects of the motion detection are functioning correctly.

The following are some examples of motion optimization:

Door at the end of a hallway - Let's assume you have a camera at one end of the hallway and you would like to record all the traffic as people walk down the hallway. If you use the default motion setting of 10%, you will notice that people tend to just appear mid way through the hallway and then disappear. This happens because the person walking down the hall only breaks the 10% threshold for a limited time. The first step is to adjust the Pre and Post Motion recording settings (Tools/Server/Setup/Record Tab). Set the pre and post recording at 3 seconds each.

After this change, notice that you see more of the traffic but also notice that at the far end of the hallway you still see people that just appear. You can use the motion zones to create an independent zone at the end of the hallway that is assigned its own threshold. Now say for instance that you give this box 10%, it means that if anything in this box changes 10% then record it. You can see how powerful this feature becomes for customizing your situation. After you have setup the box notice how you record the traffic at the far end of the hallway as well as the traffic close to the camera.

Outdoor with a large tree - For the second example, let's assume you have a camera pointing at a parking lot and a large tree continues to set off the motion activation. One way to deal with this tree is to set the overall pictures default settings to say 50%. This will prevent all but a major change from being recorded on an overall basis. Now, using the Motion Zones, create a box over the important areas and set the motion percentage inside this box to say 5%. By combining these two methods you isolate what sets off the motion. 3. Ceiling Fan - Our third example is a ceiling fan that continues to set off the motion detection. The simple solution using Motion Zones is to draw a box around the ceiling fan and set the motion percentage inside this box to 100%. By setting the percentage to 100% you effectively shield anything inside the box from setting off the motion detection.

How do I configure Pre- and Post- motion recording?

As you review recorded video you might notice people that just appear in the middle of the room. This happens because the motion in the camera does not break the thresholds required to keep the image until there is significant motion. So the person walking into the room seems to just appear in the middle. The Pre- and Post- Motion settings create a buffer before and after the system detects motion and will record for example the 3 seconds before and 3 seconds after the person walks into the room. The Pre- and Post- motion settings are in the Tools/Server/Setup/Record Tab.

How do I block a Ceiling fan or other moving object?

There might be areas of the picture that have constant motion, for example ceiling fans or adjacent highways. To shield these areas from activating the motion detection, draw a box over the area and set the motion percentage to 100%. The software will ignore any area that is marked at 100% from the motion detection system.