http://idea.acti.comACTi Idea - Technology leader in IP surveillance, H.264, Megapixel IP Camerashttp://idea.acti.com/public/images/idea_ACTi.pnghttp://idea.acti.comen-usThu, 11 Mar 2010 01:05:03 GMTThu, 11 Mar 2010 01:05:03 GMTmarketing@acti.commarketing@acti.comhttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=EA204A2F-A9D4-4023-B0B5-49185BD8A543Thanks for this request. The NVR 2.2 SP3 which will be formally released on April 5 (if no changes in schedule) will support 64-bit Windows platforms. The software team is testing the Beta product on 64-bit Windows 7 while I am testing it on 64-bit Windows Server Standard 2008 in my lab here. Both look good so far. It is not clear yet whether there will be one installation pack that can be used for both 32 and 64 bit systems, or there will be two separate installation packs. In addition to the support for 64-bit, there are many other enhancements, too. AndoSat, 6 Mar 2010 01:02:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=B3DD3E4D-914E-413B-815E-219842CBB29CDear Dan, This is a very reasonable request. In fact, there are a lot of possible scenarios where the camera has to work in total darkness, and be vandal proof and IP-66 rated at the same time. The only question is, how to solve it. The dome shape is ideal for vandal proof design, but at the same time the curve of the dome cover does not work well with built in IR illuminator if you want to get a perfect video quality. The bullet camera on the other hand comes with the perfect shape for built in IR-illuminator because of its flat front glass, but it is hard to make the flat glass be vandal proof while keeping it as thin as possible. The ideal solution is to use an IP-66 rated vandal proof dome camera that has the IR-sensitivity for the range of 700-1100nm so that it can support external IR-illuminators. Among the ACTi product list, you find a camera that perfectly fits - ACM-7411. It is a megapixel vandal proof camera that works even in as cold environment as -30C, and it has the IR-sensitivity for 700-1100nm. There is also TCM-7411 coming soon in following weeks. You can combine this camera together with an external IR-illuminator. ACTi does not sell the external IR-illuminators because that market is mature enough - there are hundreds of choices available in the market for that with a fairly good price. For example, I googled for one: This illuminator's working range is 80 feet based and costs USD 40 online. Thanks for bringing up this issue! AndoSat, 6 Mar 2010 01:01:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=71DBFDEF-20D7-42DC-93C4-826868FE87DEIm not convienced that the Ipad is a good platform to use, Iwould like to see an App to view camers on Iphone, many other NVR's now support the Iphone.Wed, 3 Mar 2010 01:01:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=EA204A2F-A9D4-4023-B0B5-49185BD8A543We have had similar problems. Our solution was to add a new 32bit computer to the network with NVR on it and holding the recording then using the IE to view the cameras.Wed, 3 Mar 2010 00:04:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=B3DD3E4D-914E-413B-815E-219842CBB29CHi, When will ACTi release a IP 66 Rated Vandal dome with IR's.... Seems to be a call in the market for this... Thanks Dan KOBIMon, 1 Mar 2010 09:05:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C346BBD9-DC67-4386-BF3A-18AF2A3507A5HI. I'm currently using a dome 7411 camera. Currently were this camrea is situatedon the evenings,there is curenlty enough light provided toshow a decent colour picture. However the camera also thinks there is not enough light so turns to nightmode of which the pitcure is not at good as the colour one. It would be usefullif there was a settingto disable the switching to night mode on this specifc camera. Is this something that couldbe implemented in to a future firmwareupdate ? Thanks Mon, 1 Mar 2010 07:02:07 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=EA204A2F-A9D4-4023-B0B5-49185BD8A543Hello Jim, it is also a request from us to use 64bit with the NVR. Itried to install, but the setup cancel it. So Ican´t try it on a 64bit. Some Notebooks are only with 64bit available (Dell) and therefore the Workstation is for us the importants Programm for 64bit. HannesSat, 27 Feb 2010 01:02:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=EA204A2F-A9D4-4023-B0B5-49185BD8A543Is there any support for 64bit versions of Windows?My environment has almost completely phased out 32bit Windows and are having to run ACTi software from within VMware Workstation. Guidance would be appriciated. Keep up the great work. Sat, 27 Feb 2010 01:04:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44Hallo, du hast PM. Schöne Grüße HannesThu, 11 Feb 2010 00:03:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44Hallo Hannes Besten Dank für Dein geniales ""IMBS Live View" Gadget. Es läuft bei mir problemlos unter Win7. Vorab musste ich allerdings zuerst den Acti Streaming Explorer installieren....Ich benutze dazu die Megapixelkamera ACM4201. Ich habe gelesen das Du dieses Gadget auch mit I/O Buttons hast - ich wäre an diesen Zusatzfunktionen sehr interessiert und würde es gerne erwerben....Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:05:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44Hi Hannes I just installed the Streaming Explorer v2.0.02 and after that the IMBS Gadget works perfect :) Thanks for a great gadget and the help. Regards, Whogoeson Fri, 5 Feb 2010 00:02:00 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=71DBFDEF-20D7-42DC-93C4-826868FE87DEHi!Gregory, it shounds interesting. Did you implement it yet? Can you share something more to me?Wed, 3 Feb 2010 01:01:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=6BC8E9D1-81BE-4B6A-BD2B-22929F795B13You have to specify the trackid in setup command. so reference : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Time_Streaming_Protocol http://folk.uio.no/meccano/reflector/smallclient.html Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:03:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A221D30A-6195-496B-95B7-78D932938E15DearM. Segg: Wow.... At the fall ofnight, more ideas emerge from the darkness... Impressive! A few things that I'd like to make clear: Night mode, does that meanthe camera placement mapshould be displayed in greytones, or the simulated views? This would introduce somelight source calculationsand surface reflectance issues. Guess we'll need a physics engine behind that :D Depth of Field:This is dependent upon Iris size, and varies by the mount of light available / angular speed of intended target./DCIris availabilityCan you provide some scenarios where you would use this function? This way we get a better idea on how detailed should we build it. And everyone loves a money-making scheme.We'll think about how to distribute things once we have it in close-to-ready form. Thanks for the heads-up. Well that means more ideas to keep us busy for longer. And we like that. Now...expect baby steps, but we'll get there. Greatly appreciated!Fri, 29 Jan 2010 01:03:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A221D30A-6195-496B-95B7-78D932938E15Hi, By the way JVSG implemented the import of background images. I think it is better if you would add more functions to make your product even more bright! I have discussed your future product with my collegues( we are installing CCTV systems for 10 years) and we found many really good ideas for you to implement. Apart from these already mentioned ideas of Hannes 11-Nov-2009 (d, e, f, g, h, j, k) I think you must implement the following ideas from the start: 1. IR projectors calculations (must have for any outdoor cameras). If CCTVinstaller needs to install IR projector you just don't know how to choose it right. 2. Basic light and camera sensitivity calculation 3. Night mode. In this mode all day-night cameras are switched to night black&white mode. And it should be quite dark. Additional ideas: 4. Depth of field calculation (I think it is not much work but really useful for us). This is really important for megapixel cameras. 5. I would say ACTi can even make a huge money out of such project planner. You should charge all users who wants to use other cameras in their projects. E.g. in the project planner you should allow the only ACTi camera paramters (sensor formats, resolutions, aspect ratio) in the free subscription. To use other camera parameters you should offer a monthly subscription, something like $20/month would be really affordable. Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:02:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=71DBFDEF-20D7-42DC-93C4-826868FE87DEThere are several verticals that could use an app for ACTi video on there iPAD. Mom and Pop stores could keep an eye on the store when they are out, Police and other Public Safety entities could look in on a property when responding to an incident, Corporate security could use it to monitor multiple properties and track execs. Gregory A. Tary, Tary & AssociatesThu, 28 Jan 2010 01:04:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=71DBFDEF-20D7-42DC-93C4-826868FE87DEApple just announced their latest product- iPad, the tablet with multi-touch function. Do you ever want any applications for surveillance/securtiy use on this kind of computer??Thu, 28 Jan 2010 09:04:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=6BC8E9D1-81BE-4B6A-BD2B-22929F795B13Hi Gallen, Can you be more specific about the stream 1 and stream 2. Can you give us a whole line with the example?Wed, 27 Jan 2010 02:01:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=6BC8E9D1-81BE-4B6A-BD2B-22929F795B13RTSP command : rtsp://username:password@cameraIPaddress:7070/ stream 1 and stream 2 seperate by tracks. You need to specify tracknumberwhen "setup". Please let us knlow if you need further information. Wed, 27 Jan 2010 01:04:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=7506E455-8FAD-4229-8B64-4DD89A60FA5FRTSP command setting for every streamMon, 25 Jan 2010 01:01:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=6BC8E9D1-81BE-4B6A-BD2B-22929F795B13I am now developinga application to connect many ACTI cameras with RTSP over UDP protocol, but I cannot know the RTSP command to connect ACTI camera stream 1 and stream 2, cam you tel me?Mon, 25 Jan 2010 01:05:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=EF9B24F1-D239-45AE-9B12-66DB9731E11CAXISMon, 25 Jan 2010 01:03:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=51DB7B7F-3E54-4021-B867-FEFF654D9ED6Great function for my busy days. Thank you for your effort.Mon, 11 Jan 2010 01:04:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=51DB7B7F-3E54-4021-B867-FEFF654D9ED6Important feature, thanks!Sat, 9 Jan 2010 02:02:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44Hello, did you also have other ACTi Software testet? Try the Streaming Explorer? The Gadget use the same engine as this tool. You can also start "Register OCX.bat" in the "bin" Folder of the Streaming Explorer folder. Maybe the OCX ist not registrated(?) The website and maybe also the NVR run without problems on your machine? Which OS did you use? The Gadget use only TCP! IP, Username, Passwort and the Ports are correctly set in the Gadget Settings? When you type the name of the cam and click OK, did it displayed in the Gadget? When you click OK, in the settings dialog, did you see that the gadget tried to connect? When the cam is not reachable, the gadget freeze for some second! Greetings Hannes Sat, 9 Jan 2010 02:02:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=51DB7B7F-3E54-4021-B867-FEFF654D9ED6Here are some new functions on idea.acti.com for you to know each other or to track your interested topics more easily. - Visible personal information You can fill in your MSN, Skype, ICQ, Twitter or Facebook account for others to know you more. - Email Notification Setting your email notification system Please let me know if there's any suggestions after use! Thank you so much.Fri, 8 Jan 2010 01:03:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44Hello Thanks for your reply. I haves testet all the options: * TCP Only * Multicast Only * Multicast over UDP * RTP Over UDP * RTP Over Multicast *RTP Over UDP & Multicast But I still don't get any video in the gadget. Regards, Whogoeson Fri, 8 Jan 2010 06:02:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44Hello, it works also with the ACM-7411. But the transmission is set to TCP ... did you use Multicast or RTSP?Thu, 7 Jan 2010 01:03:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44Hi I can't get this to work - what settings is required for this to work? I am using a ACM-7411 camera. Can you give me some hints? / WhogoesonThu, 7 Jan 2010 06:04:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=D31AD45E-716C-4000-B52B-1979A872DF2ACan you please tell us why video analytics cannot work with encoded videos? As we know, all known video analytics providers can operate with MJPEG, MPEG-4 streams, and even with H.264 streams. In fact, having the predictive frames with motion vectors helps with the design of video analytics. Besides, speaking of realistic solutions, if the stream contains pure JPEG images (even without intra prediction), for 1.3megapixel stream, 18 frames per second (for example TCM-4301), the bitrate of a single stream will be nearly 100 Mbits per second! If you are using two or more cameras, then it will be a difficult task even for LAN environment. Nevertheless, it is interesting to know more about your analytics project. Can you tell us more about it. What kind of functions are you going to implement? It is very exciting! Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:03:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=D31AD45E-716C-4000-B52B-1979A872DF2AIn Camera's software i suggest to have option for elimination compression. I'm need for this because i want to using this cameras for video analitics functions and this is impossible if the video signal is compressed. This is very clear and will support to have system with analytic functions. Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:05:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=1B6703AC-A795-4367-B638-AD4B8AFB7F46Dear customer, We're sorry about cancelling the meeting at the last minutes and didn't notice you on time. We've reviewed this case internally and revised our webinar policy. Basically, the webinar can't be cancelled. For any unavoidable cancellation, customer should be informed one day before the training. Thanks for your inputs and welcome to register our webinar class againFri, 18 Dec 2009 01:03:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=E3EE01C5-97AC-46A8-8612-8C43164BEEB3I really love this. How to get it?Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:02:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=EF9B24F1-D239-45AE-9B12-66DB9731E11CI know every SI has lots of experiences of different kinds of IP cameras. But I'm wondering which one (which brand, which model, which type) is the best in you mind? And which one is the worst?? And why? I've asked our CTO, he said that ACTi ACM-3701 is the best one he's ever had. It's so tiny and vandal-proof. Apparently he really thought he did a great job on that XDMon, 14 Dec 2009 01:03:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=1B6703AC-A795-4367-B638-AD4B8AFB7F46Iwas disappointed that the webinar I signed up for was cancelled beacause of lack of attendance and no one told me beforehand. I wasted 15 minutes of my time sitting in a empty webinar conferance. How can you tell before you sign up if the webinar will be held? Mon, 14 Dec 2009 05:04:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A221D30A-6195-496B-95B7-78D932938E15 [Quoted] As to Hoerting's wish list, I've also got a few things that I'm not clear about: 1. on feature d, would that mean differentially colored areas on the 2D map , as to which area is available for each level of detection? 2. on export to MS visio, what exactly would you wiish to export in there? the map, or the network topography, or... ? 3. We do intend to prepare a laundry list of devices / settings in the background. Eventually we aim to produce printable installation instructions customized for each device/ installation area. Ohh, and one more thing. All good things take time... We're not there yet. But we do know where we intend to go. Hello, 1) yes, so we can see very easy which distance with wich lens are OK for Face recognition, car plate, .... 2) to integrade it in Visio, it will be very helpful if the 2D View can be used in Visio.In Visio we can complete the video plan with our own informations. The angel of the lenses and the different color for recognition in 2D are very helpful in Visio. The Network Typografie are also interessting. 3) sounds good A complete List for excel or CSV or all cam´s and lenses and Accessoir are welcomed, because with this date we can build a complete offert and must not type each cam in our Software! Let us see what 2010 brings :-) Hannes Sun, 13 Dec 2009 02:07:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=7506E455-8FAD-4229-8B64-4DD89A60FA5FIhave a few ideas for future products that I would use if they were made by ACTi: IPDI / DO modules: Like a Video Server with out the Video, just inputs and outputs that can be configured in the NVR software to do what ever you want. Usefull when you want to monitor server room temps and so on, then send and alarm e-mail to the ITManager, or if you want to monitor security devices like door contacts and turn on a light by the door when it is opened to ensure you get a good shot of the person who opened the door, ect.) Non-Mech. PTZ (fish-eye) Mega-Pixel Cameras: I could use these at hallway intersections in schools to reduce the total # of cameras needed, and to eliminate blindspots. Fixed IP domes with Internal mic, or internal 2 way audio. At least make an accessory device that connects to the camera and uses the cameras power to power a speaker and mic so that external power is not needed for the audio device. Just a few suggestions of products that would be fun to have and installSat, 12 Dec 2009 01:03:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=E3EE01C5-97AC-46A8-8612-8C43164BEEB3wow...u even can have Russian Words. Fantastic.Fri, 11 Dec 2009 01:03:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A1942369-B8DB-4946-801E-F910775FEA66Hi, we have prepared a support document regarding this issue. We recommend ACEM20 from Videolarm. There may be some others, but we have not been able to test them. This mounting from Videolarm works fine in our tests. You may download the document here: http://www.acti.com/download_file/Product/support/Third_Party_Housing_for_Cube_Camera.pdfThu, 10 Dec 2009 01:03:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A221D30A-6195-496B-95B7-78D932938E15Hi M. Segg: It's good to know that such tools actually save your time. This provides encouragement to our team that this is the right direction to go. I'll take this opportunity to respond to H.hoerting's feature wish list at the same time. From what I think, the most important difference is that our project planner 2.0 will be 1. Flash-based. so it does not require a separate software to run. 2. Contain actual stats and parameters from ACTi devices. By virtue of being cloud-based, we can link this software to our internal database of real product information. So that you do not need to do data entry or update on each device model you wish to use. They will be updated in real time in sync with our product line. You will see the same thing that I see, no time lag at all. Over the long run, this will save you from some unexpected changes, and ensure that you always have the latest accurate info. Also, as we know our own stuff more intimately than is really feasible for all-inclusive third party softwares as JVSG, we cantake the detail settings or limitations into consideration. When you say in the software that a given MPEG compression provides a video stream of such and such size.... that's not always accurate across suppliers and models. But we can providemuch more accurate numbers by virtue of being focused on our own devices. 3. Design once and skip setup. This also flows from the second feature. We have access to real internal settings, and actual performances under each setting. This means that we can apply the settings to the actual installation. Either we update devices over the network (IP Utility like), or insert them into NVR. Eventually thisshould be seamlessly melded with NVR setup, so that you will be able to export from one right into the other. Yes, that's feature e,i and j from hoerting's list. Though I must stress: This will NOT be available in the initial release. We will enhance upon it in stages, and enhancements take time. But ultimately wedo fix our eyes unwaveringlyupon full and seamlessintegration. 4.Include device mounting accessories into consideration. This may require more detailed 3D modeling than most installers would need or willing to spend time on. But it is a possibility. We will also attempt to work on this in stages also. As to Hoerting's wish list, I've also got a few things that I'm not clear about: 1. on feature d, would that mean differentially colored areas on the 2D map , as to which area is available for each level of detection? 2. on export to MS visio, what exactly would you wiish to export in there? the map, or the network topography, or... ? 3. We do intend to prepare a laundry list of devices / settings in the background. Eventually we aim to produce printable installation instructions customized for each device/ installation area. Ohh, and one more thing. All good things take time... We're not there yet. But we do know where we intend to go.Thu, 10 Dec 2009 01:01:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A221D30A-6195-496B-95B7-78D932938E15Arthur, Tools to save CCTV designers time like design tool / CCTV project planner of JVSG already exist. How are you going to differentiate your project planner from JVSG apart for background image loading?Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:01:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=E3EE01C5-97AC-46A8-8612-8C43164BEEB3In order to keep progressing, ACTi always wants to do things as better as we can. We collected so many suggestions from CHD (Customer Help Desk). We do appreciate all the inputs from our customers and would like to say thank you in a special way.... We have these special gifts - Chinese chopsticks engraving your name for some customers who provides the most useful feedback. One customer from Russia If you also have any inputs, come and share you opinions HERE.Wed, 9 Dec 2009 01:07:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=1B6703AC-A795-4367-B638-AD4B8AFB7F46We don't have the recorded webinar. If you would like to review the webinar again, it's welcome to register next session. Here is webinar calendar. http://ace.acti.com/webinar/index.aspWed, 9 Dec 2009 01:02:08 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=1B6703AC-A795-4367-B638-AD4B8AFB7F46Were the webinars recorded? If so, how can we access them?Mon, 7 Dec 2009 01:02:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=1B6703AC-A795-4367-B638-AD4B8AFB7F46Per our announcement last month, more than 500 people took the ACE webinar classes already. We deeply appreciated that so many people would like to engage with ACTi and win more projects with IP surveillance. Do you have any suggestions of our Webinar? Or are there anything ACTi can learn from other companies' webinars? Mon, 7 Dec 2009 01:03:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=ABBF7F94-F433-49DE-875E-89BFDE9A4CE7Hello, you can try this. Copy it in a textfile and rename it in ActiServices.bat. Then you can start with: ActiServices.bat on and disabled the services with: ActiServices.bat off Bye Hannes Filecontent: @Echo off if %1x == onx goto ServicesOn if %1x == offx goto ServicesOff echo %1 goto ende :ServicesOn echo "NVR Services enable;" sc config "ActiveEventManager" start= demand sc config "ActiveManualRecorder" start= demand sc config "ActiveMessageEngine" start= demand sc config "ActiveScheduleService" start= demand sc config "ActiveServiceManager" start= auto sc config "ActiveStreamingService" start= demand goto ende :ServicesOff echo "NVR Services disable:" sc config "ActiveEventManager" start= disabled sc config "ActiveManualRecorder" start= disabled sc config "ActiveMessageEngine" start= disabled sc config "ActiveScheduleService" start= disabled sc config "ActiveServiceManager" start= disabled sc config "ActiveStreamingService" start= disabled :ende echo Settings Done bye HannesSun, 6 Dec 2009 01:04:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=9D6C562C-CE69-4A44-9AC8-64111374ACECPlease post a detailed tutorial about accessing RTP over UDP video streams over the internet. Given that ACTi cameras don't appear to support RTP over TCP (which navigates firewalls more easily), it is quite difficult to figure out how to remotely view the cameras given that most firewalls reject unauthorized UDP streams. This makes it very difficult to view the stream remotely unless you control both the camera side and client side routers. TS-00110 is not sufficient as it really only covers local streaming. Most individuals will thus need to configure two routers. Perhaps you could use Linksys routers (given their market share) for a detailed explanation. This will at least allow users who are not using your NVR software to access the stream from two locations that they control (for example, viewing from home/office of cameras that are mounted in a secondary location). Also, please consider adding RTP over RTSP and RTP over RTSP/HTTP (like AXIS does, for example) which will make remote viewing considerably easier.Sun, 6 Dec 2009 02:02:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=ABBF7F94-F433-49DE-875E-89BFDE9A4CE7If i ever had to start a server without the NVR services starting, it took little time to click Start/Run type "msconfig" and under the Services tab, uncheck: Active Event Manager Active Manual Recorder Active Message Engine Active Schedule Service Active Service Manager Active Streaming Service then reboot. Reverse steps to turn it back on, on start up.Fri, 4 Dec 2009 06:02:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=ABBF7F94-F433-49DE-875E-89BFDE9A4CE7 @hoerting & @Nathair please provide little more detail on how/where to use the commands / batch files. Thanx in advance Fri, 4 Dec 2009 03:01:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=ABBF7F94-F433-49DE-875E-89BFDE9A4CE7Hi! I made two batch files to control server services: ACTi Services Run.bat @ECHO off ECHO _- ACTi Services Turning ON -_ ECHO. cd C:\Program Files\NVR\ActiveServiceManager ActiveServiceManager.exe -i ECHO. cd C:\Program Files\NVR\ActiveStreamEngine ActiveStreamingService.exe -i ECHO. cd C:\Program Files\NVR\ActiveScheduleService ActiveScheduleService.exe -i ECHO. cd C:\Program Files\NVR\ActiveMessageEngine ActiveMessageEngine.exe -i ECHO. cd C:\Program Files\NVR\ActiveManualRecorder ActiveManualRecorder.exe -i ECHO. cd C:\Program Files\NVR\ActiveEventManager ActiveEventManager.exe -i cd c:\ ECHO . ECHO Done. ECHO ON ACTi Services Stop.bat @ECHO off ECHO _- ACTi Services Turning OFF -_ ECHO. cd C:\Program Files\NVR\ActiveServiceManager ActiveServiceManager.exe -d ECHO. cd C:\Program Files\NVR\ActiveStreamEngine ActiveStreamingService.exe -d ECHO. cd C:\Program Files\NVR\ActiveScheduleService ActiveScheduleService.exe -d ECHO. cd C:\Program Files\NVR\ActiveMessageEngine ActiveMessageEngine.exe -d ECHO. cd C:\Program Files\NVR\ActiveManualRecorder ActiveManualRecorder.exe -d ECHO. cd C:\Program Files\NVR\ActiveEventManager ActiveEventManager.exe -d cd c:\ ECHO . ECHO Done. ECHO ON With this two files you can control your server services on PC.Thu, 3 Dec 2009 02:03:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=4401A9CB-32E8-4B9F-AF61-AA2E7894ED85That's correct what you are saying. In case the rare circumstance (customer has 192.168.0.0/24 network with 192.168.0.100 host, no DHCP) is not valid the IPUtility will work sufficiently. But the customer still needs to re-address his PC running IPUtility to 192.168.0.0/24 to get access to 192.168.0.100 in order to let IPUtility assign a new IPaddress. As far as Iinvestigated IPUtility assigns the new IPaddress by using URLcommand. But please imagine a real installation where no DHCPserver is present and multiple ACTi cameras are being installed BEFORE they are getting any IP configuration, the installer will run in trouble since all cams come up with the same factory IPaddress. Cams without IPaddress config by factory will remain silent and cause no trouble as long as they will get assigned a IPconfig. Maybe you know IQeye cameras - they come without IPaddress. The installer has to assign IP config with the IQfinder tool for initial configuration - or DHCP in case a server is attached. I have seen IPUtility 3.5.20 is in preparation that will support ARPbased IPassignment. Looking forward to test this updated tool. MichaelThu, 3 Dec 2009 02:01:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=4401A9CB-32E8-4B9F-AF61-AA2E7894ED85Thank you for your kind notice! I agree that the IP management of the camera should be as convenient as possible. The good news is, ACTi cameras' factory default setting is to obtain IP dynamically fromDHCP. If the camera does not get any IP fromDHCP then it automatically switches to static IP with 192.168.0.100. So as long as the camera comes with factory default settings, it should do exactly as you requested. If not, please kindly contact us through Customer Helpdesk for troubleshooting. By the way, speaking of IP-Utility, there is a new release of IP-Utility coming out soon with more functions than before.Thu, 3 Dec 2009 09:03:08 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=4401A9CB-32E8-4B9F-AF61-AA2E7894ED85Hello everybody, our customers sometimes claim, that the IPAddress of the camera cannot be changed by using IPUtility. Instead the customers PChas to be on the 192.168.0.0/24 network for initial access to the camera. Sometimes it happens, that customers really use 192.169.0.0/24 as their network - if this network already has an IPdevice with 192.168.0.100 he will run in trouble. A preferred solution would be that the cameras are being delivered without any IPaddress configuration and with DHCPenabled. This will avoid address conflicts in any existing network. Further an updated IPUtility would be really helpful in order to do the initial IP configuration for first time access. Best regards, MichaelWed, 2 Dec 2009 02:04:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=FD57114A-893B-4F9E-8B73-49AE614DAFD9Thank you for your sharing. Here is some information for you about the latest firmware: It now supports getting Video stream via URL command. Copy and paste this sample command into the address bar and press enter to activate. http://192.168.0.100:80/cgi-bin/cmd/system?GET_STREAM Before using this URL, please make sure that: a. You are using Mozilla Firefox b. The device is set to use MJPEG codec c. B2 Header has been disabled. (Uncheck Enable B2 Header in the Video Setting screen.. d. Audio In must be disabled. You will get a pure MJPEG stream, no codec interface is needed.Tue, 1 Dec 2009 01:04:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=ABBF7F94-F433-49DE-875E-89BFDE9A4CE7Hallo, why not via SC.exe from Windows?: sc config "service-name" start=disabled or sc config "service-name" start= auto HannesTue, 1 Dec 2009 03:04:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A1942369-B8DB-4946-801E-F910775FEA66we've used Lilin boxHousing for the cube modelsSun, 29 Nov 2009 02:03:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=ABBF7F94-F433-49DE-875E-89BFDE9A4CE7Please incorporate an ACTi Server cotrol icon, allowing for an option to "Do Not start services on start up" option. This will allow us to run the server for other puposes, when required without the NVR running always.Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:03:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=FD57114A-893B-4F9E-8B73-49AE614DAFD9Have you tried ZoneMinder software yet? http://www.zoneminder.com/wiki/index.php/Supported_hardware#Network_Cameras For those of you who have tried it, could you please share with us what you think of the software?Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:03:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=D15BD54D-09FB-4441-BEB3-820AF5D2C36DFor me it's two factors realy, ease of instalation and lower cost of ownership. I can sell a new home owner 4 ip cameras at about 350 a piece, install them in a breeze, then place a new PC in the customers home office with at least 1tb of storage, and your done, about 3 grand and the home owner can now check up on his babysitter, pool boy, or even his wife (lol). The ACTi software makes it amazingly cheap to install smaller systems in untapped ip markets, such as homes, gas stations, and small office buildings.Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:07:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A1942369-B8DB-4946-801E-F910775FEA66Hi everyone, do you know what housings are available out there that would work with ACTi's cube cameras such as the ACM-4201 and ACM-4000? I was told that Videolarm's AMS180, AMS90 and ACE20 should work: www.videolarm.com/content/com.videolarm.productfamilies.ProductFamily/24/ams180.pdf http://www.videolarm.com/family_item.jsp?content=18&model=16635 I'd like to know what my other options are. Please kindly share with me what you know. Thanks!Fri, 27 Nov 2009 02:01:08 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=CF9AB096-EA32-4577-8C6A-409B435155BDHello everybody, according to the requirements for video equipment installed in the public transport sector we recommend the following certifications for ACM-3701/03 and AM-3601/03: - complete type tests according to DIN EN 50155 including all subparts - type test protocols for ESD according to DIN EN 50121 and DINEN 50124 - shock and vibration tests according to DINEN61373 and EN 50155 - temperature tests according to DIN EN 60721 and EN 60068-2-1/-2/-5 temperature class T3 - Fire safety according to fire safety class 2 DIN 5510 - electronic components and wiring need to be compliant to EN 50121 Pt. 3.1 and Pt. 3.2 The above described certifications have to be documented in test protocols by a independend test institite. The cams can only be installed in the environment of public transport if they have successfully completed these tests. We know that ACM-3701/03 and ACM-3601/03 already passed certain certification tests, especially the mechanical part of EN 50155. To enable ACTi partners to offer successfully ACM-3701/03 and ACM-3601/03 in European projects we strongly recommend EMC/EMI and fire safety compliance. In the past we tried to offer ACM-3701/03 and ACM-3601/03 in this market field but without full compliance ACTi cameras will not be considered in such kind of projects. ACM-3701/03 and ACM-3601/03 are smooth cameras designed to fit these kind of applications. Further they deliver an exeptional good picture quality. It would be really sad if this marked cannot use ACTi cams due to the missing certifications. Best regards, MichaelMon, 23 Nov 2009 01:03:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44Soooooooooooooo cooooooooooooool!!!!! ---- We provide the best IP camera for the world.Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:02:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44Your are our Santa Claus! ;) We are waiting to see your next surprise!Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:04:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=860D2877-B5EB-4501-AA7F-58CFFD450CF9Hi h.hoerting, partha, owenus, and nico: I've sent you the zip file of Search Board couple days ago, do you have any suggestions to share with us? All inputs are welcome!!!Wed, 18 Nov 2009 01:00:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=303B933C-559D-447A-ADD3-A00ADE8D3E26I try it, NAS Synolgy supports iSCSI. NVR version 2.2.28 recognize this NAS as local storage, but new version (2.2.47server, 2.2.56 workstation) doesn´t recognize NAS.Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:03:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44 [Quoted] Ando.Meritee, on 11/16/2009 10:31:55 AM Such a nice a lovely tool! :) Do you have any ideas of further developing this tool? It might become popular. :) Hallo Ando, I´m not sure if Ideveloping other feature in the Gadget. For me, I have also 2 Buttons to open and close a door. It send the command directly to our Building Automation system. I doesn´t tested if a speaking-button is working well. A button for this is not so much work .... let us see what XMAS brings :-) Tue, 17 Nov 2009 02:04:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=7506E455-8FAD-4229-8B64-4DD89A60FA5F Another concerned is that, can you make ACTi IP cameras record videos and create snapshots in a web configurator?Thanks CanzMon, 16 Nov 2009 01:03:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=7506E455-8FAD-4229-8B64-4DD89A60FA5F Hi ACTi, Good day!!! Is it possible to add your web configuratoror NVR software with another features for watermark? Thats all. Thank you and more power to ACTi. CanzMon, 16 Nov 2009 01:02:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44Such a nice a lovely tool! :) Do you have any ideas of further developing this tool? It might become popular. :)Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:03:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44wow...fantasticFri, 13 Nov 2009 01:05:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44This is so cool!!! thanks for sharing!!Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:01:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44This is cool!!Fri, 13 Nov 2009 01:01:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=C7E5E8DD-76C9-4046-A742-32DD4A1C7A44Hello, inspirational of the ACTi Search Board, I build a Gadget for a Live View of ACTi Cam´s. It display in 2 different sizes and also FullScreen the video of a ACTi Cam. The Gadget is for free, but we give no support for the Gadget. Use at own risk! If you are agree the terms, you can download it here. www.imbs.at/downloads/IMBS%20Live%20View.rar Have fun with it! Quick manual: 1) double click on the gadget and let it install 2) mouse over at the text and on the right side click the setting button 3) fill the right textboxes and click OK Feedback from some customers: When no video displayed, pls. install the ACTi Streaming Explorer on the computer! Hannes IMBS - Intelligente Multimedia- und Bussysteme, ATFri, 13 Nov 2009 01:07:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=303B933C-559D-447A-ADD3-A00ADE8D3E26Actually, ACTi Support NAS storage, but the NASdevice should should support iSCSI protocol. With iSCSI protocol, ACTi NVR will recognize this NAS storage as a local storage and be able to add this drive into NVR tosavethe videorecording. We will come out a support package for how to set up your iSCSI NAS device, PC and also NVR in the few coming daysThu, 12 Nov 2009 01:04:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=303B933C-559D-447A-ADD3-A00ADE8D3E26ACTi software NVR's dont support NAS storage....any work going on to change that?Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:05:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A221D30A-6195-496B-95B7-78D932938E15Hello Arthur, for helping in planing IP video surveillance, the next points are impordant for us: a) Background Image import (like the emap of the NVR) b) lens calculator ... also import of own types(!) c) storage and bandwith calculation d) color visualisation of the different detection (face, car plate, vehicle, ... ) e) each cam in the project should be get/import the real configuration of the mounted cam. So it´s a perfect way to backup the cam settings (like the funtion of the IP utility) f) print differnt views and tables g) export to MS Visio h) export to excel or CSV (cam data and calculation tables) i)backup NVR settings j) maybe export of the planing maps for the NVR emap k) accessory of each cam (checkboxen) and import of own accessory Hannes Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:04:00 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A221D30A-6195-496B-95B7-78D932938E15Dear N8972 / hoerting: If it does not soundso self-flattering, I'm tempted to use the phrase "Great minds think alike". The tool you mentioned from JVSG is a fine reference, and yes we do have something similiar under development right now. For a few months we've been preparing for this radical redesign of our project planner, but it will take a bit more time before it's readyfor release. We had hoped to wait until there's something more concrete to show before we unveil this project. Since you've mentioned this today, here's what's happening. In about three months wehope torelease the new project planner 2.0. This version will include site map, camera / lens selection, simulated views (2D/3D) and more.We are rebuilding the UI completely from the grounds up,and we aim to be as intuitive as possible. We do have much more ideas brewing, and will alsoincludetighter integrationsafter 2.0. We are taking this project quite seriously. A small dedicated team is already working on this. Our developers are going on site visits ofREAL project installations to get a gut feeling of what's going on out there (Hard hats, cablesand all).This waywhat we design will be actually useful and not just academic. There will also be parameters based upon real ACTi cameras, so that our approximations are realistic andspecific instead of just a general reference. Here I must stress, however, that something of this magnitude does take time and effort. Not all of our ideas can be implemented immediately, and obstacles to be surmounted will surely come up. But trust me in this, that we do holdmaking your life easierdear to our heart. With just a little patience, and you'll be pleasantly surprised before you know it. As a matter of fact, this is just the right time to talk aboutwhat you want!We crave for inputs and insights from integrators who really knows what's happening. Let your imaginations run wild, and tell us of your wishes. You dream it, we make it. How's that for a good deal? Mon, 9 Nov 2009 01:05:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A221D30A-6195-496B-95B7-78D932938E15Hi, oh, it looks good and Ialso think it´s very helpful to plan a exact video surveillance. Also here in Austria. But why to reinvent the wheel ... when JVSG added ACTi Products (cams. lens) and support Backround plans and print/export (some in the Roadmap already published), the software is great. Did you already speak with JVSG? HannesSat, 7 Nov 2009 01:03:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A221D30A-6195-496B-95B7-78D932938E15In orfer for Acti to make us dealers more efficient and aquire more business, we need to have a software design program that shows us the camera locations, lens size, target view, layout and more. If I can put together a quote for a 5-12 camera system using this software in less than 30 minutes I can quote more customers and get more business for me and Acti. I have been playing with the IP Video design tool from JVSG. They have a free demo you can try and see the thing I am talking about. http://www.jvsg.com/ip-video-system-design-tool/ Fri, 6 Nov 2009 01:04:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=860D2877-B5EB-4501-AA7F-58CFFD450CF9 [Quoted] [Quoted] Really great tool. Why can't you support Windows XP? Coz Windows XP didn't support Gadget. XD Actually Windows XP "Support" Gadget but you need to install "Windows Sidebar, Real one,Pack " yourselff http://joshoon.deviantart.com/art/Windows-Sidebar-Real-one-Pack-75626472 Thu, 5 Nov 2009 01:01:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=860D2877-B5EB-4501-AA7F-58CFFD450CF9Nice. Please send me the link. It looks like a very handy toolWed, 4 Nov 2009 01:03:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=860D2877-B5EB-4501-AA7F-58CFFD450CF9Another nice idea Tue, 3 Nov 2009 02:01:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=860D2877-B5EB-4501-AA7F-58CFFD450CF9 [Quoted] Really great tool. Why can't you support Windows XP? Coz Windows XP didn't support Gadget. XDMon, 2 Nov 2009 01:04:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=7506E455-8FAD-4229-8B64-4DD89A60FA5F(I also posted some in the Hardware section): 1) DI/DO over Ethernet because not every cam still have one, also no DI/DO in the Technical room, where the NVRserver is standing. 2) NVR control over RS232 3) different resolution for NVR, web or mobile explorer (would be good if the NVR can recalculate the stream) 4) direct JPG download. Any other have an url, for the still image. Example for Axis: http://192.168.111.20/jpg/image.jpg ... ACTi cams can display the still image, but it doesn´t have a direct download link 5) set new IP of the cam over Broadcast/ARP. So it´s not necessary to change the local IP on the Notebook Happy Halloween HannesSun, 1 Nov 2009 01:05:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=860D2877-B5EB-4501-AA7F-58CFFD450CF9Really great tool. Why can't you support Windows XP?Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:05:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=7506E455-8FAD-4229-8B64-4DD89A60FA5FOne big sales booster missing, are a DVR for ip kamreas. If Acti can make a simple recorder for Acti cameras, we could double or triple our sales in Norway.Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:04:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=860D2877-B5EB-4501-AA7F-58CFFD450CF9Hi, yes, look very good ... and we need often this websites ... I also want to try this gadget! mfg HannesFri, 30 Oct 2009 01:01:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=860D2877-B5EB-4501-AA7F-58CFFD450CF9It's cool.Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:04:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=860D2877-B5EB-4501-AA7F-58CFFD450CF9ACTi Search Board developed by ACTi is a small tool as a "gadget" on your computer desktop (only available for Window Vista and Windows 7.) You can easily link several ACTi useful platforms such as project planner, product selector, webinar information, and vertical solution guide to help to win the project only through this application. It can save a lot of your searching time on ACTi website and also be updated with ACTi latest news and discussion from ideaACTi, then you won't have any chance to miss any helpful information. And projects come and win! This is only beta version and the formal release will be in the December. Now, we would like to invite the very early adopters to try out how good it is. And also, any feedbacks are welcome! ONLY THE FIRST FIVE who replies this topic can have the chance to preview ACTi Search Board. Can't wait to try it?? Leave the message here and we will send it to your email box!!!! Here are some screen shots... Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:01:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F2A64446-51DB-48FE-849A-2F90221F4638Hello Ando, sounds good ... thank you very much for the fast reply! I´m not pretty sure, but I mean the lens cannot be rotate ... because the 2 screws for adjust the lens are on top of the lens ... so it´s not possible to adjust the lens without remove the sun-top. If the 2 screws are on the bottom side, you can adjust more easy(?). Hannes IMBS - Intelligente Multimedia- und Bussysteme, ATWed, 28 Oct 2009 01:04:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F2A64446-51DB-48FE-849A-2F90221F4638Thank you very much for your feedback! Every feedback gives us a chance to further enhance our products. I totally agree with you that crimping RJ-45 plug of ACM-1231 on site, especially in extreme heights or extreme temperatures, is not the best solution. We will re-design the back side of the camera in the near future (the prototype is ready already) - it will have two major changes - the hole will be large enough to fit RJ-45, and the angle of the entrance will not be 90 degrees as before, but about 45 degrees. It might take about a month or two to have it in mass production. Thanks to proposals like yours, we can continue making our cameras better. Therefore, we appriciate your every idea. Should you have more suggestions or ideas, you are most welcome to let us know, and we will do our best to make your ideas come true!Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:01:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F2A64446-51DB-48FE-849A-2F90221F4638Hello, we get the first delivery of the ACM-1231 cam´s and we are sure it´s a fine cam. But there is one impordant point, that make us not so happy: Our customers have to crimp RJ45 jacks ... and not all have expirience with this. The next points are some problems, we see it with this: When a problem occure, the customers maybe have to crimp a RJ45 jack in 6-7m heigh (were the cam is installed) and maybe this in winter with -10 degrees ... not good! They can only use Patchcable ... no installation cable, because the space in the cam is much to less. Every RJ45 jack for installation cable are too big When they need a Patchcable, they have to accomplished the way from the cam twice times. First to crimp the RJ45 at the cam, then to installed a network outlet in the near. When somebody have to replace the cam, he can´t use a default Patchcable ... he have again to crimp ( and he can hope that he have everything with him: Crimp instrument and crimpable Jack The Customer or electrician need a good instrument to crimp the jack ... not everone have it in the company and not every have it always with him no cord grip When the patchcable-lock ( the smal plastic lock of the patchcable) brokes: again crimping More source of errors We think, in the future more space behind the cam (2 times more as actualy) would be much better. If you can also change the conduit, then also a default patchcable can be used, without crimping or assembly a RJ45 jack. These points should not be a review, it should be a feedback of our impressions! Nice Greetings Hannes IMBS - Intelligente Multimedia- und Bussysteme, AT EDIT: In the edit view the numbers of the points are showing, in the post not Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:04:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=1C1F38B8-CA15-4056-80A0-4401BBBFB293For us some other Points interesting: - Twilight Detector: With the new Beta and the possibility with URLEvents we can switch directly lights, doors, shutters, heating ... on or off or drive in a special position. So in the building automation the customer doesn´t need a extra motion sensor. The problems: It would be good, if we can also sent an event, when the brightness in the room going unter a special level. Also the motion detection could be more sensible - NVR Sync: When we switch Settings over URL Command in the cam (ex. Motion Detection position), we also have manual to sync with the new settings with the NVR. It would be good if the cam has a feature, to sync automatic with the NVR (trigger with a URL Command) - Dynamic texts: When Recording from a cam, some other informations could be interesting. It would be good if we can send the cam or the NVR over URL (or other protocols) texte. Maybe when an alarm of the security central is starting, we can send the cam or NVR the Text in wich AREA the alarm is going on and this information is recording in the stream. Hannes IMBS - Intelligente Multimedia- und Bussysteme, ATFri, 23 Oct 2009 01:02:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=9C6F6743-4D1B-446E-A2B1-6517E4650618Somebody might heard that the traffic of ASIS 2009 dropped obviously. But there were still lots exhibitors joined this tradeshow on Sep. I took some pictures and would like to share with you here. ACTi Mobotix Sanyo Vivotek GeoVision Stanley - Stanley made their booth as a sport court. Everyone was free to play basketball and football in it. Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:05:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F84865DF-F55B-485E-8396-D3725D604A7EIt is probably train-proof, too. Should the train derail at the train station and crash into camera, the camera is able to survive the impact.Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:05:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F84865DF-F55B-485E-8396-D3725D604A7EActually it looks very modern!!Tue, 13 Oct 2009 01:05:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F84865DF-F55B-485E-8396-D3725D604A7E This is the Vandal housingwe have found in one of the Budapest train station. Doesn't it looks like some kind of surveillance kit from Outterspace ?! Thu, 8 Oct 2009 02:02:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=363D1579-5CB9-4B3E-8742-94F8EE69165ASuggestion to ACTi: Please post on the website .raw video files of your cameras, I suggest: one minute clip with a busy scene, and one minute clip of a static scene. And make the player available. You should be able to demonstrate the space-efficiency of MPEG4 versus H.264.Tue, 6 Oct 2009 01:04:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A04BF7FC-33C6-4865-8E2F-F67991613A52>"On the other hand, with the aggressive implementation of SDHCon high segment products (like speedomes) by AXIS it will seem like MOBOTIXsolution and "story" has become less impressive.For example SDHCcan have 32Gigas of storage (Sandisk, Panasonic, etc) versus 8 or 16 Gigas of embedded Camera storage on Mobotix. So it seems smarter to buy a SDcard according to your recording needs instead of being fixed to a specific storage size in a Camera." Uh... I am looking at Mobotix's catalog now, their M12, D24 and Q24 range all support either 16GB SD card or 32GB microSD card.Thu, 1 Oct 2009 01:03:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=2E616073-E431-4E4D-B9A9-8E641F16111FSome other products are only able to save still images or short clips (during alarm trigger) via FTP. I hope that what you mean is full-functionality video recording thru FTP, i.e. creating folders for each camera, and each day, FIFO space recycling. This would be a step in the right direction, but I still suggest that ACTi implements direct to NAS recording via other popular protocols other than FTP, like NFS and SMB. BTW, IPUX is another brand that can already do this.Thu, 1 Oct 2009 01:02:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=363D1579-5CB9-4B3E-8742-94F8EE69165AArthur,Thank you for your suggestions and info. I am familiar with how MPEG4 is supposed to work, at least at that level of detail. I understand that noisy sensors may cause static scenes to appear to be moving to the camera. This is something for any IP camera manufacturer to improve on, and tune their MPEG4 to handle properly. i.e. do not waste bits trying to encode noise, but at the same time providing detail on actual small movements in the scene. We want to set at constant quality (variable bitrate). This is the setting I chose, but perhaps no effect internally. Arthur, do you have an ACTi IP camera to try for yourself? To ACTi staff, would be good if you repeat my experiment and post the result and video clips.Record for one minute of a busy scene, then one minute of a static scene. Please try it using a H.264 camera and using a "plain"-MPEG4 camera.Thu, 1 Oct 2009 01:06:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=69D7B4EF-4331-4EEF-BF01-742F652AACEFVeracity USA now has a device called the Pinpoint. It uses the cameras CAT-5e from the POE switch to power up the camera but breaks the video feed to laptop or similar device to adjust camera focus and zoom. I've seen prices for the device range between $40 US to $80 US. I haven't had the oppurtunity to use the Pinpoint yet but I look forward to it.Wed, 30 Sep 2009 02:03:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=2EF3A78A-F82D-4A01-8D28-C7B4D2A344A6 [Quoted] We would like you to brainstrom with us and give us some suggestions about the naming of idea.acti.com. Some guidelines as below for your reference: 1) clear definition 2) easy to pronounce Thank you all!! What´s about: ACTi.vities ACTi.vance to.ACTi.on in.ACTi.on ACTi.ve ACTi.vate Hannes IMBS - Intelligente Multimedia- und Bussysteme, ATSun, 27 Sep 2009 01:02:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=69D7B4EF-4331-4EEF-BF01-742F652AACEFHi, for me the ACTi Mobile Explorer or a Table PC and a PoE Access Point (example: Netgear WD102) ist the best choice, if I where alone to adjust Settings on the cam. The WD102 are used with PoE and I connect it on the next or last cam. HannesSun, 27 Sep 2009 01:01:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=2EF3A78A-F82D-4A01-8D28-C7B4D2A344A6ACTI + FOR + ALL = Acti4All :) Because Acti's products can be used for any project ! or JustActi Fri, 25 Sep 2009 01:03:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=363D1579-5CB9-4B3E-8742-94F8EE69165ADear Kaon How much storage you need is actually determined by the bitrate. The bitrate can be constant or variable. You did not say what was your setting, but it seemed that you are using contant bitrate @ 1.5Mbps or 1.2Mbps. Calculated as follows: 576151 kbytes/ 3600 seconds = 160.04 kbyte / s = 1280 kbit / s (multiply by 8) = 1.25 Mbps (divide by 1024) , or around 9.37Mbytes / minute Here are a few suggested settings that you can use: if you want constant bit rate: 750kbps @ 30fps or 500 kbps @ 15 fps (15 fps is already quite smooth. But this frame rate reduction wll give you much better image quality.) If you want variable bit rate: Middle quality at 30 fps or 15 fps. The image is already quite good at middle quality. When to use constant bitrate, and when to use variable bit rate? In general, use constant bit rate when you want to save bandwidth, and variable bit rate when you want to save storage. When in constant bit rate mode, the camera will attempt to maintain a stable output, so as not to create spikes in data flow. This means that if the scene is almost static, it will encode each frame in a higher than normal quality. If the scene is moving a lot, it will encode in moderate quality. When you have many cameras, each connected to the server via DSL line of only 500k, (or similiar configurations), then you need to use constant bit rate. Otherwise the large spike of data during movement will overwhelm your ISP, and some frames will be dropped by the slow internet. Constant bit rate ensures that you get every frame under all circumstances. If you are in a single building, with Cat5e cables to all cameras, and good gigabit backbone, then you don't worry about spikes of sudden output, but the amount of total storage. In this case you should use variable bit rate. This means that the quality will remain the same, while the amount of data flow fuctuates with the amount of movement. So in static scenes and lower frame rates, it will need much less storage than if you use constant bit rate. But when it moves, the sudden outburst will be much higher than if you use constant bitrate. Try them out, and let us know what happens. Now, more theories~~~ In video compression, there are two kinds of video frames. An I frame is almost like an MJPEG frame, as the full scene is encoded and compressed. P framesdo not describethe whole scene, just the difference between this frame and the last. So it may only describe the person who enters on the top left, with very few info on the rest of the scene.. This is how MPEG4 saves storage. The same video encoded in MJPEG will take about 5 - 8 times of the storage used by MPEG4. The saving is actually quite a lot. In reality, it is not a good idea to have a single I frame, then use a few thousand P frames to follow it. This will save some space, as P frames describe only the difference, and may be as small as 1/10 ~ 1/20 of an I frame. Yet if you go too long with only a single I frame followed by all P frames, the small details lost during each frame will start to add up(it's a compression after all), and the whole scene then degrades beyond acceptable quality. So in every second, we will have one I frame to re-start the image, then describe all ensuing changes with P frames. This means that the bitrate will not drop to near zero, as you still need one I frame (large) plus many P frames (small) every second. But a static scene will take less storage, especially in variable bit rate. Also, the scene may look static to human eyes, but on a pixel by pixel level, there will be some minor electric noise signals, and the camera sensor will not see a completely static image. There will be some minor variations that will need to be described in each P frame. This is the fundamental working principle of MPEG4, and is the same across manufacturers. Hope this helps. Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:02:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=2E616073-E431-4E4D-B9A9-8E641F16111FThe next firmware (V3.11.xx) will have an option to stream directly to FTP server in any location. So you don't have to have an NVR installed, and you don't have to have Windows based computer. For example, use Linux based FTP server. Furthermore, with the powerful event handler support in new firmware, you can get all the notifications to your e-mail together with attached snapshots. So, you will be aware with events happening on the site even without having NVR at all. According to current schedule, the new firmware will be released on October 13. At the moment this firmware is being tested as a beta version.Mon, 21 Sep 2009 01:02:09 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=363D1579-5CB9-4B3E-8742-94F8EE69165A...if the results of your experiments are true..then...this needs a seriousl looking into. Sat, 19 Sep 2009 01:05:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=2E616073-E431-4E4D-B9A9-8E641F16111F...i agree..but i think it would have to do a lot with onboard logic..yes..mobotix does this..and is pretty an impressive featureSat, 19 Sep 2009 01:05:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=7506E455-8FAD-4229-8B64-4DD89A60FA5F( Already posted this in the Software category) D-Link and Mobotix IP cameras are able to write their video files directly into network shares without requiring any NVR software. This gives lots of cost savings, because no PC and Windows OS required. Easier to set up. We sacrifice some video search features, perhaps.Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:05:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=363D1579-5CB9-4B3E-8742-94F8EE69165AAlthough the price disk space is always dropping, being able to archive more days is always welcome. I would like to keep 1 yr archive in auto-recycling (FIFO) harddisk space, of all 200 cameras of each of my sites. (retail environment). Why is the "MPEG4" compression in ACTi so poor? (To be fair, I don't know whether there are other brands which perform better) Is it due to limitation of computational power of the onboard hardware encoder? Are there hardware encoders that do a better job? A simple test I did: ACM-4001, 640x480 @ 30fps, duration: 60 Minutes Static scene:576,151 KB Changing scene: 573,341 KB Ideally, an efficient codec would have bitrate drop to near zero. We should not need separate motion detection algorithm to start/stop recording, since MPEG4 compression is supposed to do motion detection. Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:05:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=2E616073-E431-4E4D-B9A9-8E641F16111FI know that D-Link and Mobotix cameras are able to do this. Advantages of direct-to-NAS recording: No need to buy NVR software No need to buy Windows OS Standalone NAS box is cheaper than a PC, although a PC running Windows or Linux can also act like a NAS. Easy to set up Easy to use (if you only need basic retrieval by date-time) I don't think this costs much for ACTi to make.Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:02:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=0536BE3E-2F3E-4BAD-BE37-0CFC796D4233If you have a camera with a single alarm input (one DI) but you have more than one location to put alarm trigger, then here is an idea for you: Use series circuit and put all the trigger switches on the same circuit. Should any of them interrupt the circuit, it can trigger for example a sound alarm in guard's room. Below is the example of a small room where both window and door are equipped with a trigger. Those switches are connected to the single DI of the camera by series circuit. Advantage: You can make the single DI be used in variety of situations with multiple triggers. You can save money by using the cheaper one-DI camera which in some situations (as the example image) can do the same job as multiple DI camera. Disadvantage: When the guard receives an alarm, he will know the alarm comes from that room, but not sure whether it was a door or a window that triggered the alarm. However, for small objects like the example room, this is not an issue because both door and the camera are covered by the camera view and the guard can make an easy judgment when the alarm occurs. DI-trigger can detect break-in even in total darkness where the video motion detection cannot help much. Thu, 17 Sep 2009 01:08:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A31E1973-23D7-4856-942F-16751A4B7C1FWow, your comments are really valuable and helpful. For example, I did not know that the insects are attracted to IR light and they like to gather in front of the IR-LED cover glass. Perhaps there have not been many tests about this yet - mostly because most cameras are tested and installed in the environments with low density of insects. Do you have any snapshots of insects disturbing the night view because of IR-LED built in camera? It would be very valuable evidence for initiating further study on this matter. About the external IR-LED - I think this is quite inexpensive solution. However, the camera should have an easy option to turn on/off internal IR-LED by firmware. I am sure, future IR cameras will all have that option. I was also thinking about the placement of external IR-LED. What is the best location? Putting it right next to camera will not help with insects problem. Putting it behind the camera will create a shadow of a camera. Putting it in front will block the view. At the same time, we have to make sure that none of IR-LEDs is exposed directly to camera - it would cause instant overexposure. Maybe the best way is to keep the external IR-LED beside the camera, but far enough from the camera so that the insects will not disturb the camera. Wed, 16 Sep 2009 01:00:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=1C1F38B8-CA15-4056-80A0-4401BBBFB293Can you please tell me, which analytic functions do you need at most? I can help you check if the next release of ACTi IVS Server (video intelligence) will contain the function or not.Wed, 16 Sep 2009 09:04:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=7506E455-8FAD-4229-8B64-4DD89A60FA5Fvery common request is for putting the moving image to a website. the problem is with active X because it works with IE only which means with windows. and there are some other solutions: axis devices generate flash stream, IQeye uses Java. i tried to use a VLC server to convert ACTi rtsp to flv but it is not stable. maciekTue, 15 Sep 2009 01:00:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=1C1F38B8-CA15-4056-80A0-4401BBBFB293I got certificate in first course. In this course I understood that your company work hard for new device with analytic functions, like unattended baggage etc. and this project will finish approximately at the middle in the 2009 . Please inform me what is status in this project because we have client who need this solution. The idea is to use Camelion video management system and ACTI video servers with analytic function. Afcource i know many firms in this market, IOImage, Phoenixivs, etc. But the lider is one Russian firm from Moscow. They dont have management sistem but in analitics functions are the best. Regards Pavel KamburovTue, 15 Sep 2009 01:01:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A31E1973-23D7-4856-942F-16751A4B7C1FPersonally, I think the current line of cameras (looks wise) is great. The 4201 does have a "cheaper" look to it, however it is small and compact. That would be the only housing I would change. I really like the looks and design of the 1231 but the pictures lack the quality of even the 5601 with the stock lens. What would be great would be if you made a camera using the housing of the 1231 but with a superior lens and either the "guts" of the 5611 or the TCM-5311. I would even do without the built in IR's (but keep it D/N)if it meant that there was a way I could put my own CS mount lens on and still be within the housing constraints. My current issue is most residential installs want the quality picture that the ACM-5611 or the TCM-5311 produces coupled with a decent MP lens. What they dont want is some huge Pelco (or other brand)enclosure hanging off the side of their house. So in closing, keep that 1231 enclosure and replace the internals with something decent, if the insides are the same as the ACM-5611 then put in a better lens or allow the end-user to buy their own. Lose the IR's, they just attract insects and burn out over time anyway. A decent low lux rating with a seperatly mounted IR or external lighting works the best anyway. It takes more than just good looks to make a good camera. If the camera looks cheap and I buy it but the picture quality is amazing, I will be happy. However, if I buy an expensive camera because it looks great, then I am not amazed by the quality, I will more than likely be angry (hence my experience with the 1231). Plus while your at it and I'm in the zone, I purchased some of the mounts that were Acti branded. I was very disapointedwiththe cheap plastic construction of the ACTi GL-201 (especially after the price I paid). The arm for the 1231, the ACTi GL-205N too was a little long and could be shortend by an inch or so IMO. So if you were thinking of redoing some things then I would also look at my mount line. The software is a greatdeal with giving you the 16ch for free. Although it is very complicated and probably to much for the average install. I would also change that to a more scaleddown version that is SIMPLE to install and just covers the basics; records, easy camera setup,remote web access to the NVR thatiseasily setup by the software on install and doesnt require you to goback and setup up awebserver from scratch, and ftp and email notifications. More like asimple network DVR than a full blown enterprise solution. Just my 2 cents Tue, 8 Sep 2009 03:00:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A31E1973-23D7-4856-942F-16751A4B7C1FHow much does the casing and the design of the camera influence the customer's perception of camera quality? Just like for any other product, we often judge something based on visual observation - "this camera looks expensive and professional", "that camera looks like a cheap webcam". Regardless of the specifications and capabilities of the camera, the design can often influence the buyer's mind. Especially the end-user may be more influenced by an external design of the camera rather than its actual features. Take 3 ACTi cameras as an example: ACM-5601 (box camera), ACM-3401 (fixed dome camera) and ACM-4201 (cube camera). All the major specifications (except DIO, and temperature range) are exactly the same. The only difference is the casing. If the customer does not need DIO support, then the design and the price will be the decisive factors. Naturally, a customer would prefer an expensive looking camera. It would add prestige to customer. It leads to the question - which design in your opinion is most elegant and expensive looking? Box? Dome? Bullet? PTZ shape? Cube? Any other shape? I suppose box cameras are considered as most expensive looking and prestigious because in early times of video surveillance, there were only box types of cameras, and only rich people could afford them. Such perception might take a long time to change. Would you reject a camera with suitable specifications only because it has a bad design? Can you give an example?Mon, 7 Sep 2009 01:07:08 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=0CAEB0E4-6CB6-4F22-BD98-9586F650DAA2Speaking of growth rates, they should always be looked together with market share. A company who has a big market share cannot have a high growth rate, while a company who only sold 1 camera so far, can have 100% growth rate as soon as they sell the 2nd camera. So, it is quite normal that smaller companies growth rate is bigger as long as the product is attractive to the customers. If the biggest company in the market has a higher growth rate than smaller competitors, then it refers to an exclusive technology or special political agreements which lead to the monopolistic tendency. In IP-surveillance, it is not the case. And the growth numbers reflect it clearly. It would be more interesting to see how the market share changes during the year instead of comparing growth rates.Mon, 7 Sep 2009 01:03:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=1C1F38B8-CA15-4056-80A0-4401BBBFB293This article is about Video Intelligence System, also known as Intelligent Video System or Video Analytics or Video Analysis. Among many important differences between IP and analog video surveillance system is the possibility to have a Video Intelligence support for IP solution. In early times of IP-surveillance, no video Intelligence was used. Today, the standard feature is "Motion Detection" - the system manager can set motion detection areas for each camera, to detect any activity in the restricted areas. However, with the growth of IP-surveillance market, the Video Intelligence is growing too. IP camera and software manufacturers keep adding more Video Intelligence functions to their systems. Hereby I invite you to propose your ideas about existing and future functions of Video Intelligence. Which functions have you heard/seen already? Which functions would you like to see to be implemented in the future? Which functions are more important than others? Below is the list of several functions. Do you know which of them are already available today in IP-surveillance world and which of them are future technology? - motion detection - license plate recognition - face recognition (Casinos, for example) - moving items count (people, cars, wagons) - unattended object detection - loitering detection - missing object detection - weather condition detection - hand gesture detection - following a moving object (PTZ) - zooming into an activity (PTZ) - color detection - motion direction detection - emotion detection :) Mon, 7 Sep 2009 01:08:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A107D8BB-CA16-4DBD-BE86-7DB02FE085A4About the DDoS issue that Julius mentioned - this is the issue of networking (Firewalls, Switches with rate-limiting and ACL capability), and should be discussed independently from NVR. So, there is not much a NVR software manufacturer can do to help if the nework is not well configured. :) But the issue itself is very of course important - because networking is a core of IP-surveillance, we need to make sure it will work without problems. DDoS is one of the potential causes of problems, and perhaps it is worth discussing about how to configure Firewalls and Switches in order to deal with DDoS issues, and what is the impact of a successful DDoS attack. Speaking of an impact - a DDoS attack should not influence the performance of NVR that is connected to cameras over LAN. The biggest impact is the possible access failure from ActiveMonitor from a remote location. I wonder if anyone would go through the hassle of executing DDoS just to disable someone from using ActiveMonitor from a remote site? DDoS is more serious for the IP-solutions where the stream from cameras goes over WAN - in that case, bad network configuration can allow DDoS hinder the service of streams from cameras either on camera side or NVR side. Other than hacking NVR and cameras, or using DDoS, the hacker may also be interested in gaining access to the PC that runs NVR because of its huge storage space compared to regular PCs - a hacker may be hungry for a 16TB storage space.Mon, 7 Sep 2009 01:01:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A107D8BB-CA16-4DBD-BE86-7DB02FE085A4I think it is a good issue to discuss. Even though it is very obvious that IP-solution has big advantages over analog solution in terms of security, there should be constant improvement made in that field. While it is quite easy to replace analog signal on coaxial cable with fake one, providing that the trouble maker has an access to the camera site and cables without being detected at first place), it is not very easy with IP-system. The tests that we have seen on videos are not very serious. They are made in an environment where the hacker already has an access to basically everywhere, which is impossible in real life. In reality, the biggest risk (as Julius mentioned) is the hacking into the traffic between an external ActiveMonitor that runs over WAN, and NVR that runs in LAN. In theory, there may be a risk of capturing the Admin password from the traffic that passes several routers which are not controlled by the owner of security system, using IP-spoofing or other methods. In that aspect, both NVR and nDVR have the same kind of security risk, as long as they are supporting remote access. However, it is a very complicated procedure. Let's take ACTi as an example. Providing that the PC that runs ActiveMonitor is clean from spyware, it would take lots of resources, skills and time to get the password of NVR. Considering the cost of this hacking, the benefits are not that big in most cases. Even if you have gotten the password, it does not necessarily lead to a criminal activity, because the sites with high value can have additional security features running on same PC as NVR, for example the script to monitor any possible changes in ActiveSetup, and give alarm for any changes that are made in NVR setup. A hacker can at most just login to ActiveSetup of NVR, and not into the root/admin level of the PC that runs NVR. Which means, a hacker has no way of knowing where there has been set any program to monitor any possible changes in ActiveSetup status. Not knowing this fact will not allow a hacker make any attempts of physical crime against the monitored site. Of course, just by getting a live view from the camera site may cause a big damage in many cases, especially from the indoor cameras. One good way for reducing the risk of hacking is to create different users with different permission levels inNVR, and do not use the Admin ID over public Internet. In most cases, once the camera site is fully configured, there is no need to login to ActiveSetup from a remote location, to do further modifications. Mostly, remote access is only needed for getting live view or recordings for playback. One more thought came to my mind - I wonder if there are any system users who did not change their default password 123456? :) They are at the biggest risk for sure.Mon, 7 Sep 2009 09:04:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A107D8BB-CA16-4DBD-BE86-7DB02FE085A4Actually we have done some security enhancements in 3.11.xx firmware, and we are going to implement HTTPS in near future to make it more stronger for hackers to get something interesting.Sun, 6 Sep 2009 01:05:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A107D8BB-CA16-4DBD-BE86-7DB02FE085A4One of the major things where ACTi must improve is resistance to hacking. (example: password encription and dDoS resistance). I allready hade experiance when we loosed admin password, so we succelfuly sniffed with wireshark.Thu, 3 Sep 2009 01:02:08 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A107D8BB-CA16-4DBD-BE86-7DB02FE085A4I've been asked several times about this question when selling IP surveillnce to new customers. If I said IP surveillance system will not be attacked by hackers, then I would be lying to my customers and myself. Then what would I say to the customer not to be worried about it and use IP surveillance instead of traditional CCTV. My reply is: 1. We use our own proprietary MPEG-4 compression. The hacker needs to know how we do the compression and crack it. That won't be an easy job. Think about the motivation (money rewards) and the time a hacker spends. 2. We have our own time code in video compression. If a video has been modified, we'll know it. 3. Anyone who access to IPsurveillance system, he/she needs to use ID and password. This provides the basic encryption. 4. Most of the IP surveillance systems will not run under Internet. This reduces risks of being hacked. Theoretically, to hack an IP surveillance system is possible. But why should a hacker (theif, maybe) spends time and effort to do so? What is the benefit he can get? Just break into a bank might be faster... IP Video Market Info has a good article about this topic. You may link to Mr. John Honovich's article here: ipvideomarket.info/report/is_hacking_ip_cameras_a_major_risk Feel free to discuss here for your idea.Thu, 3 Sep 2009 01:04:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=7506E455-8FAD-4229-8B64-4DD89A60FA5FWe. ACTi, are always working on new trends to fulfill the market needs, and we want your help to let us know if you know something that we may just ignored or missed. Please help us to improve our product to make it better for you to sell/bid. Any suggestion is welcome.Wed, 2 Sep 2009 01:02:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=D15BD54D-09FB-4441-BEB3-820AF5D2C36DMegapixel resolution!Wed, 26 Aug 2009 01:08:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=0F31CF18-0727-422E-8FB2-684368789D53It'll be a good way to notify which issue has been solved. If a customer follows ACTi on twitter, I think they'll be happy to see the notification instantly when they're not able to receive email. I know a lot of people use twitter through cellphone.Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:01:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=0F31CF18-0727-422E-8FB2-684368789D53Twitter might be good for news of the technical support like new firmware versions, software updates or general improvements or adjustment recommendations. But it it"s not suitable for direct technical support, because it"s a one-way communication instrument. For open technical discussions a company forum would be the best platform. It also would help to form a real community while twitter is regarded as a service of passive consumption.Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:01:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=0F31CF18-0727-422E-8FB2-684368789D53I think it's a good idea for instant service via twitter on Internet. I saw lots of companies provide the same kind service with different platforms (micro-blog, faceobook, on-line client or help desk...etc). Twitter is really popular nowadays. Some reports said that it really works to help enhance the quality of service and the speed of it as well. Customers also feel satisfied with easy way of communication.Tue, 4 Aug 2009 01:03:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=54F9E433-7DFE-4FD4-9465-2307D9453E1COne more thing. Since ACTi's ACTi provides a flexible solution for adding up an extra storage spaces which can add up to 23 hard drive. Therefore, Keep the C drive(operatingdrive)clean can help the computer to run even more smoothly and stable.Mon, 3 Aug 2009 01:05:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=54F9E433-7DFE-4FD4-9465-2307D9453E1CDear user of ACTi NVR, thank you for sharing your question with us. We are glad to tell you that there is a simple and effective solution available. Let me divide your question as following: 1. How to set the newly added hard drive as a first priority recording disk? 2. How to keep 50GB space on both drives for other applications? 3. Is it possible to use external hard drives? ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. How to set the newly added hard drive as a first priority recording disk? Please go through the following steps: - Make sure the new hard drive has been successfully added to your PC. - Open ActiveSetup of ACTi NVR and press "Setup" -> "Setup System" -> "Storage Management" - You will see the newly added hard disk (maybe named as D drive) on the bottom of the page, select it, and press "New" button. - Now the disk is ready for recording, but not the first priority yet. Press "Shift Up" button on right side. - The disks are now listed in the order of the recording priority, your new drive is at the top. 2. How to keep 50GB space on both drives for other applications? Still being on the Storage Management page, do the following: - Input 50GB into "Keep Space ...GB" field behind each hard drive. - At the top there is "Recording delete rule", set it to "Keep space". Remember to press "Apply" button after doing any changes. Now after these steps, your new drive is set to be the first priority disk for storing videos, besides, 50GB will always be kept as a free space on the disk for other applications. The way the NVR will record files is following: - first it will record on your new drive, until only 50 GB left on that drive. - then it will switch to C drive and keep saving recordings there until only 50 GB left, too. After that it will erase oldest files from your first priority disk (D drive) to free up some space there for new recordings. At one time, it will delete as many GB as you set at "Cleanup Space (GB)". We also kindly advise you not to use NVR computer for other applications as they may influence the stability of NVR processes, such as video recording and storing. 3. Is it possible to use external hard drives? We do not recommend using external hard drives since they are not as reliable as internal hard drives. Accidental removal of external hard drive may lead to crash of NVR system. Also, the USB-based external devices may have some issues with recording speed. If you have more questions, please feel free to ask. We are happy to answer! AndoMon, 3 Aug 2009 01:04:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=0F31CF18-0727-422E-8FB2-684368789D53Currently, ACTi provide a customer helpdesk for every customer to issue RMA or ask questions via ACTi web site. In Web 2.0 era, do you think it is a good idea to provide another way to let customer interact with ACTi tech support team members on Twitter or Plurk? Please vote for your idea and reply to this message with your thought. Thanks.Mon, 3 Aug 2009 01:01:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=D15BD54D-09FB-4441-BEB3-820AF5D2C36DWhat is the most compelling reason to upgrade to IPCameras according to your criteria?Sun, 2 Aug 2009 00:04:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=54F9E433-7DFE-4FD4-9465-2307D9453E1CI have a NVR system and 25 cameras. I noticed that the hard drive fills up quickly. So I purchased another hard drive and installed into the server. However, the NVR is still saving the videos to my original hard drive, instead of the new hard drive. Also, I want to have at least 50GB available for other applications. What should I do? Can I add external hard drive?Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:08:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=CB60FCFA-B419-48D8-A774-B68509D7EE76Megapixel Product Explosion In the last 6 months, megapixel has transitioned from a product that only a dozen or so manufacturers offered to being available in almost every video surveillance booth on a trade show floor (this was literally the case at SecuTech Taipei this April). The Next 12 Months and IP Camera Standards While a few announcements were made on IP camera standards, most of the work on the trade specifications (PSIA, ONVIF) happened behind the scenes. I expect the next 12 months to generate numerous announcements and product launches around ONVIF and HDcctv. These events will help show how strong and how quickly standards may impact real-world projects. Now, ACTi is completely what this article is talking about, we have many MP cameras and also member of PSIA/ONVIF.What will be the next for HDcctv and PSIA/ONVIF? Source:www.stumbleupon.com/s/#2mCYCV/ipvideomarket.info/report/ip_camera_2009_mid_year_review/Tue, 28 Jul 2009 09:02:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A04BF7FC-33C6-4865-8E2F-F67991613A52"Although all the noise is being made by ARECONT and their image quality, the company with a high grow rate bysellingmegapixeloverall solution is Mobotix." Arecont's growth rate is higher than Mobotix's. While the exact number is private, it's no secret that Arecont has grown tremendously in the last year. This does not take away from Mobotix's impressive growth (around 30%) but it's not in the same league currently as Arecont. "You add those two components, intelligent camera + logal storage and you have something very similar to MOBOTIX." Local storage is only a part of Mobotix's decentralized solution. They can manage that on-board storage in their VMSinterface - a lot of VMS providers cannot do so, even if they have the storage on-board. Secondly, Mobotix also offers direct recording to NAS that works as part of their VMS system. While many support NAS recording, Mobotix is one of the few that has this integrated into their VMS system. Finally, Mobotix offers their VMS for free, unlimited. I doubt Axis will match this - even ACTi is not this 'generous'. "interesting to see how they fair next year without H.264 and HDTV being marketed by AXIS and SONY and without Mechanical IRCUT filter, Pan Tilt and Optical zoom" Why is a mechanical IRcut filter so innovative or important? Mobotix offers dual imager cameras with a dedicated b/w imager that to most experts judgments provides far better low light quality. H.264 and HDTV may be important from a specification/marketing standpoint but it provides little practical/technical benefit compared to Mobotix's 3MP MxPEG. "The key question is whereas SDHCis a result of creating differentiated products for the sake of it or does it address a real need and provides a real advantage in a surveillance solution." SHDCcombined with VMS support for on-board storage creates a niche solution. However, VMS support is lacking, so even that is more of a concept than a practical advantage. Beyond that, Mobotix's value prop is significantly greater than simply a camera + on-board storage. While I have been defending Mobotix throughout, this is mainly a function of misconceptions I believe were offered about Mobotix. I do think Mobotix has risks, primarily in that it so heavily promotes the use of all Mobotix packages. However, this is the same risk that ACTi is steadily increasing.Mon, 27 Jul 2009 01:04:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=ABE43413-A85E-4E78-AF2E-09ACD4B49CA7Great, now Pole should know who's Rebecca now...Fri, 24 Jul 2009 01:01:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=D69CFCEF-DF07-4A01-9967-A719A4022BE5From sales point of view: 1. On "IP cameras being too expensive": this is very dependable on the deployment size. It is hard to argue that overall cost (including maintanence) of the IP camera solution is more expensive than an analogue one when the number of channels pass the 48 mark. The new constructions are infrastructured ready, making the cost of owning an IP surveillance solution sometimes cheaper even on less than 48 channels. Another way to look at it: were DVD's cheaper than CD's when they took over the market? The market will just give way to new technologiesoncethe price gap has been shorten (IP andanalogue pricings are shortening)as investing on old technology pose the risk of having to purchase again a newer technology. . 2. On "Storage too expensive": this is not very logical assumption, as even John himself has noted that megapixel are the fastests growing segment (megapixel + more storage needs). The key here is to have smart administared storage: such as record only on motion detection or only cropped critical portions of a live view image. Anyways 2 Teras are now fairly afffordable, plus doesnt analogue need to be stored too? . 3. "Smart Camera Infancy": Well I agree somehow that intelligent features will make IP solution more sexy and appealing to end users. However most of the people right now just need to make some preview and recording. The intelligent features will differentiate the competition between IP camera vendors and software vendors rather than help move the market from analogue to IP. Few are those that move from analogue to IP because of advanced intelligence. As of now I have never been required anything other than motion detection and at most complex, license plate recognition. . 4. The lack of DVR suppport and Integrator Training: I wont even comment about this . . My personal opinion on the biggest challenge that poses to IP camera: 1. Software cost: this can rack up the costs of owning a solution specially if you hear that for every year's upgrade you need to pay another fee. End user: What? if I have analogue installed I dont need to pay a software?. Educate on software cost or provide free software. . 2. A real plug and play installation and user interface: how about I want this and this and this features and I want it to do this and that on these days and record on this days and do this and that. OKplug in camera, check boxes, and voila your surveillance is installed and setup. First to comeupwith a nearplug and play IPSurveillance solution will take a big bite on the market share. I see ACTi Standalone NVR at the end of the tunnel... . 3. Time: for bandwidth and storage to cost less, for more infrastructure ready new constructions, for cultural awareness of digialization andfor new IP features to become must have features for end users. Its only eventual: analogue will be phase out and IP solutions will inevitably take over.Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:02:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=69D7B4EF-4331-4EEF-BF01-742F652AACEFMy 2 cents on it: . 1. Buy cheap small Laptop: perhaps EEEPC or any other with network card maybe even a old phase out laptop. . 2. Industry are adding features to help solve similar aspects: remote zoom and focus adjustment. ACTi will incorporate ithose features to its lineup in the future. . 3. For ACTi products with analogue out shouldnt be a problem as there are plenty of little analogue monitors. .Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:03:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A04BF7FC-33C6-4865-8E2F-F67991613A52. From non-technical, sales point of view: . Mobotix in terms of market size is 2nd in EMEA behind AXIS with a 16% market share, and Worldwide its 4th just behind AXIS, SONY and PANASONIC (IMSResearch). They claim to have 60%of megapixel marketshare. Although all the noise is being made by ARECONT and their image quality, the company with a high grow rate bysellingmegapixeloverall solution is Mobotix. . How have they managed such grow with a differentiated product? High segment markets plays agame of differentiated product. I haveand you don't have: I win if I can teach and convince end user to want whatI have. Eventually those technology needs initiated by manufactures, and system integrators alike are verted into lower market segments. And when the new technologiesdoes provide a higher quality or easier to use product it will stay as a common quality of the IP product. . Mobotix have marketed their system as a "de-centralized" system which in brief is a system with storage and NVR embedded at each camera and thus creates a bandwidth, storage and computing power efficient megapixel solution. Other differentiating aspects are no mechanical moving parts and other gimmicks. . The Mobotix story goes something like this: you can have a true megapixel solution without need of H.264 or high bandwidth whereas no information is sent from camera to central monitoring unless live preview or specific footage is needed, then the central system will retrieve the specific footage from the camera's local storage. And also everything is done at the camera, the schedule record settings, the motion detection and other video analytics. . They have been able to sustain their grow with their side of the story. But it will be interesting to see how they fair next year without H.264 and HDTV being marketed by AXIS and SONY and without Mechanical IRCUT filter, Pan Tilt and Optical zoom (traditional strengths of SONY and PANASONIC), with those heavy marketing powers pose to invest next year on marketing IP Solutions. . On the other hand, with the aggressive implementation of SDHCon high segment products (like speedomes) by AXIS it will seem like MOBOTIXsolution and "story" has become less impressive. For example SDHCcan have 32Gigas of storage (Sandisk, Panasonic, etc) versus 8 or 16 Gigas of embedded Camera storage on Mobotix. So it seems smarter to buy a SDcard according to your recording needs instead of being fixed to a specific storage size in a Camera. Moreover you can have even more efficient local storage with H.264. . On the other hand everybody is built-in more intellegince into the camera: gate keeping, loitering alarm, enhanced motion detection, forbidden perimeter, etc. You add those two components, intelligent camera + logal storage and you have something very similar to MOBOTIX. . Although one might think SDHC is more suited for residential and small deployment surveillance solutions since sometimes there is only the camera and no NVR PC server is present for example at a house, SDHCwould of being implemented at those type of cameras commonly (such as vivotek, dlink, etc). However seems like AXIShas found out MOBOTIXstory is quite interesting and adding the SDHCthey can tell similar stories with some new camera features. Quite interesting to see how MOBOTIXwill fair on 2010 without H.264, HDTV, mechanical PT and Optical ZOOM, and IRCUTfilter. . My guess is that They will be having a handfull trying to explain their "CAMERA-DVR" advantage versus a camera with SDHC and also trying to explain their lack of H.264 and all the other features. . The key question is whereas SDHCis a result of creating differentiated products for the sake of it or does it address a real need and provides a real advantage in a surveillance solution. . Am i Missing something on Mobotix here? Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:02:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=0CAEB0E4-6CB6-4F22-BD98-9586F650DAA2Axis Asia increase 5%, but ACTi Asia inxrease 50%. ya~Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:04:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=ABE43413-A85E-4E78-AF2E-09ACD4B49CA7Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:02:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=EA567538-802D-43A7-8BDC-EAAF233732E8There were lots of earthquake in Taiwan these days. Some of them are really big ones. Yesterday afternoon it came again and it was really big. All the bottles were toppled over. Suddenly, one of our sales jumped out from his chair and ............he tried to protect ACTi cameras with his body. The whole building was shaking and some girls were screaming. It just kept shaking about 1 mins. It's really horrible, especially most of ACTiers have ever gong through 921. Even though the earthquake stopped but no one wanted to save this poor guy...... Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:03:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=0CAEB0E4-6CB6-4F22-BD98-9586F650DAA2I just saw John's report about Axis Q2 financial report and he held a poll to collect people's insight about this situation. I think not only Axis' revenue dropped this first half year but also others because of economic crisis. But is it the main problem that more competitors entered IP surveillance industry? What's your opinions please share it! Link: http://www.ipvideomarket.info/report/axis_camera_stock_weakness_q2_2009 Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:05:07 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=69D7B4EF-4331-4EEF-BF01-742F652AACEFWe've heard from a few installers about on-site adjustments. Often installers need to have a second person tohelpverify the focus/anglein front of computer screens. How should we help remedy this issue? What would be desirable features of a hand-held mobile installation device? Display, zoom, focus indicator, IP setting.... etc. Tell us about your experience in this matter, or perhaps how you creatively reduced the hassle. All thoughts welcome!Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:05:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=2EF3A78A-F82D-4A01-8D28-C7B4D2A344A6ACTiidea is good I'm thinking: ACTi + Innovation = Actinnovation ==> ACTivation...(well, I know it's a bit crappy...)Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:00:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=2EF3A78A-F82D-4A01-8D28-C7B4D2A344A6ACTideaTue, 14 Jul 2009 01:05:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=2EF3A78A-F82D-4A01-8D28-C7B4D2A344A6Since here is open for customer to report questions, provide suggestions, and ACTi team member will try to provide answers, it is more likely a forum. Maybe we should name it to "Forum@cti" to have a clear thought and easy to remember.Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:04:06 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=2EF3A78A-F82D-4A01-8D28-C7B4D2A344A6We would like you to brainstrom with us and give us some suggestions about the naming of idea.acti.com. Some guidelines as below for your reference: 1) clear definition 2) easy to pronounce Thank you all!!Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:01:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=D69CFCEF-DF07-4A01-9967-A719A4022BE51) too expensive: In some projects, it will be much cheaper than analog system if it goes by IP. It saves the cost from coaxial cables and other construction.Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:04:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=D69CFCEF-DF07-4A01-9967-A719A4022BE5For year 2008 (1) IP cameras being too expensive, (2) storage too expensive, (3) smart cameras not widely available, (4) limited DVR support and (5) lack of integrator training. For year 2009 (1)IP Cameras Too Expensive While this is not good for Axis and other premium products, it has delivered dramatic growth to companies like ACTi and Arecont who focus on inexpensive IP and megapixel cameras. (2)Storage Too Expensive Indeed, megapixel is the hottest market segment in the industry. (3) Smart Camera Infancy If video analytics could be broadly and cost-effectively deployed on IP cameras, this would be a major driver in a shift to IP. Unfortunately, there's been few developments on this front. (4)Limited DVR Support Neither are perfect and there are still limitations with many hybrid DVRs. However, both of these moves help make migrating to IP cheaper and less complicated. (5)Lack of Integrator Training More and more integrators are receiving training with manufacturers expanding classes and programs. On the other hand, there has not been any real breakthrough. At best, it's steady progress. One negative force is cut backs on training expenses as integrators attempt to reduce costs in the declining global economy. Conclusion While problems remain, the gap is closing. Last year, we claimed that 3 factors had to be met for IP cameras to be selected by the majority of customers: Standard Definition IP Camera only costs $100 more than equivalent Analog Cameras Megapixel cameras support H.264 and H.264 has no serious side effects on client or servers Smart Cameras are widely available and the analytics work reliably Source: www.stumbleupon.com/s/#7qW8Wg/ipvideomarket.info/report/top_5_ip_camera_problems_2009/Mon, 13 Jul 2009 09:02:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=250D5BC4-33E0-4384-B112-0191D9113290Hi jchisum If you set camera motion-event with email-notification use "Web Configurator" sorry~you can't set schedule for it, each motion will send email. If you setting with NVR, Then you can set motion with schedule. for you information :)Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:06:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=250D5BC4-33E0-4384-B112-0191D9113290Need a solutionfor motion detection events with time schedule. When you set up a motion event with email notification no matter what schedule you use on or off it still emails you. I need a schedule from 17:00hr to 0800 hrs for email notification only during this time, but I need the cameras to still record just send a email notication when someone enters the room.Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:05:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F5D1A6E7-CDB6-4CA7-96A5-E6041D0C9AA2Compare with camera, I prefer the 16M from Avigilon. Have you ever seen the camera demo clips? It was really amazing. http://www.avigilon.com/products/cameras-video/ However, I still don't like this kind of race, The resolution racing doesn't make sense for me.Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:03:07 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=96308F87-E7A1-4D67-8278-290A257368B2I think if you are using the PC based DVR, IP should be a good alternative, since it is able to make the future updated chances. So, from my point of view, 16 channel would be the good start. And another apparent reason: You can use Mega-pixel + Video Analytics. Technology is the key...Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:02:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F62F6D5A-2B4E-48B3-BFFE-BE40745EA423hmmm.. it's a new idea for me, thank you Ivan..Fri, 10 Jul 2009 01:03:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F5D1A6E7-CDB6-4CA7-96A5-E6041D0C9AA2"Compared to MJPEG, H.26 CPU usage was consistently lower" does any one know how can this be possible???Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:05:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=0168315C-45CB-4BAE-B5FF-3878730148D9Security surveillance camera becomes more demanding because of the increasing need for home security every year. numerous people consider the security surveillance camera as their weapon in the arsenal of their self defense. That camera is used as the most effective weapon to stave off attacks by robbers and robbers in numerous businesses. So, installing that camera in personal residences is not a new thing. On the contrary, finding the appropriate security surveillance camera will be convincing in obtaining the best return on the investment, not for an exercise taken lightly. Concerning to security surveillance camera, numerous people consider that by popping a camera up on the outside of their home (commonly pointed at the door) will give the full protection they need. They will not wait until their home being burglarized and just understand later on that security surveillance camera is something that they have to have obtained earlier to save their properties. Furthermore, numerous people wait until the burglary is really happened to consider the fitting of a security surveillance camera. Talking about security surveillance cameras which are accessible on the market, there are various types and styles that can be chosen based on the budget and value of what they hope to save. The type is available from the simple wide-angle cameras that capture a large area to those that can be distantly panned, tilted and zoomed in to effectively track a perpetrators trail as they move around in the home or on the property. The Lenses as Another Important Consideration When Determining Camera Security surveillance cameras are available in the various lenses on the market. The standard lens has the most reasonable price. On the contrary, the security surveillance cameras positioned outdoors or inside the home but near a door and window should be complemented with a lens that has an mechanically adjusted aperture. Just like a still camera, the amount of light which is entering the lens will determine the quality of the image. A fixed-aperture lens can create a washed out picture with no recognizable features, chiefly when it is directed to clear sunlight or even headlights. A security surveillance camera complemented with an auto-aperture will change the lens opening to count the amount of available light, performing image with a good quality despite of the change in lighting. Security surveillance camera which is positioned further from the building will require a longer lens, to insure the image identification. In contrast, the shorter lens can be used for the closer areas under surveillance of the camera, capturing a wider range of image, and give a visible picture. Unless the camera is being monitored, using a zoom lens in security surveillance camera is not a good consideration except the length that can be changed occasionally to set the distance of the recorded image. Source: www.moderntablelamps.info/house-and-home/discovering-the-complex-determination-of-security-surveillance-camera-installation/Thu, 9 Jul 2009 01:01:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=8FBFDA8B-6A83-487E-A58E-CAD72E4D9ADDSo much for green shoots - at least for Axis. In their just released Q2 financial report, Axis leads with "No Change in Sales Trend" which is not a good thing considering their abrupt drop from last year's almost 40% growth rate. This will certainly generate a new round of debate on the future of IP and Axis as the market's leader. While privately lots of industry people talk about how things are improving, this is not a sign in that direction. On the other hand, it's quite likely that the IP market as a whole is doing better than Axis is currently. • Net sales during the period amounted to SEK 1,074 M (931), and to SEK 542 M (494) for the second quarter • Operating profit during the period totaled SEK 93 M (160), and SEK 46 (92) M for the second quarter • Profit before tax during the period amounted to SEK 92 M (160), and to SEK 46 M (92) for the second quarter • Profit after tax during the period totaled SEK 67 M (113), and SEK 34 M (64) for the second quarter • Earnings per share during the first half year amounted to SEK 0.96 (1.64) Source: www.stumbleupon.com/s/#2M0hL0/ipvideomarket.info/report/axis_camera_stock_weakness_q2_2009/Thu, 9 Jul 2009 09:07:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=CEE093D0-6F6A-4025-9F0F-931BDC36EEE2In reading Google's blog post announcing its Chrome Operating System, I kept coming back to this line: "It's our attempt to re-think what the operating system should be." It is modest and restrained, "an attempt," writes Google, and yet an entirely bold and radical statement, a "re-think" of the operating system. Microsoft has been thinking about just such a threat for a long, long time. In its1998 antitrustfight against the U.S., it argued thatits behaviorwas constrained by unknown threats to its Windows OS. "Much of Microsoft's future competition is unknown," wrote Richard Schmalensee, dean of the Sloan School of Management at MIT and one of Microsoft's expert economic witnesses. The government's economic expert, Franklin Fisher, also a professor at MIT, countered that the idea that "a wolf might come out of the forest" to challenge Microsoft wasn't a serious argument to make. He didn't discount the idea, but what mattered was the power the company hadat the time. In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson dismissed Microsoft's notion that the company was restrained by its concerns about the unknown future, but he showed some serious respect for the idea that technology can quickly change the competitive landscape. Wrote Jackson: What eventually displaces the leader is often not competition from another product within the same software category, but rather a technological advance that renders the boundaries defining the category obsolete. These events, in which categories are redefined and leaders are superseded in the process, are spoken of as "inflection points." It was the Internet that was an inflection point, not Netscape's browser, whichwas much of the focus of this case.This browser promised ameans of delivering applications via the Web butit needed an OS. As far as Microsoft was concerned, Netscape was a "trespasser on its territory," wrote the judge. Judge Jackson had it in his mind that the browser, using middleware technologies such as Java,was "opening the way for non-Microsoft operating systems to emerge as acceptable substitutes for Windows." But Jackson was basing this on theoretical argumentsthat were by thenacademic; the future of Netscape wasalready set. Google is solving the Netscape problem by delivering an operating system along with the browser.ButGoogle Chrome OS isn't an inflection point and is only loosely a "re-thinking" of the OS. The thought has been around for awhile now, but the wolf is now finally out of the forest. Source: blogs.computerworld.com/google_chrome_os_the_wolf_is_now_out_of_the_forestThu, 9 Jul 2009 08:05:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F5D1A6E7-CDB6-4CA7-96A5-E6041D0C9AA2Arecont Vision's H.264 megapixel product line has drawn an immense amount of interest. At the beginning of 2008,Arecont was the first surveillance company to announce H.264 multi-megapixel and is currently the only manufacturer offering H.264 megapixel up to 5MP. At the same time, a lot of questions have been raised about image quality, CPU utilization and actual bandwidth savings. In this test of the AV3105DN with the MPL4-10 lens, we explore the performance and benefits of Arecont's H.264 offering. Key findings include: Image quality was sharp with basic manual focusing of the lens Compared to MJPEG, H.26 CPU usage was consistently lower Bandwidth utilization for H.264 streams was up to 90% lower than MJPEG High motion or low lux levels caused H.264 bandwidth utilization to rise significantly, reducing efficiency gains Numerous problems existed using the Arecont Vision VMS software though 3rd party VMS software worked well Source: IPVideoMarket.info www.stumbleupon.com/s/#2bQnZO/ipvideomarket.info/report/testing_arecont_vision_av3105_h264_camera/Wed, 8 Jul 2009 01:05:06 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=8BBD09DF-BF04-422D-B489-03028B9454ECJust finish Macau trip. AMAZING place to gambling~ think maybe ACTi's product can integration with it. For security and maybe online gambling. Because it's IP camera , use for internet solution total make sense right?Fri, 3 Jul 2009 01:00:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=8BCC1DC9-641E-4AE9-A6AB-E010B3DBD190ACTi have open SDK & profile for 3rd party to integration. Such as Milestone and exacq both integration with ACTi's Camera. DVTel is large company, if they want integration with ACTi, I think it will be no problem at all.Fri, 3 Jul 2009 01:03:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F62F6D5A-2B4E-48B3-BFFE-BE40745EA423In Venatian, the design used was wavelength conversion using Fiber Optics cables , Coexitron is utilised at the camera end for signal and control and a 2nd wavelength is use for power. Thu, 2 Jul 2009 01:01:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=8BCC1DC9-641E-4AE9-A6AB-E010B3DBD190Please consider integration of ACTi API to DVtel VMS. I will find the above move a very positive move into the VMS world. Looking at Milestone Xprotect Enterprise, its a system that was build from a very small network into a bigger one, when it reaches a substantial size which require directory handling, Milestone Xprotect Corporate will have to come in. BUT the price of the corporate is not cheap, thus the idea of using DVtel as a software for a network bigger than 300 cameras sounds logical. Please consider. Thu, 2 Jul 2009 01:01:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F62F6D5A-2B4E-48B3-BFFE-BE40745EA423This mount is very famous. It must be PHOTOSHOP!!Thu, 2 Jul 2009 01:02:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=FE216947-2620-4FD1-963E-4BCA0710142AI know one ACTier from Nordic can't wait for ACTi's H.264 vandal proof dome, so they have this idea... does anyone know when will you have outdoor megapixel dome H.264? Wed, 1 Jul 2009 00:01:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=3DB96FF5-1B51-42C9-B112-40CF4DB79A16 Everyone did pay attention on it. ACTi CEO was speaking his sales plan for the following half year. Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:01:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F62F6D5A-2B4E-48B3-BFFE-BE40745EA423It must be the coolest way for mounting I've ever seen!!Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:05:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=F62F6D5A-2B4E-48B3-BFFE-BE40745EA423Hey all, Do you guys have idea how they mount this dome camera in the shop? I didn't see any cable around there... Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:03:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=6F6D4DFD-0D78-49AA-8FF6-DF770849E2F8One of the problem I constantly hear about is we have to use an electrical box to mount our interior dome cameras...I.E. 7411, 3511, 3401, 3411... when having to pendent mount. I am suggesting we that we make a pendent mount attachment one that allowd for center bore (Standard NTP of 1-1/2 inch)... for the 7411 this is expecially important to our continued sales of that product.Mon, 29 Jun 2009 02:07:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=FE216947-2620-4FD1-963E-4BCA0710142AOne of our customers shared his idea about the interior housing of cube cameras or box cameras. Fri, 26 Jun 2009 01:04:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=3DA3C13F-B0EA-4996-AA3F-0F7E5DD85899Smoke domes are used so that people who walk below the camera cannot easily tell where the camera is pointing at. This serves the purpose to keep a potential criminal guess whether they are being watched or not, therefore preventing the crime from happening. Smoke domes often has the drawback of reducing a camera's nighttime sensitivity, so it's usually up to the integrator to decide what is more important for the applications at hand.Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:05:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=8CA49234-3069-4725-AD48-D0E948C9F207I imagine there really won't be many reasons to use the wall mount if the camera already has a 3-axis gimble mount and therefore wall-mountable by itself. One possible reason to use the wall mount bracket still is perhaps to mount close to a corner of the building while looking at the other "face" of the corner, though I don't imagine this to happen a lot.Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:04:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=6F6D4DFD-0D78-49AA-8FF6-DF770849E2F8Do you have frequent requirements of mounting ACTi's fixed dome cameras to Electrical Box such as those 4" x 4" Octogon Shaped Box and 4" x 4" Square Box via a mounting plate? Also, do you need the extension forthe mounting plates?Thu, 25 Jun 2009 02:02:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=3DA3C13F-B0EA-4996-AA3F-0F7E5DD85899For which appliation will you use smoke dome? Is there any different consideration about smoke dome for SPEEDDOME, PTZ andDOME??Thu, 25 Jun 2009 01:05:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=A70D34FE-9066-4673-8D81-38208AA167A7For ACM-7411, horizontal cabling with cable gland is thesolution for water proof (check thedrawing below). If you have ever adopted ACM-7411 simple wall mount in your outdoor project, how do you handle the water proof treatment?Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:05:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=8CA49234-3069-4725-AD48-D0E948C9F207If you have ever adopted ACM-7411's simple wall mount in your project, where is the main application location of ACM-7411 Simple Wall mount?? This information would be very helpful for ACTi's new mounting accessory development.Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:04:01 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=9BACD147-606D-4ADC-9334-EB6DACBF0BFAWed, 24 Jun 2009 01:01:05 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=9976409E-6FE4-4658-841A-9E623DFEFC4DWed, 24 Jun 2009 01:08:02 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=96308F87-E7A1-4D67-8278-290A257368B2So how many chanels do you think is the most cost-effective for IP surveillance?Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:04:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=96308F87-E7A1-4D67-8278-290A257368B2Here's a few suggestions for starters: Because megapixel cameras deliver at least three times the resolution of traditional analogue CCTV cameras. Because IPCCTV leads you to a lower cost base; 1TB in your PC = £50; 1TB analogue DVR commonly £1,000. Because you can utilise the simplicity and flexibility of existing ethernet networks and the internet. Easy DIY deployment using Power Over Ethernet Future-proof; IP CCTV is now where all the investment is going; traditional CCTV equipment manufacturers are all now developing and launching network cameras ... Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:04:00 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=96308F87-E7A1-4D67-8278-290A257368B2Why you choose IP cameras instead of analog ones? Speak out your thinking!Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:06:03 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=9976409E-6FE4-4658-841A-9E623DFEFC4Dreally, where can i download this?Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:04:04 GMThttp://idea.acti.com/forum/view_topic.asp?ID=9976409E-6FE4-4658-841A-9E623DFEFC4DHave you tried ACTi CMS already? It has been launched couple days ago. Please leave your feedback here and feelfree to let us know your any inputs. Know more about CMS: www.acti.com/news/Software/ACTi_CMSV1 Mon, 22 Jun 2009 01:03:04 GMT