AXIS Camera Station

Installation Guide

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

AXIS Camera Station

Installation Guide

Page 3

Minimum recommended requirements

Install AXIS Camera Station on a stand-alone computer dedicated mainly for running this application

Hardware:

• Intel Pentium 4 with 2 GHz processor

• CD-drive

• 512 MB RAM

• Hard disk: 1 GB available space for installation

• NTFS file system

• XGA (1024 x 768) or higher resolution monitor

• AGP Graphic card, Direct Draw (for MPEG-2/4) with 32 MB or more memory

• 100 MB Ethernet with a static IP address

System:

• Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2, 2000 (SP4) 2003 Server (SP1),

Internet Explorer Version 6.0 or later, DirectX 9.0c or later (for MPEG 2/4)

• TCP/IP support

• Internet Information Server (IIS) - for Web client

• Microsoft .NET 1.1 runtime environment (included in installation package)

Minimum recommended requirements for a full 25 camera system:

• Dual XEON 3 Ghz, 1024 MB RAM, Multiple SCSI disks

• 1000 Mbit Ethernet backbone

Page 4 AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

Overview

This document will help you install AXIS Camera Station and configure it for your Axis Network Cameras and Axis Video

Servers. A brief introduction to the functionality of the software is covered here, see the online Help or the AXIS Camera Station User’s

Manual for a detailed description. The User’s Manual is available on the CD and on www.axis.com

AXIS Camera Station is a complete monitoring and recording system for use with Axis Network Cameras and Video Servers.

The application's main window provides quick and easy access to all connected and configured cameras, recordings, inputs and outputs used in the system. A background service in Windows,

AXIS Camera Station will start automatically upon system start-up and continue running even after the user logs out.

Configuration

All dialogs that allow control and configuration of all aspects of the

AXIS Camera Station system are found under Options in the file menu.

Remote clients

For remote clients you can use “AXIS Camera Station Client”

described on page 25 or “AXIS Camera Station Web Application” described on page 27.

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide Page 5

Network Configuration

AXIS Camera Station can record and play back video from cameras that are connected over a LAN (Local Area Network) or over a WAN (Wide Area Network).

LAN

The cameras can be connected directly to the server running AXIS

Camera Station using an Ethernet network.

Internet (WAN)

To access AXIS Camera Station from the Internet and get live images from the cameras you must open a set of IP addresses and port numbers in your firewall configuration.

See Network Configuration in AXIS Camera Station user’s manual.

Page 6 AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

See the User’s Manual for details, available on the CD and on www.axis.com

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide Page 7

Install AXIS Camera Station Software

Install AXIS Camera Station on the dedicated stand-alone PC from where you wish to run the main administration of your cameras and video servers.

1. Insert the CD in the CD drive. If the installation CD does not auto-start, click autorun.exe in the CD’s root folder.

2. From the CD’s interface, click Software and then AXIS

Camera Station

3. Click Open to launch the installation.

Note:

You may be prompted to install .NET Framework. Simply follow the Installation

Wizard’s instruction.

4. Next, you will be asked where you wish to install the program. If nothing is specified the program is normally installed in C:\Program Files\Axis Communications\AXIS

Camera Station.

5. Click your way through the Installation Wizard.

Page 8 AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

Note:

If running Windows XP, you will need to permit the firewall to accept incoming requests from AXIS Camera Station Client when prompted.

6. When the installation is finished, open AXIS Camera Station from Start > All Programs or click the program icon on your desktop:

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide Page 9

AXIS Camera Station Activation

The first time you start the program you will be asked to register your license.

Activate the software with your License Key

The License Key can be used for only one current installation.

Once registered, it cannot be used again. Do not request the access code to activate the software until AXIS Camera Station is installed on the target computer.

The License Key is your proof of purchase, keep it in a safe place for future reference.

Important!

When entering the License Key and Access Code, remember that they are both case sensitive.

License

A base license is required to run AXIS Camera Station and allows for a specified number of cameras to be used with the program.

Licenses for additional cameras can be installed under Options >

General Settings > License, see AXIS Camera Station User’s

Manual for more information.

Licenses for the AXIS Image Enhancer component can also be installed if you want to improve the image quality in poor visibility conditions, such as fog, smoke, rain and snow.

Page 10 AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

There are two types of upgrade licenses available for purchase at your local Axis reseller:

• Additional camera license.

• Software upgrade license. You can upgrade AXIS

Camera Station for a limited time from www.axis.com and then extend the license.

Licenses and the time period remaining are displayed in the software interface. MyAxis (www.axis.com/reg/) shows your registered licenses and activation dates.

Fast Internet connection:

Register automatically

If AXIS Camera Station is installed on a computer with fast Internet access you can register automatically. Your license information is sent directly to the Axis Web server.

1. Click Register.

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide Page 11

2. Fill in the requested information. The License Key is found on the inside of the AXIS Camera Station CD casing. Click

Activate.

3. Your license information will be sent to Axis

Communications and your software will be activated automatically.

4. You can now start using AXIS Camera Station.

Note:

If the connection to the Axis Web server fails while registering the software, you can register manually by following the instructions for

No or low-speed

Internet connection: Register manually.

Page 12 AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

No or low-speed Internet connection:

Register manually

If AXIS Camera Station is installed on a computer without (or with low-speed) access to the Internet, you can acquire the Access Code that is needed to activate the software from the Axis Web site and enter it manually.

1. Click Grace period.

2. Enter the License Key and click Activate Grace Period.

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide Page 13

3. You will see your Server ID (a code containing information about your PC), make a note of it. You will need the Server

ID when filling in information on the Internet form for your

Access Code.

4. You can now use AXIS Camera Station for 5 days.

During the grace period you can receive the Access Code by using any computer with Internet access. Browse to

http://www.axis.com/techsup/acs and fill in the requested information. When complete click Submit.

5. When you have received the Access Code, select Yes to this prompt when starting up AXIS Camera Station.

Page 14 AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

6. Enter your Access Code. License Key and Server ID are filled in automatically.

7. Click Activate.

8. You can now start using AXIS Camera Station.

Using the Demo version

Another option is to install AXIS Camera Station as a 30-day demo version, which works with 4 cameras and includes Image Enhancer for one channel.

Note:

Demo version does not allow recording or live viewing in MPEG-4.

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide Page 15

Configure AXIS Camera Station

After installing the software, it must be configured for your cameras and video servers. The first time AXIS Camera Station is started, a search function automatically finds and installs cameras/ video servers on your network. If there are more cameras on your network than you have a license for, an Install Cameras dialog opens automatically. Simply check the boxes of the camera/video servers you would like to install in AXIS Camera Station.

Manual configuration of camera/video servers is done from

Options menu.

Page 16 AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

Adding a Camera/video server to

AXIS Camera Station

1.From AXIS Camera Station, click

Options > Camera settings.

Note: All settings can be found under Options.

Only a few of the most essential settings are covered in this guide. See the online Help or

User’s Manual for a full description.

2. From Camera settings, click on the Add button.

3. Information can be entered manually or click Search to get a list of available cameras and video servers on your network.

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide Page 17

4. Click on the desired camera/video server and then OK.

5. All pertinent information appears in the window. Camera

Name is how the camera will appear in AXIS Camera

Station. If you like, you may change the name to something more descriptive such as “Backdoor” or “Garage”.

The change will only affect AXIS Camera Station and not the camera.

6. Click Link to Camera to verify that you can access the camera.

Page 18 AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

Note:

The Camera Enabled box should be checked. If this box is not checked when registering a camera, recordings and live viewing are not possible

7. If cameras are set up to use a common user name and password, check the Use master password box under

Credentials. If the camera has a unique password, check Use

specific password and enter User Name and Password information.

Notes:

The Master Password is setup in AXIS Camera Station under Options > General

Settings > General > Master Credentials.

Default User name = root, Password = pass.

Set up Recording

Recording can be set up as continuous, triggered or scheduled. For information about Recording and Schedules, see the AXIS Camera

Station User’s Manual or help files.

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide Page 19

Defining default camera views from

AXIS Camera Station

To define the camera views as seen from the main AXIS Camera

Station user interface, click on Options > Views from the file menu.

1. Select the view according to the number of cameras you want to configure.

Select view

Specify the

default start view

Drag-and-drop camera to view.

Select

Frame rate and

Image Quality

2. Specify the default view to display from the drop-down list when AXIS Camera Station is started. The No Live Images option is when only the controls are visible.

3. Arrange cameras in the view by clicking first on the position in the view and then the desired camera in the

Available Cameras list. You can also drag-and-drop a camera to the desired position in the view.

4. Select Frame Rate (number of frames per second) and Image

Quality for live video. A high value will require less bandwidth, but give lower quality images. A low value will give better images due to less compression, but requires more bandwidth. Note that the frame rate is a target value.

The actual frame rate depends on the type of camera, network conditions and your PC configuration.

5. Click on OK to accept configuration.

Page 20 AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

AXIS Camera Station User Interface

Green light = background recording

service is running.

Red light = background recording service is not running.

Click to expand view

The background recording service retrieves images from the connected cameras and stores them to hard disk. From AXIS

Camera Station you can start or stop the background service, click

File > Start Server or Stop Server or right-click on the AXIS

Camera Station icon in the taskbar.

When the service is running there is a flashing green indicator in the upper right corner of the window. A flashing red indicator means the service was stopped, for example by the operator. When the service is running there is also a green icon in the task bar, a red icon means the service was stopped and a yellow icon indicates that the service is starting up or experiencing problems connecting to one of the cameras.

Recording is only possible if the background service is running, and will continue even after logging out from the PC where AXIS

Camera Station is installed.

The background service will automatically start running upon system start-up.

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide Page 21

AXIS Camera Station Controls

View Selection

Select a view and you will get a window showing live images direct from the camera. It is possible to click in the image from Pan/Tilt/

Zoom cameras to move the camera or zoom using the mouse scroll wheel.

No Live Images

Click the No Live Images button to close the camera windows. Showing live images in the main window uses processor power. Not displaying live images reduces the amount of processor power required by the service and does not affect recordings in any way. The amount of bandwidth required is also less when not showing live images. In the Views section (Options > Views...) it is possible to set up the system so that it always starts in this mode.

Select Camera

Select a camera to be shown in a new window. Controls for Pan/Tilt/Zoom, audio and AXIS Image Enhancer may also be shown in this window.

Page 22 AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

Monitor

I/O

When clicking this button, the I/O Status of

I/Os defined in AXIS Camera Station are displayed. Monitoring I/O defines when events, such as an alarm or motion detection, should be triggered. Each I/O is shown on one line, along with a colored indicator:

• green indicator means the I/O is in its normal state

• red indicates that the I/O is active, recording may be in progress depending on the setup.

• yellow means there is no communication with the I/O

Buttons for starting and stopping an I/O output are shown, as well as a button to open the camera’s view.

Camera sequence Click to open the Camera sequence window. A camera sequence is a pre-defined "tour" i.e. a configuration that automatically switches through all of the cameras included in the tour. Select the camera sequence to view from the drop-down list. See the User’s Manual for instructions on setting up a Camera Sequence.

Playback

See AXIS Camera Station User’s Manual for instructions on defining I/O.

Recorded events

Here you can search through recorded events.

Select a date, a time and press the search button to get an overview of all the recorded events. Click on a reference image to open a

Playback window to view the entire recording of the event.

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

4-camera playback

Event Log

Page 23

Here you can play recorded events from four cameras simultaneously. Select a date and time, and then press the search button. All the events found for the 4 cameras will be played starting at the specified date and time up to the present time.

The event log shows all of the alarms and other events in the server. Click on an Alarm or Motion detection event to view. To open the full event log, select View >Event Log.

Page 24 AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

Pan/Tilt/Zoom and Audio controls

These controls are only visible if the connected camera has PTZ capability or a connected audio module. Choose a camera from the drop-down list “Select a camera” for the controls to appear.

Pan/Tilt/Zoom controls

Click on the controls to steer the camera around. You can also click on the images to move the camera. (This feature is only available on some PTZ cameras).

Audio controls

If the camera is equipped with audio capability, the controls are shown here.

The recording properties for installed Axis network cameras and video servers, e.g. frame rate, image size, are set under Options >

Camera Settings > Edit > Recording.

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide Page 25

AXIS Camera Station Client

The AXIS Camera Station Client application is used for remote operations on client workstations, where you can perform the same tasks as from AXIS Camera Station using a similar user interface.

Install AXIS Camera Station Client Software

1. From the client workstation, insert the CD and select

Software then AXIS Camera Station Client.

2. Click Open to launch the installation.

Note:

You may be prompted to install .NET Framework. Simply follow the installation

Wizard’s instructions

3. Next, you will be asked where to install the program. If nothing is specified, the program is normally installed here:

C:\Program Files\Axis Communications\AXIS Camera

Station Client

4. Click your way through the Installation Wizard. When you are finished, open AXIS Camera Station Client from Start >

All Programs or click the program icon on the desktop:

5. Click File > Connection to complete the installation.

Page 26 AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide

6. The first time you connect, this window will appear:

7. Enter the IP address or host name of the server PC where

AXIS Camera Station is installed and, if required, the User

Name and Password.

8. Click OK.

Notes:

• When working with more one than one AXIS Camera Station, a list of recently accessed Camera Stations is available in the File menu.

• If there are problems connecting to the server, click Test con-

nection to troubleshoot the problem. Port 11007 is used and must be opened in the firewall, router, etc.

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide Page 27

AXIS Camera Station Web Application

A web browser can be used on client workstations to view cameras and perform simple operations, such as review or playback recordings.

Once the AXIS Camera Station Web Access has been enabled in

AXIS Camera Station under Options > General Settings > General clients can access camera views from a browser by typing

http://<server IP address>/VideoWeb in the Address field

Example: http://10.13.6.128/VideoWeb

See the online Help pages or the User’s Manual for more information. The User’s Manual is available on the AXIS Camera

Station CD and on www.axis.com

AXIS Camera Station Installation Guide Rev. 4.0 May 2006

Copyright © Axis Communications AB, 2004-2006 Part No. 26390