In lower light conditions motion may be triggered constantly or not at all. This can be seen in the camera webpage as well where the last motion alarm is a start alarm followed by no stop.
Solution
To reduce the false triggers the following can be done.
Reduce the sensitivity of the motion area.
Draw multiple motion windows in the area.
Reduce the sharpness of the image. (This may make the image slightly blurry).
You should now see start and stop alarms in the camera web page as well as recording in exacq.
Adding a camera, disabling or re-enabling the camera, restarting the exacqVision server service, or rebooting the exacqVision Server, causes the server to set the camera’s timezone, for all cameras that allow it, to Coordinated Universal Time (also known as Universal Time Coordinated, UTC, UTC+0, UTC+00:00, “Z time”, or “Zulu Time”). This is preferred for global video recording and playback time synchronization because UTC does not observe Daylight Savings Time (DST) changes. This camera configuration change is therefore normal, desired, and expected behavior for video management as a whole. However, if the expectation is that the camera’s on-screen display (OSD) must display the local time for video clip exportation in MPEG-4 (MP4) format, changing the camera’s timezone or turning off the camera’s OSD negatively impacts this use-case.
An override switch is now available for cameras that make use of the Dahua IP camera plugin (DahuaIpPi). These include:
Illustra Essentials
Storm
IntelBras
Riva Flex
VidicoreGmbh
CP Plus
The override will prevent the server from setting the timezone on the camera to UTC+0 as would normally occur. This will only affect the camera’s internal timekeeping and its corresponding on-screen display (OSD). The exacqVision Server’s OSD will remain unaffected and be subject to its own internal clock timezone setting.
Override commands:
To prevent the server from setting the camera’s timezone to UTC+0, use:
#timezone=camera
Example: 192.168.1.168#timezone=camera
To allow the server to set the camera’s timezone to UTC+0 (same as default):
ipaddress#timezone=utc
Example: 192.168.1.168#timezone=utc
How to use:
For a camera to be added to the exacq Server, append the #timezone=camera override command to the Hostname/IP address field of the exacqVision Client > Add IP Cameras > IP Camera Information section. On an already connected camera, add the override to the existing camera Hostname/IP address entry, set the camera timezone through the camera’s webpage interface, and allow the camera to reconnect.
Explicitly adding the #timezone=utc override command to the Hostname/IP address field of the exacqVision Client > Add IP Cameras > IP Camera Information section or simply removing the override command from an existing camera Hostname/IP address entry will immediately cause the camera to reconnect and be set to UTC+0 by the server.
Illustra cameras may be showing a status of “Motion not Supported” or motion is not being detected.
As part of cyber security compliance Illustra camera firmware is now defaulting to ‘Enhanced’ vs ‘Standard’ security resulting in the camera sending out metadata over HTTPS instead of HTTP.
Resolution
Select one of the following options:
Update the Server version to 22.12.5 or higher. Exacq’s ability to accept metadata over HTTPS was enhanced in version 22.12.5. If your SSA does not permit you to update the ExacqVision Server version to 22.12.5 or higher, you will need to choose from the remaining options below.<br><br>
Factory default the camera and choose Standard instead of Enhanced security. See Article 14441 on the differences between Standard and Enhanced security modes.
Or if the camera is using Enhanced Security, then enable ‘Video over HTTP’ in the camera’s GUI
To change this setting, navigate to the Security page in the Illustra camera web interface.
Click the ‘Edit’ link beside ‘Video over HTTP’.
Place a check mark in the box adjacent to ‘Video over HTTP’.
Return to the ‘Add IP Cameras’ page in the ExacqVision Client.
Disable then re-enable the camera to pull the new camera settings.
Video from the Illustra Flex 16MP Multisensor camera “stutters” in Live mode. This “stuttering” presents as live video movement with periodic frame freezes followed by a quick catch-up to live video.
Play back of recorded video from the same streams presents no problems or “stuttering”.
This is due to a burst-like nature of streaming video frames.
Resolution
In the exacqVision Client, go to the Client Settings page.
exacqVision supports connecting to many cameras using HTTPS. Depending on the camera firmware capabilities and the device type plugin used in exacqVision the level of encryption provided may vary.
Using the IP Camera Integration Database, you may choose to filter the displayed results by devices which support SSL (HTTPS).
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Connecting with HTTPS
When adding a new camera to an exacqVision Server or editing an existing camera connection, the IP Camera Information section on the Add IP Cameras page provides a Protocol drop-down menu. The following options are available:
HTTP
HTTPS If Available
HTTPS Required
Selecting ‘HTTPS If Available‘ does not permit customizing the Port number field. This option will attempt to connect to the camera using HTTPS on port 443. If this attempt fails it will fall back to attempt connection with HTTP on port 80. This may add a small delay to the initial connection as it tests HTTPS first.
Selecting ‘HTTPS Required‘ will only permit connection to the device using HTTPS. If the device cannot accept such a connection the device will fail to connect. You are permitted to change the Port number field should your camera be configured to provide HTTPS over a custom port number.
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HTTPS Connection Symbols
The IP Camera List on the Add IP Cameras page as well as the Camera Recording page provide symbols in the Protocol column allowing you to quickly view which devices are connected with HTTPS and to what level.
An empty field in the Protocol column indicates an HTTP connection.
The gear icon denotes that the connection is made to the device with HTTPS, which encrypts the login credentials to the device, the camera web interface in the Client’s web panels, and CGI commands made to the camera.
A padlock icon in the Protocol column indicates that the HTTPS connection encrypts the credentials, web page, and CGI commands, but also includes encryption of the video stream.
NOTE: HTTPS between the exacqVision software and camera encrypts only the communications between those two devices.
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Enabling HTTPS on Your Camera
Cameras will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer as well as between versions of firmware. Legacy firmware on some devices may require you to apply your own certificate. Many IP cameras today provide HTTPS support out-of-box using self-signed certificates. Below, we examine the settings on an Illustra IQ camera. For other devices, please refer to your device’s documentation.
NOTE: When accessing a camera through the web browser interface using HTTPS, your browser may warn you or prompt you for permission to continue due to having a self-signed certificate. A self-signed certificate can be used to encrypt communication but cannot provide certificate validation. Certificate validation requires the certificate be issued by a Certificate Authority (CA).
Some devices may require you to generate a new self-signed certificate if you have changed the IP address since the last certificate was created.
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Illustra IQ Cameras
Illustra IQ devices provide self-signed certificates out-of-box. When entering the Setup mode of an Illustra IQ camera expand the Security menu, then navigate to the HTTP/HTTPS page, as shown.
This page allows you to configure the port number used. Using the Upload button will allow you to upload your own certificate from a trusted Certificate Authority rather than using the camera’s self-signed certificate.
If you decide to use a certificate from a Certificate Authority you must provide them with a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) from the camera. Each camera requires its own, unique certificate from your CA.
NOTE: Do not use wildcard certificates for this purpose.
To generate a CSR file to provide to your CA, navigate to the Generate CSR page, also found under the Security menu. Complete the form on the left as required for your site and needs, then click Apply. The field to the right will populate. You will copy the data from this field into a new text file, but save it as a .CSR file. If you accidentally save the file as .txt, simply replace the .txt file extension with .csr. Provide this file to your CA.
