Edit Camera Stream Settings

	This is the Edit pencil icon.
	This is the Expand icon (used to view the list of Recording Statistics).
	This is the Condense icon (used to close the list of Recording Statistics).
	This is the Camera icon. (Black represents the Primary Stream. Gray represents an available camera stream.)

After a camera has been added to Orchid Core VMS, settings such as the stream resolution and frame rate can be updated through the camera stream’s configuration. While this is true for most cameras, cameras added using the RTSP driver (old cameras and cameras that don’t support ONVIF) cannot be edited through Orchid Core VMS. You will need to access those cameras directly to edit settings. (Refer to the camera manufacturer’s documentation for more details.)

1. From the list of registered cameras on the Camera Configuration screen, click the name of the camera you want to edit. (The list will expand to display all of the information for the selected camera. This includes the camera name, IP address, and all of the available streams.)

Camera Information

1. To change the camera name, click the Edit pencil to the right of the camera name. Enter a new name in the Camera Name field and press the Update Camera button. (Remember: The cameras are listed in alphabetical order by camera name.)

This screen also displays the camera model and the status of the camera stream in use. These settings are informational and cannot be altered here; please refer to the System Status section for status descriptions.

Beginning in version 21.6, Orchid Core VMS will display the NTP settings and the Time Zone setting next. (If the camera was installed while using an earlier version of Orchid, you won’t see these settings. To remedy this, you need to recover your camera.)

2. To change the NTP settings, click the Edit pencil to the right of the NTP settings.

By default, the system will pull the Network Time Protocol (NTP) from the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. If the default is used for all of the cameras, this ensures that all of the cameras on the network are using the same system clock as the Orchid software itself.

3. If you need to use a different server, do the following:
   1. Use the NTP Settings drop-down list to select Manual.
   2. Enter the name of the server you want to use.
   3. When all settings are complete, click the Update NTP Settings button.

4. If you need to change the time zone for the camera, do the following:
   1. Click the Edit pencil to the right of the Time Zone.
   2. Use the Time Zone drop-down list to select the appropriate time zone.
   3. Mark the Daylight Saving Time checkbox if your region observes daylight saving time.
   4. When all settings are complete, click the Update Time Zone Settings button.

The RTSP URL status fields are typically used for troubleshooting. These allow for a comparison of the video coming from the camera and the video as received by Orchid Core VMS to determine where a problem might be occurring.

• The Camera RTSP URL (which contains the camera’s IP address) represents the video stream that Orchid Core VMS is recording.
• The Orchid Proxy RTSP URL represents the video that Orchid Core VMS is showing on the Stage. (For more details, please refer to the Advanced Topics section.)

Recording Statistics

1. Click the Expand icon to open the Recording Statistics section. This section will show the statistics that indicate how the recording stream is performing.

The top section provides the average packet loss percentage over periods of the last 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 15 minutes. It’s important to be aware if packet loss is occurring because it may impact the quality of archived video. These averages are updated about every 5 seconds and will mostly be used for troubleshooting. For more information on analyzing the packet loss percentages, please refer to the section on Checking for Packet Loss.)

The top section also displays the average bitrates over the same periods of time. These indicate how much video data is being transferred, per second, from the camera to the Orchid Core VMS server. You may notice that the average bitrates provided here do not match the bitrates that have been configured under Stream settings. This is not unusual and should not cause concern. These bitrate values reflect the reality of your system, and can be used as a reference in making adjustments to the configured bitrate.

* For Players in live WebRTC mode, the bitrates (from camera to server) and the bitrates (from server to client) should be about the same. The packet loss statistics, however, may be different.

The Recording Statistics feature also provides information about the last video file that has been written to the system for this camera stream. This statistic is updated about once per minute. If the camera is configured to record continuously, and the last video file is more than 1 minute old, the system may not be recording this camera stream.

2. Click the Condense icon to close the list of Recording Statistics.

Streams

A camera stream is a profile with all of the basic settings used by Orchid Core VMS to record video from the camera. The stream currently being used by Orchid Core VMS, the primary stream, is indicated by a darkened camera icon.

1. To select a new stream, click the Camera icon located to the left of the name of the stream you want Orchid Core VMS to record with.

*Only one stream per camera can be used at a time. However, multiple stream profiles from the same camera can be used if the camera is added to Orchid Core VMS multiple times. (This is especially useful for cameras with multiple lenses.)

2. To edit a stream, click the Edit pencil icon (located to the right of the stream name). A screen will appear with all of the stream settings available for editing.

*If you are editing a JPEG stream, available settings may be limited.

*The Motion Style setting (pictured below) will only be available on Axis, Hanwha, and Vivotek cameras.

3. Review or change the stream name so users can easily identify the camera stream.
4. Review or change the Recording Style for the camera stream. (Review the information below before making a selection.)

Recording Style
Orchid Core VMS offers five different recording styles to choose from. These recording styles will impact video availability (as shown in the descriptions and table below).

• Continuous Recording with Motion Detection: Orchid Core VMS will continuously record video from the camera and perform motion detection. This is the default and recommended setting.
• Continuous Recording without Motion Detection: Orchid Core VMS will continuously record video from the camera, but will not perform motion detection. This option offers a modest reduction in CPU load on the Orchid Core VMS server.
• Continuous Recording with Motion Adaptive Frame Rate: Orchid Core VMS will record at a higher frame rate while motion is detected, and a different (slower) frame rate while no motion is detected. These frame rates are user-selectable (as shown in the screenshot following the table). (Due to the way H264 compresses video, this recording style typically shows significant savings in disk usage only for inexpensive cameras with noisy sensors, or cameras in low-light environments.)
• Proxy Only: Orchid Core VMS will provide live video from the camera but will not record video.
• Recording Only When Motion Detected: Orchid Core VMS will only record video from the camera when motion is detected. This may result in a reduction in disk usage on the Orchid Core VMS server, however, motion detection accuracy may vary and result in video loss.

	Continuous recording with motion detection (Default)	Continuous recording without motion detection	Continuous recording with motion adaptive frame rate	Proxy only, no video will be recorded	Recording only when motion is detected
Recording and playback are available	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes (When motion is detected)
Live view is available in low-bandwidth mode	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
Thumbnail previews are available	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes

Motion Style
Beginning with version 21.3, Orchid Core VMS provides an additional option for Axis, Hanwha, and Vivotek cameras. On these cameras, you will now be able to select server-based motion detection (the default), or camera-based motion detection.

Server-based motion detection means that the Orchid Core VMS software will determine if motion occurs in the recorded video. In this case, the Orchid Core VMS server will analyze consecutive frames of video for changes that would indicate motion. With this Motion Style, you may take advantage of Orchid’s advanced Motion Detection settings that permit you to select which regions of the camera view are eligible for motion detection, and the minimum object size that qualifies for motion detection.

Camera-based motion detection means that one of the camera’s metadata events will be used to detect motion. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways, and will vary by camera. Typically these metadata events will come from the camera’s built-in motion detection scheme. In other instances, the camera’s I/O port may be connected to an external passive infrared (PIR) sensor that will detect motion. In any case, the camera-based motion detection feature can provide better support for very high resolution cameras, especially, 360-degree cameras. Any adjustments to the camera-based motion detection will have to be performed through the camera’s web interface.

5. Use the Recording Style drop-down list to select a new recording style.
6. If you select a recording style that includes motion detection, you may need to make additional selections.
   1. Use the Motion Style drop-down list to select a motion style. Options include Camera and Server.
      1. If you select the Camera motion style, use the Camera Event drop-down list to select the criteria the camera will use to detect motion. Available selections will vary by camera, and selecting the appropriate event may require some experimenting.

Refer to the table below for some common ONVIF camera events.

Camera Type	Event	Description
Axis	RuleEngine/VMD3/vmd3_video_1, VideoSource/MotionAlarm, RuleEngine/MotionRegionDetector/Motion	These three event types will work for camera-side motion detection. They differ slightly with the data types used in their message data, but all three use the VMD engine because they are only available if VMD is installed and running. If in doubt, select RuleEngine/VMD3/vmd3_video_1.
Axis	VideoAnalytics/MotionDetection	This is for cameras with built-in motion detection that pre-dates VMD support. The three Axis events listed above are preferred, if available.
Axis	Device/Sensor/PIR	Use this event type only if you know for certain that PIR sensors are built into your camera. Almost all cameras report this, even cameras that are not equipped with PIR sensors.
Axis	Device/IO/Port, Device/IO/VirtualPort	For cameras using external PIR sensors, this is usually the event that corresponds to movement (e.g. closed circuit = no motion, and open circuit = motion). The difference between Port and VirtualPort depends on how your PIR sensor has been configured. If unsure, try both.
Hanwha	VideoSource/MotionAlarm	Use this event type for camera-based motion detection on Hanwha cameras.
Vivotek	VideoSource/MotionAlarm, VideoAnalytics/Motion	Both of these sources provide events during motion, with small differences. VideoSource/MotionAlarm sends a single event based on all windows configured, while VideoAnalytics/Motion returns a single event for each configured motion window.

*If your cameras were registered to this Orchid system prior to version 21.3.0, the system will not recognize the metadata events on the cameras, and therefore, camera-based motion detection will not be an available option. To remedy this, perform the Recover Camera procedure on each camera, as needed.

7. If you select the Continuous recording with motion adaptive frame rate recording style, you will need to set both the Frame Rate During Motion and the Frame Rate During Non-Motion. (The Frame Rate During Motion will dictate the available settings for the Frame Rate During Non-Motion. Allowable settings for the Frame Rate During Non-Motion range from 1 up to a setting that is less than or equal to the Frame Rate During Motion.)

*If you selected server-based motion detection, you may use the advanced Motion Detection settings on the Camera Configuration screen to further customize motion detection.

8. Continue to review and change camera stream settings for video, audio and bandwidth as needed. Refer to the definitions below for help in selecting settings.

*You may need to use the scroll bar to view the additional settings in the lower portion of the screen.

Video Settings
Each camera type reports its own default values provided by the camera manufacturer. Use those default values unless otherwise noted.

• Encoder: The type of compression used for the camera’s video. In WebRTC mode, Orchid Core VMS only supports H264 video. In Low-bandwidth mode, Orchid Core VMS supports JPEG, MPEG4, and H264 (recommended). (Available selections depend on the camera.)
• Bit Rate: The target data size (in kilobits per second) of the compressed video. Increasing this value will typically improve image quality at the expense of increased disk usage and reduced retention. In WebRTC mode, bitrates of 2000 kbps or less tend to work best. The default value is recommended.
• Frame Rate: The number of frames per second transmitted within the video stream. Most Orchid Core VMS users are best served by values between 7 and 12. Higher frame rates provide more video detail at the expense of reduced video retention and increased bandwidth usage.
• GOV Length: When using H264 compression, this value specifies how often the camera sends a full image frame (instead of a “change frame” which only describes differences between frames). For example, if this is set to 15, Orchid Core VMS will send a full image frame once every 15 frames. Be aware of how this setting may impact video quality. As the GOV length decreases, the system will need to send more keyframes of video (within the set bit rate). This may result in a loss of quality for those keyframes. The default value is recommended.
• Profile: When using H264 compression, this specifies an H264 Profile of either Baseline, Main, or High. Higher profiles offer better compression (which means increased retention and lower bandwidth usage) at the expense of increased CPU utilization when decoding video. The highest available profile is recommended.
• Resolution: The resolution of video transmitted by the camera. Higher values increase video detail at the expense of reduced video retention and increased bandwidth usage. Most Orchid Core VMS users are best served by resolutions between 1280×720 and 1920×1080.
• Quality: This value affects how much the video is compressed. Higher values increase video quality at the expense of increased storage requirements (and thus reduced video retention). The default value is recommended.

Audio Settings (if supported)
Beginning in Orchid Core VMS version 2.8, audio control is no longer supported at the Player/Stage level. However, the Orchid Core VMS server is still recording audio for those cameras that support it, and this audio will be available in exported video files. Future versions of Orchid Core VMS will support audio over WebRTC.

These Audio Settings will appear on the screen only if the camera supports audio and will determine how the Orchid server records the audio. Each camera type reports its own default settings. Use those default values unless otherwise noted.

• Encoder: The type of compression used by the camera’s audio. Orchid Core VMS supports “None” (audio is disabled), G711, and AAC (recommended if audio is desired).
• Bit Rate: The target data size (in kilobits per second) of the compressed audio. The default value is recommended.
• Sample Rate: Affects the quality of recorded sound. The default value is recommended.

Low-bandwidth Settings

• Decode all frames: This setting applies to viewing Live video in Low-bandwidth mode. When Decode all frames is disabled, Orchid Core VMS will display only full frames (per the configured GOV length) when viewing live video in Low-bandwidth mode. When Decode all frames is enabled, Orchid Core VMS will display every available frame from the camera (regardless of GOV length) when viewing live video in Low-bandwidth mode, assuming sufficient bandwidth exists. Decode all frames is disabled by default because enabling this setting will increase CPU use on your Orchid Core VMS server. (For more details on Low-bandwidth mode, please refer to the Advanced Topics section.)
  

9. Once the stream settings have been updated, click the Update Stream button to save the new stream settings. It may take a few seconds for the settings to change based on the camera being updated.
10. You may review the impact that the stream settings have on video playback for each camera. Simply click on the corresponding thumbnail to watch a current live video feed.

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