Adding Vivotek cameras to Stratocast™ - Stratocast™

You can add Vivotek cameras to client accounts.

1. Open the camera’s web page.
2. Click Configuration > Applications > Package Management.
3. Under the Package list section, click the Stratocast™ link.
   The activation page at https://<IP Address>/Stratocast appears.
4. From the activation page, click Get an activation code for this camera.
5. Log in to Stratocast™ using your integrator credentials.
   The Client accounts page opens in tutorial mode, which enables only the functions that you can do next, and displays a help bubble describing your next step.
6. If you have not created a client account, create one now.
7. Click in the client's Number of devices column.
8. In the Video unit information section, enter the following and then click Next:

   Name

   The name of your device, as identified on the customer’s Devices page. If there are many devices, enter a name that is easy to recognize and find.

   Time zone

   The time zone that the video unit is installed in.

   Manufacturer

   The device manufacturer.

   Tip: The manufacturer is preselected to match your device when you are in tutorial mode.

   NOTE: If your required manufacturer is not displayed in the drop-down list, contact Stratocast™ support.
9. In the Authenticate video unit page, verify that the MAC address shown is for the camera you want to add, then click Next.
   Wait a few minutes for Stratocast™ to create an activation code.
10. Copy the activation code.
11. In a Web browser, return to the camera's activation page, paste the activation code into the field, and click Activate.
    Tip: You can re-open the page using the URL https://<IP Address>/Stratocast. Note that the URL is case sensitive.
12. When the message Status : Activated appears, close the camera's web page and return to the portal.
13. In the application's Subscription window, set the following, and then click Next.

    Plan

    The camera plan for your video recordings. For more information about camera plans, see www.stratocast.com/plans for details.

    Retention period

    The retention period is the number of days that video recordings are stored in the cloud. When the retention period expires, recordings are deleted. The default period is for 7 days, which can be extended.

14. In Configure video, set the following, and then click Next.

    Recording type

    The storage medium (only cloud is supported) and the recording mode (continuous or on motion) for your video recordings.

    Resolution

    The image resolution of your video recordings. The available choices depend on your camera model and your plan.

    Average bit rate

    The average amount of data that is transferred per unit of time (Kilobits per second). Higher configuration presets (resolution, frame rate, and so on) require a higher bitrate to stream video, so it requires more bandwidth. You can refer to this field when planning the Internet connection speed and bandwidth requirements of your recordings.

    Frame rate

    The number of frames per second (fps) that you can obtain when recording video. A high frame rate (10 fps or more) produces fluid video and is essential for accurate motion detection.

    Go to camera's edit page after enrolling the camera

    Automatically takes you to the camera's Edit page after the camera is enrolled, where you can configure advanced video and motion detection settings.

15. Click Enroll.
    The state of the camera you added changes to Enrolled. The camera's name appears in your client's list of cameras.
16. Click Show advanced settings in the Video configuration pane in the camera's Edit page to access the advanced video settings.

    Recording priority

    The video quality priority for your video recordings. Frame rate maintains the frame rate at the expense of the image quality, whereas Image quality maintains the image quality at the expense of the frame rate. Choose Frame rate when you want fluid video and need to capture accurate motion detection, and choose Image quality when you want to capture sharp video with no loss of detail.

    Image quality

    A high image quality produces video with sharp details and is essential for accurately recognizing detailed shapes and objects. Higher image quality creates larger video files. Ensure that your network has sufficient bandwidth to support the increased load.

    Key frame interval

    A key frame is a frame that contains a complete image as opposed to a usual frame that only holds information that changed compared to the previous frame. If your network is less reliable, you require a higher key frame rate to recover more quickly from cumulative errors in the video. Frequent key frames require a higher bandwidth. Specify the key frame interval in seconds.

17. Configure motion detection settings in the Motion detection pane of the camera's Edit page when your Recording type is Cloud on motion.

    Motion detection

    Enables or disables motion detection. If using the Cloud on motion recording type, you must enable motion detection. The default setting is Disabled.

    Sensitivity

    Controls how responsive the camera is in detecting motion. Set to the maximum (100%), the slightest variation between two consecutive frames is detected as motion. However, at the maximum setting, you might get inaccurate results depending on the subject that you are recording and the level of noise that is generated. Conversely, lowering the sensitivity below the default value reduces your chances of detecting slight movements. As a result, it is recommended to lower the sensitivity below the default value only if your equipment is prone to generate noise.

    Tip: A plain image, such as viewing an empty wall, is more prone to generate noise than an image containing a lot of detail.

    Motion alert on

    Indicates the beginning of motion. This setting allows you to specify the minimum amount of motion (as a percentage of the entire video image) that must be detected for motion to be considered on. Once this minimum is reached, a motion detection notification is sent by email only if it has been more than five minutes between motion detected notifications. The default setting is 12% of the video image.

    Motion alert off

    In the same way that the Motion alert on setting indicates the beginning of motion, this setting indicates the end of motion. Motion is considered off when the amount of motion (as a percentage of the entire video image) drops below the Motion alert off setting. The default setting is 5% of the video image.