| Which network cameras
are supported by SecuritySpy? |
|
The full list of supported network cameras and video
servers is here.
We have some specific cameras recommendations here. |
| |
| How is it possible to get input from multiple analog cameras? |
|
| Please see this
section of our Installation Manual for a
complete discussion on this topic.
Solution 1
One or more LFG4
video input cards from Active
Silicon. This is a PCI card with 4 analog
inputs that can be expanded to up to 16 analog inputs per card
with add-on adapters. This is a very high quality
solution, although quite expensive, and if using more
than 4 inputs per card, the frame rate per input drops
significantly.
Solution 2
One or more network video servers such as the Axis
240Q. For a complete list
of supported devices click here.
Video servers provide high quality video and can be connected
to the computer via an ethernet network over long distances
if required.
Solution 3
Multiple DV video input devices. You can use up to 8 Canopus
ADVC-55
video devices connected to a single FireWire port using a FireWire
hub. This is a high quality solution that has the added advantage
of providing one audio input per device.
|
| |
| How can I disable a
camera? |
|
Initially, SecuritySpy will use all available
video input devices, including the computer's internal iSight
camera. If you
don't want SecuritySpy to use a particular camera, you need
to disable
it by unchecking the Camera enabled option in the Camera
Setup window:
|
| |
| What is the difference between a DV video input device and an uncompressed video input device? |
|
| DV is a compressed video format used by digial camcorders and
many FireWire analog-to-digital video converter devices. The
data rate of DV video is 3.6 MB/s, with a compression ratio
of approximately 5:1. DV uses a type of compression similar to
JPEG to achieve this compression ratio. Uncompressed video is
therefore higher quality than DV,
but has five times the data rate. |
| |
| Can I use multiple DV devices simultaneously? |
|
Yes, provided your DV devices are compatible with other devices
on the same bus (most are - we have done extensive testing and
haven't yet come across any that are not compatible). The number
of DV devices that you can use simultaneously on one FireWire
bus depends on the speed of the devices in question, as well
as the speed of your
FireWire bus. Speeds of DV devices are typically 100, 200, 400,
or 800 Mbit/s while bus speeds are either 400 or 800 Mbit/s.
Please refer to the table below which will tell you how many
devices can be used simultaneously on a single FireWire bus:
|
FireWire 400 bus
|
FireWire 800 bus
|
100-speed device
|
2
|
2
|
200-speed device
|
4
|
4
|
400-speed device
|
8
|
8
|
800-speed device
|
8
|
16
|
A 100-speed device uses twice the bandwidth on the bus as a 200-speed device and so on. Therefore you could use for example two 200-speed devices and one 100-speed device
together. To add more devices, you can add more FireWire buses to your computer using PCI cards.
SecuritySpy's Video Device Setup window shows if your DV devices are compatible with other devices on the same bus, and the speed at which they operate. In the below
example screenshot, a Canopus ADVC-55 device is connected - it is compatible with other devices on the same bus and operates at a speed of 400. Therefore, eight of these
devices can be used simultaneously on a single FireWire bus. Most modern DV converter devices operate at 400 or 800 speed while DV camcorders generally operate at 100 or
200 speed. 
|
| |
| How much hard drive space is requred for the captured footage? |
|
| The amount of hard disk space used depends on many factors including frame rate, compression format and quality, video size, and how much motion is detected. To give
some idea, MPEG-4 video at medium compression quality at 640x480 resolution recorded at 10fps with temporal compression enabled gives data rates of approximately 100 KB/s.
This is roughly 3 hours of constant recording per GB of hard disk space. If using SecuritySpy's motion detection capture, recording will only take place a fraction of the
time, so depending on how much motion there is you can get maybe several days' worth of footage per GB of hard disk space.
MPEG-4 is a good choice for a video surveillance because of its high quality at low data rates and use of temporal compression. SecuritySpy also supports capturing in
JPEG and H.264 format. H.264 is approximately 2 times more efficient than MPEG-4 (ie files are half the size at the same quality) however it requires a very large amount
of memory and processing power. Therefore MPEG-4 is usually the best choice.
Our System Requirements Calculator will give you a rough guide to how much hard drive space is recommended for a particular setup. |
| |
| What specification computer do I need? |
|
| How can I connect multiple
FireWire webcams? |
|
| Uncompressed FireWire webcams are not recommended for
use with SecuritySpy. Due to (typically) low quality optical
systems, bandwidth issues and cable length limitations, they
are a
poor choice for video surveillance, therefore we don't support
using these cameras with SecuritySpy, and advise you against
it. The below guidance
is provided for your information only and is not a recommendation. Some
FireWire webcams such as the Unibrain
Fire-i have two ports, so you can daisy-chain
multiple cameras together. The cameras would then be in a long
line all attached to one FireWire port. With cameras that have
only one FireWire connector, you can use a FireWire hub (or several
FireWire hubs).
A FireWire hub is a device with one input and several outputs,
allowing you to connect several devices to one port.
There is a limit to the number of cameras that can be connected
due to bandwidth limitations. Macintosh computers typically
have two FireWire ports sharing one controller (bus), so the
bandwidth is shared between the ports. To increase the amount
of FireWire bandwidth available you can add FireWire buses
to your computer using PCI cards
(or Cardbus Cards on a laptop). PCI FireWire cards are available
with up to 6 ports per card (although typically multiple ports
will
share the same bus).
Generally, with a frame rate of 30fps, it is possible to use up to 8 cameras running at 320x240 or 3 cameras running at 640x480 on one FireWire 400 bus. If however
you are using the (now discontinued) Apple iSight cameras, it is only possible to use 4 cameras at 320x240 or one camera at 640x480. It is normally possible to reduce
the frame rate of the cameras in SecuritySpy, thereby reducing the bandwith used and increasing the number of cameras that can be connected to one bus. Most FireWire
cameras support 15fps (the iSight camera supports 15fps, 7.5fps and 3.75fps). |
| |
| Does SecuritySpy work with Apple's iSight camera? |
|
| Yes. Both the (now discontinued) FireWire iSight and the modern USB iSight camera built into laptops and iMacs are supported. |
| |
| Does SecuritySpy work with the X-10 wireless camera? |
|
| Yes, but you need a separate Mac compatible video input device. The X-10 camera transmits video to a receiver which outputs analog video. X-10 also sells a USB converter
that allows you to capture the video on a PC but this does not work on a Mac, so instead you can use USB converter such as the
XLR8 InterView, a PCI video input card, or a FireWire/DV video converter. For information on how to connect multiple cameras please see above. |
| |
| Can SecuritySpy run before login on Mac OS X? |
|
| Unfortunately not; a user must be logged in before SecuritySpy can run. This is because SecuritySpy uses windows and any application that does cannot run before login.
An alternative is the following:
• Create a new user in the Accounts system preference with limited permissions just for running SecuritySpy
• Enable Fast User Switching in the Account system preference (under Login Options)
• Set the computer to log in automatically to the SecuritySpy account (also under Login Options)
• Set SecuritySpy to open automatically on that account (right-click or control-click on the SecuritySpy icon in the Dock and select "Open at Login")
• To make the computer go back to the login screen automatically, download this script application and
also set it to open automatically at login
With this setup, the computer logs in automatically to the special account upon startup, opens SecuritySpy, and then returns to the login screen. SecuritySpy continues to
run in the special account, which is now running in the background. |
| |
| Which cameras can be used outdoors? |
|
| When setting up a camera outdoors it is important to take note of the following points:
If the camera isn't fully weatherproof it must be in a weatherproof housing.
Cameras/lenses that are designed for outdoor use have "auto iris" which is a mechanical iris that automatically adjusts to the light intensity,
ensuring the image sensor is not exposed to extreme conditions in bright sunlight. If the sensor is exposed to such conditions you may get washed-out images or,
in the worst case, the sensor can be damaged. |
| |
| Can SecuritySpy record audio as well as video? |
|
Yes. SecuritySpy can monitor and record audio from any Mac-compatible
audio input device connected to the computer by USB or FireWire,
as well as from the
computer's built-in audio inputs.
SecuritySpy also supports audio from the following network
cameras and video servers:
• All audio-enabled Axis camera models apart from the 207
(the 207W and 207MW are supported; just not the plain 207)
• All audio-enabled Axis video servers (such as the 241S and
241Q)
• All audio-enabled Panasonic BB-series network cameras
• All audio-enabled ACTi network cameras with firmware V3.11.11
or later
• AirLink101 AICN500(W) and AICN747(W)
• TRENDnet TV-IP312(W), TV-IP212(W), TV-IP252P, TV-IP422(W)
• Zonet ZVC7630(W)
• Xvision XIP3101
|
| |
| Which SecuritySpy licenses do I need to purchase for streaming video from one computer to another? |
|
| This FAQ covers the situation where you have SecuritySpy running on one computer with its web server enabled acting as a network video server, sending video to another
computer running SecuritySpy, which is receiving and recording the video. This setup is described in the user manual here.
Each license of SecuritySpy is for a single computer only, so for each computer from which you are streaming, and for each comptuer on which you are receiving and
recording video, you will need a license of SecuritySpy.
For example, in a situation where you have four iMac computers with built-in cameras, sending video back to a central computer that is recording the video, you will
need four single-camera licenses of SecuritySpy for the iMacs and one four-camera license of SecuritySpy for the central computer.
If however you are using SecuritySpy simply to view (not capture) the video streams being sent from another computer running SecuritySpy, you do not need to purchase
a second license for the viewing computer - SecuritySpy is free for this purpose. |
| |
| I am a registered user - why am I seeing the "DEMO" message on captured footage? |
|
| There are two reasons why this may happen.
The first is that you are viewing footage that was captured before you registered SecuritySpy. The demo message is permanently written onto this footage and can't be
removed.
The second reason is that if you are using more cameras than your license allows. For example, if you have a single-camera license of SecuritySpy, only the first
camera will record without the demo message; all subsequent cameras will have the demo message on captured footage. The solution to this is to reorder the cameras by
dragging them up and down in the Camera Status window, or to disable the cameras that you are not using (you can do this in the Camera Setup window). |
| |
| I don't see my network device in your list of supported devices - will it work with SecuritySpy? |
|
| New network cameras and video servers are being released regularly and while we try to support new devices as they are released, there may be some that are not yet on our
supported device list. Most devices that support JPEG or MJPEG streaming should work with SecuritySpy; devices that do not support JPEG will not work.
The first place to look is the latest beta version of SecuritySpy, as it may already support your device. If it is not in this list, please email us to ask about
support. |
| |
| Can SecuritySpy capture
screenshots from the computer's screen(s) |
|
| Can SecuritySpy
capture from a Windows PC webcam or screen? |
|
| Yes, with the AbelCam webcam
software for Windows. In AbelCam, the web server feature must
be enabled as well as the Screen Capture option (if required).
In SecuritySpy (version 2.0 or later), add a new network device
and select the AbelCam option in the Device type list. |
| |
| Is there an iPhone
app for SecuritySpy? |
|
| We don't make one ourselves, but we recommend the excellent
Remote
Patrol app. |
| |
| Why can I only view a
maximum of 6 cameras in Safari? |
|
This is unfortunately a hard-coded limitation in the latest
version of Safari, where it will only open a maximum of 6 simultaneous
connections
to a server. To view more than 6 cameras simultaneously,
you can do one of the following:
• Use the Java Applet viewing method (you choose this
from the popup menu in the main web interface page)
• Use FireFox, which has an adjustable limit
• Use another copy of SecuritySpy, which is free for the purposes
of remote viewing
In FireFox, the limit is also set to 6 simultaneous connections
by default, but can be adjusted in the following way:
Type "about:config" in the address bar in FireFox
and press return.
Find the entry for network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server.
Double-click this and increase the setting to the number of
camera feeds you want to display simultaneously. 
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