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Alarms Overview

Menu Location: Settings - Alarms

Alarms can only be used while in Monitor Mode. Not for Record Mode or Stream Mode. Alarms can be set on a per camera basis, as well as being able to define a Motion Detection Region in the image.

The program has the following alarms.

  1. Sound Alarms - message through computer speakers.
  2. Email Alarms - sends an email to someone.
  3. Detection Sound - sound through computer speaker when motion detected.
  4. No Motion Alarm - issues a sound or email alarm if no motion is detected.

 

Sound and Email Alarms

Are based on the number video frames that have motion detected in them, or no motion detected in them, for a given time period. The given time period is called the Alarm Polling Time, and the number of video frames is called  Frames for Alarm. 

An Alarm Condition on a camera occurs when there the number of frames with motion detection in them is greater than the Frames for Alarm parameter. Or if No Motion Detection is used, an Alarm Condition on a camera occurs when there the number of frames with motion detection in them is less than the Frames for Alarm parameter. A camera with an Alarm Condition on it will trigger a Sound or Email Alarm. If more than one camera has an alarm condition on it at the same time, then only one sound or email alarm will be generated.

A Frame is a video frame or a single video image, or a single video picture. Moving video consists single video pictures played quickly back to back, for example at a rate of 30 frames per second.

 

To Set an Email or Sound Alarm

To set an email or sound alarm for an individual camera, the following must be set:

  1. Alarm Polling Time
  2. Frames for Alarm
  3. A check mark beside Use Sound Alarm and/or Use Email Alarm
  4. Arm the Alarms for the system.
  5. And optionally a check mark beside, Use No Motion Detection.

The sound alarm can have one sound, a separate sound alarm for each camera. The one email alarm lists all the cameras which had an alarm on them.

Example Sound Alarm

Example Email Alarm

 

Detection Sound

Issues a sound whenever motion is detected on a particular camera. It is not the same as a Sound Alarm which uses many motion detections to generate a sound alarm. The sound can be a beep, or a separate sound for each camera.

To set Detection Sound, put a check mark beside Use Detection Sound.

 

No Motion Alarm

Sets an alarm condition if no motion is detected. That is if  the number of frames with motion detected in them is below the Frames for Alarm value. For an alarm to be issued a check mark must also be beside Use Email or Sound Alarm as above, as well as Use No Motion Detection.