Kids 'n Vue User's Guide
Table of Contents Registration...3 Receiving registration code...3 Entering registration code...5 Registration Screen...8 Registration Accepted Screen...9 Registration Email...10 Email Confirmation...11 Registration Complete...12 Menu Screens...13 Log In Screen...13 Redirection Screen...14 Main Webcam Screen...15 Calendar Screen...17 Calendar Detail Screen...18 Password Change Screen...19 Profile Update Screen...20 Email Update Message Screen...22 Contact Us Screen...23 Technical Support Request Screen...24 Video Streaming Applet...25 Loading the applet...25 Running the applet...25 Applet Initialization...25 Applet Startup...26 Camera Authorization...27 Ongoing Security Checks...27 Time Outs...27 Applet Controls...28 Zoom and Pan Controls...28 Camera List...29 Traffic Light Button / Status Indicator...30 Control / Information Windows...30 Image Quality...31 Zoom Preview...32 Colors...33 Help / Information...33 Page 2 of 34
Registration Receiving registration code To register with the Kids 'n Vue system, you will need a registration code provided by your day care center. You can receive this code as a printed page or in an email. The following is what you will see if you were sent an email: Page 3 of 34
The following is what you would see on a printed page: Page 4 of 34
Entering registration code With your registration code, go to www.kidsnvue.com, click on 'Member login'. Page 5 of 34
Then click on 'New member?'. Page 6 of 34
The following page will appear: After you enter your registration code (include the dashes), you will see the following page: Page 7 of 34
Registration Screen You will need to complete all fields on this page. In particular, your email address will be checked to verify that the domain name (the part of the address after the @ ) is a valid domain that accepts email. If you are sure your email address is okay and you continue to get an error message, please contact your day care center or Kids 'n Vue. You will also need to check the box that you agree to the terms of the user agreement. You will then receive the following message: Page 8 of 34
Registration Accepted Screen You will receive an email like the following: Page 9 of 34
Registration Email When you click on the link in this email, or cut and paste the link into your browser, you will see the following page: Page 10 of 34
Email Confirmation At this page, you will need to enter the password you created during the registration process. If successful, you will see the following page: Page 11 of 34
Registration Complete The registration process is now complete. You can immediately log in and start using the system. Page 12 of 34
Menu Screens Log In Screen This is the main login page for the Kids n Vue system. The userid and password you have selected are entered here. There are also highlighted links that you can click on if you forgot your userid or password, or if you a new member. Clicking on the Kids n Vue logo in the upper left corner will bring you to the home page. The colored tabs at the top of the screen are links to other information screens. Page 13 of 34
Redirection Screen If your userid and password are valid, you will see the screen below. This screen will be displayed for a few moments, then the main web camera screen will appear. During this time, you will be redirected to the server at your day care center. Page 14 of 34
Main Webcam Screen This is the main webcam page. The web camera video stream will be displayed by a Java Applet, in a window in the left center of the screen. On the left side of the screen are tabs that when clicked will direct you to other information screens: Web Camera is this page. Calendar will show a full screen calendar, with the ability to display any month and get details for scheduled events. Change Password allows you to change your password. Update Profile allows you to change other information, such as your name, phone number and email address. Page 15 of 34
Contact Us provides contact information and a link to complete a technical support request. On the right side of the screen is a small calendar indicating today s date. Days with associated events are highlighted. Below the calendar is a broadcast message. Your day care center may choose to enter information here for all parents. Additionally, any information related to events for your child(ren) will be listed below the broadcast message. Below the web camera video stream window is a list of cameras that you have authority to access, along with the list of times they are available. Page 16 of 34
Calendar Screen This is the calendar screen, accessed by clicking on the Calendar tab on the left side of the screen. You can click on the arrows on either side of the top of the screen, to display the previous or next month. For any day that shows an event, clicking on that day will display more details about that event, as shown on the next page. Page 17 of 34
Calendar Detail Screen. This is the detail screen for the calendar, as described on the previous page. Page 18 of 34
Password Change Screen This screen allows you to change your password. The new password needs to be confirmed. Click on the See tips link to get recommendations on creating a secure password. Page 19 of 34
Profile Update Screen This screen allows you to change your personal information. The email address field requires special consideration. If the email address is changed: 1. An email will be sent to the new email address. 2. This email will contain a link to a Kids n Vue email confirmation page. 3. You must then enter your password to complete the confirmation process. Page 20 of 34
If the confirmation process is not completed within 5 calendar days, your account will be locked out until confirmation is completed. If the email address was entered incorrectly, you can always go back to this screen and correct it, and another email will be sent. Note also that the domain name component of the email address (the text following the @ sign) is checked to make sure that it accepts mail. If this check fails, and you ve checked that the address is correct, please complete a technical support request and the domain will be verified. Page 21 of 34
Email Update Message Screen This is the screen you will receive if the email address is changed, as described on the previous page. Page 22 of 34
Contact Us Screen This is the Contact Us screen. It contains contact information for questions and problems. It also includes a link to complete a technical support form, which is shown below. Page 23 of 34
Technical Support Request Screen This is the technical support request page. It will be pre-filled with your name and phone number. Please enter as much information as you can regarding your question or problem, and a technical support person will contact you shortly. There is no limit to the number of characters entered in this field. Page 24 of 34
Video Streaming Applet The Kids 'n Vue streaming video is controlled by a Java applet. This type of program can run on virtually any browser that has Java support. Some browsers do not provide this support by default, but it can be easily added by installing Java support from various web sites. Please go to http://www.java.com/en/download/windows_ie.jsp for more information. Loading the applet When the web page first loads, you may see a Java logo and a gray block for a moment. This is normal, as the Java applet program is loaded and started. The image may look similar to the one below: Running the applet Applet Initialization From there, the applet will go through its own initialization routine. During initialization, various graphics files are downloaded, as well as your saved profile settings. The screen will look like this: Page 25 of 34
Applet Startup After initialization is completed, you will see a screen like the one below. In a moment, the selected camera will start automatically (the applet will remember the last camera viewed, and will select that camera the next time). You can also change the selection if you like. Page 26 of 34
Camera Authorization When a camera is started, the applet will check back with the server to make sure you are authorized to see that camera at the particular time. You may even notice that it looks like you are receiving images. But the images will not be displayed until the authorization check has been completed successfully. Ongoing Security Checks In addition to checking security when a camera is started, the applet will conduct security checks every 30 seconds while the applet is running. This will not be noticeable, unless a security check fails. Time Outs The applet keeps track of when you click a button or move the mouse within the applet window. While the video stream is running, if there is no activity after 10 minutes, the video stream will be stopped and an error message will be displayed. After another 5 minutes of inactivity, another error message will be displayed, and the applet will become disabled. This will require you to log off and log back in. Page 27 of 34
Applet Controls Zoom and Pan Controls By using the mouse, you can zoom and pan the video image. Note that this is a 'digital' zoom and pan feature, meaning that just the digital image is being manipulated. The camera does not move or zoom. The applet is simply resizing and repositioning the image it receives. When the mouse cursor is moved inside the image window, the cursor will change into a target 'cross hair'. If you hold down the left mouse button, the image will be zoomed in, to the 4x magnification limit. If you hold down the right mouse button, the image will be zoomed out. Clicking on the left mouse button will immediately change the image to 4x magnification, clicking on the right mouse button will immediately change the image to no magnification. While the image is magnified, you can pan (move) the image. Holding down the center mouse button (or the 'Ctrl' key if you have a 2-button mouse) and moving the mouse will pan the image. Page 28 of 34
Camera List The field highlighted above is a list of available cameras. You can click on the desired camera, and it will start. If more cameras are available than will fit on the screen, a scroll bar will be displayed. Page 29 of 34
Traffic Light Button / Status Indicator To the right of the camera list is a button resembling a traffic light. Clicking on this button will start or stop the live video stream. The traffic light is also used as a status indicator. If all lights are flashing, there was an error and live video has been stopped. A yellow light indicates that the applet has been waiting longer than normal for an event to occur, like waiting for the next image to be received or for camera authorization to complete. A green light indicates that live video is running. While running, a very small light in the bottom right corner will blink, indicating that a complete image has just been received. When the video stream is running normally, this light will 'blink' for each received image. You can get a sense of the speed of the video stream by how fast the light blinks. Control / Information Windows To the right of the traffic light are two information / control windows. The window on the right will normally display a menu of options. The window on the left will display messages or sub menus. When a menu item is clicked, the appropriate sub menu will be displayed in the left window. Page 30 of 34
Image Quality The 'Image Quality' button sets compression for the video stream. What is compression? Compression is a technique used to reduce the size of a file (or video stream, in this case). There are various compression techniques, which attempt to shrink the file without compromising the original data. One technique is to replace repeating characters with a single character and a 'repeat' value. Since an image is made up of many very small dots of various colors, called pixels, image compression attempts to replace neighboring pixels of the same or very similar color with a single pixel and a repeat value. As more compression is done, the area of neighboring pixels that are represented by a single pixel becomes larger and for high compression settings can become very noticeable. Clicking on this button will change the left window to show the various options: Maximum Quality (no compression) High Quality (20% compression) Medium Quality (40% compression) (default) Low Quality (60% compression) Minimum Quality (70% compression) Clicking on one of the options and then clicking on the 'Done' button will change the option setting. The quality button will also indicate the current setting in the lower right corner. The default setting is medium compression. This setting is saved between sessions. In general, setting a lower quality will result in faster image retrieval but a poorer image. Setting a higher quality will result in slower Page 31 of 34
image retrieval, but a better image. Choose a setting that is a good balance of speed and quality. Your selection will be retained for future sessions. Zoom Preview The 'Zoom Preview' button changes the behavior of a 'zoom preview' screen that is displayed when an image is being zoomed or panned. The options are: Auto - Zoom preview displayed while zooming or panning. (default) On - Zoom preview displayed while magnified. Off - Zoom preview will not be displayed. Clicking on one of the options and then clicking on the 'Done' button will change the option setting. The zoom preview button will also indicate the current setting in the lower right corner. The default setting is auto. This setting is saved between sessions. In 'Auto' mode, the right side menu will be replaced by a small version of the video streaming window when zooming or panning. This window will always show a non-magnified image. It will also show a rectangle representing the portion of the image that is being displayed in the normal video streaming window. So, as you zoom in, the rectangle will become smaller, representing the smaller portion of the full-size image being displayed. Panning will move the rectangle within the full-size image. When you are done zooming or panning, the normal menu window will be re-displayed. In 'On' mode, the zoom preview window will be displayed as long as the image is magnified. In this mode, since the menu screen may not be displayed for long periods of time, you can display the menu by clicking within the zoom preview window. You can then Page 32 of 34
click on a menu option. If you don't select a menu option within a few moments, the window will go back to the zoom preview display. 'Off' mode turns off this feature. This is useful for slower computers, since the applet requires more processing power when this feature is used. You may notice that the zooming and panning run slightly faster when zoom preview is turned off. Colors Clicking on this button will display a grid of color choices. Clicking on one of the color blocks and then clicking on the 'Done' button will change the background and text colors for the applet windows. The default color is dark blue. This setting is saved between sessions. Help / Information The 'Help / Info' button allows you to change the type of information that is displayed in the left information window. The options are: Normal Details - Show brief response messages. - Show brief response messages and image retrieval statistics. Page 33 of 34
Help / Tutorial - Show expanded response messages and explanations of display and control areas. Clicking on one of the options and then clicking on the 'Done' button will change the option setting. The default setting is 'Help / Tutorial'. This setting is saved between sessions. In 'Normal' mode, messages are typically one-line messages at the top of the information window. While the video stream is running, the image retrieval rate will be shown. In 'Details' mode, messages are displayed as in normal mode. While the video stream is running, the total images that have been displayed, total bytes, bytes per image, zoom magnification (if applicable), and image retrieval rate are shown. In 'Help / Tutorial' mode, the top of the information window will show the same one-line message as with 'Normal' and 'Details' mode, along with an explanation of the message. When messages are not displayed, explanations of the various applet window areas will be displayed as the cursor moves within those areas. Page 34 of 34