Product Evaluation Guide for CMOS Megapixel IP Cameras Version 1.0
TABLE OF CONTENT CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION... 4 1.1 PURPOSE... 4 1.2 OUTLINE... 4 CHAPTER 2 VIDEO COMPRESSION TECHNOLOGY... 4 2.1 WHAT VIDEO COMPRESSION CAN ACTI PROVIDE?... 4 2.2 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO SET DIFFERENT VIDEO COMPRESSION TECHNOLOGY?... 7 2.3 HOW TO TEST DIFFERENT VIDEO COMPRESSION TECHNOLOGY?... 8 CHAPTER 3 RESOLUTION... 10 3.1 WHAT RESOLUTION CAN ACTI MEGAPIXEL CAMERA PROVIDE?... 10 3.2 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO PROVIDE MEGAPIXEL RESOLUTION?... 12 3.3 HOW TO TEST DIFFERENT RESOLUTION?... 13 CHAPTER 4 FRAME RATE MODE... 17 4.1 WHAT IS FRAME RATE MODE?... 17 4.2 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO SET DIFFERENT FRAME RATE MODE?... 17 4.3 HOW TO TEST DIFFERENT FRAME RATE MODE?... 18 CHAPTER 5 BIT RATE (ONLY AVAILABLE FOR MPEG-4 SETTING)... 22 5.1 WHAT DOES BITRATE MEAN? WHAT IS VIDEO BITRATE MODE?... 22 5.2 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO SET DIFFERENT BITRATE MODE / DIFFERENT BITRATE?... 22 5.3 HOW TO TEST DIFFERENT BITRATE SETTING?... 24 CHAPTER 6 CAMERA SETUP FOR VARIOUS LIGHTING CONDITION... 28 2
6.1 WHY NEED DIFFERENT SETTINGS FOR VARIOUS LIGHTING CONDITION?... 28 6.2 HOW TO DO DIFFERENT SETTING FOR VARIOUS LIGHTING CONDITION?... 28 CHAPTER 7 MEGAPIXEL LENS SELECTION... 33 7.1 WHY NEED MEGAPIXEL LENS?... 33 7.2 HOW TO SELECT MEGAPIXEL LENS FOR YOUR APPLICATION?... 34 7.3 HOW TO TEST VARI-FOCAL MEGAPIXEL LENS?... 35 3
Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Purpose This product evaluation guide is aimed to help customers to be familiar with ACTi s new CMOS Megapixel IP cameras. Through this product evaluation guide, you will learn how to use ACTi CMOS Megapixel IP cameras properly and how to make it perform perfectly. Then you will be confident to demonstrate and introduce it to your customers. 1.2 Outline This product evaluation guide introduces each key feature ACTi CMOS Megapixel IP camera has. By telling you each feature s (1) meaning, (2) benefits and (3) test method, you will be able to utilize each feature for your application. Chapter 2 Video Compression Technology 2.1 What Video Compression can ACTi Provide? There are many video compression standard, we can divide them into two types: Single frame compression and Multi-frame compression. (1) Single frame compression This compression technology sees each image frame as an individual picture and compresses them one by one.
Single-frame compression technology includes - MJPEG MJPEG means Motion JPEG. It is a video compression algorism where each image frame is separately compressed into a JPEG image. (2) Multi-frame compression This compression technology compresses multi-images together. In the first frame, all data is stored. In the later frame, only the image variation is compressed. This technology is to reduce the image data size. With small data size, the storage and network requirement will be smaller as well. Multiple-frame compression technology includes - MPEG-1 MPEG is a Video / Audio compression algorism which developed by the Moving-Picture-Expert-Group. MPEG-1 is their initial video and audio compression standard. It is the VCD video today. - MPEG-2 MPEG-2 is well known as DVD quality standard. It provides better quality then MPEG-1 but also requires a lot of bandwidth and storage size. - MPEG-4 MPEG-4 is developed from MPEG-2 to have better image compression ratio. MPEG-4 has different profiles like a. MPEG-4 SH (Short Header) b. MPEG-4 SP (Simple Profile) 5
c. MPEG-4 ASP (Advanced Simple Profile) - H.264 (known as MPEG-4 part 10) H.264 is next generation s compression standard. It provides even better compression ratio than MPEG-4 but it requires a lot more compression and decompression power on encoder and decoder site. Currently ACTi ACM and ACD series provide you with two options: MPEG-4 SP and MJPEG. You can select either one for your application. In our new TCM series which will be released in June, we will support three different compression technologies MPEG-4 SP, H.264 and MJPEG. And you can select either two for two independent streaming. 6
2.2 What are the Benefits to Set Different Video Compression Technology? Comparing MJPEG and MPEG-4, MJPEG compression can give you excellent picture quality since each frame is transmitted individually. However, if you take a look at the comparison chart below, for better moving pictures at lower bandwidth consumption, you would need to use MPEG-4 compression technology which can only use 1/8 bandwidth than MJPEG. Compression Algorism Basic Compression Scheme Resolution Compression Ratio Typical Bit-rate 1.3 Megapixel @ 8fps H.264 Moving Picture SXGA / XGA / D1 / CIF 40~200 1.2 Mbps MPEG-4 Moving Picture SXGA / XGA / D1 / CIF 30~150 2 Mbps JPEG Still Image SXGA / XGA / D1 / CIF 10~20 16 Mbps JPEG2000 Still Image SXGA / XGA / D1 / CIF 20-60 5 Mbps Wavelet Still Image SXGA / XGA / D1 / CIF 15~30 11 Mbps In our current product line, if we set the same frame rate for both MJPEG and MPEG-4, from the chart below, you may find that MJPEG takes higher bandwidth than MPEG-4. MJPEG MPEG-4 7
2.3 How to Test Different Video Compression Technology? MPEG-4 Please go to our Web Configurator Video Setting page, and in Encoder Type column, please select MPEG-4. Picture Above: use MPEG-4 compression technology 8
MJPEG Please go to our Web Configurator Video Setting page, and in Encoder Type column, please select MJPEG. Picture Above: use MJPEG compression technology 9
Chapter 3 Resolution 3.1 What Resolution can ACTi Megapixel Camera Provide? ACTi CMOS Megapixel IP Camera provides SXGA (1280x1024) resolution. In addition, there are two other options: WXGA (1280x720) resolution and VGA (640x480) resolution. Video Quality at SXGA (1280x1024) Resolution 1024 1280 10
Horizontal Resolution Reaches 800 TVL 11
3.2 What are the Benefits to Provide Megapixel Resolution? From the picture below, you may easily see the difference between Megapixel resolution and VGA resolution. Megapixel resolution can give you more details for your application. Therefore, it would be exiting to propose Megapixel IP cameras for city monitoring or transportation project. You can identify the car plate more easily. Mega Pixel 1280 x 1024 VGA 640 x 480 12
In addition, since Megapixel camera allows you having a wider vision, you buy one Megapixel camera; it means you buy four normal cameras. 1024 pixels CIF Resolution 1280 pixels 3.3 How to Test Different Resolution? We have three different resolution options for you to choose: - SXGA 1280 x 1024 - WXGA 1280 x 720 - VGA 640 x 480 13
SXGA 1280x1024 Please go to our Web Configurator Video Setting page. In Resolution column, please select 1280x1024. Picture Above: Resolution 1280x1024 14
WXGA 1280x720 Please go to our Web Configurator Video Setting page. In Resolution column, please select 1280x720. Picture Above: Resolution:1280x720 15
VGA 640x480 Please go to our Web Configurator Video Setting page. In Resolution column, please select 640x480. Picture Above: Resolution:640x480 16
Chapter 4 Frame Rate Mode 4.1 What is Frame Rate Mode? In our Web Configurator, there is an option called Frame Rate Mode which you can select Constant or Variable. No matter you select Constant or Variable Frame Rate Mode, when your resolution setting is 1280 x 1024, you will be able to select frame rate as 1, 2, 4, or 8 fps. This number called Frame Rate means how many frames can be compressed and transmitted per second. The higher frame rate you set, the smoother video quality you get. 4.2 What are the Benefits to Set Different Frame Rate Mode? When you select Variable Frame Rate Mode, our NVR software is able to send video with different frame rate setting to different recipients for different purposes (maximum is 4).This is very useful to make the total bandwidth consumption lower. If you don t need multiple users to get video streams with different frame rate setting, please set Constant Frame Rate Mode. 17
4.3 How to Test Different Frame Rate Mode? Constant Frame Rate Mode Please go to Web Configurator Video Setting page, and then you can select Constant Frame Rate and the preferred frame rate setting. 18
Variable Frame Rate Mode 1. Same as Constant Frame Rate setting, please go to our Web Configurator Video Setting page first, and then select Variable Frame Rate setting and preferred frame rate setting. 19
2. Then, please go to NVR Camera Setup page, and click your Megapixel camera on Camera Tree. In order to sync the setting with the device, please click Get Device Setting. 3. After synchronization process, you will see the device setting shown on NVR as image below. 20
4. Please click Show Basic Setting which you can see under the live view window. 5. In Basic Setting page, on the right-hand side, there is a Frame Rate Setting. You can select the frame rate for the applications you d like to have. 21
Chapter 5 Bit rate (Only available for MPEG-4 setting) 5.1 What does Bitrate mean? What is Video Bitrate Mode? MPEG-4 images are received in a continuous data stream. They are not individual files. The bitrate is referred to the calculator which measures the amount of video data transmitted. In our Web Configurator, there is a Video Bitrate Mode where you can set as Constant Bit Rate or Variable Bit Rate. For each mode s benefits, please see the section below. 5.2 What are the Benefits to Set Different Bitrate Mode / Different Bitrate? Constant Bit Rate After selecting Constant Bit Rate, you need to select Video Maximum Bitrate. In order to control the bitrate under your expectation, it is suggested not to select UNLIMITED. In Video Maximum Bitrate column, please select the number directly. The higher bitrate you set, the better video quality you get. For instance, if you d like to set up a live video on your website and the bit rate you set is 2.5MB, you need to apply for at least 2.5Mbps (upload) from your local ISP. You can refer to the bandwidth requirement chart below, when selecting 1280 x 1024 resolution, 8 FPS (Constant Frame Rate Mode), and 2.5Mbps as bit rate (Constant Bitrate Mode), connecting 4 video servers simultaneously requires 10MB. 22
Bandwidth Requirement (bps) Resolution Frame Rate Mode 1280 x 1024 Constant Video Setting Frame Rate Bitrate Mode Number of Channels Video Maximum 4ch 9ch 16ch 32ch Bitrate 8 2 M 8 M 18 M 40 M 80 M 4 Constant 1.2 M 4.8 M 11 M 24 M 48 M 2 500 K 2 M 4.5 M 8 M 16 M 1 256 K 1 M 2.3 M 4.1 M 8.2 M In addition, by calculating the bit rate which is set, the result you will get is also the bandwidth you need for storage. Calculation: Bit Rate / 8 (bits in a byte) X 3600s = KB per hour / 1000 = MB per hour MB per hour X operation hours per day / 1000 = GB per day GB per day X requested period of storage (i.e. 14days or 30days) = Storage needed Recording Requirement Video Settings Time Frame Resolution Frame Video Maximum Frame Rate Rate Mode Mode Bitrate 1 sec 1 day 14 days 30 days 8 2 M 250 K 22 G 302 G 648 G 1280 x 1024 Constant 4 Constant 1.2 M 150 K 13 G 181.4 G 388.8 G 2 500 K 62.5 K 5.4 G 75.6 G 162 G 1 256 K 32 K 2.8 G 38.7 G 82.9 G Variable Bit Rate Variable Bit Rate Mode is suggested to use when you need better video quality for motions. But please make sure that you have enough bandwidth and storage space for the high-bitrate streaming. 23
5.3 How to Test Different Bitrate Setting? Constant Bit Rate / 2Mbps 1. Please go to Web Configurator Video Setting page. You can select Constant Bit Rate and 2Mbps as the images shown below. 24
2. Since you didn t select UNLIMITED as Video Maximum Bitrate, the bitrate will be limited under the specific bitrate you set. In the DU Meter shown in the following snapshot, the download is 1.8Mbps which is smaller than 2Mbps. Picture Above: Constant Bit Rate / 2Mbps 25
Variable Bit Rate / MIDDLE Video Quality 1. Please go to Web Configurator Video Setting page. You can select Variable Bit Rate and MIDDLE Video Quality as the images shown below. 2. Since you selected MIDDLE video quality, the DU Meter shows 2.32Mbps as the running bitrate (please see below). 26
Picture Above: Variable Bit Rate / MIDDLE Video Quality * Please be noted that if you are concerned about the bandwidth consumption and storage, it is not suggested to set at HIGH video quality. The bitrate will be over 3Mbps. 27
Chapter 6 Camera Setup for Various Lighting Condition 6.1 Why Need Different Settings for Various Lighting Condition? Since our ACM series are CMOS Megapixel cameras, due to the limitation on light sensitivity from CMOS sensor, it is important to teach you how to adjust the video according to different lighting condition. 6.2 How to Do Different Setting for Various Lighting Condition? Currently our CMOS Megapixel cameras don t support auto iris function, so here we d like to focus on indoor application only, especially for your sample evaluation. Before you start the evaluation, here are two important settings which you must get familiar with. In our Web Configurator s Camera Setup page, there are two settings to be adjusted for different lighting conditions. (1) AGC Gain when the gain is higher: - Advantage: Make the whole environment brighter - Trade-off: More noises appear (2) Maximum Auto Shutter Speed when the shutter becomes slow or slowest: - Advantage: More light comes in - Trade-off: The motion blur happens 28
Furthermore, to give you a general idea to know how to adjust AGC Gain and Maximum Auto Shutter Speed, please refer to the chart below. Here, we separated the suggested settings into Day & Night models and non Day & night models. The reason is that our Day & Night Megapixel cameras have mechanical IR cut filter built-in, so more IR light could come in when mechanical IR cut filter is removed. You could easily find that our Day & Night model performs better than non Day & Night model in low-light condition. However, non Day & Night model could let you see more details by making the AGC Gain higher even when there is little light getting in. In the chart below, more Gain is needed for Non Day & Night model for[indoor with Little Light]and [Indoor: Dark] Model Setting Indoor with Bright Light Indoor with Little Light Indoor: Dark Day & Night Camera ACM-5611 / ACM-3411 AGC Gain Default 60~70 70~80 Maximum Auto Shutter Speed Default Slowest Slowest Non Day & Night Camera ACM-4200 / ACM-5601 / ACM-3401 AGC Gain Default 70~80 90~100 Maximum Auto Shutter Speed Default Slowest Slowest However, since everyone has different preference for the combination of light, noise and motion blur, the chart above is for your reference. Please adjust AGC gain and Shutter Speed according to your testing environment s lighting condition. 29
Now, let s look at the real tests. For indoor application, we simply divided it into the following two conditions. 1. Indoor Testing Environment with Bright Office Light With default setting - AGC Gain: 59 - Maximum Auto Shutter Speed: Default In Indoor testing environment with bright light, as you can see the snapshot above, the default setting could bring you satisfying video. However, if you find the following situation, please lower the AGC Gain little by little (adjust 5 per time for example) until you are satisfied with the video 30
performance: (1) You d like to reduce the noises in the video; (2) You find the video in blue color; (3) You find the color of the object is not correct. 2. Indoor Testing Environment Put Objects under Table with Little Light In low-light condition, our Day & Night model performs better than non Day & Night model. However, non Day & Night model could let you see more details by making the AGC Gain higher even when there is little light getting in. Therefore, here we divided the low-light condition s testing into two parts: one is to use Day & Night model (ACM-5611), and the other one is to use non Day & Night model (ACM-4200). ACM-5611 Day & Night Model (1) With default setting - AGC Gain: 59 - Maximum Auto Shutter Speed: Default (2) Adjust AGC Gain to 65 / Maximum Auto Shutter Speed to Slowest 31
If you compare the video quality between before and after the AGC Gain and Maximum Auto Shutter Speed are changed, you could see that the definition of Starbucks logo is better. On the other hand, the light reflection appears on the doll which is next to the Starbucks bear. Therefore, if your focus is on the doll itself, AGC Gain should be adjusted to lower than 65, and Maximum Auto Shutter Speed could be set to Slow. The light coming in would be less. ACM-4200 No Day & Night (1) With default setting - AGC Gain: 55 - Maximum Auto Shutter Speed: Default (2) Adjust AGC Gain to 70 / Maximum Auto Shutter Speed to Slowest Comparing the two snapshots above, after we changed the setting, the Starbucks logo becomes more clear. 32
Chapter 7 Megapixel Lens Selection 7.1 Why Need Megapixel Lens? The Mega Pixel lens allows the important object to be monitored in greater detail. If you use normal D1 lens with Megapixel camera, you will get the picture as below. Mega Pixel Camera with D1 Lens If you use Megapixel lens, you will see clear picture as below. Mega Pixel Camera with Mega Pixel Lens 33
7.2 How to Select Megapixel Lens for Your Application? You can start form selecting a lens to recognize car plate with a distance away. To fully recognize a car plate, there must be 120+ pixels for each meter. Under this condition, to recognize a car plate, a 1.3M camera needs to cover an area with less than 11 Meter horizontal width. The horizontal width of the covered Distance from camera to the covered If you d like to purchase Megapixel lens from us, here is the Quick Selection Chart. Here is ACTi s Mega Pixel Lens Ordering Information. ACTi P/N Size Mount Type IRIS Aperture (F) Focal Length (mm) Field of View in Degree (Horizontal) Distance on Each Product (M) ACM- 4200 ACM- 5601 ACM- 5611 LEN-101 1/3" CS IR Fixed 1.8 4.2 75 10 10 10 LEN-102 1/3" CS IR Fixed 1.8 8 40 N/A 19 N/A LEN-104 1/2" C IR Manual 1.6 4.5-10 77.6-37.1 6.5~15 6.5~15 6.5~15 LEN-201 1/3" CS Normal Manual 1.2 2.4~6 113.4~47.1 5.7~14 5.7~14 N/A LEN-202 1/3" CS IR Manual 1.3 2.8~12 102.2~23.7 7.3~31.3 7.3~31.3 7.3~31.3 34
7.3 How to Test Vari-focal Megapixel Lens? When you get the vari-focal Megapixel lens, please put it on our Megapixel camera. Then, please fix the camera by using a tripod or bracket. This would help you get precise focal length, iris and focus. After you settle everything down, and you are able to see video through Web Configurator now, please follow the steps below. 1. Please go to Camera Setup page, and unclick Lens Compensation. 2. Open Iris to the largest you will have the most light in. 3. Adjust the focal length to Wide this makes depth of field smaller. 4. Then adjust the focus until the focus is correct. 5. Last step is to make Iris smaller this adjustment would make the picture become more vivid and remove the unnecessary light. 35