Setup Image Capture in TagNet

Setup and Configure IP Camera Image Capture

This sections outlines the basic steps needed to setup your IP camera and any client machines that will be viewing captured streams through the TagNet interface.

1.Once the camera has been physically installed you’ll want to make sure that it has a static IP address. This can be done by accessing the cameras web interface (using the DHCP address it has been assigned) and setting a fixed IP. Alternatively, you can assign a reservation through your DHCP server. The default username/password for the Axis camera is root/pass. If using a different model, the default credentials should be located in the cameras documentation. Note: The username and password will be needed when configuring TagNet in the next section.

1.Any client machines that will be accessing streams through the TagNet interface will need the Axis Embedded Media Controller installed locally. This package includes controls for IE, Firefox, and Chrome, although the only supported browser for TagNet streams is IE. This package can be acquired through one of two methods:

Hitting the web interface of the IP camera from the client machine and installing the package when prompted (you will need to enter in the cameras username and password!).

Distributing the bundled MSI package (AMC_Embedded_msi.msi) that is included with the TagNet v7.xx package. You will find this on the TagNet server located in the v7XX folder.

2.With the camera and client machines configured you are now ready to setup TagNet.

Configuring TagNet

This section covers the steps needed to setup TagNet for MJPEG video streams along with some pointers on usage and performance. Be sure that you have setup your IP camera and the client machine you will be using to view the MJPEG streams. If you have not done this, please the previous section. The IP camera used in this document is an Axis P3304. If using a different camera you may have a different UI and/or different features available to you. You will need several things for this initial configuration – 1) RDP and web access to the TagNet server, 2) The IP address, username, and password of the camera, 3) A reader and schedule configured in TagNet, 4) TagNet v7.Xx or higher.

1.Login to the TagNet web interface go the Physical Readers menu.

2.Locate the reader you wish to associate your IP camera with and click Change.

3.Go to the Camera Support page and you will see all the base camera settings. Enter in the following settings, updating fields that are appropriate to your TagNet configuration:

4.Go to the Event Subscription menu.

5.Locate your reader schedule and click on Bindings. Here you will see the binding function associated with your schedule:

6.Go to the Event Bindings menu and locate that binding in the list. Click on View and verify that your URI is RFDPEVG:

7.Go back to the Event Subscription menu, click on Schedule, and click Run. This will run the schedule with the new settings and will start capturing streams. If you are using a GPIO trigger you will need to trigger the device and ensure that tags are seen. If using a continuous reader schedule, be sure pass tags through the read zone.

8.Go to the Physical Readers menu and locate your reader. Click on Activity. This will show all the tags that have been seen during your schedule. If you camera is working properly you should see thumbnails of the first frame of each stream:

9.Click on the thumbnail and a second window will pop-up and display the stream. If this is the first time executing a stream you may be asked to “Allow” the use of the Axis Controller. If all you see a blank page try clicking on the thumbnail a second time. If the streaming service hasn’t been accessed for some time the first attempt to view a stream will act as a “wake up” and the following attempts to view the stream should work.

10.If everything has been configured properly you should see a stream when you click on the thumbnail. Chances are this stream is being displayed very quickly, a 5 second capture may be played through in 1 or 2 seconds. The next step is to configure the Stream Playback Delay.

11.Connect to the TagNet server via RDP and locate “Check Frame Rate.exe”. Execute this program and enter in the Stream Duration that you set in the previous steps:

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13.Click Open MJPEG… and select one of .MJPG files:

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14.The program will analyze the stream file and give you a suggested delay time:

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15.By default the Axis camera will stream at 30fps, although network latency or delay can decrease this. Use the suggested delay as a starting point to configure your stream playback.

16.Go to the Physical Readers menu and locate you reader. Click on Change.

17.Go back to the Camera Support page and enter in a time within the suggested delay. Click Update to save the changes:

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19.Go back to the Activity page and view the stream again. This time your stream should be more aligned with the actual time. You can continue to adjust the stream delay time until you are satisfied with how the streams look.

Performance Tips and Considerations

1.Stream files at 640x480 (30fps) resolution will grow at a rate of about 1MB per second, so a 5 second stream will be about 5MB in size. Be sure that your server has enough space to hold these stream files.

2.If your reader is continuously reading tags (no GPIO trigger) you will want your Start Capture at Event Cycle setting set to *NO. If not, a stream will be captured at every cycle and will consume approximately 3.5GB of space every hour. With the setting set to *NO a stream will start after a read event cycle where a tag has been seen. Take this into consideration when positioning your camera and determining the read event cycle times. In this scenario where there is no GPIO trigger, you would want a shorter read event cycle (less than 1 or 2 seconds) so that any tag will trigger a stream within 1 or 2 seconds of being seen.