Channel Settings

The channel configuration dialog box offers several setting categories. As you move across the tabs and alter the configuration, the tabs containing unsaved changes will be marked with an asterisk (*).

Some of the tabs are present for all channels. Other tabs only appear for special driver types (e.g., Web page, Video emulation etc.).

Details

Here you can change the channel title and assign a recording configuration to both main and secondary streams, as well as changing Organization membership for the target channel.

  • Title: user-defined cannel name, as it will appear in Macula Console and Macula Monitor applications

  • Organization: assign this channel to an Organization, if applicable

  • Main stream recording configuration: choose how the first video stream (usually, higher resolution) will be recorded

  • Main stream storage: destination storage for this stream (may differ from other streams)

  • Substream recording configuration: choose how the second video stream (usually, lower resolution) will be recorded

  • Substream storage: destination storage for this stream (may differ from other streams)

  • Edge stream recording configuration: choose how the edge stream will be recorded, if used (available for ONVIF Profile G conformant devices and also for offline recordings made by Macula Mobile)

  • Edge stream storage: destination storage for this stream (may differ from other streams)

  • Record supplementary streams with substream*: if enabled, the selected auxiliary data streams will be stored with the substream

    • Audio: incoming sound track

    • VCA: video analytics metadata

    • Motion: motion detector data

    • Data: data from data sources (serial text like POS etc.)

  • Video lost time: the amount of time in seconds for Macula to wait after all channel's video steams disappear and before triggering a Video loss event

  • Passive mode: Disable recording unless the camera is opened in monitor (Thin client and mobile clients does not "awake camera")

  • Keep Service connection: Write metadata accordingly to the recording profile even while device is in passive mode

  • Passive Mode Differences for ONVIF and Media Devices Drivers:

    • Simple Passive Mode (No Viewers)

      • ONVIF Driver: Maintains service connection(s) only (HTTP/HTTPS).

      • Media Devices (RTSP): No connections to the device.

    • Improved Passive Mode (No Viewers)

      • ONVIF Driver: Maintains service connection(s) (HTTP/HTTPS) and "limited" RTSP connection(s).

      • Media Devices (RTSP): Maintains both service connection(s) (HTTP/HTTPS) and "limited" RTSP connection(s).

    • Any Passive Mode (At Least One Viewer)

      • ONVIF Driver: Maintains full service and RTSP connection(s) (HTTP/HTTPS).

      • Media Devices (RTSP): Maintains full service and RTSP connection(s) (HTTP/HTTPS).

  • Recording identifier (only displayed if Show object IDs option is enabled in the application settings): unique channel identifier that is used as its folder name in the archive

If you enter a custom title for a channel, a special button on the right side will allow you to revert to the device title with a single click.

*By default, all supplementary data streams are stored with the main stream, and the secondary stream is recorded is video only. However, if you wish to keep the secondary stream for a longer period (e.g., 7 days for the main stream and 30 days for the substream), you may wish to keep the data streams with the substream so that these tracks are available when you play back the archive. Otherwise, the supplementary data will be erased with the main stream based on the quotas. This setting is also useful when you use different storages for both streams and it is crucial where the supplementary data goes.

You can either use Default storage category for target streams, or use a different storage profile. The latter can be used for manually distributing streams between storage different directories:

  • storage directories are marked with the relevant storage profiles

  • each channel is assigned a recording location

To choose a storage profile that is not Default, select storage location from the Directories list and click Change button.

Select one of the built-in storage profiles or create and edit a new one.

The built-in storage types are:

  • Disabled: storage location will not be used

  • Default: default storage tag

  • Fallback: storage destination to be used if all the storage units with specified tags have failed

  • Readonly: existing data will be available for reading and will not be erased; no new recordings will be appended to this location

These profiles cannot be edited or removed. Fallback storage settings are available in the corresponding tab of the Storage properties.

Readonly storage type can be used, for example, in the following cases:

  • it is necessary to view the old data from a different Macula server when you need to insert the disks originating from another computer and you do not wish that these data are erased

  • some storage unit contains important footage that has been requested to be kept for a longer time so that the recordings are not erased over time while still allowing access to the footage

Click + New storage button to create a new storage profile, or select an existing one and click the Edit button in the upper-right-hand corner to change its name.

Enter the storage profile title and click OK to save and exit.

Click the Change button to choose the recording configuration: you can pick an existing configuration or create a new one, or a schedule on the spot from the same dialog box.

When you assign a motion-based recording configuration to a channel with a disabled motion detector, the software will automatically suggest enabling motion detection for the target channel. The camera-side detector is given priority; if it is not available, the software-side detector will be enabled and set to the high-performance mode. We recommend that you review the motion detector settings to make sure it operates as desired, especially if the camera-side detector is in use.

Note that if you leave motion detection OFF and assign motion-based recording configuration to the target channel, no data will be recorded.

Members

This section allows you to attach user buttons to channels, so that they appear together in the Macula Monitor application. User buttons bound to channels in this way will appear as video overlay controls when the target channel is placed into a viewport.

If you are editing a channel group, this tab will allow you to put other channels and channel groups into the target group

Membership

Choose the group(s) you want to contain the target channel as a member: double-click the relevant items or use the Add/Remove buttons below to select/deselect. You will have both channel groups (internal in Macula Console) and visual groups here.

Permissions

Allow users and user groups to access and administer the target channel. To add a user or user group, simply select at least one permission, and the user (user group) will be automatically moved to the Selected users list. To clear all permissions, double-click the user in the left-hand column. You can also use the checkbox next to Permissions in the central column to toggle between all/none (if not all permissions are selected, the checkbox will be filled with a black rectangle).

This kind of tab will only appear for Crosslink channels and channels bound to devices with the HTML Source model (generic model specifically dedicated to static streaming from web), and will affect both live and recording.

The following settings may be available here are:

  • Ignore certificate errors: if the target webpage has a self-signed certificate, the built-in browser may be unable to open it; choose this option to prevent certificate-related issues (unsafe but more likely to operate)

  • Auto refresh interval: if the page contents is not dynamic (i.e., does not refresh itself), define a refresh period in seconds here (0=disabled, for dynamic contents)

Resolution and frame rate settings have been moved to the Video configuration tab.

Video File Configuration

This tab only appears if the underlying device is of the (Emulation) Video File type. Here, you can specify the paths to the video streams that will act as main and secondary stream.

Click the Browse button to choose the file using Windows Explorer.

For both streams, you can adjust the frame delay: this will affect the speed of the video.

Motion detector

Choose between camera-side or software-side motion detectors; the default detector state is disabled, meaning that no motion information is received or recorded for the target channel. If you are using motion-driven recording profiles, make sure to enable motion detection for the selected channel(s).

Camera-side motion detection is recommended for two basic reasons:

  • computational load is transferred from servers to devices, decreasing server load, and

  • on most devices, hardware-side motion detection is performed on raw video stream, which means superior accuracy compared to software-side detector, as software only gets access to compressed stream.

Software-side motion detector is a preferable choice if:

  • legacy devices without MD support are used, or

  • there is a necessity to use build heatmaps - in this case, grid-like MD on the software side is helpful.

The motion detector on the software side has two options: high performance and high accuracy:

  • High Performance mode: this type of analysis is performed for only key frames whose frequency can vary from several frames per second to one frame every few seconds - this is less sensitive for picture quality, but greatly affects detector operation. CPU consumption is significantly lower due to this, and it can be additionally reduced by increasing time interval between two analyzed frames.

  • High Accuracy mode: this mode performs motion analysis for the whole video stream, so we recommend selecting this option when you want to achieve best detection results. The lower time interval means higher precision. Keep in mind that CPU and virtual memory usage is much greater if this mode is selected.

In both modes, the level of sensitivity can be adjusted, as can the time interval setting which defines the frequency of frame analysis.

Regardless of which mode you select, you can further decrease the amount of server-side calculations by using a lower-resolution stream (if available). For example, if your main stream is 3MP and your substream is D1, the motion detection engine will spend much less system resources on D1 analysis than it would spend on a 3MP image. Note that some cameras deliver lower-resolution streams as cropped high-resolution images (not resized, as it would be expected) - in such cases, using a substream for MD analysis will produce wrong results and therefore doing so is not advisable.

Most cameras provide second stream as first stream image scaled to fit low resolution; however, some devices crop the center of a high-resolution image to fit the small frame, and thus the substream picture appears as if it were zoomed in. Keep this in mind when you are using substream for live view and especially for software-side motion detector analysis.

Click the Motion detection exclusions button in order to set up exclusion zones. Note that these settings only cover the software-side motion detector; in order to configure the exclusions for the camera-side motion detector, go to the Web interface of the target device.

First, choose the grid size for the detector: this will define the size of the smallest detection region. Minimum grid size is 2x2 cells (resulting in four detection areas), and maximum size is 64x64 cells. Then, mark your desired exclusion area simply by clicking and dragging on the viewport; you can draw several rectangles to form a complex polygonal area. Exclusion area(s) will be highlighted light green. In order to cancel the selection, simply draw a rectangle over it.

Settings in the bottom are here to ease the configuration process:

  • Maintain aspect ratio: displays original picture proportions, if selected, or stretches the picture to fill the viewport

  • Show motion: shows currently present motion, if selected

In order to test the behavior of the selected grid size, enable the Show motion option, the click Apply and see how the detector works with your defined grid.

When you have finished, click OK to return to the main channel configuration dialog box.

Software Video Analytics

Macula servers include a built-in deep learning engine for video analysis (VA). This allows you to detect and classify objects, configure zones and counters, and apply rules for event triggering. Analytics are configured per channel in the Component Panel → Channels → Video Analytics tab.

When enabled, VA overlays detected objects in Macula and provided metadata for event processing in the Events & Actions module.

External Metadata Sources

In addition to built-in video analytics, Macula can process metadata from external sources. This allows integration with camera-side analytics, third-party services, or legacy systems. All metadata received can be displayed as overlays in Macula Monitor, used for event triggering, and included in search.

Three external metadata options are available:

  • Camera-side metadata: if enabled, Macula displays metadata generated by the device itself (edge VA). This information is also available for triggering events.

  • External metadata: Enables the server to accept metadata from any external source in JSON format. The data is used for overlays, event triggers, and search.

  • External service metadata: Allows the server to receive metadata from integrated external services that are configured in GSF Macula. This metadata is also available for overlays, event triggers, and search operations.

Enabling Analytics

  • Enable server-side VA – activates analytics for the selected channel. All connected Macula Monitor clients will display the metadata overlay.

  • Use low-resolution stream if available – if a secondary video stream is configured, the detector can process it instead of the primary stream, reducing CPU/GPU load. Recommended ON for most setups.

You can preconfigure VA for a channel without enabling it. This is useful if you have limited licenses but want to prepare channels in advance.

Each Macula installation includes one generic VA channel free of charge. Specific engines, such as the PPE Detector, require a separate license. To check license use, add the Video Analytics column to the channel grid in the Macula Console.

Quick Setup workflow

Follow these steps to enable video analytics on a channel using recommended defaults:

  • Enable VA

    • Go to Channels → Video Analytics.

    • Check Enable server-side VA.

    • Enable 'Use low-resolution stream if available'.

  • Choose a Detector

    • In the Detector dropdown, select Object Detector V2 (Performance) (recommended for general use).

  • Adjust Detector Options

    • Click Options…

    • Set Runtime Environment to CPU Runtime 1.21.0 or DirectML GPU.

    • Keep the Accuracy slider at its default value.

  • Configure Detection Parameters

    • Select Classes: enable at least one class.

    • Detection Interval: 500 ms (default).

    • Object Loss Timeout: 6 s (default).

    • Scene Dynamics: Normal.

    • Confidence Threshold: 70%.

    • Object Similarity Threshold: 85%.

  • Set Up Zones and Rules

    • Click Configure Zones and Rules.

    • Set Region of interest (ROI), draw a zone or line, and add a rule (e.g., Entered zone, class = Person).

    • Save and link the rule to an action in Events & Actions.

Start with these defaults; fine-tune thresholds and rules later in real scene conditions for the best results.

Detector Engines and Options

Select the detection engine in the Detector dropdown. Only one engine can be active per channel.

  • Object Detector V1 (Legacy)

    • CNN-based detectors for people, vehicles, and animals.

    • Supported resolutions: 300×300, 320×320, 512×512, 1024×600.

    • The 300×300 model can run on a CPU. Larger models require an NVIDIA GPU with CUDA Toolkit 11.2.0.

  • Object Detector V2 (Performance)

    • New engine is optimized for speed.

    • Runs on CPU Runtime 1.21.0 or GPU via DirectML (DML).

  • Object Detector V2 (Quality)

    • New engine optimized for accuracy.

    • Supports the same runtime options as Performance mode.

  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Detector

    • Detects safety equipment, including helmets, vests, and head covers.

    • Requires a separate license.

Legacy Object Detector V1

  • Options:

    • GPU Device – choose a GPU or CPU (CPU option available only for 300x300 detector)

    • Advanced: per process GPU Memory Fraction – percentage of GPU RAM reserved for VA (default: 50%).

    • Advanced: Allow GPU Memory Growth – Yes/No. “Yes” allocates gradually; “No” reserves a memory block upfront.

Object Detector V2 (Performance/Quality)

  • Options:

    • Runtime choices: CPU Runtime 1.21.0 or DirectML (per GPU).

    • Additional setting: Accuracy Slider (1–16). 1 favors performance, 16 favors accuracy.

PPE Detector

Uses the same runtime structure as described in the dedicated PPE documentation.

General Detector Settings

The following parameters are configured below the detector selection:

  • Configure Zones and Rules – open the overlay editor to define zones, lines, and counters.

  • Classes – click Change… to select from 12 available object categories. Multiple classes may be enabled.

  • Detection Interval – minimum delay between detections, in ms. Default: 500 ms.

  • Object Loss Timeout – time in seconds before a missing object is forgotten. Default: 6 s.

  • Scene Dynamics – slider to adjust object speed tracking: Slow – Normal – Fast.

  • Confidence Threshold (%) – minimum confidence for detection. Default: 70%.

  • Object Similarity Threshold (%) – similarity across frames to recognize the same object. Default: 85%. Recommended range: 50–90%.

  • Maximum Object Size – restrict detection of oversized objects:

    • Enter width and height in pixels, or

    • Click Select to draw dimensions directly on the preview canvas.

Zones, Regions of Interest, and Rules

Click Configure Zones and Rules to open the overlay editor. By default, only VA overlays are displayed, but you can enable Show all to reveal additional overlays (e.g., data sources) configured for this channel.

At the top-right corner of the editor, you will find the VA markers: Region of Interest (ROI), Counter, Counting Line, and Polygonal Zone. Drag and drop a marker onto the video image to place it, then adjust its size and position as needed.

Region of Interest (ROI)

By default, a full-frame ROI is added to each channel. ROIs define which part of the frame is analyzed by the detector:

  • Shapes – ROI can be a rectangle or a polygon.

  • Editing – resize, move, or add a new ROI.

  • Polygonal ROI – right-click the polygon border → New button → add a new control point. (This editing method applies to all polygonal overlays.)

  • Multiple ROI – more than one ROI can be defined. In this case:

    • The outer bounding box of all ROIs is passed to the detector.

    • Areas outside ROI are masked.

    • Detector resources are focused only on visible regions.

Use Case: ROIs are ideal for streams with large areas of irrelevant activity (e.g., sky, background, empty floor). They slightly improve performance and enhance the detection of distant or small objects by focusing only on relevant regions.

ROI scaling and non-rectangle ROI fitting example (does not reflect the user interface; illustrates an internal system approach).

Zones, Lines, and Counters

  • Add a Zone or Line

    • Use the polygon icon in the top-left corner of the viewport.

    • Drag and drop into the frame to place.

  • Edit a Zone

    • Select the zone in Elements.

    • Use +New rule to add rules, or +New zone counter to link counters.

    • Adjust properties in the Properties panel (e.g., color, opacity, object presence time).

  • Edit a Line

    • Select the line in Elements.

    • Only +New rule is available.

Elements Hierarchy

In the Elements panel:

  • Top-level elements define overlay style (e.g., Region of interest, Zone, Line, Counter).

  • Sub-level elements define functional settings:

    • ROI regions with their shapes and masks.

    • Zones or lines with rules and counters.

    • Counters that may be linked to rules or reused across channels.

Rules and Counters

  • Rules

  • Define how events are triggered (e.g., Crossed line AB, Entered zone).

  • Appear in the Events & Actions configurator for automation.

  • Zone Counters

    • Reflect live object counts inside a zone.

    • Created via +New zone counter.

    • Zone counters can't be reused and are strictly connected with the particular zone.

  • Generic Counters

    • Created once and can be reused in multiple zones or channels.

    • Useful for aggregating totals (e.g., total visitors across entrances)./no

Note: Overlays and counters only define conditions. To trigger actions (alarms, notifications, pop-ups), link them to rules in the Events & Actions configurator.

For each zone/line rule, you can choose one or multiple object classes to be tracked. You can only choose among classes that have been enabled for the current channel in the previous steps.

Available line rules:

  • Crossed AB or Crossed BA: object has crossed the line in the specified direction

  • Crossed: object has crossed the line in any direction

Available zone events:

  • Entered or appeared: the object appeared in the zone either by crossing its border from outside to inside, or appeared directly inside (e.g., if the zone order is equal to the frame border, or there is a door inside the zone)

  • Leaved or disappeared: the object departed from the zone either by crossing its border from inside out, or simply disappeared inside the zone (e.g., there is a door inside the zone)

Available counter types:

  • zone counter: reflects the current number of certain objects in the zone

  • counter: E&A software counter

Use the buttons below the objects and their properties to create and remove rules. Note that these rules only exist in VA configuration; in order to set up reactions, go to the Events&Actions section of Macula Console.

VA Configuration Examples

Example 1 – Count people entering a zone

  • Place a zone marker.

  • Add a rule: Entered/appeared, class = Person.

  • Place a counter marker, bind it to a new counter.

  • Save VA settings.

  • In Events & Actions, create a new VCA Event for this rule.

  • Add an action: Increment counter.

Example 2 – Pop-up camera when three people are in a zone

  • Place a zone marker.

  • Create a Zone Counter.

  • Save VA settings.

  • In Events & Actions, create an event: Counter Value = 3.

  • Add action: Pop-up camera on screen.

Audio

Here, select the audio source for the target channel. The available options are:

  • None: the channel will have no audio track

  • Internal: built-in or line-in camera microphone will be used as the audio source (G.711 only!)

  • Attached: a microphone that is physically connected to the server will serve as the audio source (server must be the one having this channel in its configuration)

  • Audio source: select one of the devices from the drop-down list. If the list is empty, make sure that the server has a microphone connected and that it is visible/working in the Windows Control Panel.

  • External: use audio from another channel. Audio will be combined with the target channel video in both live and playback.

When fetching audio from the device side (internal source), make sure to choose the G.711 codec. Other codecs are not supported at this point, and selecting them may result in unavailable video stream, too, when both video and audio are packed into the RTSP stream.

For audio sources that are attached to the server: you can use both line-in microphones, as well as ones connected via audio board, which supports multiple microphones at once. There are three important requirements here:

  • the target channel and the target audio device must belong to the same server

  • the attached audio device(s) must be recognized by the operating system

  • the list of audio devices is retrieved live, so the target server must be online for you to apply the configuration

Digital Inputs

If digital inputs (DI) are supported for the underlying device, the available inputs will be listed here. Mark them in the list in order to allow event generation from those inputs: events can be later set up in the E&A Configurator using the Digital input event type. After changing the DI name, click Apply below for the changes to take effect: the setting will not be saved if you simply switch to another tab.

Note that the tab contents is retrieved in real time from the target device, therefore, it may take several seconds for the contents to become available. In case the target device is offline/unavailable, or if there is no support for DI for the selected device model, the list will be empty and a corresponding warning will appear.

Digital Outputs

You can change the state of digital outputs (DO) from the E&A Configurator (target action type: Control digital output). For the DO to be available in actions, select them here by putting a mark in the corresponding checkboxes. Optionally, you can also change the DO names. Click the Apply button below the output details to save the changes before moving to other settings.

For each relay output, you can also specify the desired mode: switch, inverted switch or pulse. This defines the command that will be sent to the device when DO action is triggered in E&A.

Note that the tab contents is retrieved in real time from the target device, therefore, it may take several seconds for the contents to become available. If the target device is offline/unavailable, has no DO, or if there is no support for DO for the selected device model, the list will be empty and a corresponding warning will appear. In case your device does have DO but they are not supported by software, you can still change their state from Macula E&A by using CGI/HTTP commands (action type: Send HTTP request or Run program). The exact command text depends on the device and can be found in the device documentation.

Video Overlays

Here, you can create channels shortcuts and also choose a data provider to embed some textual data with the video. The section below explains channel shortcuts; for setup guidelines on the data overlay, please refer to the Data Sources section of this document. Video analytics visual elements are explained above.

By default, only channel shortcuts and data source overlays are displayed here. Enable the Show all option above the video preview to see all visual elements (e.g., video analytics).

Channel shortcuts are interactive video overlay elements intended for instant switching between video channels in the Macula Monitor application's live view mode. In other words, these are visual controls that appear on top of the video and clicking them will open other (pre-defined) video channels in the same viewport. These "portals" are configured in Macula Console and then used in the Macula Monitor application.

Video Overlay Shortcuts a.k.a Portals

Starting with version 1.25 it is possible to mark video overlay shortcuts not only as a rectangle but as a free-form polygon too. Also, it is possible to create video overlay shortcuts for:

  • Data and video channels

  • Maps

  • Buttons

  • Webpages

  • Shared layouts

By clicking the dedicated area inside the channel, in the Macula Monitor, you can switch data and video channels, trigger events assigned to buttons, and switch between saved shared layouts.

Adding portals to channels

To add a new "portal" to the channel, in the Macula Console go to:

  1. Configuration ->channels-> Select a preferred channel and then click the Edit button on top or double-click the preferred channel

  2. Select video overlay and klick Configure video overlays button

  3. Drag the "portal" icon to the channel layout view and mark the zone you want to use as a shortcut.

To assign existing resources to a shortcut, select your shortcut in the Elements panel, then in the Properties panel, click on Resources and assign from the available list.

User buttons assigned as video overlay shortcuts do not have any indication and work with a single click. To check if the button was actually triggered, go to the Alert tab in Macula Monitor

The video Overlay window contains three tabs. The first tab is for the channel camera view and all the overlay markings. The Elements tab allows you to switch between added overlays, and the Properties tab contains options specific to the chosen overlay.

Shortcut Overlay Properties

  • Type: type of video overlay

  • Shape: can be rectangle or polygon

  • Label: optional text to display with Overlay in Macula Monitor viewport

  • Background color/opacity: shortcut color and its transparency

  • Foreground color/opacity: shortcut font color

  • Font/Font Size: face and size of displayed shortcut font

  • Resource: resource linked to Video Overlay shortcut

Data Overlay Properties

  • Type: type of video overlay

  • Line count: how many lines are allowed per video port

  • Timeout: how long data will be displayed since the last data input

  • Text color: data Overlay viewport font color

  • Data Source: data source connected to the selected channel

  • Data ID: data ID

Counter Overlay Properties

  • Type: Type of video overlay

  • Text: Optional text to display with Overlay in Macula Monitor viewport

  • Color: Displayed text color

  • Opacity: Displayed text opacity

  • Font/Font Size: Face and size of displayed shortcut font

  • Resource: resource linked to Video Overlay shortcut

To remove any unneeded Shortcut, Counter or Data Overlay - select it in the video viewport or in Elements tab and click the Recycle bin button in the panel above the video.

To save the video overlay settings, click OK to close the dialog box and then click Apply or OK in the Edit channel dialog box. If you click Cancel to discard changes in the Edit channel dialog box, adjustments in the video overlays will not be saved.

Shortcuts and Counter Overlays can be duplicated. To do so, select the Overlay you want to duplicate. At the top of the Elements section, you will find two buttons, one for deleting the overlay and the second for duplicating. Click on the Duplicate button. This will create a copy of the selected overlay.

Channel Configuration

The Channel Configuration tab allows you to adjust advanced channel settings. Some of these can be changed via Macula Console but sometimes software does not cover some of the device settings, so you are also given the option to go straight to the device Web interface - simply click the Open device in browser button to do this.

For ONVIF channels (if device model is set to (Generic) ONVIF Compatible), there is an option to set up imaging settings: the corresponding button will appear next to the Channel properties button. Please see below for more details.

Click Open channel properties to access the additional channel configuration dialog box. The available tabs depend on the device model and capabilities: for some cameras, only basic configuration options are present, while for others, advanced settings are accessible. If you see that a camera has certain capabilities that are not configurable via Macula Console configuration interface, go to the device's Web interface in order to change that specific setting.

  • Video Input tab: set video transport (the available list of options depends on the device type and model; common types include HTTP, RTSP* and native transport)

  • Video Adjustment tab: fine-tune picture settings such as brightness and contrast level

  • Substream tab: enable second (lower resolution) stream

  • Video Configuration tab: choose streaming settings**

  • Motion Detection tab: with some devices, the camera-side motion detector must be explicitly enabled here

  • External PTZ tab: adjust external PTZ controller settings; communication port must match the communication port that the RS232/485 controller is connected to, and baud rate has to match the baud rate of your PTZ controller/analog PTZ camera

  • RTSP tab: appears if RTSP transport type has been chosen; set RTSP port and mode (TCP/UDP/multicast***) here

*You may have to specify the RTSP port on the corresponding tab if it differs from default (port 554 for most cameras). To do this, select the RTSP transport type and then click Apply: as a result, the RTSP tab will become available. For ONVIF devices, the RTSP port is set automatically.

**Remember, the higher the resolution/bitrate/quality/frame rate you set, the more storage space and bandwidth it will use when recording. These settings also affect CPU/virtual memory resource consumption for live video and software-side motion detection.

***Multicast mode availability depends on device integration.

Note that a valid administrative account login and password for the camera should be provided in Device settings in order to access and set the device configuration.

Imaging Settings

For ONVIF device channels, it is possible to adjust the image settings like brightness, saturation etc. To access these settings, open the channel for editing, choose the Channel configuration tab, then click the Open imaging properties button.

Adjust the settings, then click Apply. If you like the result, click OK to close the dialog box and exit.

Use the Reset button to revert the latest changes. If you save the changes and close the window, next time you open it Macula Console will treat the previous settings as default and will reset to them (and not some other set of values). To reset the imaging settings to the factory defaults, use the camera Web interface.

Use the low resolution stream for image preview to compare the pictures and make sure the applied imaging settings look good on both streams (e.g., make sure important elements are visible).

Dewarp

Here, you can configure generic dewarp settings or enable dewarp engine for the Panomorph Enables® lens. For details, please see the subsequent topic on dewarp setup.

Video Configuration

This tab is only available for certain device drivers like ONVIF. For other devices, go to the Channel Configuration tab (described above).

Here, you can select stream properties for both main and secondary video streams. The options are fetched from the device so the availability may differ depending on the vendor.

Available settings:

Profile: choose one of the video streams profiles (built-in or pre-configured on the device side)

Encoding, resolution, quality, GOV length*, frame rate, bitrate, bitrate mode: choose one of the available settings according to your needs

By default, camera-side settings are used (whatever is currently set on the device side). You can override all settings or only some of them.

Note that a valid administrative account login and password for the camera should be provided in Device settings in order to access and set the device configuration.

*Too long GOV intervals (hence, low i-frame rate) may cause recording and playback issues. Channels with too low i-frame rate will have a warning (orange color) in the Monitoring section of Macula Console, under Channels. To view this column, click the grid icon in the upper right corner and move the columns Main stream GOP size and Substream GOP size to the left, then click OK.

RTSP Configuration

This tab is only available for certain device drivers like ONVIF. For other devices, go to the Channel Configuration tab (described above).

By default, the default port of 554 is used for obtaining video over RTSP. Here, you can override the default port, and also choose between unicast and multicast. Also you can send RTSP port as a part of URL and allow to accept headers in RTSP URLs:

  • Enable RTSP port in URL: If enabled, the RTSP port will be explicitly included in the DESCRIBE request

  • Always use ACCEPT header in RTSP URLs: If enabled, the ACCEPT header will be added to all DESCRIBE requests

Edge Configuration

This tab is only available for certain device drivers like ONVIF. For other devices, go to the Channel Configuration tab (described above).

For some devices, Macula can fetch the recording done on the device side (on camera SD card). This tab contains some settings related to the edge stream synchronization.

Last updated