Camera Optimization

What is Camera Optimization?

One of the things that Nx Witness does to simplify the user experience is to optimize compatible cameras. Allowing Nx Witness to optimize cameras is recommended for most systems.

Allow Nx Witness to optimize System Cameras: a global setting.

During installation users are given the option to "Allow system to optimize devices settings."

If "Allow system..." is left checked during installation of an Nx Witness or DW Spectrum system then once the system is installed any time a camera is auto-discovered the first time it is viewed on an Nx Witness client the Nx Witness will modify the camera settings to send two streams - the maximum resolution possible (Hi-Res) at the maximum frame rate (fps) the camera supports, and a secondary low-res stream (typically 480p or 320p on a 2 megapixel camera, for example) that is used for adaptive scaling to reduce CPU and network usage and also for Nx Witness's server-side motion detection analysis.

If "Allow system..." is unchecked during installation then Nx Witness will use the settings of auto-discovered cameras on the network. So, for example, if a customer has an existing system and wants to simply replace their existing software and keep their cameras' existing configurations they would choose not to check the "Allow system to optimize devices settings" checkbox during installation.

The "Allow system to optimize devices settings" check box is also available post-installation in the System Administration dialog (see below) and can be unchecked at any time.

Expert Settings Tab: a device-specific approach.

Alternatively, if a user does not uncheck the "Allow system.." feature during installation (for whatever reason) and then later on wants to adjust the camera to stream at a lower resolution they can use the Expert Settings tab on the Camera Settings dialog to "Keep camera streams' and profiles' settings." This allows the user to configure the camera using a camera configuration tool or camera web page - and then Nx Witness becomes the bucket that captures whatever stream the camera is sending. (see below images).

This is called the "Expert" settings tab because it requires users who understand the implications of what they are adjusting - and that qualifies them as an expert in our book.

So the Nx Witness default approach is to use the maximum resolution of the camera as manufactured with the understanding that most users buy 5 megapixel cameras to capture 5 megapixel streams. Alternatively we allow users to pre-configure their cameras and use the "Allow system..." approach or to retroactively modify cameras using the Expert Settings tab for maximum flexibility.