Honeywell Rapid Eye, Administrator'S Manual

Page: 93 / 294

Rapid Eye Multi-Media DVR System Administrator Guide
Document 800-02953V4 Rev A 93
03/10
comparison. More cameras can be seen at once, and at higher resolutions (here five
cameras at 320×240 resolution) when a recommended setting is used, as in A or B. Even
at settings that are not recommended, video can still be viewed, though: some camera
windows can appear to extend beyond the monitor’s surface. At any setting, camera
windows can be dragged as needed and the player window scrolled.
Environmental Interference for Video Feeds
Checking your installation for hard-to-predict situations includes spot-checking:
• Live video. Run a Live Session on a regular basis. Such spot checks offer
confirmation that sites have not been vandalized, rendered ineffective by the
environment or tampered with by an operator. See
Physical Compromise , below.
• Recorded video. After a day or two, run a retrieval session to look for artifacts in
recorded video, at every half-hour or so, over a 24-hour period. The darkness of night
or bright sunlight may indicate the need for changes in camera position or lighting.
For outdoor cameras, it can be worthwhile to run such spot checks seasonally. See
Physical Compromise , below.
• After use of PTZ. A camera with the ability to pan, tilt and zoom can be set to respond
in a variety of ways after use and should be spot-checked. Run a video retrieval to do
so. See
Behavior of PTZ After a Session Closes on page 103 .
• Scheduling. The video archive can be spot-checked for recorded video when
cameras are scheduled to record. See
Scheduling Configuration on page 117 .
Physical Compromise
Even when cameras are set as recommended, changing environmental factors can
compromise video at the source. Obvious factors include:
• Direct sunlight for short times during the day. Daybreak can interfere with recording
for cameras aimed East, as can sundown for cameras pointing West.
• Dew, frost or kitchen grease. Check camera lenses or windows between the camera
and the subject for transparency and cleanliness.
• Darkness. Without lighting or infrared cameras, indoor rooms and nighttime can make
cameras ineffective.
• Cameras at an outside window, in a room that remains lit during evenings. Reflection
from the window can hamper or block outside visibility.
• Opaque objects. Even small objects can obstruct a camera when they are near and
hamper an operator’s view of a site. Large mobile objects, such as a truck, can also
be used to compromise video of an event. See vandalism, below.
• Power outage. Even when plugged into a UPS, prolonged power outages can
compromise the recording of video.
• Vandalism. Tampering with cameras, Multi-Media units or other hardware, can be
done by damaging hardware directly or indirectly interfering (by spraying paint, fog or
moving objects into the way), or even through reconfiguration, using the View
software.