Configure alarm

You can instruct NetCamCenter to record video, sound an alarm or notify you by phone or email when motion is detected. Motion detection compares the change of pixels between image frames. To set up an alarm, click on Setup button, and then select the Alarm tab.

Alarm settings
  • Activate alarm after x minutes

    • You may want to set up the delay time to avoid alarm being activated when you leave.

  • Enable pre-alarm, buffer for x seconds

    • Check this box to enable pre-alarm. Enter how many seconds of video should be kept in buffer for prealarm. (Note: audio is not supported with pre-alarm recording.)

    Please note pre-alarm does not come for free. Software has to temporary store the images on the hard drive and this consumes other computer resources as well. The longer the pre-alarm time you set, the more hard drive space is needed.

  • Reset alarm status after x seconds

    • The software will be set to non-triggered status after no motion for x seconds.

  • Delete alarm log

    • To delete the alarm log, click Delete alarm log.


Active alarm when
  • Motion detected

    • If you wish to activate alarm when motion is detected check this box to enable motion detection. To configure motion detection, click Setup

    • Trigger the alarm if there're over x % changes

      • The software triggers the alarm actions if the percentage of changes between the scenes (pixel changes) exceed the value. You can use the percentage change indicator in the software as a reference to adjust this setting.

    • Mark motion detected areas

      • Check this box if you wish NetCamCenter to mark the motion detected areas.

    • Ignore light switch or camera shift

      • NetCamCenter won't see light switching as an intruding event if you turn this on.



    • Sensitivity

      • Use sensitivity settings to tell NetCamCenter how it should decide if a pixel on the video has changed. If set to high, the software decides the pixel has changed even with a slight change on the pixel reading from the video device. Adjust the value based on camera quality and the scene.

    • Do motion detection at x frame/sec

      • Adjust motion detection speed. The faster the better response, but higher CPU load.

    • Motion detection areas

      • You can select multiple areas where NetCamCenter should watch for motion detection. To add a motion detection area, click "Add area". Click and drag the mouse to draw around the area you wish to enable motion detection.

      To remove the last added area, click Clear last added area. To erase all areas, click Clear all areas.

      Show masks
      You can set a privacy mask for a camera. If you select show masks, only the selected areas will be displayed and recorded in the video.

      Exclusive mode
      Use this instead of "Add area" if you want to enable motion detention on the whole image except some small areas. E.g. to block the window.

      After activating motion detection, you can see the motion meter changes on status bar of the video window. When alarm is triggered, you can see the motion meter turns red.

  • Unable to connect to camera (send email only)

    • Check this box if you wish to receive an email alert when NetCamCenter cannot connect to this camera.

  • GPIO input is triggered

    • Check this box if you wish to activate alarm when GPIO input is triggered.



    (Note: this feature is disabled if the connected device is not supported by NetCamCenter.)

When alarm is triggered
You can instruct NetCamCenter to do the following when motion is detected.

  • Record video

    • Enable to have NetCamCenter records video when motion is detected.

  • Email notification

    • When motion is detected or NetCamCenter cannot connect to the camera, NetCamCenter can alert you by emailing you the captured images. To enable email notification, simply check the box and type your email address correctly.

    You need to set up MAPI compatible email software like Microsoft Outlook Express, Microsoft Outlook or Netscape Communicator to have NetCamCenter send the email. You can also configure NetCamCenter's SMTP function to have NetCamCenter send email. Click here for the instrunctions of configuring NetCamCenter's SMTP function.

  • Set external I/O to

    • You can instruct NetCamCenter to turn on or off external output device when alarm is activated. (Note: this feature will be disabled if camera's I/O is not supported by NetCamCenter.)

  • Play a sound

    • If you want a sound played when motion is detected, check the Play a sound box. Click the Browse button to select a sound file. Two sample .wav files are included for your convenience.

  • Launch external process

    • If you would like NetCamCenter to launch other program when motion is detected, click Browse and select the program.

Note:
It is not recommended using motion detection for outdoors or areas that constantly have objects moving (e.g. convenient stores). The sudden change of sunlight may generate false alarm. Avoid using motion detection around window, with bad cameras or wireless cameras, dark area, or places that the lighting changes constantly. You may get false alarm when using motion detection in these areas.