Camera name

Displays the name of the selected camera.

To change the camera, click the ellipsis button to open the Select Camera dialog and select a different camera. This can be useful if you want to change the camera but keep the settings.

Live Stream

If available, select the live stream that you want to display in the view. If multiple streams have been set up on the server, you can select either Default or one of the available stream options. If you select another option than Default, you will not be able to edit Image quality or Frame rate settings.

Image quality

Determines the quality of video when viewed, but also affects bandwidth usage. If your XProtect Smart Client is used over the internet, over a slow network connection, or if for other reasons you need to limit bandwidth use, image quality can be reduced on the server side by selecting Low or Medium.

When selecting a reduced image quality, images from the selected camera are re-encoded to a JPEG format on the surveillance system server before being sent to the XProtect Smart Client. Re-encoding takes place along the following lines:

Full: The default setting, providing the full quality of the original video.

Super high (for megapixel): Re-encoding to an output width of 640 pixels (VGA) and a JPEG quality level of 25%.

High: Re-encoding to an output width of 320 pixels (QVGA) and a JPEG quality level of 25%.

Medium: Re-encoding to an output width of 200 pixels and a JPEG quality level of 25%.

Low: Re-encoding to an output width of 160 pixels and a JPEG quality level of 20%.

Height will scale according to the width and the aspect ratio of the original video.

Your image quality selection will apply for live as well as recorded video, and for JPEG as well as MPEG. For MPEG, however, only keyframes will be re-encoded when viewing live video, whereas all frames will be re-encoded when viewing recorded video.

While using a reduced image quality helps limit bandwidth use, it will—due to the need for re-encoding images—use additional resources on the surveillance system server.

Tip: You can quickly reduce the bandwidth usage for all cameras in the view by reducing the image quality for a single camera, then clicking the Apply To All button.

Keep when maximized

When you view live or recorded video, you can double-click a particular camera position in a view to maximize it. When you do this, video from the camera is by default displayed in full quality, regardless of your image quality selection.

If you want to make sure that the selected image quality also applies when video is enlarged, select the Keep when maximized box, located immediately below the Image quality setting.

Frame rate

Select a frame rate for the selected camera. Select between Unlimited (default), Medium, or Low. The combination of the frame rate you select and the way your surveillance system is set up affects the quality of your video.

PTZ click mode

Select a default PTZ click mode for your PTZ cameras. Options are click-to-center or virtual joystick. You can override this setting on individual cameras by selecting a different default PTZ click mode for the camera.

Fisheye split mode

Available only if the selected camera is a fisheye camera. Fisheye technology allows the creation and viewing of 360º panoramic images. The XProtect Smart Client supports up to four different viewpoints from a single fisheye camera. The Fisheye split mode list lets you select the required split mode:

No split lets you view a single viewpoint.

Two by two lets you view four different viewpoints at a time.

When viewed on any of the XProtect Smart Client's tabs, the fisheye camera will appear as specified, with either one or four viewpoints from the same image.

Tip: When you view different viewpoints from a fisheye camera, you can navigate each viewpoint independently by clicking inside each viewpoint, or by using the PTZ presets menu on the camera toolbar.

Maintain Image Aspect Ratio

If selected, video will not be stretched to fit the size of the camera position. Rather, video will be displayed with the aspect ratio (height/width relationship) with which it has been recorded.

This may result in horizontal or vertical black bars appearing around the images from some cameras.

If check box is cleared, video will be stretched to fit the position in the view; this may lead to slightly distorted video, but you will avoid any black bars appearing around the video.

Update on motion

If selected, video from the selected camera will only be updated on the XProtect Smart Client's Live tab when motion is detected. Depending on the motion detection sensitivity configured for the camera on the surveillance system server this can help reduce CPU usage significantly.

When video is only updated on motion, users will see the message No motion together with a still image in the camera's position in the view until motion is detected. The still image will have a gray overlay, making it easy to identify which cameras have no motion.

Sound on motion detection

When video from the camera is viewed on the Live tab, it is possible to get a simple sound notification when motion is detected.

Sound notifications only work if video from the camera is actually displayed in your XProtect Smart Client. Sound notifications will therefore not work if you minimize the window containing the camera in question. Likewise, if you maximize a camera in a view so only that camera is displayed, it will not be possible to hear sound notifications regarding other cameras.

Always off: Do not use sound notifications on detected motion.

Always on: Play a sound notification each time motion is detected on the camera.

Sound on event

This feature is only available with certain surveillance systems. For a detailed outline of the features available on your particular system, see the XProtect Product Comparison Chart on: http://www.milestonesys.com.

Being able to use this feature requires that notifications on events have been configured on the surveillance system server.

Sound notifications only work if video from the camera is actually displayed in your XProtect Smart Client. Sound notifications will thus not work if you minimize the window containing the camera in question. Likewise, if you maximize a camera in a view so only that camera is displayed, it will not be possible to hear sound notifications regarding other cameras.

When video from the camera is viewed on the Live tab, it is possible to get a simple sound alert when events related to the selected camera occur.

Always off: Do not use sound alerts when events related to the camera occur.

Always on: Play a sound alert each time an event related to the camera occurs.

Display settings

Use default display settings: Use default settings, as defined in the Options dialog, for showing title bar and video indicator for the selected camera. If you want a non-default behavior for the selected camera, clear the check box and select whether you want title bar and/or video indicator.

Show title bar: Displays a title bar at the top of each camera position. The title bar helps users quickly identify cameras. When displayed on the Live tab, the title bar displays information about detected motion and events, whether the camera is recording, etc. See Camera names and colored indicators.

Note: If you choose not to display the title bar, you will not be able to see the visual indicators for motion and events. As an alternative, you can use sound notification.

Show bounding box layer: Displays bounding boxes on individual cameras. Open the Bounding Box Providers dialog box to specify the metadata devices to provide data to the camera.

Video buffering

This part of the Properties pane may not be visible. To view it, go to the Options window's Functions tab, and ensure that Setup > Edit video buffering is set to Available.

If you require very smooth display of live video, without any jitter, it is possible to build up a video buffer.

If possible, avoid using video buffering. Video buffering can significantly increase memory usage for each camera displayed in a view. If you do need to use video buffering, keep the buffering level as low as possible.

When live video is stored in a buffer, it will display smoothly without any jitter, but the building up of the buffer will lead to a small delay in the display of live video. Such a delay is often not a problem for the person viewing the video. However, the delay may become very evident if the camera is a pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera, and especially if you use a joystick to operate the camera.

Being able to control the amount of video buffering lets you decide whether you want to prioritize smoothly displayed live video (requires buffering and leads to a small delay) or instant PTZ and joystick operation (requires no buffer, but may—due to the lack of a buffer—lead to a slight jitter in live video).

To use video buffering, select Use default video buffer, then select the required buffer, from None to Maximum 2 seconds.

Apply to All

The Apply to All button lets you quickly apply the camera settings for the selected camera to all cameras in the view.