This document is most helpful for IT staff and on-site installation personnel.
This guide will show you how simple and effective it is to add a camera to your Spot AI appliance using auto-discovery and quick activation. If you have cameras connected to an NVR that you need to add, check out this article.
this is internal only
Step 1: Click on the Configure button located at the top of the page.
Step 2: Go to Locations in the left-side menu, find the location of interest and click Edit.
Step 3: Go to Cameras and the Spot AI dashboard will automatically search for your cameras and you'll see a listing of all available cameras to choose from.
Step 4: Spot Genius will attempt to automatically authenticate all discovered cameras.
- If the cameras are automatically authenticated, all you will need to do is click the Auto-Activate button on the camera listing. The appliance will immediately start ingesting video and you're done!
- If Spot Genius is unable to auto-authenticate the camera, it will be listed with "Enter Credentials", in which case, all you need to do is click on the listing and enter the credentials for the camera. Once authenticated, Spot Genius will use the same credentials to authenticate all cameras of the same Vendor.
- If the camera has "Manually Activate Stream", Spot Genius was able to authenticate the camera but doesn't have a working RTSP path. An RTSP path just needs to be added in order to activate the camera.
Note: For the best viewing experience, choose the streaming option which has a resolution closest to 2MP (i.e. 1920x1080p), H.264 video compression, and 15fps, this is the optimal resolution for low latency and seamless web viewing.
Troubleshooting cameras not showing in the list:
If you do not find your camera in the list of devices, here are some troubleshooting steps:
- IP address search: Go to your existing NVR and go to any individual camera stream and check for details. Find the IP address of the camera, and use "Add a Device" [check image below] to manually add the camera
- Adding Camera Subnet search: Ensure that the appliance is connected to the same network as the cameras. Often times internet access and camera network might be separate and you will have to use the second ethernet cord provided to ensure the Spot appliance is connected to both the internet and the camera network. For a more detailed article on setting this up - read this article
Troubleshooting cameras not authenticating or activating:
- Username and password: This will be your camera's username and password. If you don't remember, please look at your camera brand and model number and google the camera's default username and password. If the default doesn't work, google the instruction to factory reset your particular camera name and model.
- Test Path: This is the link to provide the RTSP path for your camera brand and model. Use this link to find the RTSP path of your camera or just Google "RTSP path" for the camera brand and model. Please note: you just need to input what comes after the IP address and Port in the path URL i.e. for the example RTSP path:
- RTSP URL: rtsp://username:password@192.168.1.5:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1
- You only need to enter: /cam/realmonitor?channel=1
If you are stuck at any step, please reach out to help@spot.ai for assistance.
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