"Gold Standard" Configuration for BluSKY Cameras

Basic Info

The basic information section of a Camera contains several optional fields that are important to fill out to meet the "Gold Standard" criteria:

1. Name: The name of the Camera should succinctly describe the area or purpose of the device, and not include information that other informational fields cover. Only include additional information outside this if multiple Cameras would have duplicate names without it.
   • Ex. high rise buildings tends to have a freight area on each floor. Instead of naming each Camera "Freight Area", floor information can be incorporated into the name to help differentiate ("FL12 Freight Area", "FL14 Freight Area", etc. ...)
2. Force Camera Name: Set the value of this dropdown field to "From BluSKY Camera" so that the Camera is sourcing the value for its Name field from BluSKY, not the NVR.
3. Description: Copy the Name field value to the Description field, unless it's applicable to create a separate description for the Camera.
4. System, Facility, and Floor: Note that the requirement to provide a Floor was a later enhancement to this page, so it's possible a historically-created Camera is missing this value. Many advanced Video features rely on a correct Floor value selection for the Camera.
5. Physical Camera Information (Manufacturer, Model, Type, Lens Info, Serial Number): use information from the VMS software and product data sheets available on the internet to fill out these fields.
6. Camera Network Information
   1. DHCP Toggle: Set this to 'No' to enable manual entry of network information for the Camera.
   2. MAC Address: Enter this so that it matches the rough format of XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX
   3. IP Address: Trim any URL information from the IP Address so that it matches the rough format of xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
   4. Default Gateway and Subnet Mask: Once a valid IP Address is entered, these fields will automatically populate with default values. Modify these is applicable.
7. Manual Request: Ensure that this toggle is set to 'Yes'. This allows BluSKY users to manually request video clips from this Camera's recordings.
8. Pre Event Seconds and Post Event Seconds: Ensure that the Camera has its event recording window set up correctly. The recommended values are 1 second of pre-event recording and 6 seconds of post-event recording.
   • This may vary based on the Camera's use case. See the Post Configuration Monitoring section for more.

Scene Description

This section of the Camera page is currently in beta phase, so guidance on this section is under construction.

Analytics and Statistics

Guidance on this section is under construction.

Camera Instructions

Providing natural language instructions to the Camera enables intelligent automation of Events and Alarms when activity within the Camera's views meets certain trigger conditions.

Every Camera should be given a set of Camera Instructions in the User Input text editor - provide as much exhaustive detail as possible to the AI, and then click the 'Generate' button. Check the AI Insights text output for any hallucinations or incorrect information. Ensure the table of inferred intelligent automations from the AI contains relevant objects, regions, behavior (Event vs. Alarm), and rule Schedules based on the input your provided.

• Note: this process is iterative - see the Post Configuration Monitoring section for more.

Snapshot-24

By default (Default Mode set to 'Yes'), the Snapshot-24 pipeline takes an image of the Camera's view every hour continuously at the recorded stream's resolution. This default setting is recommended for most use cases, but it may need to be modified. Consider the following:

• What is the expected level of foot traffic in view of this Camera?
• How often does the environment or scene change (lighting, movable objects, etc.)?
• Is the environment or scene impacted by natural, outdoor lighting?
• Is the Camera externally located or internally located?
• Is the Camera located in a region of the world that experiences periods of extended day time or night time?

Snapshot-24's recurring capture configurations are most useful when they are able to show a high-level summary of how the scene typically looks throughout the day using the least number of captured images possible.

Streams

1. Resolution of Streams: Consult the table below for the recommended resolutions for live and recorded streams. Note that 16:9 is the recommended aspect ratio for the best Video viewing experience in BluSKY, but it is recommended that Camera resolutions are set to match the native aspect ratio of the Camera while balancing network bandwidth considerations. The most important thing to keep in mind is to ensure that the recorded and live stream aspect ratios are the same, or else the Snapshot-24 Camera preview will not align with the stream.
    

   Resolution by aspect ratio	16:9	16:10	4:3
   Live stream (width x height)	1280 x 720	1280 x 800	1024 x 768
   Recorded stream	1920 x 1080	1920 x 1200	1600 x 1200

    
   • Note: if the specific Camera model does not support the "Gold Standard" recommended resolution, pick the closest resolution available while maintaining
2. Frame Rate: Ensure that the Camera has its live and recorded streams set to 15 frames per second (fps).
3. Bandwidth Limit: Ensure that the Camera has its live stream bandwidth limit set to 1024 kilobytes per second (kbps) and recorded stream bandwidth limit set to 2048 kbps.
4. Variable Bitrate: Set this toggle to 'Yes'.
5. Compression Rate: Ensure that the Camera has a compression rate of 10 for both streams.
6. Datetime Overlay: Select 'Top Left' unless the customer requests otherwise.
   • Note: this field is currently informational. It should be filled out in anticipation of improvement, but currently the date/time overlay for a Camera must be set via the Camera hardware GUI. See the appropriate article in the Camera Hardware Configuration Standards guide for more.

Maps & Locations

1. Maps and Locations: Ensure that all Cameras are landed in the correct position and are facing the correct way on Interactive Maps. It is imperative that the coordinates and rotation angle are as accurate as possible. It is recommended to land the Camera in Interactive Maps, and then modify the auto-generated Location to suit your needs. Creating Locations ahead of device landing will just create duplicate data.
2. After landing the Camera on the appropriate Interactive Map, ensure that the auto-generated Location has its 'Floor' field filled in.

Homography

View Geometry

Providing View Geometry parameters supports the Homography feature of the Camera page. Since homography methods rely on mathematical transformations between the plane of the Camera's view and the plane of the Map it is located on, providing estimated parameters helps creates a more confident, accurate output from the Homography section.

Region of Interest

Video Motion

1. Motion Events: Ensure that all interior Cameras have motion events enabled, unless specifically requested otherwise. It is not recommended to enable motion events for external Cameras unless requested.

Custom Analytics

Associated Devices

1. Device Associations: Ensure that any device in view of the Camera is associated with it.

Cloud Video

1. Video Upload to Cloud: This setting allows for automatic video clip uploads to the cloud of certain specified Events. By default, cloud retention is 30 days.
   1. Ensure all cameras have Cloud Video set to 'Yes' and Portal Other Events are automatically uploaded.
   2. If the Camera is associated with an Intercom, enable Intercom Events.
   3. If the Camera is associated with a Monitoring Point, enable Monitoring Point Events.
   4. If the Camera has motion detection enabled, enable Video Motion Events.

Recorder Settings

1. Pre-Buffer: Ensure that pre-buffer is enabled for this Camera, and that the pre-buffer seconds field has a value greater than or equal to the pre-event seconds set earlier.
2. Firmware Versions: Ensure that the Camera is running the most recent firmware version.
   1. Note: the current firmware version is 2.22.

PTZ Settings

1. PTZ Settings: Ensure this is enabled if the Camera has PTZ settings. Enable the "PTZ Enabled" toggle, and leave the other toggles as "No".