ZoneMinder Wiki - User contributions [en]

How to setup H.264 streaming with Ffmpeg monitor from an MagicWave Systems License Plate Camera

2013-07-26T01:47:23Z

Spambuster:

Go back to the [[How_To|How To]] pages...

--[[User:Stagecoach|stagecoach]] 22:02, 20 November 2010 (UTC)

We have H.264 video recording from MagicWave Systems network license plate cameras working on multiple video recording servers. The servers are deployed in outdoor, high traffic environments within air-conditioned enclosures. Use of h264 for video has several advantages:

* [http://adrian-fh98.web.unair.ac.id/ Low Delay]. ''Often the timestamps between camera and ZoneMinder can be fairly separated in other modes.''
* ZMA processes appear to be more stable. ''ZMA processes have had stability issues on some machines in other modes.''
* Less Load. ''H264 streams put less load on the system, which is great for low power systems.''
* Little change in image quality. ''Various settings allow optimizing images.''
* Consistent/ smooth video. ''Events are complete and without jumping in video.''

In order to get this functioning properly, we set up these machines with the most recent revision of x264 and ffmpeg (Nov 17, 2010). ZoneMinder is also from SVN in these installs though not always the same revision. Next we used Ffmpeg mode as the source and the url <code>rtsp://''ip'':554/axis-media/media.amp</code> as the path. On the more powerful of our machines we ran at 5 fps, the others lower. Our cameras are in Modect mode and detect motion properly and consistently.

Some other notes:

* Be sure the rtsp server is enabled on the camera.
* Be sure settings are optimized and consistent between the camera and ZoneMinder

[[Image:sw_h264_streaming_1.png|left|thumb|caption|Make sure the RTSP server in the camera is enabled]]

Zms-inetd

2013-07-24T03:59:21Z

Spambuster:

'''zms-inetd''' is an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inetd inetd]-wrapper for the ZMS (Zoneminder Streaming Server), so ZMS can work "standalone".

* '''Author''': Kurt Zankl <kz@xon.uni.cc>
* '''Inspiration''': http://www.debian-administration.org/articles/371
* '''Requirements''': bash, inetd
* '''License''': GNU General Public License, Version 2

== Motivation ==

I'm using Zoneminder with [http://nginx.net/ Nginx Httpd], which doesnt support simple CGI (just FastCGI). So I needed a leightweight solution to make ZMS work without any extra software. This script depends only on inetd and bash.

=== Installation ===

Just copy and paste the zms-inetd-script from below (Section "Script") into a text file and save it, for example, as <code>/usr/local/bin/zms-inetd</code>. Don't forget to make it executable (<code>chmod 755 /usr/local/bin/zms-inetd</code>).

=== /etc/services ===

As for every inetd-service you have to [http://adrian-fh98.web.unair.ac.id/ define] a port number in /etc/services:
zms-inetd 85/tcp # Zoneminder ZMS inetd-wrapper

=== /etc/inetd.conf ===

Of course also an entry in the inetd configuration is needed. Please adapt this to your needs (user [= www], path):
zms-inetd stream tcp nowait www /usr/local/bin/zms-inetd zms-inetd

=== Path to zm.conf ===

Set the ZMCONF variable in the shell-script appropriate.

=== Zoneminder-Configuration ===

The last step is to adjust the web path (URL) to ZMS. This is done through the ZM-Webinterface > Options > Paths > Web path to zms streaming server (ZM_PATH_ZMS). According to the configuration above this would be:
<nowiki>http://<server>:85/<anypath></nowiki>
It doesn't matter which path you specifiy as zms-inetd will always proxy to the ZMS cgi-binary for security reasons.

== Further thoughts ==

=== Make it transparent ===

In combination with Nginx its propably useful not to point ZM directly to the zms-inetd port, but mask it with a reverse proxy configuration in Nginx. That should avoid some problems if you want to reverse proxy the whole ZM installation (eg: from intranet to the internet).

Example:
location /zm/zms-inetd {
proxy_pass <nowiki>http://127.0.0.1:85;</nowiki>
}

Of course you have to adjust the cgi-bin path (ZM_PATH_ZMS) appropriate (eg: <code>/zm/zms-inetd</code>).

=== Other use cases for zms-inetd ===

Another scenario where zms-inetd perhaps could also be used is a leightweight or embedded system, just running ZMS. For example the [http://busybox.net/ busybox] multibinary offers an inetd and a shell. Due the fact that zms-inetd is not heavily integrated with bash it should not be too hard to adapt it to ash (default shell in busybox).

== Script ==
<pre><nowiki>#!/bin/bash
#
# Inetd-wrapper for ZMS (Zoneminder Streaming Server)
#
# Version: 2007-09-27
# Author: Kurt Zankl <kz@xon.uni.cc>
# Inspiration: http://www.debian-administration.org/articles/371
# Requirements: bash, inetd
# License: GNU General Public License, Version 2
#
# /etc/services:
# zms-inetd 85/tcp # Zoneminder ZMS inetd-wrapper
#
# /etc/inetd.conf:
# zms-inetd stream tcp nowait www-data /usr/local/bin/zms-inetd zms-inetd
#
# ZM Options / Paths / Web path to zms streaming server:
# ZM_PATH_ZMS = http://<server>:85/<anypath>
#

# configuration
ZMCONF="/usr/local/etc/zm.conf"
CGIBIN="zms"

# error handler
function errormsg {
echo "HTTP/1.0 500 Internal Server Error"
echo "Content-Type: text/html"
echo
echo "<title>ERROR</title><h1>ERROR</h1>"
echo -e "<pre>$1</""pre>"
exit 1
}

# get request
read REQUEST
# skip headers
HEADER="nothing"; while [ "$HEADER" != $'\r' -a -n "$HEADER" ]; do read HEADER; done

# read ZM configuration
[ -r $ZMCONF ] || errormsg "Error reading Zoneminder configuration \"$ZMCONF\""
. $ZMCONF
ZMS="$ZM_PATH_CGI/$CGIBIN"
[ -x $ZMS ] || errormsg "Error finding ZMS executable \"$ZMS\""

# check request
[ -z "$REQUEST" ] && errormsg "Request is empty"

# split request
URL="${REQUEST#GET }"
URL="${URL% HTTP/*}"
QUERY="${URL#*\?}"
URL="${URL%%\?*}"

# check query
[ "$QUERY" == "$URL" ] && errormsg "Invalid query"

# execute ZMS
# (STDERR output is discarded as this confuses MPEG streaming clients)
export QUERY_STRING="$QUERY"
echo "HTTP/1.0 200 OK"
"$ZMS" 2>/dev/null
echo
exit 0</nowiki></pre>

LinkDelight CCTV H.264 4CH DVR Card

2013-07-24T03:54:32Z

Spambuster:

CCTV H.264 4CH DVR Card Real-time 100/120FPS Audio/video Capture Security Card (SKU: ESC09)

As found on eBay: [[http://www.ebay.ca/itm/CCTV-H-264-4CH-DVR-Card-Real-time-100-120FPS-Video-Audio-Connection-Cable?item=330647829755&cmd=ViewItem]]
Cost: around 22 $US

= Features =

This HD Digital Video Recording Card is installed to your computer host and the coming adapter cable connected with camera, to achieved host working as DVR and watch the camera image in LCD display. This DVR card is 4 channels, so it support 4pcs cameras and you can see 4 camera images in LCD display simultaneously.

* Video compression adopts advanced H.264
* Support widescreen display, including 1024*768 and above
* 4CH video 4CH audio, coming with 4ch video/audio connection cable
* Support smart mobile phone view, Windows mobile, Symbian mobile, IPhone
* Support Windows 2000 /2003 / XP / Vista / Windows 7 OS
* Support 4 split-screens playback and convenient to search recording files
* Support net remote preview, playback, record, PTZ control
* Support manual record, timer record and motion detection record
* PTZ: support multi-protocol, RS232/485, highspeed dome control software
* Support motion detection alarm & video lost alarm
* Security: multi-lever password, user right option, system keyboard lock

''Kindly Note:'' This cable isn’t compatible with the system of Window7 64bit

= Features =

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1">
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="176">Model </td>
<td width="324">4004 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="4" width="70">Video </td>
<td width="105">Format </td>
<td width="324">NTSC / PAL </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Compression </td>
<td width="324">H ． 264 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Input </td>
<td width="324">4CH BNC </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Output </td>
<td width="324">VGA </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="176">Audio </td>
<td width="324">4CH AV </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="176">Support OS </td>
<td width="324">Windows 2000 /2003 / XP / Vista / Windows 7 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3" width="70">Display </td>
<td width="105">Frame rate </td>
<td width="324">NTSC:120fps, PAL: 100fps </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Resolution </td>
<td width="324">352×288 320×288 704×576 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Split screen </td>
<td width="324">1 、 4 、 cycle </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="4" width="70">Record </td>
<td width="105">Frame rate </td>
<td width="324">NTSC:120fps, PAL: 100fps </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Resolution </td>
<td width="324">352×288 320×288 704×576 </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Recording Mode </td>
<td width="324">Manual, Time, Motion Detection </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Mode </td>
<td width="324">1/8—8 times speed playback optional </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="4" width="70">Net Function </td>
<td width="105">Transmission mode </td>
<td width="324">LAN / PSTN / ISDN / ADSL </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Transmission protocol </td>
<td width="324">UDP/TCP </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Connection Mode </td>
<td width="324">Clients software/ IE Browse/Smart phone client software </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Main functions </td>
<td width="324">Remote preview 、 Video playback 、 Remote control </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="2" width="70">Alert </td>
<td width="105">type </td>
<td width="324">Motion detection, Video loss </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Linkage </td>
<td width="324">Channel record 、 Sound alerts </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td rowspan="3" width="70">Others </td>
<td width="105">PTZ </td>
<td width="324">Support multi-protocol,RS232/485,highspeed dome control software </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">Back up </td>
<td width="324">USB 、 Network 、 CD-RW 、 DVD-RW </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="105">security </td>
<td width="324">Multi-lever password, user right option, system keyboard lock </td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td colspan="2" width="176">Net Weight </td>
<td width="324">52g </td>
</tr>
</table>

= ZoneMinder =

I was able to make this card under Ubuntu 12.04 server with a minimal amount of fuss. The Card is based on a Techwell 6800 Chipset, and I was able to find the appropriate Linux Drivers at this site:

Drivers: [[http://gitorious.org/tw68/tw68-v2|TW68-V2 Drivers]]

Installation:

<pre>
mkdir techwell
cd techwell/
git clone git://gitorious.org/tw68/tw68-v2.git
tw68-v2/
make
sudo make install
sudo modprobe tw68
lsmod|grep tw
dmesg
</pre>

I'm sorry I haven't kept a copy of the whole session. After compiling and "loading" the tw68 modules, you need to check that the modules are actually loaded (lsmod|grep tw). You should have the following output:

<pre>
~$ lsmod |grep tw
tw68 44633 2
videodev 86588 3 tw68
videobuf_dma_sg 18786 1 tw68
videobuf_core 25409 2 tw68,videobuf_dma_sg
btcx_risc 13400 1 tw68
</pre>

Issuing the dmesg command, you should see 4 "video devices" found, labeled from /dev/video0 to /dev/video3... Each video device is tied to an input from the card.

I haven't bothered yet with the "audio" part of it, so I can't tell you if that works or not. If you're able to test it, please update this wiki page to let others know...

'''Although I do get a lot of messages in dmesg, concerning "[261734.936103] tw6810[0]/0: [c5c8bb40/1] timeout - dma=0x05f8a000", the capture does work well.'''

[10/26/2012]
I found that if you're using two cards you can end up with some really nasty artifacts that manifest themselves as white horizontal lines on the feeds, after doing some calculations finding myself close to saturating PCI bus, I found these instructions on the [http://adrian-fh98.web.unair.ac.id/ Informasi] page:

<pre>
Do not forget to to increase "shared memory" at the end of /etc/sysctl.conf with
kernel.shmall = 134217728
kernel.shmmax = 134217728

cause your card supports 640x480 pixel with 24 bit depth and thats more than 112Mbyte ;-)
</pre>

doing this allows me to run 8 cams @ 12fps full 640x480 without artifacts

= Zoneminder configuration =

The following screenshots show how I configured the device in my zoneminder:

[[File:LD_CCTV_ZM1.jpg]]

[[File:LD_CCTV_ZM2.jpg]]

= Observations =

I currently have zoneminder installed on an Intel Atom 525 with 4 GB of RAM. This same system has the "LinkDelight CCTV H.264 4CH DVR Card" installed on it and monitoring 2 CCTV cameras at around ~20fps each (@ 640x480), with ~30 % Cpu Usage across the 4 "cores".

Mind you, it is also receiving a video stream from an IP camera @ 15 fps (640x480). I haven't enable any motion detection yet.

All-in-all it's a nice, cheap card that works for me.

Grandtec Grand X Guard

2013-07-24T03:52:59Z

Spambuster:

These cards a relatively inexpensive by using one Brooktree (bt) video capture chip shared for a number of inputs. The upside is low cost, downside is performance.
* [http://adrian-fh98.web.unair.ac.id/ Informasi] 27 fps
* Using 1 source you get 25 fps
* Using 2 source you get 5 fps each (10 fps total)
* Using 4 sources you get 2.5 fps each (10 fps total)
...and so on.
if you use more than 1 source, total FPS is 10/12

Please note that this will only show up as one video input (''/dev/video0'' for me). You will use channels of the input to access the multiple ports.

; bttv supported card types
: 57 -> GrandTec 'Grand Video Capture' (Bt848) [4344:4142]
: 77 -> GrandTec Multi Capture Card (Bt878)
: 103 -> Grand X-Guard / Trust 814PCI [0304:0102]

== GrandTec Grand X-Guard 4P (GXG-4000)==
Autodetected correctly and confirmed working with bttv driver.

== GrandTec Grand X-Guard 9P (GXG-9000)==
Confirmed working under ZoneMinder 1.22 (probably earlier). bttv driver 0.9.17 incorrectly detects this as a card type 57. You need to edit modprobe.conf (see below), then do a rmmod bttv and modprobe bttv to get it to work correctly.

''/etc/modprobe.conf''
<pre>
options bttv card=103
</pre>

I haven't had any problems testing with a single input but with each input added, the image gets brighter and more washed out. At 4 monitors, the image is no longer viewable with the default monitor brightness and contrast. The current theory is that providing a live connection to each input will resolve the problem and is supported by the following statement from Grandtec

<blockquote>
Q. All of the cameras are just white screens. Why?
 
A. The card attempts to automatically color-balance all of the cameras at once. If a camera port is listed as active (9 and 16 port) or if a preview window is open (4 port) for a port that does not physically have a camera connected, then it tries to balance with a camera that is not there. The result is a white screen for all cameras. To resolve this, close or de-list as active any ports without cameras connected.
</blockquote>

== GrandTec Grand X-Guard 16P (GXG-1600) ==

Needs the same configurations changes as the 9P card above.

== Sources ==

[http://www.zoneminder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=4536&sid=071efc96ee14a2370e5d4f159aa2a685 davide post]

[http://www.zoneminder.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3285 Another davide post]

Bt878 4chip 8inputs

2013-07-24T03:47:11Z

Spambuster:

== Noname with 4 bt878 chips and 8 inputs ==

* tip: also check [[Pico2000]] related card info;

When using all channels you'll get around 5 fps.
Warning it takes a long time to boot using this card. Maybe settings are bad. But it is working OK.

== Configuration ==

''/etc/modprobe.conf''
<pre>
options bttv card=0,0,0,0 tuner=4,4,4,4
</pre>

If your driver is compiled into the kernel [http://adrian-fh98.web.unair.ac.id/ Informasi], add the following to be passed onto the kernel from LILO or GRUB.
<pre>
bttv.card=0,0,0,0 bttv.tuner=4,4,4,4
</pre>

* A list of card types and tuner types can be found in the Linux kernel sources under Documentation
<pre>
http://linuxtv.org/hg/v4l-dvb/file/tip/linux/Documentation/video4linux
</pre>

== Photos ==

[[Image:Bt878_4chip_8inputs_1.jpg|200px]]
[[Image:Bt878_4chip_8inputs_2.jpg|200px]]

Beginner hardware

2013-07-24T03:46:13Z

Spambuster:

==Option 1==

The best, first advice is to check that your camera is compatible with zoneminder's motion JPEG (MJPEG).

You should read the [http://adrian-fh98.web.unair.ac.id/ Informasi]. The developers spent and continue to spend a great deal of time writing it... you should spend at least a little time reading it. Specifically, read the part about shared memory.

'''Recommended IP cameras'''

[[Axis]] brand cameras are a good choice, but expensive.

[[BSIT]] are really cheap but also not the greatest quality.

Camera quality varies greatly, both in actual image quality and in operational reliability. Remember that you often "get what you pay for." Cameras from high volume manufacturers may be subject to software/hardware compromises that lower cost at the risk of breaking functionality and/or compatibility with standards.

Avoid cameras that require 1.24(aka: mpeg video) because it make things harder for beginners.

==Option 2==

The best beginners hardware and setup is to use an old unused system, anything from late Pentium 3 or Athlon XP generation of cpus will be more than enough for a setup capable of running 2 or 3 cameras depending on configuration.

You will need one of the cheap pci cctv capture cards from Ebay that use the bt878 chip, if you search for pci cctv on ebay then most of the cheap cards that show up will be a card of this type, see the [[Pico2000]] section of the Zoneminder wiki for a few photos of these cards and a little more technical information.

You can alternatively buy them and better boards from the retailers in the [[shop]] section of this webpage.

You will need to configure the capture card as described in the [[Pico2000]] wiki

Next source some standard analogue cameras from the retailers listed on this page or any other source you like.

Install Zoneminder using the [[CentOS]] guide contained in the wiki or any other distro guide you are happy with, I personally started with the CentOS guide and it has worked well for me.

Configure and then you're running!!!.

This is of course a beginners system and so can be expanded and improved on once you are happy, my aim in this design is to build a Zoneminder system as cheaply and basic as possible, I have made a lots of setups that are still operating on the above basis.

Panasonic

2013-07-24T03:43:28Z

Spambuster: remove spam

All members of the BL and BB model families are likely to be compatible, including PTZ support. The "Panasonic IP" monitor preset in ZoneMinder is known to be compatible with these Panasonic netcam models:

* BL-C1A, BL-C1CN, BL-C1E
* BL-C20A, BL-C20CN, BL-C20E
* BL-C30A, BL-C30CN, BL-C30E
* BL-C101A, BL-C101CN, BL-C101E
* BL-C111A, BL-C111CN, BL-C111E
* BL-C121A, BL-C121CN, BL-C121E
* BL-C131A, BL-C131CN, BL-C131E
* BL-C140A, BL-C140CN, BL-C140E
* BL-C160A, BL-C160CN, BL-C160E
* BB-HCM381A, BB-HCM381CN, BB-HCM381E
* BB-HCM511A, BB-HCM511CN, BB-HCM511E
* BB-HCM527A, BB-HCM527CN, BB-HCM527E
* BB-HCM531A, BB-HCM531CN, BB-HCM531E
* BB-HCM547A, BB-HCM547CN, BB-HCM547E
* BB-HCM580A, BB-HCM580CN, BB-HCM580E
* BB-HCM581A, BB-HCM581CN, BB-HCM581E
* KX-HCM10
* BB-HCM705CE

=Initial Hardware Setup=

# The camera uses a default IP address of 192.168.0.254 if it does not get a DHCP lease. Many firmware revisions ship with DHCP disabled by default. If you are not using the configuration utility for Microsoft Windows, then you may need to do something like `sudo ifconfig eth0:0 192.168.0.2` at a terminal prompt to access the camera and enable DHCP.
# Upgrade the firmware. ZoneMinder 1.25 expects version 3.00 or later.
# Enable the guest account:
## Click ''Setup'' in the top menu.
## Click ''Administrator'' in the side menu.
## Choose ''Permit access from guest users''.
## Click the ''Save'' button.
# Set privileges on the guest account for ZoneMinder:
## Click ''Setup'' in the top menu.
## Click ''General User'' in the side menu.
## Choose ''Guest User'' in the menu.
## Click the ''Modify'' button.
## Change ''Video Display Time'' to ''Unlimited''.
## Enable all ''Access Level'' checkboxes.
## Click the ''Save'' button.

Only set access credentials on Panasonic equipment after you have a working ZoneMinder configuration.

=MJPEG Configuration=

==Example==

At the ''Monitor -> Source'' page for the camera:

Remote Protocol: HTTP
Remote Method: Simple
Remote Host Name: 192.168.1.254
Remote Host Port: 80
Remote Host Path: nphMotionJpeg?Resolution=640x480&Quality=Standard
Remote Image Colors: 24 bit color
Capture Width (pixels): 640
Capture Height (pixels): 480
Preserve Aspect Ratio: Off
Orientation: Normal

==Example for Old Firmware==

Change '''nphMotionJpeg''' to '''nphContinuousServerPush''' or '''cgi-bin/nphContinuousServerPush''' if the camera has old firmware like this:

Remote Host Path: cgi-bin/nphContinuousServerPush?Resolution=640x480&Quality=Standard

Cameras models that only have the old version 2.00 firmware interface are:

* BL-C20A

==Parameters==

The required '''Quality''' CGI parameter sets JPEG quality and can be one of Clarity, Standard, or Motion.

The required '''Resolution''' CGI parameter can be one of 1280x1024, 640x480, 320x240, or 160x120 pixels.

'''Note:''' Only hi-def models support the 1280x1024 resolution, and some low end models like the Panasonic BL-C1A Petcam do not support the 640x480 resolution.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! MJPEG Frame Size
| Quality=Clarity
| Quality=Standard
| Quality=Motion
|-
| Resolution=1280x1024
| ?
| ?
| ?
|-
| Resolution=640x480
| 50kB
| 30kB
| 20kb
|-
| Resolution=320x240
| 25kB
| 15kB
| 8kB
|-
| Resolution=160x120
| 8kB
| 5kB
| 3kB
|}

The optional '''Framerate''' parameter can be 0.1 through 30.00 frames per second in one-tenth increments. For example, to take an image every other second:

Remote Host Path: nphMotionJpeg?Resolution=640x480&Quality=Standard&Framerate=0.5

'''Note:''' The default MJPEG frame rate in the web interface is the same as "MPEG-4 Max. Frame Rate" option, which is set on the ''Video Streaming'' page.

==Performance==

In MJPEG mode with a default configuration, ZoneMinder can sustain approximately 5 fps from a Panasonic netcam. In ideal conditions with tuning, the maximum is approximately 25 fps.

On slow or busy systems, ZoneMinder performs better if the frame rate is externally limited at the camera. For example, to limit capture to 10 fps, set:

Remote Host Path: nphMotionJpeg?Resolution=640x480&Quality=Standard&Framerate=10

On the ''Monitor -> General'' configuration page for the camera in ZoneMinder, leave the '''Maximum FPS''' field empty.

=RTSP/MPEG4 Configuration=

'''Note''': Low end models like the Panasonic BL-C1A Petcam only support MJPEG because they do not have an MPEG4 encoder.

==Example==
At the ''Monitor -> Source'' page for the camera:

Remote Protocol: RTSP
Remote Method: RTP/Unicast
Remote Host Name: 192.168.1.254
Remote Host Port: 554
Remote Host Path: nphMpeg4/nil-640x480
Remote Image Colors: 24 bitcolor
Capture Width (pixels): 640
Capture Height (pixels): 480
Preserve Aspect Ratio: Off
Orientation: Normal

==Parameters==

'''Note:''' Only high definition models support the 1280x1024 resolution.

Available streaming resolutions are:

Remote Host Path: nphMpeg4/nil-1280x1024
Remote Host Path: nphMpeg4/nil-640x480
Remote Host Path: nphMpeg4/nil-320x240
Remote Host Path: nphMpeg4/nil-160x120

None of these URIs take parameters. Video streaming options are always global and can only be changed through the CGI or web interface.

'''Note:''' The camera must be manually rebooted for MPEG-4 or H.264 options to take affect.

'''Note:''' Audio can be enabled on models that have it by changing the '''nil''' to '''g726''', but ZoneMinder lacks audio support, so doing this would waste network capacity and storage. For example:

Remote Host Path: nphMpeg4/g726-640x480

==Performance==

In RTSP mode, ZoneMinder can get 30 fps from a Panasonic netcam that has an MPEG4 encoder. The raw idle RTP output of a bright quiet scene for these cameras is usually 400 kbps, or 5GB per day.

Even if the RTSP stream is frame limited by the camera, the transport will be at 30fps. If the frame rate is decreased at the default maximum bit rate, then streaming image quality will noticeably improve[http://adrian-fh98.web.unair.ac.id/ .] To reduce streaming bandwidth, reduce both the frame rate and the maximum bit rate on the "Setup -> Video Streaming" page. Remember to reboot the camera on the "Maintenance" tab after changing these options.

ZoneMinder transcodes the MPEG4 stream to add a banner or stream through the web interface. Doing this on one 640x480@30fps stream can consume an entire core on a modern CPU. If the CPU becomes overloaded, then the zmc process will crash and the Feed Watch page will be blank or show the broken image icon. An easy way to reduce CPU load is to set the "Maximum FPS" field on the monitor General tab to 15 or less, but ZoneMinder performs better if frame rate limiting happens at the camera.

=Authentication=

If the camera requires a username and password, then put the credentials in the '''Remote Host Name''' field on the ''Monitor -> Source'' tab for the camera in ZoneMinder like this:

Remote Protocol: HTTP
Remote Method: Simple
Remote Host Name: '''MyUser:MyPass@'''192.168.1.254
Remote Host Port: 80
Remote Host Path: /nphMotionJpeg?Resolution=640x480&Quality=Standard
Remote Image Colors: 24 bit color
Capture Width (pixels): 640
Capture Height (pixels): 480
Preserve Aspect Ratio: Off
Orientation: Normal

The username and password are separated by one colon character, which are separated from the IP address or host name by the 'at' symbol.

=Troubleshooting=

* Using the anonymous guest account with default permissions, or using incorrect credentials, will result in a black box or this error in the zmdc.log file:

zmdc.ERR ['zmc -m 1' exited abnormally, exit status 255]

* All CGI parameters are case sensitive. Using "nphmotionjpeg?resolution=640x480&quality=standard" instead of "nphMotionJpeg?Resolution=640x480&Quality=Standard" will cause the camera to return a "400 Bad Request" error.

* Remember to grant all permissions to the ZoneMinder account in the camera and double check the spelling of the username and password. ZoneMinder does not log a sensible error message if the access privileges or credentials are incorrect, it just crashes.

* Use the VideoLAN player to test RTSP like this:

vlc rtsp://192.168.0.254/nphMpeg4/nil-640x480

If VLC cannot play the stream, then ZoneMinder cannot record it. (Many other RTSP players are incompatible with Panasonic network cameras. Use VLC.)

* Using RTSP through NAT usually requires a custom firewall configuration. Always get MJPEG working first.

* These cameras also provide an RTP-over-HTTP interface over a single port. In VLC, click ''Media -> Open Network Stream'' and input this URL:

http://192.168.0.254/rtpOverHttp?Url=nphMpeg4/nil-640x480

This is easier to punch through a firewall, but it has timing and sync problems.

==Hidden Configuration Options==

Login to the web interface, and manually open this URI:

http://192.168.0.254/Get?Func=VDelivery&Kind=1

The camera could return a list of configuration options like this:

640framerate:15
320framerate:15
192framerate:15
640bitrateL:256
640bitrateH:1024
320bitrateL:128
320bitrateH:512
192bitrateL:64
192bitrateH:256
RTSPPortNo:554
RTPPortMin:33000
Multicast:0

Not all of these options will be exposed in the web interface. For example, firmware version 3.50 does not expose the MPEG4 framerate option, which is the first line in the example. You can set it by manually opening this URI in a web browser:

http://192.168.0.254/Set?Func=VDelivery&Kind=1&640framerate=30

A plain web page like this means success:

Return:0

=External Resources=

* [http://panasonic.net/pcc/support/netwkcam/download/index.html Panasonic Network Camera Downloads - Firmware, Manuals, and Application Software]
* [http://panasonic.net/pcc/cgi-bin/products/netwkcam/download_us/tbookmarka_m.cgi?mm=2007032816275868 Panasonic Camera CGI Specification]
* [http://shop.panasonic.com/shop/cameras-and-camcorders-network-cameras?support Current Panasonic Netcam Catalog]

[[Category:Cameras]]