Panasonic
The "Panasonic IP" monitor preset in ZoneMinder is compatible with these Panasonic netcam models:
- BL-C1
- BL-C20
- BL-C30
- BL-C101
- BL-C111
- BL-C121
- BL-C131
- BL-C140
- BL-C160
- BB-HCM381
- BB-HCM511
- BB-HCM527
- BB-HCM531
- BB-HCM547
- BB-HCM580
- BB-HCM581
- KX-HCM10
All members of the BL and BB model families are likely to be compatible, including PTZ support. The model name suffix indicates the market. For example, the BL-C140A is for North America, the BL-C140E is for Europe, and the BL-C140CN is for China.
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 the latest firmware release.
- 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. ZoneMinder handles network camera authentication very poorly, which can cause frustrating problems like the "white screen" error, the "blue screen" error, "exit 255" crashes, or segmentation faults.
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
Parameters
The Resolution parameter can be one of 1280x1024 (on hi-def models only), 640x480, 320x240, or 160x120. The Quality parameter sets JPEG quality and can be one of Clarity, Standard, or Motion.
| 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
Performance
In MJPEG mode, ZoneMinder can sustain approximately 5 fps from a Panasonic netcam. In ideal conditions the maximum is approximately 25 fps.
On 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 Source -> General configuration page 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/g726-640x480 Remote Image Colors: 24 bitcolor Capture Width (pixels): 640 Capture Height (pixels): 480 Preserve Aspect Ratio: Off Orientation: Normal
Parameters
Audio can be disabled on models that have it by changing g726 to nil like this:
Remote Host Path: nphMpeg4/nil-640x480
Available resolutions are:
Remote Host Path: nphMpeg4/g726-160x120 Remote Host Path: nphMpeg4/g726-320x240 Remote Host Path: nphMpeg4/g726-640x480 Remote Host Path: nphMpeg4/g726-1280x1024
Note: Only high definition models support the 1280x1024 resolution.
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 quiet scene for these cameras is approximately 400 kbps, or 5GB per day.
To force a particular MPEG4 quality, set the minimum and maximum bitrates to the same value on the "Setup -> Video Streaming" tab of the web interface built-into the camera.
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.
Model Notes
BL-C140A
ZoneMinder must authenticate with a username and password to use the BL-C140A. Using the anonymous guest account will result in a black box or this error in the zmdc.log file:
zmdc.ERR ['zmc -m 1' exited abnormally, exit status 255]
Put the credentials under the Source tab in the Remote Host Name field 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
BL-C20A
Source type: Remote Remote Host Name: IP Address of Camera Remote Host Port: 80 (Default) or the non-default port assigned to the camera in your network Remote host Path: /cgi-bin/nphContinuousServerPush?Resolution=640x480&Quality=Standard
BL-C30
Source type: Remote Remote Host Name: IP Address of Camera Remote Host Port: 80 (Default) or the non-default port assigned to the camera in your network Remote host Path: nphMotionJpeg?Resolution=320x240&Quality=Standard
