IP Camera

With Surveillance Station, you can configure IP cameras, and organize them into groups to help you manage your cameras more effectively. Furthermore, you can migrate the cameras from one server to another once you have set up a central management system (CMS).

Add Cameras

The Camera Setup Wizard can assist you in adding new cameras with two setup modes: Quick Setup and Complete Setup.

To use the Camera Setup Wizard:

  1. Go to Add > Add Camera.
  2. Select Quick Setup or Complete Setup and click Next.
  3. Select a server on which you want to install the camera and click Next.
  4. Enter the following Information settings:
    1. Enter a name for identifying this camera.
    2. Enter the camera's IP address or host name. You can also click Search to search for IP cameras in the same domain, including UPnP and ONVIF compatible cameras. Once the camera is selected, the system will automatically apply IP address, Port number, and camera model settings.

      Note:

      • IP addresses in IPv6 format are not supported.
      • UPnP search will list the camera models that are not on the Surveillance Station IP Camera Support List but supported by the Generic setup function.
    3. If your camera is using a different port number, please enter this port number.
    4. Select the camera brand from the drop-down menu.1
    5. If you are using an ONVIF camera, please select ONVIF from the Brand drop-down menu.2
    6. Select a similar version of firmware from the drop-down menu if your camera has multiple versions of the firmware.
    7. Select the camera model from the drop-down menu.2,3
    8. Select a video mode from the drop-down menu if your camera supports video mode.
    9. Select the TV standard from the drop-down menu if your camera supports NTSC or PAL standard.
    10. Select the mount type from the drop-down menu if the camera is a fisheye camera.
    11. Select the video channel from the drop-down menu if the camera device is a video server.
    12. Select the video format from the drop-down menu (for Quick Setup mode).4
    13. Select the audio format from the drop-down menu if your camera supports the function (for Quick Setup mode).5
    14. Enter the username and password of the camera's administrator account.
    15. Click Test Connection to see if the camera live view can be correctly displayed in the preview area.
  5. If you selected Quick Setup, click Finish to complete setup. Otherwise, click Next to edit the video settings:
    1. Select the video format from the drop-down menu.4
    2. Select the audio format from the drop-down menu if your camera supports the function.5
    3. Select the field of view from the drop-down menu if your camera supports multiple types.
    4. Select different serial number of stream profiles respectively for High quality and Balanced streams if your camera supports multiple streaming.
    5. Enable mobile live view stream in custom setting if your camera supports multiple streams.
    6. Select Resolution, Frame rate6, Bitrate control, Image quality and Bitrate for each of the employed stream profiles.
  6. Click Next to edit the following recording settings.
    1. Select Pre-recording time and the Post-recording time under recording mode.
    2. Enter a name for the recording archive folder that will be used to save the recorded videos.
    3. Enter the file name prefix that will appear in front of each file name.
    4. Tick Keep the files within (days) or Limit the archive folder up to (GB) and specify the value. Archives will be automatically rotated if either requirement is met.
    5. Select a Recording storage from the drop-down list.
    6. Enter a name for the recording archive folder to be used for saving the recorded videos.
    7. Enter the file name prefix to append to the front of each file name.
  7. Click Next to edit the recording schedule:
    Click the Continuous, Motion Detection, Custom 1, Custom 2, or Delete button, and then select an area on the grid. To select the entire day or hour in each day, click the day or the hour.
  8. Click Finish to complete the setup.

Note:

  1. If your camera brand is not listed, you can select User Define and enter the camera's Source path or use .mp4 format files on NAS as the video source. User Define supports MJPEG (HTTP, RTSP), H.264 (RTSP), H.265 (RTSP), and MPEG4 (RTSP) video formats, only AAC audio format is supported. Use the corresponding video format and port number according to the capability of your camera. Please consult the camera's manufacturer for the camera source path.
  2. If your camera model is not listed, you can select a similar model or the Generic model (if available). If you select Generic model, Surveillance Station will get the camera's capabilities according to the current settings of the camera.
  3. If you choose ONVIF as your camera brand, Surveillance Station offers two setup modes. All functions provides you with more complete camera features including PTZ, event detection, digital output, audio output and other optimization features; Streaming only provides you with higher compatibility for most ONVIF cameras. If you are unable to set up your camera with All functions, we recommend Streaming only.
  4. In MPEG4/H.264/H.265/MXPEG format, Surveillance Station supports audio streaming in both Live View and video recording. The audio support is only available when the IP camera is equipped with audio function. (MXPEG is a video codec implemented by Mobotix.)
  5. Surveillance Station supports G.711, G.726, AAC, AMR and PCM audio formats. The actual supported audio formats depend on the camera capability.
  6. The frame rate should be set appropriately for the best recording performance.

Limitations:

Batch Add Cameras1

The Batch Add Camera Wizard can assist you in adding multiple new cameras at a time with two setup modes: Quick Setup and Complete Setup.

To use the Batch Add Camera Wizard:

  1. Go to Add > Add Batch.
  2. The welcome page of the wizard will appear. Click Next to continue.
  3. Choose Quick Setup or Complete Setup, and click Next.
  4. Select a camera interface you want to use.
  5. Select a server on which you want to install the cameras.
  6. Select the camera brand and model to be batch added from the drop-down menu (for Complete Setup mode), and click Next.
  7. Select the camera(s) which you want to add based on the search result by ticking the checkbox(es).2
  8. Click Edit and in the window that appears, enter the username and password3 of the cameras and edit naming rule. Select Custom name if you want to customize a new name, or select Apply naming rule and choose from the Naming rule drop-down menu to set the default naming rule:
  9. Click Finish to complete the setup.

Note:

  1. You can only select up to the maximum number of cameras supported by your $_DSPRODUCTNAME_$. For more information on your Synology product's capability, please visit Synology's website.
  2. You can only batch add ONVIF cameras with Quick Setup.
  3. Default username and password for new cameras should be provided by the camera's manufacturer. Please refer to the documentation that comes with your camera or contact the manufacturer for correct account information.

Edit Camera Settings

Select the camera you want to change settings for, and click Edit. You can also double-click the camera to change its settings.

Note:

Batch Edit Cameras

The Batch Edit Camera Wizard can assist you in editing multiple cameras at a time. You can determine which attributes from one of your cameras to be applied to your other cameras.

To use the Batch Edit Camera Wizard:

  1. Select the camera of which you wish to apply the attributes to your other cameras.
  2. Go to Edit > Edit Batch.
  3. In the Source of Attributes step, the camera's attributes are grouped into four categories: Device Settings, Record, Live View Source, and Optimization. Tick the Apply checkboxes for the attributes you wish to apply to your other cameras. After selecting the attributes, click Next.

    Note:

    • You can view certain attributes' values which are just attached to the their names in the list.
    • The attributes marked with asterisk (*) can be applied to only the cameras of the same model as the batch edit's source camera.
    • Only the attributes supported by the batch edit's source camera can be applied to your other cameras.
  4. In the Select the Cameras to Apply step, tick the Apply checkboxes to apply the selected attributes to your cameras or camera groups. When you finish the selection, click Finish to complete the batch edit.

    Note:

    • "-" will show when you tick the camera to which the attributes can only be partially applied because of the compatibility issue with the batch edit's source camera.
    • The similarity of two different ONVIF cameras is determined by their actual abilities rather than their brands and models.
    • The Recording Storage attribute can be applied only when the cameras to which you wish to apply the attribute are installed on the same Synology product with the batch edit's source camera.

Enable or Disable Cameras

Cameras added to Surveillance Station need to be enabled before they can be managed and perform all supported actions.

To enable or disable cameras:

Select the cameras you want to enable/disable, and then choose Enable or Disable from the Enable drop-down menu.

Note:

Set Filter

You can set a filter to display cameras that meet certain criteria and quickly find the cameras you are looking for.

Click the Filter icon on the top-right corner. On the menu that appears, specify your criteria to display specific cameras.

Export or Import Camera Configuration

You can export cameras' settings to a configuration folder, and import the configuration at a later time. Not only can this function back up all your camera settings, it can also help you transfer the settings to other Surveillance Station quickly and easily.

To export camera configuration:

  1. Choose Export from the Configuration drop-down menu to open the Configuration Export Wizard.
  2. Name the configuration, select a destination shared folder to save the configuration, and click Next.
  3. If your $_DSPRODUCTNAME_$ is a CMS host, you can click the Filter icon and select a Synology server to help you find your cameras faster.
  4. Select the camera(s) whose settings you want to export, and click Finish to finish the export.

To import camera configuration:

  1. Choose Import from the Configuration drop-down menu to open the Configuration Import Wizard.
  2. Select a source shared folder containing the configuration, choose a configuration from the Name drop-down menu, and click Next.
  3. Select the camera(s) whose settings you want to import, and click Finish to finish the import.

Note:

Edit Patrol Settings

To add patrols:

Follow the steps below to add patrols with the preset positions:

  1. Click to add patrol.
  2. Name the patrol path.
  3. Select Interval (sec.) to have the patrol repeat after a specified time in seconds.
  4. Select Speed to adjust the moving speed level when patrol is executing (if camera supported).
  5. Add preset positions from All Presets list to Included Presets list. Adjust the preset positions' sequence by clicking the Up or Down arrow.
  6. Click Save to save the settings.

To delete patrols:

Select which patrols you want to delete, and click to delete patrols.

To edit patrols:

Single select which patrol you want to edit, and you can edit patrol settings. Click Save to save your patrol editing.

To view patrol path:

Click on the right side of patrol list to preview how the camera is configured to perform the patrol according to the settings above.

To add preset positions:

Follow the steps below to add preset positions:

  1. Click to add preset position.
  2. Name the preset position.
  3. Adjust the moving speed (if camera supported).
  4. Adjust your desired viewing angle with the on-screen PTZ controls.
  5. Click Save to save the preset position settings.

To delete preset positions:

Select which preset positions you want to delete, and click to delete preset positions.

To move to preset positions:

Single click on preset position list, then camera view will move to the selected preset position.

Limitations:

Control Multi-Lens Cameras

You can add multi-lens cameras and choose to watch the video feeds of certain lenses.

Configure Mobile Live View Stream

If independent streaming of a camera's live view to mobile devices is supported, you can configure settings that will be applied when watching live view using DS cam.

To configure mobile live view stream:

  1. Select a camera and go to Edit > Edit Camera > Video.
  2. Edit the settings under Mobile Live View Stream to fit the network environment of your mobile devices running DS cam.

Remove Cameras

To remove cameras, choose the cameras you want to remove, and click Delete.

Note:

Share Stream Paths

  1. Right-click on a camera from the IP camera list and select Share stream path.
  2. To set up stream path valid duration, select either of the following from the Duration of validity drop-down menu:
  3. Copy the stream path below.
  4. Click OK to apply the settings.