System Requirements F.A.Q.

System Requirements F.A.Q.

System Specifications And Minimum Configuration

Visual Hindsight requires Windows NT, 2000, XP, or 2003 Server running on a PIII 450 MHz PC (minimum; PIII 2.0 Ghz or better recommended) at a minimum video resolution of 800 x 600 x 16 bit, with a direct, network, or broadband connection to camera, video server, or Web server URL.

Does Visual Hindsight Support My Camera?

Generally, two elements determine whether Visual Hindsight will function with a specific network camera or video server: the Network Protocol and the Video Algorithm. The camera must support HTTP and use the JPEG or Motion-JPEG video algorithm. The network transport (wireless, wired) is not usually a consideration, and should be transparent to Visual Hindsight.

Note: The widely-used standard for video usage and transmission known as Motion JPEG compression algorithm was adopted to ensure high image quality and frame by frame recording in compliance with Police Scientific Development Branch’s (PSDB) rules on admissible evidence as detailed in the Digital Imaging Procedure document published in March 2002.

What Is A Network Camera?

A network camera, sometimes called an Internet, IP, LAN, or (misleadingly) a Web camera, is best described as a camera combined with a computer, and it contains everything needed for viewing images over the network.

It is connected directly to the network as any other network device, and has built-in software to host a Web server, FTP server, FTP client and E-Mail client. It includes alarm input and relay outputs, and more advanced models can be equipped with value-added functions such as motion detection and an analog video output.

If a building or home is equipped with a network, the needed infrastructure is already in place to add network cameras, and dynamically expand when and where video can be viewed.

A network camera can be administered and its images viewed using a standard Web browser or dedicated software on any computer, either locally or across the Internet.

Network cameras equipped with PTZ (pan, tilt and zoom) control can be manipulated using a standard Web browser or dedicated software on any computer, either locally or across the Internet.

If a network camera is setup to send images to an external web server, real-time video can be seen by an unlimited number of clients.

Network Cameras And Web Cams Are Not The Same Thing

A Web Cam requires three components in order to function: the web camera itself, a computer, and dedicated software.

A Web Cam does not offer remote administration and viewing.

A Web Cam is often constructed from low-quality components with limited durability, making it unsuitable for serious surveillance tasks.

Most Web Cams must be connected within three meters of a computer.

Note: If your Web Cam is able to stream video to a web server in JPEG or Motion-JPEG format, Visual Hindsight can connect and retrieve images from that server as though it were connected directly to your Web Cam.

Can I Make My CCTV And Analog Cameras Function Like Network Cameras?

Analog, or CCTV cameras, can be viewed and manipulated over a local area network or the Internet when connected to Video Servers.

A Video Server is a device capable of accepting as input several CCTV or analog cameras.

A Video Server converts analog video streams into digital signals and transmits them over a local network or across the Internet.

A Video Server hosts software similar to a network camera, and uses the same communication protocols. It can be administered and its images viewed using a standard Web browser or dedicated software on any computer, either locally or across the Internet.

Which Network Cameras Does Visual Hindsight Support?

Here are some of the major network camera and video server manufacturers supported by Visual Hindsight: Axis, D-Link, Flexwatch, Hunt, IDView, JVC, Orite, Panasonic, PDuke, Pixord, Sony, Toshiba, Vivotek, and more.

Visual Hindsight supports virtually any network camera or video server capable of producing JPEG still images or Motion-JPEG (M-JPEG) image streams. If you'd like to know about a particular camera or video server, e-mail our tech support.

We're constantly adding to our list of supported network camera manufacturers—visit our site to view the latest additions.

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