How to: Set the Ava Camera settings locally

Last modified: Tuesday February 23, 2021.

Use the in-built software to set up your Ava Camera before connecting it to your Ava Aware video management system.

The Camera settings enable you to adjust the focus, the level of zoom, and the orientation of the image (Video rotation).

Tip

Some features are specific to the type of Ava Cameras device, for example, the Autofocus features only applies to Dome cameras, and are hidden for 360 cameras. 

Similarly, the Compact Dome and 360 cameras do not include a mechanical zoom feature.

Prerequisites

Ensure you have connected and logged in to the relevant Ava Camera. See How to: Log in to the Ava Cameras software.

Task — Configure Dome Camera Settings

  1. Select Camera from the menu.
    A thumbnail of the camera view is shown.
    Tip

    To see a full-screen view from the Dome camera, click Maximize button.

    To then overlay the camera controls dialog, click Camera controls button.

    Click Minimize button to return to the original browser window.

  2. When you enable Autofocus, the automatic focus mechanism is triggered. To retrigger the Autofocus mechanism, and click Refresh.
    Optionally, select the area of the screen to focus by clicking Show, and then selecting the area of interest. (If you do not select an area to focus, the camera auto-focuses the whole view.)
    The focus is adjusted to best suit the current conditions.
    Tip

    When Autofocus is enabled, a new automatic focus operation is carried out after every change of zoom.

  3. To manually focus the Dome:
    1. Deselect Autofocus.
      The Focus level field is enabled.
    2. Move the Focus slider, type the required focus level (0-100) into the text box, or use the Up/Down arrow keys arrow keys until the image is focused.
    3. Adjust the Zoom slider, type the required zoom level (0-100) into the text box, or use the Up/Down arrow keys arrow keys to provide the best field of view.
      Tip

      When Autofocus is disabled, the focus is updated based on predefined focus tables to the same focal distance. You can manually adjust the focus after changing the Zoom level to achieve the optimum view.

  4. If needed, select your chosen IR infrared mode.
    You can manually switch IR on and off, or you can enable Automatic infra-red mode.
  5. If needed, enable high dynamic range (HDR).
  6. If needed, use the Video rotation buttons to ensure the video feed is correctly oriented.

Task — Configure Compact Dome Camera Settings

  1. Select Camera from the menu.
    A thumbnail of the camera view is shown.
    Tip

    To see a full-screen view from the Compact Dome camera, click Maximize button.

    To then overlay the camera controls dialog, click Camera controls button.

    Click Minimize button to return to the original browser window.

  2. As needed, select your chosen IR infrared mode.
    You can manually switch IR on and off, or you can enable Automatic infra-red mode.
  3. As needed, enable high dynamic range (HDR).
  4. As needed, use the Video rotation buttons to ensure the video feed is correctly oriented.

Task — Configure 360 Camera Settings

  1. Select Camera from the menu.
    A thumbnail of the camera view is shown.
    Tip

    To see a full-screen view from the 360 camera, click Maximize button.

    To then overlay the camera controls dialog, click Camera controls button.

    Click Minimize button to return to the original browser window.

  2. If needed, enable IR infrared mode.
    You can manually switch IR on and off, or you can enable Automatic infra-red mode.
  3. If needed, enable high dynamic range (HDR).
  4. If needed, use the Video rotation buttons to ensure the video feed is correctly oriented.

Task — Set Microphone settings

  1. To use your Ava Camera to identify sound events, enable Use microphones for analytics.
  2. Tip

    The Ava Compact Dome camera has a singe microphone, so enable Use microphone for analytics.

  3. To record snippets of the last five audio detections, enable Record audio alarms.
    Tip

    The audio detection snippets include the few seconds of each audio detection.

    If you enable Record audio alarms, these sound files are included in any diagnostics information you choose to send to Ava Support, and are also available to the Aware deployment to which your Ava Camera is connected.

    You cannot replay the sounds themselves from your Ava Cameras device, but you can download them from your Aware video management system.

  4. View the microphone VU meters whilst making sounds near the camera, to check that the microphones are functioning.
    Tip

    As the Ava Compact Dome camera includes a single microphone, only one VU meter is shown for these devices.