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Installation Manual | IM-20210309-TP-10 iProtect Access / Security | Integrations | Video Surveillance |

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This manual represents the knowledge at the above-mentioned time. TKH security works non-stop to improve her products. For the most recent technical information please contact your consultant or dealer.

1 Introduction

This manual describes the features of the integration of video images in iProtect. Currently, iProtect supports
integration with video by the following methods:
Direct integration of IP-camera’s into iProtect. This is a very basic integration for up to 4 cameras of selected
models.
Integration with the VDG Sense video management software
Integration with several products from the Milestone XProtect video management software suite.
In general, the video integration in iProtect provides the following functionalities:

• Live video streams

• Historic video streams

• Historic video clip related to security events

• PTZ-control

• Preset positioning

• Layout control on Videowall

• Video content analysis events:
  o License plate recognition
  o Face recognition
  o Trip wire

2 Configuration

2.1 Video network

Video streams can claim high band widths and interfere with other IP-traffic on the network. Therefore, it is
advised to connect the cameras and Network Video Server to a separate network/VLAN. Most of the IP-video traffic will be contained tot his video network and not interfere with other IP-traffic.

The office network, technical network and video network must be structured separately to ensure sufficient
bandwidth for the various connections.

2.2 iNVR

The iProtect component that is responsible for the integration with video is the iNVR (iProtect Network Video Recorder). It is a separate component that can run on the iProtect server itself, or on a separate iPuntu or Windows server.

The iNVR takes care of the communication with the video devices (camera’s and NVR’s). This means setting
up the connection, authentication, PTZ control, event generation, etc. Besides this, the iNVR can store the
video images onto the hard disk for replay purposes.

In iProtect the iNVR is configured as a node and is (logically) attached to a nodemanager. This can be a
nodemanager that runs on a controller (IPU-8, Polyx, Pluto, Apollo, ApolloN) or a nodemanager that runs on
the iProtect server itself.

By default, the iNVR is a service that is not running in iProtect and should be enabled before it can be
configured.
For the configuration of the iNVR parameters in iProtect see paragraph 3.3

2.2.1 Enabling iNVR on iProtect server

The iNVR service can be enabled on the iProtect server through the Maintenance interface (Serverbox).

Maintenance Page | iProtect | Services | Configuration | Video

By setting the Video service to Yes (and not changing the other options) the iNVR is enabled at the next restart of the user interface. This can be restarted through:

Maintenance Page | iProtect | Services | General | Restart User Interface

Now the iNVR can be configured in iProtect.

2.2.2 Enabling iNVR on Separate server

It is also possible to run the iNVR on a separate iPuntu server, next to the iProtect server. This could be a
solution if you want the iNVR to store large amounts of video images.
In that case, the same iPuntu and iProtect versions should be installed on this server, but only the iNVR
process should be running.
To achieve this the following procedure can be followed:

1. Install the correct iProtect version and iPuntu Service Pack

2. On the Maintenance page | iProtect | Services | Configuration
   a. Set Database to remote and enter the IP-address of the iProtect server
   b. Set Video to Yes
   c. Set User Interface to No

3. Now stop the database

4. Restart the User interface

2.2.3 Enabling iNVR on Windows server

In situations where an iProtect system is integrated with several Sense and/or Milestone video servers, which
are located on different locations, it can be a good solution to install the iNVR on these video servers. For this purpose, an iNVR-installer for Windows is available. The installation process is straight forward and after the installation the iNVR will run as a service on the Windows machine.

To communicate with the node manager a data encryption key is needed. Download the encryption key from the iProtect maintenance page, place it in the same folder as the iNVR windows installer. Run the installer, the key will also automatically be installed.

The iNVR service receives messages from the iProtect system, and therefore it might be required to open the
TCP/IP port involved (usually port 4040) on the Windows firewall.

2.3 Data paths

With respect to the integration of the video functionality in iProtect we can identify several different data
streams: Live video, Recorded video, Control commands and Events. Each data stream can follow a
different path through the system and different components can be involved. This can make the total setup
rather complex. The diagrams below should give more insights in the different data paths.

For live video the Web browser receives the video streams from the iProtect iNVR, via the Tomcat service.
And the iNVR in receives the live video images directly from the camera’s (if they are connected to the iNVR)
and from the Sense NVR (if the cameras are connected to the Sense system). The Tomcat web server
connects to TCP port 4040 on the iNVR. This is the default port and can be changed, if necessary. Usually,
the camera’s and the Sense system are connected over TCP port 80.
The iNVR acts as a sort of video gateway in the network. Even if the camera’s and the Sense system are
located in a network that is not accessible from the web browser, the live images can be viewed via the
iNVR.

When video images from camera’s that are directly connected to the iNVR need to be stored, these images
are stored on the iNVR itself. When recorded video needs to be displayed in the user interface, the iNVR
provides these images. In case the cameras are connected to the Sense system, the images are stored there.
Still, the recorded images are served by the iNVR to the user interface. For recorded images the system uses
the

Like with all nodes in iProtect, the configuration of the node (in this case the iNVR) and the events generated
by the node, are handled by the Node Manager. This Node Manager can be located on a controller (IPU-8,
Polyx, Pluto, Apollo, ApolloN) or on the iProtect/iNVR server. A selection of events that are generated by the
Sense server will be relayed by the iNVR to the iProtect system. Here they can be used to trigger actions or
alarms like all other iProtect events. Communication between the node manager and the database proceeds
via a unique protocol using TCP port 20201. Events follow the same route back and use TCP port 20100.
Communication between the node manager and the iNVR uses TCP port 19000.

For certain camera’s, the viewing direction can be controlled via the network (Pan, Tilt, Zoom, PTZ). In iProtect,
this functionality can be used in two ways:

• Live PTZ control from the Web Browser (via TCP post 4040)

• Pre-programmed PTZ positions in response to events in the iProtect system. (via TCP port 19000)
  
  

For both cases, the PTZ control commands are sent from the iNVR to the camera’s or to the Sense system.
The iNVR receives these commands either from the Tomcat server, which services the Web interface of
iProtect, or from the nodemanager. From the user interface also a discovery can be started to detect connected camera’s and macros on de Sense system.

3 Programming

3.1 Browser settings

Because the images that are shown in de GUI can have a different origin as the GUI itself, it can be necessary
that some settings of the web browser are modified.

3.1.1 Google Chrome

Follow the below steps to enter the right settings:

1. Open the Google Chrome browser.

2. Go to “Menu” > “Settings” > “Advanced” > “Open proxy settings”.

3. Then go to “Security” > “Local intranet” > “Sites” > “Advanced”.

4. Enter the iProtect URL and the URLs of all video management servers.
   Example
   • https://192.168.1.1
   • http://192.168.2.2 (Sense of Milestone NVR)

5. Click on “Close”.

6. Click on “OK”.

7. Under Local intranet, select “Modified level”.

8. Select “Access data sources across domains” and choose “Enable”.

9. Select “Display mixed content” and choose “Enable”.

10. Now click twice on “OK”, close the browser and restart it.

3.1.2 Internet Explorer

Follow the below steps to enter the right settings:

1. Open the Internet Explorer browser.

2. Go to “Tools” > “Internet options” > “Security” > “Local intranet”.

3. Select “Websites” and go to “Advanced”.

4. Now follow the steps as described in section 3.2.1 point 4.

3.2 General System settings

iProtect has several default settings regarding the video integration that can be configured.

Select the following menu item:

Installation | Settings | General settings

Here are several settings that involve the video integration. These settings are system wide, for all users.

• Camera: This item contains the following settings:
  o Show event in overlay: When the checkbox is checked the events that are related to the
  playback video are displayed in an overlay on top of the video stream. The events appear at
  the moment they occur in the video.

• Camera pop-up: This controls the way the video pop-ups are displayed and contains the following
  settings:
  o Update rate (times/sec): This determines the frame rate of the displayed video stream.
  Values between 1-25 frames per second are possible, the default is 8. o Show play/stop buttons: This determines whether the play and stop button are displayed
  in the video frame.
  o Default width: The default width of the video pop-up in pixels. Default setting: 300 px.
  o Default height: The default height of the video pop-up in pixels. Default setting: 300 px.
  o Video event: Time range (min): This is the default time range in minutes for video event
  selection (General | Overview Video event).
  o Skip identical images (times/sec): Obsolete.
  o Reserve action Handling: Here a selection between main camera and camera group can
  be made. This parameter determines whether the image of the associated camera is shown
  with a transaction or if the images of the camera group are shown, of which the associated
  camera is part of by default.

• Camera PTZ: This controls the way iProtect handles PTZ control for camera’s:
  o Update rate (msec): This is the interval (in milli seconds) between positional updates that
  are sent to the camera.
  o Camera control: Here is the choice between relative and absolute motion control. With the
  setting relative, the direction of movement is controlled by the User Interface. With the
  setting absolute the position of the camera is controlled directly. So the position of the
  mouse/pointer directly corresponds to the position of the camera.

• External NVR: This controls some settings for the external NVR (Sense server usually):
  o Import external NVR, overwrite names: This checkbox controls whether the names in the
  iProtect database should be overwritten with the names in the external NVR when the items
  (camera’s, layouts, etc) are imported from the external NVR.

• License Plate recognition: See chapter on license plate recognition for details.

3.3 iNVR node configuration

To configure an iNVR in the iProtect system, first a Line (Node Manager) needs to be selected that will
control the iNVR. This can be a local, server line or a controller in the system. Select the following menu
item:

Menu | Installation | Hardware | Line

And select proper line, or create a line if it does not already exist.

Next, add a node to this line. For Node type select iNVR.

The following parameters can be configured for the iNVR node:

• Disk space use max(%) : The maximum amount of disk space of the /home file system on the iNVR
  server that will be occupied by video images recorded by the iNVR. If this percentage is exceeded
  the oldest images are removed. The images are stored under the /home/dvrec/storage directory on
  the server where the iNVR is running.

• Node online: Checkbox to activate and deactivate the iNVR.

• HTTP port: The portnumber for the communication between the iProtect User interface and the
  iNVR. Default TCP port 4040.

• IP address: the iProtect server IP address from which the server can retrieve the images; From the
  video management server or directly from the cameras.

• GUI IP address: the IP address from which iProtect clients should retrieve pictures. For clients in the
  same subnet, the IP address of the iNVR server appears here (same as IP address). If the iProtect
  clients are on a different subnet (behind a router), the external IP address of the iNVR server should
  be used.

• Disconnect delay (sec): This is the time in seconds that a node can be disconnected before an
  event Node disconnected is logged in the database. This prevents superfluous disconnection
  events in case of instable connections. The default is 0 seconds (no delay).

The node details form of the iNVR node has an addition button: Discover. By pressing this button the iNVR
attempts to discover all ONVIF compliant cameras in the subnet in which the iNVR is located. A list will be
displayed with all discovered cameras and by checking the checkbox in front of the camera, this camera can
be added to the iProtect system.

3.4 Cameras in iProtect

In general cameras can be added to the iProtect system by 3 methods:

1. Cameras that are configured directly in the iProtect iNVR.

2. Cameras that are connected to the VDG Sense NVR (see 3.5)

3. Cameras that are connected to a Milestone NVR (see 3.6)

iProtect supports a limited number of IP-cameras that can be interfaced directly with the iNVR. The list of
cameras that are supported is shown in the drop-down list Camera type in the camera details form.
Among these cameras are also the generic ONVIF-compliant and Xprotect connected (Milestone) cameras.

The camera details form contains a number of settings that determine the behavior of this camera in iProtect:

• Sub-number: Unique ID for this camera in the iNVR. Can be chosen between 1-1024.

• Camera type: Type of camera. Depending on the selected type the protocol that the iNVR uses to
  interface with the camera is chosen. Also different settings can be displayed for different types of
  cameras

• IP address: The IP address of the camera.

• MAC address: For ONVIF cameras, the MAC address of the discovered camera is displayed. This
  can be used to identify the camera.

• Port: The port that is used by the camera for the communication with the iNVR. Default this is port 80

• Before the event (sec): The number of seconds before an event for which video will be recorded.

• After the event (sec): The number of seconds after an event for which video will be recorded.

• Camera from group: The camera group that should be displayed in the Multiview if an event is
  captured by this camera (see 3.8) If this parameter is set, the camera group button that is shown with a transaction ill toggle between displaying the images of the main camera and of the camera
  group.

The camera details form also contains several tabs with settings for specific functionalities of the cameras.

IP Camera data tab

• Name: The name of a user account on the camera that has the permissions to view the camera images

• Password: The password belonging to the above user

• Active: A check box to indicate if the iNVR should fetch images from this camera

• Connected: A read-only field that indicated if the camera is connected to the iNVR or not.

• Check connection every: Here, specify at what intervals the connection should be checked, Default:
  every 15 seconds

• Frames: Here, specify the number of frames per second should be displayed for live video.

• Save images: A check box to indicate whether the images from this camera should be stored on the
  iNVR.

• Frames: Number of frames per second that should be stored from this camera on the iNVR

• Maximal saving period: Maximum number of days that the images will be retained on the iNVR. If
  the maximum storage capacity of the iNVR is reached this maximum will not be achieved. The oldest
  images will be removed.

Motion detection tab
On this tab there are a number of parameters that determine the sensitivity of the motion detection algorithm.
The iNVR can generate motion events in iPortect from the changes in the video images. These motion events
can be used to generate alarms or trigger actions. The following parameters can be set:

• Motion detection when change of: The percentage of pixels that must be different between 2
  sequential frames before a motion event is triggered.

• Color threshold: The change in color of the pixels is used to detect changes in the images. The
  higher the number, the higher the sensitivity to change.

• Motion threshold: The amount of movement in the pixels is used to detect changes in the images.
  The higher the number the more sensitive to motion the process is.

• Image evaluation within yellow frame: If this option is checked a yellow frame is shown in the
  preview widget. This frame can be moved and resized and the motion detection algorithm only
  considers the pixels that are in the area of the frame.

• Minimum interval between events: With this setting the interval between 2 generated motion
  events can be set. This setting can help to limit the amount of motion events in case of a very
  dynamic video image. The default setting is 5 seconds.

Pan tilt tab
This tab is only relevant for cameras that support PTZ control. The tab shown 2 widgets. The preview widget
with the live images from the camera and a control widget. By selecting a points on this widget the PZT camera can be moved around. The behavior of the camera is dependent of the PZT user setting (relative or absolute) (see 3.2).

Other tab
On this tab some settings for License plate recognition for this camera are available.

• Card data interpretation: In this field the card data interpretation for license plate recognition can
  be selected.

• License plate settings: Here a selection of the applicable license plate settings can be made.

• Read license plate before loop (ms): Usually the license plate recognition process is triggered
  by a loop on the road. But it can happen that the recognition software has detected the license
  plate in the video image before the loop is triggered. To prevent a dead lock situation, the iNVR
  can keep the detected license plate in memory and wait for a loop trigger for some time. This
  parameter determines the duration it keeps the license plate in memory. The default setting is 100
  ms.

• Show license plate transaction: With this checkbox it is determined whether the detection of a
  license plate generates an event in the iProtect database (besides the accesskey events).
  
  

The right mouse button menu in the tree view allows you to add other settings to the camera:

• Camera View: A rectangular sub-image (yellow outline) can be defined that will be used as the
  image of this camera. This can be used to block out certain parts of the image and use the
  camera view instead of the full camera image on the Keymap.

• Preset: A preset can be added to a PTZ controllable camera (see 3.7)

3.5 Sense Network Video Recorder

A Sense Network Video Recorder (NVR) is added to the iProtect system under a iNVR node.

By selecting a iNVR node in the tree-view the option “Add network video recorder” is available under the right mouse button.

The following settings can be made:

• Type: Sense

• IP address: The IP address of the Sense server

• Port: Port number for the communication with the Sense server. Default is 80.

• Check connection every: The interval at which iProtect checks it the connection with the Sense
  server is still active.

• Fail over IP address: The IP address of the Sense fail over service. If the Sense server does not
  respond and there is a fail-over configuration, the iProtect server connects to the fail-over Sense
  server.

• Timeout before switch over: The amount of time (in seconds) that the main Sense server does not
  respond, before iProtect attempts to connect to the fail-over Sense server.

• Name (NVR login): The username of a user in Sense (user with full rights)

• Password: The password belonging to this user

Be sure to set the API version in Sense to 2.7.2.

iProtect can automatically discover and import the Sense configuration.

When clicked on the Discover button, a popup window appears that lets the user initiate a discovery on the
Sense server. On this popup window there is a selection box, so the user can select the type of items that
must be discovered on the Sense server:

• Camera
• Layout
• Preset
• Procedure
• Viewer

Once the discovery is completed, a list of discovered items is shown and the user can select which items
shall be imported in the iProtect system.

With the Import button, all cameras and layouts in Sense will be imported to iProtect. Choose the “Specify”
option if you want to choose what to import. Here, Cameras, Layouts, Pre-sets, Macros and Viewers can be
selected and added.

3.6 Milestone Xprotect integration

iProtect can also be coupled to several versions of the Milestone Xprotect NVR systems. Depending on the
Xprotect version, a different authentication method should be used. For Xprotect Enterprise and Xprotect
Professional basic authentication is used, for Xprotect Expert and Xprotect Professional+ Windows
authentication is used. Basic authentication means that iProtect uses a username / password combination
from the Xprotect system to authenticate itself. Windows authentication means that Xprotect uses user
accounts from the Windows operating system it is running on for authentication and iProtect should use
these credentials for the connection with the Xprotect system.

Cameras that are connected to a Xprotect NVR can be added to the iProtect system by adding a camera to
the iNVR and selecting the correct Xprotect camera type. Most of the settings on the camera details page
are described in section 3.4.

For Xprotect cameras some special settings are required:

• Number: This number links a camera in the Xprotect system to a camera definition in iProtect. The
  number that is chosen here should be defined as the Short name of the camera in the Xprotect
  system. Note: this must be a number.

• IP address: This is the IP address of the Milestone Xprotect Image server (not the camera).

• Port: This is the port that is used by the Xprotect Image server. By default this is port 7563.

When basic authentication is used (Enterprise / Professional):

• Name: The user name of an account of the Xprotect server that has the rights to view the camera
  images

• Password: Corresponding password of that user.
  When Windows authentication is used (Expert / Professional+):

• Domain: The Windows domain name of the account that has rights to view the camera images in
  the Xprotect server.

• Name: The name of this account

• Password: Corresponding password of that user.

3.7 Camera pre-set

If a camera has PTZ control, multiple preset camera positions can be defined in the iProtect system.

The procedure to add a preset to a camera is:

1. Select the relevant camera in the hardware treeview.

2. Right-click on the camera and select Add pre-setting. The details pane will open.

3. Give the pre-set a practical name.

4. Position the camera as desired with the help of camera positioning.

5. Once the camera is in the correct position, click on the Save button to save the settings.

6. If preferred, pre-sets can be saved in Sense. (Mark Sense pre-set field)

7. On Sense cameras also the Auto focus feature can be selected.

3.8 Camera group

A number of cameras can be grouped together in a Camera Group. A camera group makes it possible to
display multiple camera views together in the Multiview in case of an event. A camera group consists of a
number of cameras and/or camera split displays. In case of an event, single camera pictures from the
camera group, or a combination of pictures from the camera group, can be synchronously displayed (see
Figure 6).

Camera groups can be created via the menu:

Installation | Hardware | Camera | Camera Group

Relevant parameters:

• Columns: The number of columns in which the camera group should be ordered

• Rows: The number of rows the camera group should be ordered

• Select the desired cameras from the “Camera / camera view” list.

• The order of the cameras / split displays can be changed using the right-hand mouse button. The
  numbering of the matrix cells is row first.

Below an example of a camera group (center) with 2x3 camera pictures and split displays; In ‘Multiview’ (4x4
pictures in this example), the pictures from the group are either displayed as single pictures (top-right), or
combined into one display (top-left)

3.9 Multiview

A Multiview is a display of multiple pictures in a matrix consisting of rows and columns. The number of rows
and columns can be configured according to preference.

Multiview can be created via the menu:
Installation | Hardware | Camera | Multiview

Relevant parameters:

• Columns: The number of columns in which the Multiview should have

• Rows: The number of rows the Multiview should have

• PTZ control: If this is activated, a PTZ symbol will appear at the bottom-right of the Multiview. When
  you select a camera by clicking in the Multiview, you can change the camera’s focal point with the
  PTZ control unit. The Multiview should have an additional row for this control. So if you have 4
  cameras in a 2x2 matrix and you want to control the PTZ of one or more cameras, the Multiview
  should have 2 columns and 3 rows.

• Start-up camera group: you can define the camera group that should display pictures when the
  Keymap starts up or is reset. If you leave this field blank, pictures will only be displayed in Multiview
  in case of events – Until events take place, only black fields will be displayed.

If a Sense server is used, it is possible to link the Multiview to a Sense layout. In iProtect we call this an
External Multiview. This means that the camera images are displayed in the same way in both iProtect as
in Sense.

The Sense layouts that are imported from the Sense server (see paragraph 3.5) can be found by opening
the Sense server in the hardware tree view.

A Multiview in iProtect can be coupled to a layout in Sense. In the Layout/external Multiview details from,
choose the iProtect Multiview and, in case of a new external Multiview, the layout in Sense. Make sure that
both have the same number of camera pictures.

In Sense, the Live and Playback panels can be used to drag pictures into the layout. In Sense, always start
with panel 1 and proceed to 2, 3, etc.

3.10 Keymap

There are a number of widgets available when building a Keymap that are related to the video functionality.
Here we have listed the most important features of these widgets. A full explanation of the Keymap feature of iProtect is given in the Keymap manual.

• Camera: By default the camera is shown on the Keymap with a camera icon . By selecting
  the camera with the left mouse button, the live stream of this camera is shown. By selecting is with
  the right mouse button to open up the (own) configuration page of this camera or get an overview of
  recent events of this camera.

• Camera View: This widget will show a sub-image of a camera image, a camera view, on the
  Keymap.

• Camera Matrix: This widget represents the Multiview camera matrix. By selecting one cell in the
  matrix with the left mouse button the matrix is replaced by the camera stream (or camera group) that
  is associated with the selected cell. By selecting it again, the matrix view is returned. By selecting a
  cell with the right mouse button, you get the option to zoom in to the actual size of the image, to save
  the image to file or (when available) to select a preview for that camera.

• Camera Preset: This adds a button to the Keymap that can be linked to a preset of a camera. By
  pressing this button, the relevant camera is moved to the preset position.

3.11 Actions

In iProtect there are a number of actions that are related to the Video subsystem.

• External procedure: This action triggers a procedure (Macro) that is defined in the Sense NVR
  and has been imported in the iProtect system (see 3.5). In case of a viewer macro, you must
  also specify the viewer to which the action applies. The viewers can also be imported from the
  Sense system.

• Multiview camera group: Show all images from the camera group of a selected camera in a
  Multiview.

• Multiview single camera: Show images from a single camera in the Multiview.

• Multiview reset: If you have defined a start-up camera group, the pictures from this group will
  appear. If a start-up camera group has not been defined, the camera pictures will disappear.

Events (*) take place at a reader or input, to which a camera (1) can be assigned. You can allocate the
camera to a camera group (3).If you leave the ‘Camera from group’ field blank, only the pictures from this
camera will be displayed in the Multiview (2).If you specify a camera group in the ‘Camera from group’ field,
all pictures from this camera group will be displayed in the Multiview in case of an event (4).Here, there are
two options (see ‘display’).

Multiview : Define which Multiview should be associated with this action.
Display : Define whether the pictures should be display separately or as group in a single field.
Display length (sec) : Enter the number of seconds over which the pictures should be displayed. If you do not enter a value, the pictures will be displayed constantly.

4 Sense events and procedures

In iProtect, you can set up procedures that will automatically trigger actions in iProtect in case of specific
events encountered in the Sense camera streams. The desired actions will be assigned to the procedure.

4.1 Sense camera input events

A camera linked to Sense can have a digital input connected. Events that are generated can trigger actions
in iProtect by means of a procedure.

The procedure should have the following settings:
• Event: Video event
• Data 1: iNVR event type
• Value 1: Input
• Data 2: Number
• Value 2: The number of the input the procedure needs to be triggered by.

The actions added to this procedure will be triggered in case of an event taking place when the input is
made.

4.2 ObjectR events

In Sense, there are six different Object events. They are characterized by the method (“Object rule”) in which
they are generated:

• Tripwire
• Area of interest
• Scene change
• Multi-tripwire
• Multi-segment tripwire
• Segment tripwire.

You can configure a maximum of five methods per camera/encoder. Every method is allocated a “rule number” in the order of the configured methods.

iProtect takes over the events generated in Sense, but ignores the type of method. Instead, events generated
in Sense are characterized by the ‘rule number’.

The procedure should have the following settings:

• Event: Video event
• Data 1: iNVR event type
• Value 1: Object noticed with Sense
• Data 2: Number
• Value 2: 1

Actions associated with this procedure are therefore triggered by a “rule number” 1 event in Sense
(regardless of the type of method).

4.3 SiquraVCA events

There are three types of SiquraVCA events. These events are generated by the VCA (Video Content Analysis)
module in the VDG Sense system.

The specific details of the VCA event are included in the Comment 1 field of the event.

To trigger procedures on these events, the procedure should have the following settings:

• Event: Video event
• Data 1: iNVR event type
• Value 1: SiquraVCA

To make the procedure more specific on the type of event and on the specific line or zone in the event, use
regular expressions on the Comment 1 field of the event.

4.4 Regular expressions

In video events additional information is placed in the Comment 1 field of the event. For example in which
zone the motion detection detected an incident. As of iProtect version 9.10 it is possible to use the comment
1 field in the triggering of the procedure.

Explanation:
There are 2 options to use the regular expression

• Posix regular expression
  o This function searches if the selected chars are somewhere in the comment string.
   Frequently used regular expression classes

• [abc] any of a, b or c

• [^abc] not a, b or c

• [a-g] character between a & g

• a* character a zero or more times

• . any character

• Case insensitive compare
  o This function needs an exact match between the comment string and the selected chars,
  beside case sensitive.

Location: General | Settings | Procedure

Type: string (transdata)
Default value: empty

Example 1:
Case: Trigger on a Siqura vca event, generated by Sense NVR

Example event:
Video event (323) => NODE (20): INVR, CAMERA (145): Crossroad cam, iNVR, event type (154): _Reserved
event 33, Video module (170): Camera, Node event (36): 32657780, Comment 1 (114): SiquraVCA: Line 2:,
EXTERNALNVR (1): Diva

We want to fire the procedure on the following
1: type event: Video event
2: Camera: Crossroad cam2
3: Part of the comment where the comment in this case is: (114): <SiquraVCA: Line 2> and we want to trigger
only on “Line 2”

Setup:

• Subsystem: <All subsystems>

• Event: <Video event>

• Table
  o Table 1: <CAMERA>,
  o Data 1: <at>,
  o Table option: <one of>
  o Value 1: <Crossroad cam 2>

• Data
  o No settings

• Transdata
  o Source: <Comment 1>
  o Type: <Posix regular expression>
  o Search for: <Line 2> (means if Line 2 is somewhere in the string the answer is true)

Example 2:Case: Same event but now trigger on Line 1 or Line 2
Search for: <Line [1,2]>

More information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regular_expression
https://regexr.com/

5 License plate recognition

iProtect can grant access to vehicles based on their license plates. The cameras used for license plate
recognition can be controlled by a Sense video server (NVR), and through the integration of Sense in iProtect
the license plate recognition events become available.
It is also possible to connect a LPR camera of Tattile directly to the iProtect system.

5.1 Requirements and initial steps

For effective license plate recognition, the following is necessary:

1. Make sure that a license plate recognition license is in place for every camera instance that will be used
   for license plate recognition (ID: 1100).

2. Make sure that infrared lighting has been installed for proper recognition in dark circumstances.

3. Make sure that the camera used for license plate recognition has a resolution of at least 1.3 Megapixels.

4. A daylight filter should be used.

5. Mount the camera used for license plate recognition within a distance of 11 meters from the license
   plate. The angle between the license plate surface and the camera must not exceed 40°.

6. In iProtect, configure the camera picture in such a way that a regular vehicle in the entrance fills the
   entire width of the picture.

5.2 iProtect setup

For license plate recognition via Sense or Tattile, specific parameters must be set.

5.2.1 License plate settings

The settings for license plate recognition in iProtect can be configured via:

Installation | Hardware | Camera | License plate recognition

Here are a number of settings that involve the recognition can be added and edited.

• Name: name of this license plate configuration

• Camera: The camera that this configuration will apply to. This should be a camera that is connected to
  a Sense video server or a Tattile LPR camera

• Confidence: This is the minimum confidentiality that the recognition process should have before
  iProtect accepts the license plate number the truth.

5.2.2 Card coding setup

Using the license plate number as access card required that a special kind of card coding is created for this.

Card coding can be defined via:
Access | Settings | Card coding | Card number presentation

Create a new Card number presentation entry

• Format: License plate should be selected here

• Calculated length: here 0 (zero) should be entered

A corresponding Card number interpretation should be created via:
Access | Settings | Card coding | Card number interpretation

• Card number presentation: Select the presentation created in the previous step

• Default card data interpretation: select: license plate and press the Set button
  Now all the correct parameters are set and the interpretation can be saved.

5.2.3 Camera setup

The next step is to connect to camera, the license plate recognition settings and the card coding together. This is done in the camera details form:

Installation | Hardware | Camera | Camera

Select the camera that will be used for license plate recognition and select the Other tab.

• Card data interpretation: select the configured card coding for the reading of license plates.

• License plate recognition settings: select the configured license plate setting (if not already filled in)

• Read license plate before loop: with this parameter you can indicate how long (in ms) the system will
  buffer a license plate until a loop event is received. In a normal situation the system expects a license
  plate event after a loop in the road is activated (indicating a car is present at the entrance or exit). In
  some situations it can happen (due to bad installation of the camera) that the license plate of the car is
  not in the image anymore at the moment the loop is triggered. With this parameter the license plate
  number can be buffered for a certain period. Usually 100 ms is sufficient in normal situations.

• Show license plate transactions: With this checkbox one can determine whether the license plate
  recognition event is shown as a separate transaction in iProtect.

5.2.4 Reader setup

In iProtect access rights are always associated with readers and therefore we must associate the access by
means of a license plate number with a card reader in the system. This makes sense because usually an
entrance is not exclusively for license plate numbers, but access cards can be used as an alternative.

Installation | Hardware | Reader

Select the card reader that will be associated with the license plate recognition.

• On the General tab, select the camera that has the license plate recognition associated with it.

• On the Input/Output tab, Select the proper input for the Loop

• On the Other tab, at Camera Access mode select the desired behavior at the entrance/exit:
  o Automatic with Camera key: Access is granted when a valid license plate has been
  recognized. No card is required.
  o Card required: Access is granted on access card. license plate is optional
  o Card required + wait for Camera Key: Access is granted on access card. The system waits
  extra time on the license plate, but it is still optional o Verify card & camera key: Access is granted after both a valid access key and license plate
  are used.

5.2.5 License plate configuration

To iProtect, a license plate is a type of access card. If you want to assign access rights to a certain license
plate, you must add the license plate number as an additional card to a person.

You can either add a card to a person directly, or add a new access card and add it to a person later.

For a new access card:

• Card number presentation: select the presentation previously configured as a license plate entry

• Card number: enter the country code followed by a comma, then the license plate number without any
  hyphens (e.g. “NL,11FGT9”).

• Link card with card: By checking this checkbox you will prevent problems with APB or clocking
  functions if, for example, someone enters an area using license plate recognition and leaves it using a
  card.

• Now enter the remaining details as you would for a regular card.

5.3 Support of Tattile ALPR camera

Tattile ALPR cameras are only used for automatic number plate recognition in iProtect and not for video
images. Number plates are treated as a normal “pass/credential” and, therefore, all access control
functionalities are available such as anti-passback and loop functions.

Installation | Hardware | Camera | camera

The ALPR camera is created as a normal camera directly under the iNVR as type: Tattile
Unlike other cameras, it is also mandatory to set the serial number of the camera in iProtect.

Note:
If multiple ALPR cameras are created in iProtect, they must be provided with a different port numbers. These
must be set in both the ALPR camera and in iProtect (for example: port number 32000)

5.4 Potential malfunctions

License plate not read
Sense license plate recognition:
• Make sure that the right version of Sense has been installed (≥ 2.3.8).
• Check the Sense settings.
• Check the positioning of the camera.
• Check the connection with iProtect. Are there live and historic camera pictures?

iProtect license plate recognition:
• Check the positioning of the camera.
• Check the camera license plate recognition settings.
• Check the camera connections. Are there live and historic camera pictures?

iNVR notification:error-111
Reason:
• The camera reader network device (iPU/Polyx/Pluto) cannot access the IP address of the iNVR node.
Solution:
• Open the iNVR node in iProtect. Into “IP address” in the details pane (on the left), enter the IP address of
the server used by the line of the reader to which the camera for license plate recognition has been
assigned. Save your specifications.

No license plates numbers found
Check:
• Whether loop input has been configured for the reader.
• Whether license plate coding has been configured for the camera and whether license plate recognition
settings are correct (Others tab).

No picture
Check:
• For the line on which the iNVR server has been configured: Is the quality set to 100%?
• For the node on which the iNVR server has been configured: Is maximum disk usage set to 100%? The
maximum setting is 90%.
• On the iProtect maintenance page, select iProtect, and go to “Configuration”. The status is displayed
under “Video” in “Active Services”. This must be set to “Yes”. If this is not the case, see chapter 4.1.
• Is the IP address of the GUI (node iNVR) the address (same IP series) set on the workstation?
• Are the Internet Explorer settings correct?