Veo Observer User Manual

Veo Observer User Manual

Veo user's guide network camera observer
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Page 1 of 65
Rev. 01-14-2003

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Table of Contents
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Summary of Contents for Veo Observer

  • Page 1 Page 1 of 65 Rev. 01-14-2003...
  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents Chapter 1: Welcome to the Veo Observer 1.1 Package Contents... 5 1.2 Requirements ... 5 1.3 Hardware Description and Features ... 6 Chapter 2: Camera Setup ... 7 2.1 Hardware Setup ... 7 2.2 Getting an IP address ... 8 2.3 Mounting the Camera...
  • Page 3 Appendix F: Motion Sensor Setup Appendix G: Frequently Asked Questions, Troubleshooting, and Technical Support Appendix H: Estimating Bandwidth Consumption Appendix I: Technical Specifications Glossary ... 63 Warranty ... 64 ... 56 ... 61 ... 62 Page 3 of 65 .. 58...
  • Page 4: Chapter 1: Welcome To The Veo Observer

    Use the Observer to keep an eye on your home or business when you can’t be there. Give friends and relatives a window into your world or monitor and record anything from anywhere on the Internet.
  • Page 5: Package Contents

    2 – ¼” Mounting screws and plastic anchors 1 – 10’ Power adapter 1 – 15’ Category 5 10 Mbps Ethernet cable 1 – Quick Start Guide 1 – Veo Observer camera installation CD-ROM (located inside the Quick Start Guide) 1.2 Requirements To connect the camera LAN –...
  • Page 6: Hardware Description And Features

    The LCD will indicate the last three digits of your IP Address. For example, if the IP Address “192.168.0.123” is assigned to the Veo Observer Camera, the LCD will display “123.” Refer to Section 2.2 Getting an IP address for more information.
  • Page 7: Chapter 2: Camera Setup

    Camera Setup Before installing the Veo Observer Camera, you should have an available Ethernet LAN connection (RJ-45 port). To view the camera’s image or make any manual configuration changes, you will need a Windows PC with Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher, also connected to the LAN.
  • Page 8: Getting An Ip Address

    Turning the camera on Step 4. Press the power button on the front of the camera to turn it on. The button lights up confirming that the camera is powered up. Step 6. Observe the IP address display on the lower left side of the camera and refer to the next section. 2.2 Getting an IP address As soon as you power up your camera you’ll notice that the IP address display starts blinking.
  • Page 9 Install and run the Observer Setup Utility included on the CD-ROM. 1. Refer to Chapter 4: PC Software Installation if you need help installing the software. 2. Click on the Veo Observer Setup Utility icon to run the program. 3. Click the “Search for Camera” button.
  • Page 10: Mounting The Camera

    2.3 Mounting the Camera The Observer can sit on a flat surface, such a shelf or bookcase, be mounted to a wall using the included bracket, or mounted atop a tripod stand using the standard tripod mount located on the underside of the base.
  • Page 11: Chapter 3: Accessing The Camera

    Access to Observer cameras is password protected to ensure privacy. To access the camera you need a username and password. There are three levels of access that can be assigned to each user: 1.
  • Page 12: Web Browser Access

    Explorer shows an error page, refer to the troubleshooting section in Appendix G: Frequently Asked Questions, Troubleshooting, and Technical Support. 4. Click Enter to log in to the camera. Page 12 of 65 Note: If the Observer ActiveX control is not already installed on your PC, you will notice that it takes some extra time for the page to load.
  • Page 13 5. The camera login page will appear. Type in your username and password and click Login. Note: The username and password are case sensitive. Note: If another user is currently logged into the camera you may see a message letting you know that the camera is busy.
  • Page 14 Resets the camera. Resetting has the same effect as turning the power off and then on. Note: You must log in again after a reset. Help Takes you to the Technical Support section of the Veo Observer website. About Provides the version information.
  • Page 15: Camera Configuration

    3.3 Camera Configuration Note: You must be logged in as an administrator to access the camera setup pages. 1. Click the Setup button at the top of the main page to access the configuration pages. Camera Information The following settings are found on the Camera Information page: Setting Description Camera Name...
  • Page 16 User Accounts The User Account page is where you add and remove usernames and passwords. User accounts allow you to control access to a camera. You should change the default username and password immediately and don’t give this out to anyone. For everyone else, you should set up either User level accounts or Guest level accounts. Adding a New User Account Note: The first time you add a new account, it will automatically replace the default Admin account.
  • Page 17 Motion Detection The camera can be triggered by a motion sensor input to send you an email with a snapshot of the current image attached. To enable this capability, check the Enable Detection checkbox and fill in the fields on the page as described below: Note: To enable motion detection you must first obtain the optional motion sensor and attach it to the motion sensor jack of the camera.
  • Page 18 Message Any text message you wish to include in the body of the email. Reset Interval Sets the time interval, after an alert, before another detection event can occur. Video Properties Settings on this page affect the camera’s image size and quality and bandwidth consumed by the video stream. Max.
  • Page 19: Chapter 4: Pc Software Installation

    D:\AUTORUN in the Run dialog box and then click OK. (assuming that D:\ is your CD-ROM drive; if not change it to the appropriate drive letter). If the Veo Observer Installation screen still does not appear, consult your computer manual or manufacturer to locate the CD-ROM drive.
  • Page 20 4. The next screen (Choose Destination Location) shows where the Veo Observer Setup Utility will be installed. Click Next. (Optional: To install the Veo Observer Setup Utility in a different directory click the Browse button to see the Choose Directory dialog box. Type a new path name for the files in the path box or select an existing directory from the list.)
  • Page 21: Chapter 5: Observer Setup Utility

    DHCP. The utility is also very helpful for finding all the cameras on your network. Note: The Observer Setup Utility must be run from a PC on the local area network where the camera to be set up is located.
  • Page 22: Open A Camera's Home Page

    Note: If you leave the IP address unchanged, you’ll see a message (shown below) informing you that there may be another device using the same IP address (which in this case is the Observer). Click Yes to continue using the IP address you specified.
  • Page 23: Updating The Camera's Firmware

    Update to continue. You may also click Cancel to abort the update process or Check for Updates to go to the Observer support site to check for firmware updates. Note: An admin level user account is required to update the camera firmware.
  • Page 24: Chapter 6: Observer Studio Pc Application

    Once you’ve entered the information, you’ll never need to type it in again. 6.1 Camera Manager The Camera Manager keeps a list of Observer cameras, along with their IP addresses and login information, allowing you to quickly connect to any camera in the list without having to type in the information.
  • Page 25 URL, port number, username, and password each time. To change a camera’s IP address or port number, use the Observer Setup Utility. To change usernames and passwords, go to the camera’s home page and click Setup.
  • Page 26: Logging Into A Camera

    Group Click the Group button to set up a camera group to easily log in. Once you define a group of up to four cameras, you can log in to the whole group with one click. Note: You can only log in to a group of cameras while in the multi-camera window. See the Multi- Camera Viewing section for more information.
  • Page 27: Camera View Controls

    6.3 Camera View Controls Pan and Tilt Controls: Click on any of the arrow buttons to move the camera one small step in the direction indicated by the arrow. Holding down a button for a few seconds will move the camera one large step. Note: The pan &...
  • Page 28 Audio Controls Audio Level Slider: Move the slider up to increase the audio input level. Click the speaker button to enable or disable audio streaming. Enabled Settings Only admin level user may access camera settings. The Settings button is not present when logged in as a non-admin user.
  • Page 29 Recording a Video Note: The captured video will be the same size (resolution) as the current streaming size. Changing the display size using the image display controls does not affect the size of the captured video. Use the Settings button to change the streaming size (requires admin level user). 1.
  • Page 30: Using The Gallery

    The Gallery is an album application you use to store and access snapshots and video clips captured with Observer cameras. It can also manage other types of media for you such as sound bites and animations. Note: You must first close the View Camera window before opening the Gallery.
  • Page 31 Add a new video or picture to your movie. You can either add an existing video/picture from your computer or record a new video/picture from your Veo camera for insertion. Add music to your movie. Remove music from your movie.
  • Page 32: Homepage Designer - Designing A Home Page

    E-mail program to send movies. 6.6 Homepage Designer - Designing a Home Page 1. Click on the Homepage Designer button on the Observer Studio Home Screen. 2. Choose to Create A New Homepage or Open A Previously Saved Homepage Project. If you choose to...
  • Page 33 [Page Link] - Link an object/image/page to another page. Linking to Another Page If you want to include a function on your page that allows you to click on a text/picture to link to other web pages, follow the steps below: a) Select the text or picture on the Main Screen that you want to link .
  • Page 34 7. Select the background music. Click 8. Choose your background music. To listen to the music before selecting, place your cursor on clicking. You may click [Mute] to turn the background music on and off. Note: When you change the Mute button to be able to hear it.
  • Page 35 Applying Text, Images, Videos, and Animated Characters Adding and Editing Text a) Click [New Text] to add new text to the scene/page. b) Double-click on the text to edit it. A screen similar to the one below appears: Type text in here Select font color Select font The following are the application buttons and their description:...
  • Page 36 When you click , the following box appears: Adding Sound Effects to an Animated Character You can add a sound effect to an animated character either by inserting a .wav file from the Sound Effects folder and then click Note: Sound Effects are only applied when the animated character is moving along its defined path. If you have not defined a path, the sound effect will be disabled.
  • Page 37: Configuring Your E-Mail Program To Send Files

    Using America Online (AOL), Hotmail, or Yahoo! Mail In order to send your pictures and videos from the Veo Observer Studio, you'll need to follow the steps outlined below if you are using America Online, Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail. The following steps require that you have America Online 7.0 or higher or the latest version of MSN Messenger or Yahoo! Messenger installed on your...
  • Page 38 6. Minimize America Online or web browser window (if using Hotmail or Yahoo! Mail). 7. By default, your pictures are saved in the 'Photographs' or 'Videos' folders in the Veo Observer Studio. To find the pictures/videos for e-mailing, go to the 'C:\Program Files\Veo Observer Studio\Gallery' folder.
  • Page 39: Chapter 7: Accessing Cameras Over The Internet

    Accessing Cameras Over the Internet If your home or business LAN is connected to the Internet through a high speed (broadband) Internet connection, with at least 128 kbps upload bandwidth, you can access your cameras by web browser from anywhere on the Internet. To do this you need to: 1.
  • Page 40: Port Forwarding

    All TCP/IP (Internet) networking uses software ports. Ports can be thought of as channels on your television. By default, all web page traffic is on channel (port) 80. By default, the Observer uses port 80 to deliver its web page to your browser and port 1600 to send video.
  • Page 41: Accessing Multiple Cameras Over The Internet

    The solution to this problem is to set up each camera to use a different port number (Refer to Chapter 5: Observer Setup Utility for help setting a camera’s port number). For example, you may set up your second camera to use port 81 for its web page. When you want to access this camera, you would tell your browser to use port 81, instead of port 80.
  • Page 42 The Internet uses DNS servers to lookup domain names and translate them into IP addresses. Domain names, such as www.veo.com, are just easy to remember aliases for IP addresses. A dynamic DNS service is unique because it provides a means of updating your IP address so that your listing will remain current when your IP address changes.
  • Page 43: Appendix A: Restoring Factory Default Settings

    Note: You will need to reconfigure your camera settings after resetting the camera. The Veo Observer will revert back to the factory default username (admin) and password (password) if the camera is reset. The network settings on your camera will also revert back to DHCP, thus, you may need to reconfigure the camera using the Observer Setup Utility.
  • Page 44: Appendix B: External Microphone

    If you would like to use an external microphone (not included), you can attach any standard 1/8” (3.5 mm) microphone to the Veo Observer’s external microphone connection port located on the rear of the camera. Using an external microphone will automatically disable the camera’s built-in microphone.
  • Page 45: Appendix C: Network Utilities

    Appendix Network Utilities Microsoft Windows includes various network information utilities to determine various network configurations. To determine your IP address and network settings, follow the steps below, depending on your operating system. C.1 Determining your IP Address and Network Settings Windows 98/Me: 1.
  • Page 46 3) If there is a camera, or a PC or other network device online and using this address you will see: Pinging 123.123.123.123 with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 123.123.123.123: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128 Reply from 123.123.123.123: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128 Reply from 123.123.123.123: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128 Reply from 123.123.123.123: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128 Ping statistics for 123.123.123.123:...
  • Page 47: Appendix D: Router Configuration

    Port Forwarding for the Veo Observer The Veo Observer requires certain ports to be open on your router to allow other computers on the Internet to “see” the camera from your own internal network. Normally, your router will have the less common ports disabled or blocked by the router’s built-in firewall.
  • Page 48 IP address of the computer in the IP Address of DMZ Host text box, and then click the SAVE button. Veo Observer as a Virtual Server 1. Click on the Firewall button. 2. Click on Special Applications.
  • Page 49 3. Enter the IP address for the camera in the field labeled IP Address for DMZ . 4. Click Apply. The Veo Observer should now be configured to work with your network and be accessible to the Internet. NETGEAR Cable/DSL Router Gateway RP614 The NETGEAR Cable/DSL Router Gateway RP614 setup program is web-based, which means that it is accessed through your web browser.
  • Page 50 9. On the Main menu in the Maintenance section click on Attached Devices. Write down the IP address assigned to the camera. 10. Click OK. Veo Observer as a Virtual Server 1. Click on Port Forwarding. 2. Click on Add Custom Service.
  • Page 51 3. Type the IP address for the camera. 4. Click Apply. The Veo Observer should now be configured to work with your network and be accessible to the Internet. SMC Barricade Broadband Router SMC7004VBR The SMC Barricade Broadband Router SMC7004VBR setup program is web-based, which means that it is accessed through your web browser.
  • Page 52 6. Click on DMZ. Enter the camera IP address for the Client PC IP address. Click Apply. The Veo Observer should now be configured to work with your network and be accessible to the Internet. D-Link DI-604 Ethernet Broadband Router The D-Link DI-604 Ethernet Broadband Router setup program is Web-based, which means that it is accessed through your web browser.
  • Page 53 Click Apply. 7. Click on Tools->Time. Make sure the time is properly set and then click Apply. The Veo Observer should now be configured to work with your network and be accessible to the Internet. Linksys EtherFast Cable/DSL Router BEFSR41 The Linksys EtherFast Cable/DSL Router BEFSR41 setup program is Web-based, which means that it is accessed through your web browser.
  • Page 54 Ext. Port: 1600 to 1600 Protocol: TCP IP Address: 192.168.1.101 Enable: Checked in 6. Click on Apply to save the settings. The Veo Observer should now be configured to work with your network and be accessible to the Internet. Page 54 of 65...
  • Page 55: Appendix E: Internet Explorer Security Settings

    Internet Explorer Security Settings The Veo Observer web page communicates with the camera using a combination of JavaScript and an ActiveX control. The ActiveX control must be downloaded from the camera and installed on your PC. There are four things that your Internet Explorer security settings must allow for the web page to work correctly.
  • Page 56: Appendix F: Motion Sensor Setup

    Refer to Section 3.3 Camera Configuration of the User’s Guide for further information. Please visit http://www.veo.com/observer/ for information on purchasing the optional motion sensor. Mounting the motion sensor to the camera mounting bracket The motion sensor mounts to the underside of the camera mounting bracket.
  • Page 57 1. Locate the motion sensor connector at the rear of the camera. The holes for inserting the sensor wires are labeled 1 through 4 from left to right. 2. Use a small screwdriver to depress and latch down the orange tabs over holes 1, 2 and 4. 3.
  • Page 58: Appendix G: Frequently Asked Questions, Troubleshooting, And Technical Support

    1. Confirm that you are using the correct IP address and port number using the Observer Setup Utility. 2. Use the Login button in the Observer Setup Utility. Internet connection to camera: 1. Try to PING the camera’s IP address or domain name. See Appendix C.2: Using PING for help.
  • Page 59 Security Settings in Internet Explorer are configured properly and then try reloading the camera’s home page. Install the Veo Observer ActiveX Control from the Veo Observer CD ROM. Insert the Veo Observer CD ROM into your computer. Browse to the “ActiveX for Web Client” folder on the CD ROM and then double-click on the “Veo ActiveX.exe”...
  • Page 60: Technical Support

    While we hope your experience with the Observer network camera is enjoyable, you may experience some issues or have some questions that this User’s Guide has not answered. To obtain the latest information and support for your Observer network camera, please visit our webpage at: http://www.veo.com/observer/support.asp for additional FAQ’s and troubleshooting tips.
  • Page 61: Appendix H: Estimating Bandwidth Consumption

    Estimating Bandwidth Consumption Here is a guide to help you understand the bandwidth requirements for your camera. Bandwidth is equal to the average frame data size in kilobits multiplied by the average frame rate in frames per second. Frame data size, or the number of bits comprising a single video frame varies a great deal from depending on scene complexity and lighting conditions.
  • Page 62: Appendix I: Technical Specifications

    Technical Specifications Veo Observer Network Camera Technical Specifications Resolution Type Color depth Streaming Sizes Image Compression Frame rate Sensitivity Aperture Lens Construction Type Pan-Tilt Range Network Connection Ethernet Audio Sampling Power Voltage Enclosure Environmental Max. Humidity Operating Temperature VGA (640 x 480)
  • Page 63: Glossary

    Glossary Term Explanation Dynamic Domain Name System. DNS service which DDNS self-updates periodically to deal with changing IP addresses. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. Allows network connected devices to set their IP address, DHCP default gateway, and subnet mask automatically. Most home networking routers support DHCP. The number of pixels used to display an image on Display size your monitor.
  • Page 64: Warranty

    Veo Statement of Limited Warranty Veo warrants this product to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of (2) years from the date of original purchase. If this product proves to be defective in material or workmanship during the warranty period, Veo will, at its sole option, repair or replace the product with a similar product.
  • Page 65 CONTAINED HEREIN INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Exclusion of damages: VEO'S LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE COST OF REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT OF THE PRODUCT. VEO SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR: DAMAGE TO OTHER PROPERTY CAUSED BY ANY DEFECTS IN THE PRODUCT, DAMAGES...

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