Setting up a recording schedule in EZ Watch Pro 1.1
From EZWatch Wiki
By default, after you've installed the EZ Watch Pro 1.1 software on your computer, it will not be recording at all. The cameras may be visible but you won't be able to play back what you've seen. The software features two types of recording : Sequence recording, and motion detection recording.
Sequence Recording
Recording rate is the framerate of the recording. This can be set to 'Same as preview', or to 10FPS and lower. By default, the preview recording speed is as follows :
- 1 camera connected - 30 FPS
- 2 cameras connected - 15FPS each
- 3 cameras connected - 10FPS each
- 4 cameras connected - 7.5FPS each
Setting the recording rate higher than the preview will not affect recording quality, but may make your files bigger. Setting the recording rate lower than the preview will make bigger 'gaps' in the video, but will make your files smaller. If you're not certain what to set this to, it's best to leave this at 'Same as preview'.
Split Video Clips allows you to set how long each file is, in minutes. By default this setting is at 30 minutes (00:30). Setting it higher makes each file bigger and longer, but makes fewer files. Setting it smaller makes lots more files, but each file is very small. This can make searches easier or harder depending on your preferences. If you're not certain what to set it to, it's best to leave this at 30 minutes.
Now, click on the square 'clock' icon to go to the schedule screen.
The schedule screen is where you can set up the system to record. There are three types of schedules you can set up :
A DAILY schedule is a schedule that the computer follows every single day.
A WEEKLY schedule is a schedule that allows you to set up different recordings for different days of the week.
A PERIOD schedule is a schedule that allows you to set up recording during a special period (Such as holidays).
You'll note that the CURRENT time is always in the 'Start' and 'End' fields. This is NOT your active schedule! Your active schedule appears at the bottom of the screen under 'Set time' and 'Set date'. If the box is empty, there is no active schedule.
To create an active schedule, select the type of schedule you want at the top. Once this is done, set what time to start recording, and what time to end recording. Please note that the times are all in 24HR format - so any time after noon, add 12 to (13:00 is 1:00PM, 15:00 is 3:00PM, etc). Valid times range from 00:00 (Midnight in the morning) to 23:59 (11:59PM).
If you have set your schedule to weekly, you will need to select which days of the week this schedule will apply to by placing check boxes into those fields. If you have set your schedule for a special period, you will need to enter the period in the lower 'Start' and 'End' fields.
Once you have filled out the times and days/dates as needed, click on 'Add' to make the schedule active. The Start/End times above will reset, but now your 'Active' schedule will appear in the lower box. The computer will start to follow this schedule immediately.
Please note that a schedule cannot span multiple days. This means that if you want a schedule that starts in the evening and ends in the morning (IE : If you want it to record when you leave work at 6:00 PM and stop recording when you get back in to work at 8:00 AM) then it needs to be split up into two separate schedules : One that runs from 00:00 to 08:00 (For the morning schedule), and one that runes from 18:00 to 23:59 (for the evening schedule).
Motion Detection Recording
To begin setting up motion detection on your camera system, first right-click on the camera image you are setting up. On the menu that appears, select 'Setup Video Channel'.
Here you will see the motion detection setup menu. Motion Detection has two main features : to trigger recording within the 1.1 software, and optionally to alert you that motion has been seen. There are four types of alerts the software can use :
- Audio Alert : The software will play a sound through the speakers to alert you
- Phone Alert : The system will dial a phone number to call you and alert you (Dial-up Modem Required)
- Pager Alert : The system will dial a pager number and leave a message to alert you (Dial-up Modem Required)
- Remote Alert : The system will connect to a remote site and display the video image ot alert you
The first thing you will want to do is configure the sensitivity of the recording. The sensitivity is how much of the screen must change for the recording to be triggered. Higher sensitivity means less of the screen must change, while lower sensitivity means less must change. Default is 80%. If you are not certain what to set this to, leave it at 80 and monitor the system for a while - if the system is not picking up all motion that occurs, make it more sensitive. If it is recording even when no motion can be seen, make it less sensitive.
Delay is how many seconds motion must be seen to be considered an alert. An event that lasts less than the delay is not considered motion, and won't be recorded. This helps prevent things like very brief lighting flickers from triggering false alerts. The default for this setting is 1.
After detection is a setting that lets the system record for a brief time after the motion has ceased, in case motion occurs again soon after it has stopped. This helps the system create fewer clips when there's lots of frequent motion (The more clips the system creates, the longer it takes to search through them during playback). The default for this is 5 seconds.
Below the delay is where the scheduled recording time is set up; we will come back to this option after explaining the others.
Next, is the remote alert section. If you have remote access enabled, you can set up a remote alert here. To do so, place a check mark next to 'Enable auto link to remote site'. If you use a dial-up modem to remotely view the cameras, type in the phone number of the remote computer in the 'Number' field. If you use a broadband modem to remotely view the cameras, type in the IP address of the remote computer (You can get this by going to [1] when you're at the remote PC) in the 'IP' field. the 'Link' field allows you to tell the system how long to stay connected to the remote PC. Once you've entered a number OR IP and set the link time, click on 'Add' to save your setting. Please note that you must leave the remote access software running on the remote PC 24/7 for this feature to work!
Next is the phone alert section. Here you can set the computer to dial a remote phone number to alert you. You must have a dial-up modem to use this feature. To enable this, simply place a check mark next to Enable phone notification. Type the phone number you want the computer to dial in the 'Number' field and click on 'Add'. The computer will dial that phone number when motion is detected. If you add multiple numbers, it will dial them all one by one.
Last is the pager alert section. Here you can set the computer to leave a pager message to alert you. you must have a dial-up modem to use this feature. To enable this, simply place a check mark next to Enable pager notification. Type the pager number you want the computer to dial in the 'Number' field, and the message you wish to leave in the 'Message' field. If your pager service needs you to dial any numbers before the message, type them into the Pre-Code field. Lastly, click on Add. The computer will dial that pager and leave the message you indicated when motion is detected. If you add multiple pager numbers or messages, it will send them all one by one.
Finally, in the priority section at the very end you can select which alert is done first. This only applies if you have more than one of the three alerts (Remote, Phone, or Pager) selected. If you have only one of the alerts selected, or none at all, this section will not have any affect.
Now, go back to the schedule button (That looks like a blue and red square clock) and click it to enter the motion detection schedule section.
The schedule screen is where you can set up the system to record. There are three types of schedules you can set up :
A DAILY schedule is a schedule that the computer follows every single day.
A WEEKLY schedule is a schedule that allows you to set up different recordings for different days of the week.
A PERIOD schedule is a schedule that allows you to set up recording during a special period (Such as holidays).
You'll note that the CURRENT time is always in the 'Start' and 'End' fields. This is NOT your active schedule! Your active schedule appears at the bottom of the screen under 'Set time' and 'Set date'. If the box is empty, there is no active schedule.
To create an active schedule, select the type of schedule you want at the top. Once this is done, set what time to start recording, and what time to end recording. Please note that the times are all in 24HR format - so any time after noon, add 12 to (13:00 is 1:00PM, 15:00 is 3:00PM, etc). Valid times range from 00:00 (Midnight in the morning) to 23:59 (11:59PM).
If you have set your schedule to weekly, you will need to select which days of the week this schedule will apply to by placing check boxes into those fields. If you have set your schedule for a special period, you will need to enter the period in the lower 'Start' and 'End' fields.
Once you have filled out the times and days/dates as needed, click on 'Add' to make the schedule active. The Start/End times above will reset, but now your 'Active' schedule will appear in the lower box. The computer will start to follow this schedule immediately.
Please note that a schedule cannot span multiple days. This means that if you want a schedule that starts in the evening and ends in the morning (IE : If you want it to record when you leave work at 6:00 PM and stop recording when you get back in to work at 8:00 AM) then it needs to be split up into two separate schedules : One that runs from 00:00 to 08:00 (For the morning schedule), and one that runes from 18:00 to 23:59 (for the evening schedule).
Once you are finished setting up your schedules, go ahead and click on 'Exit' to leave the setup schedule screen. On the motion detection setup menu press 'OK'. On the video setup menu, click on 'OK' to return to your camera's live view. When a camera is set to motion detection recording, no recording icon appears inside of the camera view, however the edges of the camera will flash red while it sees motion and is recording.
