How do I do motion detection?

Select 'Modes > Start Surveillance Mode' from the file Menu, and after a short countdown surveillance will commence.

While surveillance mode is active your cameras will be constantly detecting motion, and recording when motion is detected.

If you want to configure any surveillance related settings you can do this from the 'Settings > Surveillance' menu.

Why do I need to login?

The main purpose of Spot is to provide a localized interface and gateway between your surveillance cameras and the Anionu.com web service. Spot and the Anionu.com web service work hand in hand with to create a comprehensive, ultra secure, remote surveillance system.

What if I don't want to upload logs and videos?

Spot only synchronizes videos and logs with your account in when you are online and authenticated.

If you wish to test and calibrate your system without any synchronization then you can click 'Work offline' from the initial login screen.

Spot is running slowly, what can I do to speed it up?

If speed is an issue for you there are a few ways you can speed things up:

• Lower the number of active cameras per PC.
• *Lower the camera frame rate to around 5 fps.
• Upgrade your PC. CPU power is the key.

* This will not affect the recording frame rate which always captures at the standard frame rate of the video encoding codec you have chosen.

Can't people access my files while I am away from my computer?

As a security measure, you can lock the interface by clicking on 'File > Lock Interface' when you are 'Online'. You will need to enter your login credentials to unlock the interface again

What do these diagnostics errors mean?

Spot will automatically scan your audio/video devices and configuration options when it starts. If a discrepancy is found or a device is unavailable then Spot will let you know.

Please view this help entry if you are having issues setting your port numbers.

How do I remotely monitor my surveillance channels?

There are a few of ways you can do this:

1. Firstly, and probably the best way is from the 'Live Connect' page on of your dashboard. Besides from being able to monitor your surveillance channels in real time, it also functions as a complete remote administration interface for all the Spot clients on your account.
2. Spot also supports the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), which means you can view your channels directly using an RTSP client like RealPlayer, QuickTime, VLC or MPlayer. Simply copy any of your channel URIs listed on the 'Modes > Streaming Mode > View Streamer URIs' page and open them in the RTSP player of your choice.
3. You can access a customized version of you dashboard on your mobile phone (m.anionu.com / anionu.mobi), which lists your channels and enables you to monitor live surveillance footage from your phone. This is only possible if you have a RTSP compliant mobile phone.

Note: Spot's Streamer is a secure implementation of the RTSP protocol, so you will need to authenticate first using your Anionu.com login credentials Unless you have disabled 'Streamer Authentication' on the 'Settings > Streamer' menu. This is not recommended however, because your Streamer is unsecured in this state.

How do I set the Port Numbers?

If order to utilize Spot's remote streaming capabilities, your computer needs to have one available TCP port.

If this requirement is not met then Spot will still operate normally, but you will not be able to monitor your surveillance channels from a remote location.

You can configure the Port numbers you wish to use via the 'Settings' panel, and also set a fallback port which will be used if your primary port is unavailable.

In order to check if your specified ports are available you can run a diagnostics test by clicking on 'File > Run diagnostics'. If the diagnostics test fails port checking, then your system probably has a firewall that is blocking access to the ports, in which case you will need to manually unblock them via your firewall program. Please refer to your firewalls software's manual/documentation for information on enabling ports.

If you are behind a router* then you will most likely need to enable Port Forwarding for the ports you require access to. Your hardware manual should tell you everything you need to know, or alternatively http://portforward.com/ provides brand/model specific port forwarding walkthroughs and tutorials.

Many retails modems act as routers and may well be blocking your network ports. If you are not running a firewall and are still having trouble then this may very well be the reason why.

How do I set the Camera Sensitivity?

In order to configure your cameras properly, it is a good idea to understand how the underlying motion detection algorithm itself works. This page on motion detection algorithms has some good basic information you can read up on.

In simple terms frames are compared with one another in order to detect moving objects in the foreground. Since motion detection in Spot is conducted on the software side, not by the camera itself, it is important to remember that Spot only sees what your camera sees. It is the image from your camera that determines the motion detection. For instance, if the picture is very dark, Spot will have a hard time distinguishing movement, so you may need to raise the sensitivity level.

It is necessary to have a small amount of light for motion detection, so if you are planning 24 hour surveillance of an outdoor area you should probably go for a night/day camera which adapts it's image depending on light conditions.

Moving backgrounds are something else to take into consideration. On a high sensitivity setting spot will trigger on every little bit of movement, so a static background will be necessary if you require acute motion detection.

It is always a good idea the thoroughly test your cameras through trial and error before conducting and real-life surveillance with them.

What are Channels and how do I configure them?

A surveillance channel is a single video camera and audio device combined. They are referred to as channels because the audio and video devices operate together, but are often seperate hardware units.

To configure your channels go to 'Settings > Channels' located in the main menu.

On the current window you can select the audio and video devices that will be associated with each channel.

When you have configured your channels, you will be able to view the live video stream from the 'Channels' window.

Note that devices must be properly installed on you system for them to be visible by Spot.

Is your software spyware and antivirus free?

We like to term our software 'clean software', which to us means that not only is it free of spyware and viruses, but it will remove all trace of itself from your system should you choose to uninstall it.

Can I use the Spot without an Anionu account?

The short answer is yes, but Spot is quite ineffectual without the Anionu.com web service, since it's the web service which provides Spot's remote functionality. If you just want to 'try it out' then we do offer a free account that you can have up and running in just a couple of minutes.

Can I run multiple instances of Spot?

Absolutely. You can run as many instances of Spot as you like, providing you active channel limit does not exceed the limit for your account type. If this happens you will receive an error message when you try to authenticate.

Remember, if you are using multiple instances it is vital that each Spot instance has a unique 'Client ID', otherwise authentication will fail if a Spot client with the same ID is already authenticated on the system. You can set the Spot's 'Client ID' via the 'Settings > General' menu.

Note that is you wish to install multiple instances on one computer, then you will need to create a separate installation of Spot for each instance you want to run - each with a unique 'Client ID'.