Source Selection

In a solution, every instance has an input source associated.

You can add a new instance, or edit the input source of an existing one.

Adding a new Instance

If you need to add a new Input source to an existing solution, click the ➕ button next to each instance name.

Step 1. Choosing the Instance name

After clicking on the ➕ button, a new modal window appears asking for the new Instance name.

Here you can type the name of the new Instance to be created.

There is also the option to choose if the new Instance configuration is based on the solution default settings or to copy the configuration from an existing Instance of the same solution.

Step 2. Choosing the Instance source type

After choosing the name, a new window will appear where you can choose the source media type for the new instance.

Available types:

• Video file: Open a file supported by FFMPEG Multimedia Framework and MSMF - Microsoft Media Foundation

  Available video file types

  The available video file types can be checked here

• Directory: Allows opening a directory, loading all the video or image files inside. If video files are present they will be loaded as a playlist.

• Webcam: Allow opening a system camera

• ONVIF: Allow opening a camera discovered using ONVIF

  Camera Manager

  You will be able to choose from any ONVIF camera available in the current system cameras. This system cameras can be managed in the Camera Manager Window

• Screen Capture: Allow opening a system window as an input

• RTSP: Allow using RTSP as an input stream
• GStreamer: Allow using GStreamer as an input stream

After clicking on a source type, a new window will open with the specific source configurations.

Step 3. Configure the Source type

Video File / Directory / Images

The File/Directory configuration window will display a file explorer where you can select the source to be played as the media source for the instance.

If Video File source type is chosen, a file is requested, if Directory or Images is chosen, a directory is requested.

Webcam

The Webcam configuration window will display a combobox where you can select the webcam system index source to be played as the media source for the instance.

This index is the order in which the webcam was plugged in the system, if there is only one USB camera plugged in the system the index to use is always 0.

Next release

In a next release the dropdown will list the names of the connected webcams

ONVIF

The ONVIF configuration window will display a table listing all available ONVIF cameras. You will be able to choose from any ONVIF camera available in the current system cameras list.

These system cameras can be managed in the Camera Manager Window.

The camera will be selected when pressing the Choose button.

RTSP

The RTSP configuration window will display an input text box where you can type the RTSP connection string to be used as media source. For example: rtsp://wowzaec2demo.streamlock.net/vod/mp4:BigBuckBunny_115k.mp4

GStreamer

GStreamer provides several different configuration options. Check Advanced Input Options for more details.

Step 4. Configuring Media Format Preset

Viewing the Media Format Preset menu

If the Media Format Preset menu is not shown, it will only be shown after clicking on the "OK" button of the File Tree chooser above.

Most media source configuration windows will have a media format preset combobox present. Here you can select if the image format to use on the instance should keep the same properties as the source (resolution, color format, etc.), or if a predefined maximum is to be applied.

This can prevent very high resolution media sources from slowing the system down, caused by the extra processing needed to parse large image sizes.

Available presets

• Same as Source Keep Source format
• 1080p (Software) Perform a CPU based size convertion to 1080p on the image, if the source size is greater.
• 720p (Software) Perform a CPU based size convertion to 720p on the image, if the source size is greater.
• 480p (Software) Perform a CPU based size convertion to 480p on the image, if the source size is greater.

Step 5. Final Review

In the final window of instance creation you can review all the previously selected choices and create the instance by pressing the Create Instance button.

If needed, you can also go back to the source selection window by pressing the Back button, or cancel the new instance creation by pressing the Cancel button.

Advanced Mode

If you tick the Advanced Mode box present after the new Instance information, an editable section will be presented with the JSON data for the new instance. Here you can do modifications to the JSON data that will be used to create the instance.

After pressing the Create Instance button all the instances data will be reloaded and the left Solutions panel list will be updated with the new created instance.

Editing Input sources from an existing Instance

It's possible to edit the input source from an existing instance. For this, enter the edit menu by clicking on the cog icon next to the instance name.

Then on the Edit Instance window, you can change the input source by clicking on the Edit Source button.

This button will open a new input source selector menu where the source can be defined.

After the new source is chosen you will be returned to the Edit Instance window where the instance configuration can be saved.