MJPEG and RTSP are the primary monitoring stream types discussed in this chapter.
MJPEG, or Motion JPEG, is a video compression format that uses JPEG images for each video frame. Akuvox devices display live streams on the web interface and capture monitoring screenshots in MJPEG format. Settings related to MJPEG determine video quality and the on/off status of the live stream function.
RTSP stands for Real Time Streaming Protocol. It can be used to stream video and audio from the third-party cameras to the device. You can add a camera’s stream by adding its URL. The URL format of Akuvox devices is rtsp://Device’s IP/live/ch00_0
ONVIF is an Open Network Video Interface Forum. It enables the device to scan and discover cameras or intercom devices with activated ONVIF functions. Live streams obtained through ONVIF are essentially in RTSP format.
MJPEG Image Capturing
You can take a monitoring image or check the monitoring video in MJPEG format with the device. To view the video stream, you need to turn on the MJPEG video function and choose the image quality.
To set it up, go to the Intercom > RTSP interface.
MJPEG Authorization Enabled: Once enabled, accessing the door phone’s real-time image or video by entering the URL into the browser requires verification of the Authentication Mode, User Name, and Password.
Tip
To view a dynamic stream, use the URL http://device_IP:8080/video.cgi.
For capturing a screenshot, use the following URLs, with the image formats varying accordingly:
http://device_IP:8080/picture.cgi
http://device_IP:8080/picture.jpg
http://device_IP:8080/jpeg.cgi
For example, if you want to capture the jpg format image of the door phone with the IP address 192.168.1.104, you can enter http://192.168.1.104:8080/picture.jpg in the web browser.
You can set up the MJPEG video parameters in the MJPEG Video Parameters section.
Video Resolution: Specify the image resolution, varying from the lowest CIF(352×288 pixels) to the highest 1080P(1920x1080 pixels).
Video Framerate: Frames per second refers to how many frames are displayed in one second of video. The default frame rate is 30fps.
Video Quality: The video bitrate ranges from 50 to 90.
RTSP Stream Monitoring
The RTSP feature allows Akuvox indoor monitors, or third-party devices, to obtain the live stream from the door phone.
You can set up the RTSP authentication credentials and video parameters.
RTSP Basic Setting
You are required to set up the RTSP function on the device web Intercom > RTSP interface in terms of RTSP Authorization, authentication, password, etc, before you can use the function.
RTSP Authorization Enabled: Once enabled, configure RTSP Authentication Mode, RTSP Username, and RTSP Password. These credentials are required for accessing the door phone's RTSP stream from other intercom devices like indoor monitors.
Authentication Mode: The Digest mode uses hashing instead of the easily reversible Base64 encoding. A token is used for verification.
User Name: Set the username for authorization.
Password: Set the password for authorization.
RTSP Stream Setting
The RTSP stream can use either H.264 or Mjpeg as the video codec. If you choose H.264, you can also adjust the video resolution, bitrate, and other settings.
Set it up on the Intercom > RTSP > RTSP Stream interface.
Audio Enabled: Decide whether the RTSP stream has sound.
Video Enabled: Decide whether the RTSP stream has video. After enabling the RTSP feature, the video RTSP is enabled by default and cannot be modified.
2nd Video Enabled: The device supports two RTSP streams.
Audio Codec: Choose a suitable audio codec for RTSP audio.
Video Codec: Specify the video compression formats.
H.264: Offer highly efficient compression but at a cost of higher latency and computational load.
MJEPG: Offer improved quality but inefficient compression.
You can set up the video parameters for H.264 and MJPEG in the H.264 and MJPEG Video Parameters section.
Video Resolution: Specify the image resolution, varying from the lowest CIF(352×288 pixels) to the highest 2K(2560×1440 pixels).
Video Framerate: Frames per second refers to how many frames are displayed in one second of video. The default frame rate is 30fps.
Video Bitrate: The amount of video data transferred in a specific duration of time. A higher video bitrate means a higher possible quality, but also higher file sizes and more bandwidth. The default is 2048 kbps.
Video Crop Mode:
Scale: The original video frame is transmitted without cropping.
Crop: The transmitted video frame is cropped to eliminate vignettes.
Fill: The transmitted video frame fills the screen with an aspect ratio of 1:1.
2nd Video Resolution: Specify the image resolution for the second video stream channel.
2nd Video Framerate: Set the frame rate for the second video stream channel.
2nd Video Bitrate: Set the bit rate for the second video stream channel. The default is 512 kbps.
2nd Video Crop Mode: Set the crop mode for the second video stream.
RTSP OSD Setting
This feature is used to add a watermark to the RTSP video or picture.
Set it up on the web Intercom > RTSP > RTSP OSD Setting interface.
RTSP OSD Color: There are five color options, White, Black, Red, Green, and Blue for RTSP watermark text.
RTSP OSD Text: Customize the watermark text.
NACK
Negative Acknowledgment（NACK）indicates a failure or error in data transmission or processing. It is used to request retransmission or signal the failure to the sender for ensuring data integrity.
To enable NACK, navigate to the Phone > Call Feature > Others interface.
NACK Enabled: It can be used to prevent losing data packets in a weak network environment when discontinued and mosaic video images occur.
ONVIF
You can access the real-time video from the device's camera using the Akuvox indoor monitor or other third-party devices like Network Video Recorder(NVR). Enabling and setting up the ONVIF function on the device will allow its video to be visible on other devices.
Click here to view an example of using the ONVIF feature: the integration with Uniview NVR System.
To set it up, go to the Intercom > ONVIF interface.
Discoverable: When enabled, the video from the door phone camera can be searched by other devices.
User Name: Set the username required for accessing the door phone's video stream on other devices. It is admin by default.
Password: Set the password required for accessing the door phone's video stream on other devices. It is admin by default.
Tip
Once the settings are configured, to access the video stream on the third-party device, simply enter the ONVIF URL: http://Device’s IP:80/onvif/device_service.
Some NVRs can send door-opening requests to the device and control door opening. You can enable or disable the function by turning on or off a switch on the same interface as the ONVIF feature.
Live Stream
There are two ways to check the real-time video from the device. One is to go to the device web interface and view the video there. The other is to enter the correct URL on the web browser and access the video directly.
See live stream on the device Intercom > Live Stream interface. Enter the authorization username and password set in the RTSP settings.
Camera Mode
High Dynamic Range (HDR) is a technology used in photography, videography, and display devices to enhance image quality by capturing a wider range of brightness and color.
Linear refers to a straightforward representation of brightness in images. Linear images are commonly used in controlled lighting environments, such as indoor scenes, where consistent brightness is present.
You can set the camera mode between HDR and Linear on the Phone > Camera interface. When you disable HDR, the device will adopt the Linear mode.
Anti-Flicker Mode: The anti-flicker feature reduces or eliminates flickering in images or videos caused by varying light sources.
Auto: The device will switch automatically between 50Hz and 60Hz anti-flicker frequency.
Manual: Select the anti-flicker frequency manually between 50Hz and 60Hz.
Off: Disable the anti-flicker function.