A standard Internet browser provides adequate viewing for most camera functions when utilising the camera's built-in web interface. This is fine for single camera viewing but to view several cameras at the same time and record their output, dedicated recording software is required.
IP Video Recording Software typically comes as a stand-alone application which will run independently from any camera on a PC or server to provide the basis for live video monitoring, recording and playback. It will often support many cameras to begin with or provide a simple upgrade path so new cameras can be added as the security system expands.
A wide range of software is available. Manufacturer produced software will be designed only to work with their own cameras while software developed by a third-party may support a wide range of different camera models from many manufacturers.
At its most basic the software will provide live multi-camera viewing, recording and playback but advanced software will offer many more features such as:
- Scheduling
- Various recording modes (continuous, alarm, event)
- Support for multiple compression formats (JPEG, MPEG-4, H.264)
- The capacity to handle large amounts of data and frame-rates
- Real-time audio support
- Remote access from a local network or across the Internet
- Direct control for pan-tilt-zoom cameras with preset and patrolling support
- Multiple search functions for recorded events
- Visual timelines for easy searching
- Alarm management functions (email notification, sound alarm, pop-up windows)
- Control to external devices such as alarms or lights
- SMS text alerting
- Support for dual monitors and PDAs
- Integration into external systems such as cash registers etc.
- Intelligent video analytics
- ...and many more.
Examples of dedicated IP video recording software:
Milestone XProtect Express+
Axis Camera Station
Wisenet Wave