Axis COMPANION User manual

Brand: Axis

Model: COMPANION

Type: User manual

Axis COMPANION is an easy-to-use surveillance system that lets you keep an eye on your property from anywhere, anytime. With its user-friendly interface, you can quickly set up your system and start monitoring your cameras in just a few minutes. Whether you're looking to protect your home, business, or other property, Axis COMPANION is the perfect solution.

AXISCompanion

UserManual

AXISCompanion

TableofContents

Introduction...............................................3

LearnmoreaboutAXISCompanion.............................4

Systemrecommendations.....................................5

GetstartedwithAXISCompanion..............................6

RegisteraMyAxisaccount........................................6

Installthehardware.............................................6

Installthedesktopapp...........................................7

Createasite...................................................7

Installthemobileapp............................................8

Dailyuse..................................................9

Accessyourcameras.............................................9

Viewlivevideo.................................................9

Playarecording.................................................9

Savearecording................................................10

Playasavedrecording...........................................10

Validateasavedrecording........................................10

Takeasnapshot.................................................10

Adjusttheimagesettings.........................................11

Congurethevideoquality.......................................1 1

Viewevents....................................................12

Congurevideomotiondetection..................................12

Setupnotications..............................................13

Addauser.....................................................15

Activateofinemode............................................16

Showvideoonanexternaldisplay..................................16

Monitoranarrowspace..........................................17

Connecttoadoorstation.........................................17

Addcamerastoyoursite.........................................18

Removeacamerafromyoursite...................................19

Manageyoursystemremotely.....................................19

Usenetworkspeakers............................................22

Troubleshooting............................................24

Technicalissues,cluesandsolutions................................24

Fixcommonissues..............................................24

Upgradermware...............................................24

Hardresetacamera.............................................25

Hardresetarecorder............................................25

Saveasystemreport.............................................26

MigratingfromAXISCompanionClassictoversion4...................26

AXISCompanion

Introduction

ThismanualdescribeshowtousetheAXISCompanionsoftwareversion4.0andlater.

AreyoucurrentlyusingAXISCompanionClassic?

•Toupgradetoversion4,seeMigratingfromAXISCompanionClassictoversion4onpage26.

AXISCompanion

LearnmoreaboutAXISCompanion

Forvideotutorialsandwebapps,visitaxis.com/products/axis-companion/how-it-works

AXISCompanion

Systemrecommendations

•OS:Windows1064–bit

•CPU:IntelCorei5

•RAM:4GB

•Graphicscard:256MBonboardvideomemory

•Graphicscarddriver:Alwaysusethelatestversion

•Network:100Mbps

•Internetaccessisrequiredduringsystemsetupandmanagement(liveandrecordedvideoavailableofine)

•UninterruptiblePowerSupply(UPS)

•Mobiledevices:iOS14orAndroid8.1

AXISCompanion

GetstartedwithAXISCompanion

Note

Internetaccessisrequiredduringthesystemsetup.

Installationoverview:

1.RegisteraMyAxisaccountonpage6

2.Installthehardwareonpage6

3.Installthedesktopapponpage7

4.Createasiteonpage7

5.Installthemobileapponpage8

Resultofsysteminstallation:

•ThermwareisupgradedonallAxisdevices.

•Apasswordissetforthedevices.

•Therecordingsareenabledwithdefaultsettings.

•Theremoteaccessisenabled.

RegisteraMyAxisaccount

RegisteraMyAxisaccountataxis.com/my-axis/login.

YoucanmakeyourMyAxisaccountmoresecurebyactivatingmulti-factorauthentication(MFA).MFAisasecuritysystemthat

addsanotherlayerofvericationtoensuretheuser’sidentity.

ActivateMFA:

1.LoginwithyourMyAxiscredentials.

2.GotoMyAxisandselectAccountsettingsinthedrop-downmenu.

3.Turnon2–Stepverication.

Youareredirectedtoaloginpage.

4.LoginwithyourMyAxiscredentials.

MFAisnowactive.

LoginwhenMFAisactive:

1.LogintoyourMyAxisaccount.

Anemailissenttoyou.

2.OpentheemailandclickAuthenticate.

Ifyoudidn’treceiveanemail,thencheckifit’sinyourspamfolder.Ifit’snotthere,thencontactITsupport.

AXISCompanion

GetstartedwithAXISCompanion

Installthehardware

1.Installyourcamerahardware.

2.ConnecttherecordertoyournetworkviatheLANport.

Note

Ifyouhavenorecorder,thenyouneedacamerawithanAXISSurveillanceCardifyouwanttobeabletorecordvideo.

3.Connectthecamerastotherecorder’sintegratedPoEswitchoranexternalPoEswitch.

4.Connectthecomputertothesamenetworkastherecorder.

5.Connectthepowersupplytotherecorder.

Important

Youmustrstconnectthepowercordtotherecorder,andthenconnectthepowercordtothepoweroutlet.

6.Waitafewminutesfortherecorderandcamerastobootupbeforeproceeding.

CAUTION

Keeptherecorderinawellventilatedenvironmentandwithplentyofemptyspacearoundtherecordertoavoidoverheating.

Installthedesktopapp

1.Gotoaxis.com/products/axis-companionandclickDownloadtodownloadtheAXISCompaniondesktopappforWindows.

2.SigninusingyourMyAxisaccount.

3.Readthelicenseagreement,andselectoneofthealternativestoproceed.

4.Savetheletoalocationofyourchoice.

5.Openthele,andclickRuntostarttheinstallation.

6.Ifyouwanttoallowtheapptomakechangesonyourdevice,clickYes.

7.SelectlanguageandclickOK.

8.Followthesetupwizard.

Createasite

Towatchthisvideo,gotothewebversionofthisdocument.

www.axis.com/products/online-manual/53506#t101121 14

Withreservationsforchangesintheuserinterface.

AXISCompanion

GetstartedwithAXISCompanion

Asiteisasinglepointofentrytoasurveillancesolution,forexampleallcamerasinastore.Youcankeeptrackofseveralsites

throughasingleMyAxisaccount.

Note

IfyouhaveusedanearlierversionofAXISCompanion,thenyoumighthavedevicesthatarenotsupportedin

AXISCompanionversion4.Unsupporteddevicesincludethird-partyNASdevicesandoldAxisdeviceswitharmwarethat

can’tbeupdatedto5.50orlater.Thewizardwillinformyouaboutanysuchissuesandhelpyoutoaddressthem.

Note

SitesthatwerecreatedinanearlierversionthanAXISCompanionversion4,willnotappearinthelistofsites.Youcanread

theMigrationGuide(availableonthesupportwebpage)formoreinformation.

1.StarttheAXISCompaniondesktopapp.

2.SigninwithyourMyAxisaccount.

3.ClickGetstarted.

4.Nameyoursiteandenteryourcompanyname.

5.ClickNext.

6.Selectthedevicesyouwanttoaddtoyoursite.

Ifanydevicesarepassword-protected,thenyoumustenterthepasswordforthembeforetheycanbeselected.

Note

Ifyouhavedevicesthatarenotsupported,thenyoucanclickReadmoretondourwhytheyarenotsupported.

7.ClickNext.

8.Enterapassword.

ThispasswordisusedforaccessingthedevicewebpagesorofinemodeintheAXISCompanionmobileapp.

9.ClickNext.

10.OntheReadytoinstallpage,theremightbealistofcamerasthatneedtoberestored.Ifso,clicktheRestoredevice

linktoxtheissueonthedevicewebpage.

11.ClickFinishandwaitwhileAXISCompanionconguresthecameras.

Note

Thecongurationmaytakeseveralminutes.

Forgetting-startedvideotutorials,seeAXISCompaniontutorials.

Installthemobileapp

YoucanusetheAXISCompanionmobileapptosetupyoursystemandcontrolitfromanywhere.Real-timealertnoticationskeep

youawareofanysuspiciousactivity.Youcanalsoviewandexportvideorecordings.

1.GotoyourAppstoreorGoogleplay.

2.SearchforAXISCompanion4anddownloadtheapp.

3.OpentheAXISCompanionappandloginwithyourAxiscredentials.

Ifyoudon’thaveanAxisaccount,youcangotoaxis.com/my-axistoregisteranewaccount.

Tondoutmoreonhowtousetheapp,seeAXISCompaniontutorials.

AXISCompanion

Dailyuse

Accessyourcameras

1.SignintoAXISCompaniononacomputeroramobiledeviceusingyourMyAxisaccount.

2.Enterthesitethatcontainsyourcameras.

FindoutmoreatAXISCompaniontutorials.

Viewlivevideo

Towatchthisvideo,gotothewebversionofthisdocument.

www.axis.com/products/online-manual/53506#t10074647

Withreservationsforchangesintheuserinterface.

1.Goto

2.Selectwhichcamerayouwanttoview.

Towatchavideoofhowtozoom,panandtakesnapshots,seetheAXISCompaniontutorials.

Playarecording

Towatchthisvideo,gotothewebversionofthisdocument.

www.axis.com/products/online-manual/53506#t10074285

Withreservationsforchangesintheuserinterface.

1.Goto

2.Usethetimelineandcalendartondtherecording.

3.Selectthecamerainthetimelineandmovetheplaybackmarkertothedesiredtime.

AXISCompanion

Dailyuse

Note

Whenyoumovetheplaybackmarker,thevideoimageisupdatedcontinuously.Thismakesiteasyforyoutondaspecic

momentintherecording.

4.ClickPlay.

Towatchavideoofhowtobrowseandplayrecordings,seetheAXISCompaniontutorials.

Savearecording

1.Goto>

2.Selectstartandendtimesforacamerarecording.

3.Selectwhichcamerastosaverecordingsfrom.

4.TosavetoaUSBdriveonanAXISS3008Recorder,selecttheSavetorecorderUSBcheckbox.

Note

TherstpartitionofyourUSBdevicemustuseanexFATorNTFSlesystem.

5.Savetherecording.

Towatchavideoofhowtosaverecordings,seetheAXISCompaniontutorials.

Playasavedrecording

Toplayasavedrecording,openitwithAXISFilePlayer.

Whenyousavearecording,theAXISFilePlayerwillbesavedinthesamefolder.TheAXISFilePlayerhasatimelineshowing

whattimetherecordingwasmade.

Validateasavedrecording

Youcanvalidatearecordingtoconrmthatthetimestampandimageshavenotbeenmanipulatedaftertherecordingwasrst

saved.Forthispurpose,adigitalsignaturewillbeincludedinthelewhenyousavearecording.Youcanaddapasswordtothe

digitalsignatureforincreasedsecurity.

Toprotectyourdigitalsignaturewithapasswordwhensavingarecording:

1.Goto>Settings>File.

2.UnderVideoformat,selectWindowsMediaFormat(.asf).

3.SelectShowdigitalsignatureoptionswhensavingrecordings.

Nowwhensavingarecording,theDigitalsignaturewindowappears,allowingyoutochooseapasswordforthesignature.

Validatearecording:

1.OpenthesavedrecordingwithAXISFilePlayer.

2.ClickToolsandselectVerifydigitalsignature.

3.Enterpassword,ifapasswordwasappliedtothesignature,andclickOK.

Awindowappearstoinformwhetherornottherecordingisvalid.

AXISCompanion

Dailyuse

Takeasnapshot

Takeasnapshotfromliveview:

•Click

Takeasnapshotfromrecordings:

1.Usethetimelineandcalendartondtherecording.

2.Selectthecamerainthetimelineandmovetheplaybackmarkertothedesiredtime.

3.Clicktostartinvestigationmode.

-Investigationmodeallowsyoutostepthroughtherecordedvideo,framebyframe,tondtheexactmoment

whenanincidenthappenedandtakeasnapshotfromthatmoment.

4.Tondtheincident,clickonthethumbnailstostep30,15,5or1framesbackward(toppanel)orforward(bottom

panel).Youcanalsomovetheslider.

5.Whensatised,clicktotakeasnapshot.

-Formostcamerasthesnapshotwillcontaintheentirecameraimage,regardlessofthezoomlevel.Forcameras

withadewarpedimage,thesnapshotwillbethezoomed-inimage.

Changethefolderwheresnapshotsaresaved:

1.Goto>Customize.

2.ChangethesettingsunderSnapshots.

Adjusttheimagesettings

1.Goto>Cameras.

2.Click>Imagesettingsforthecamerayouwanttoadjust.

Youcancontroltheimagebyadjustingsettingslike:

•Appearance

•Exposure

•Overlay

•Day&Night

•Privacymask

•Focus&zoom

Congurethevideoquality

Youcancongurethevideoqualitytosuityourimagequalityrequirementsandbandwidthusage.Videoqualitysettingsaffect

motionrecording,continuousrecordingandliveview.

AXISCompanion

Dailyuse

1.Goto>Cameras.

2.Right-clickthecamerayouwanttocongureandselectVideoQualitySettings.

3.Edittheprolesettingsfor:

-High(resolutionswithanimagewidthabove640pixles)

-Low(resolutionswithanimagewidthupto1920pixles)

Note

HighresolutionsfortheLowsettingmayaffecttheperformanceofscrubbingwhenyouviewrecordings.

4.ClickOKtosave.

Viewevents

ClicktoviewalistofeventsthatwasdetectedbyAxisanalytics,suchasmotiondetectionorfenceguard.

•Clickaneventinthelisttoseearecordingoftheevent.

•Right-clickaneventinthelistifyouwanttogotoliveviewforthecamerathattriggeredtheevent.

EventswillonlyappearinthelistifthecorrespondingAxisanalyticsfeatureisactive.

•ToactivateanAxisanalyticsfeature,goto>Events

Example

Areceptionistpushesapanicbutton.Anoperatorisnotiedandviewstheevent.

Towatchthisvideo,gotothewebversionofthisdocument.

www.axis.com/products/online-manual/53506#t10163162

Withreservationsforchangesintheuserinterface.

Congurevideomotiondetection

Recordingonlywhenmotionisdetectedsavesconsiderablyondiskspaceandbandwidth,comparedtocontinuousrecording.

Ifthemotiondetectionistriggeredtoooften,youcanadjustthesettingstoignorepartsofthevieworcertaintypesofevents.

AXISCompanion

Dailyuse

Towatchthisvideo,gotothewebversionofthisdocument.

www.axis.com/products/online-manual/53506#t10130736

Withreservationsforchangesintheuserinterface.

1.InAXISCompanion,goto>Cameras.

2.MakesurethecameraisenabledintheMotiondetectioncolumn.

3.ClickforacameraandselectMotionrecording....

4.IntheMotionrecordingdialog,clickSettings....

5.Choosewhatpartofthecameraviewtoincludeinthemotiondetection:

-Editthedarkareatobeincludedformotiondetection.

-Todrawanareathatwillbeexcludedfrommotiondetection,selectExcludeareaandeditthelightarea.

Note

Forsomecameramodelsyoucanonlydrawsquares,andforothersyoucandrawmorecomplexpolygons.

6.ExpandAdvancedtoadjustthesettingsofthelters.

-Smallobjectslter—Ignoreobjectsthataresmall,suchasanimals.

-Swayingobjectslter—Ignoreobjectsthatonlymovewithinashortdistance,suchastreesoragsthat

movewhenitiswindy.

Note

Theswayingobjectslerisnotavailableforallcameramodels.

-Short-livedobjectslter—Ignoreobjectsthatonlyappearforashortperiodoftime,suchaslightbeams

frompassingcarsorfast-movingshadows.

7.ClickOKtwice.

Setupnotications

YoucanmakeAXISCompanionsendanoticationtoyourmobileappwhencertaintypesofmotionoccurinacameraview.

ThemotiontriggersarebasedonthefollowingACAPs:

•AXISVideoMotionDetection

•AXISFenceGuard

Worow:

1.MakesuretheACAPisactivatedinyourdevice.

AXISCompanion

Dailyuse

2.InAXISCompanion,goto>EventsandselectanACAP.

3.Congureascheduleforwhenyouwanttoreceivenotications.

4.UnderActivation,selectthecamerasyouwantnoticationsfrom.

Receivingnoticationsonyourmobiledevice:

•PushnoticationsaresenttoyourmobileappifyouareloggedintoyourMyAxisaccountonyourmobile.

•WhenyouinstalltheAXISCompanion4mobileapp,youmustacceptwhenpromptedwithaquestionifyouwantto

receivenotications.Ifyouwanttodeactivatethenoticationslateron,gotothesettingsofyourmobiledevice,select

theAXISCompanion4app,anddisablethenotications.

Toturnnoticationsonoroffinthemobileapp:

1.Goto>Notications.

2.TurnMotiondetectiononoroff.

Whenanoticationissent,itwillappearasapopupmessageonyourmobiledevice.Tapthemessagetoopentheplayback

oftheongoingevent.

Videomotiondetection

Youcanreceivenoticationswhenmotionisdetected.

Towatchthisvideo,gotothewebversionofthisdocument.

www.axis.com/products/online-manual/53506#t10157469

Withreservationsforchangesintheuserinterface.

Workow:

1.Makesuremotiondetectionisactivatedforyourdevice.

2.Setupaschedule.

3.Activatenoticationsbasedonmotiondetection.

Fenceguard

Youcanreceivenoticationswhenavirtualfenceiscrossedinacameraview.

AXISCompanion

Dailyuse

Towatchthisvideo,gotothewebversionofthisdocument.

www.axis.com/products/online-manual/53506#t10157470

Withreservationsforchangesintheuserinterface.

Workow:

1.GotothedevicewebpageandopenAXISFenceGuard.

2.Drawavirtualfence.

3.GotoAXISCompanionandactivatefenceguardnotications.

Addauser

Towatchthisvideo,gotothewebversionofthisdocument.

www.axis.com/products/online-manual/53506#t10133929

Withreservationsforchangesintheuserinterface.

1.Goto>Users.

2.ClickAdd....

3.Enteranemailaddressandselectanaccesslevel,thenclickOK.

Thefollowingaccesslevelsareavailable:

Administrator

Fullaccess

Operator

Canaccessrecordingsandliveview,butcan’tmakeanychangestothesite

Viewer

Canonlyaccessliveview

AXISCompanion

Dailyuse

Activateofinemode

IfyouarerunningAXISCompanionwhilethereisnoconnectiontotheinternet,thenyoucanenterofinemode.Thismakes

LiveviewandRecordingsavailablelocally.However,youwillnotbeabletoaccesstheCongurationmenuwhiletheinternet

connectionisdown.

Activateofinemode:

•Click>SiteandturnonOfinemode.

Note

Youcanonlyuseliveviewandplaybackwhileinofinemode.Allotheroperationsrequireconnectiontotheinternet.

ThePCthataccessthesiteinofinemodeshouldbeconnectedtothesamesubnetasthecameras.Youcan’tuseofine

modeifanyofthenetworksthePCisconnectedtohaveaccesstotheinternet.

Tobeabletoaccessthesitewithoutinternetconnection,makesureofinemodeisenabledbeforegoingofine.

Tocreateandsetupasite,yourcomputerandallyourdevicesmusthaveinternetaccess.

Themobileappwillusethesamepasswordaswassetforthedevicewhenthesitewascreated.

Forsitesthatwillbeusedmostlyofine,werecommendyoutosetthemupwithstaticIPorDHCPreservation.

Noticationswillnotbesentduringofinemode.

Youneedinternetaccesstobeabletogetafullsystemreport.

Showvideoonanexternaldisplay

Towatchthisvideo,gotothewebversionofthisdocument.

www.axis.com/products/online-manual/53506#t10134228

Withreservationsforchangesintheuserinterface.

Whatyouneed:

•AnAppleTVorAndroidTVdevice.

•TheAXISCompanion4appinstalledonyourmobiledevice.

•TheAXISCompanionTVappinstalledfromtheappstoreonyourAppleTVorAndroidTVdevice.

•Yourcameras,mobileappandTVappmustallbeconnectedtothesamelocalnetwork.

•AppleTV4andNvidiaShieldwithAndroid6orlater.

Thisishowyoudoit:

1.OpentheAXISCompanion4mobileappandlogin.

AXISCompanion

Dailyuse

2.GotoDevices>andselectyourexternaldisplay.

Note

Itmaytakeafewsecondsbeforetheiconappears.

3.Selectthecamerasyouwanttoshowonyourexternaldisplay.

4.Tapandwaitforthecongurationtocomplete.

5.Youcanviewasinglecameraatatimeorcreateasplitviewwithupto16cameras.

6.WhentheAXISCompanion4TVappopens,readtheinstructionsonthescreenabouthowtonavigateintheapp.

Monitoranarrowspace

Usecorridorformattobetterutilizethefulleldofviewinalongandnarrowspace,forexampleastaircase,hallway,road,ortunnel.

1.Adjustthecameraoritslenstoaverticaleldofview.

2.InAXISCompanion,goto>Cameras.

3.Ontherowofthecamerayouwanttoadjust,click>Imagesettings.

4.OntheAppearancetab,selectasuitableangleforOrientation.

5.ClickClose.

Connecttoadoorstation

YoucanconnectadoorstationtobothyourAXISCompaniondesktopappaswellasthemobileapp.Thismakesitpossibleforyouto

answercalls,unlockadoorandviewadoorstationvideowithyourmobiledevice.

Note

Tounlockadoor,yourdoorstationmustbeproperlyconnectedtothedoor’selectroniclock.Thedocumentationforyourdoor

stationcontainsinformationabouthowtomakethisconnectioncorrectly.Tondthedocumentationforyourdoorstation,

gotoaxis.com/products/access-control/network-door-stations

AXISCompanion

Dailyuse

Note

Makesurethedoorstationisconnectedtothesamenetworkasyourcomputer,otherwiseitwon'tshowupinthelistof

devicesinyourAXISCompanionapps.

Connectyourdesktopapptoadoorstation

1.IntheAXISCompaniondesktopapp,goto>Cameras.

2.ClickAdddevicesandaddthedoorstation.

YoucannowanswerthedoorstationwithyourAXISCompaniondesktopapp.

Connectyourmobileapptoadoorstation

1.Connectyourdesktopapptoadoorstationonpage18.

2.StarttheAXISCompanion4mobileapp.

3.LogintothesameMyAxisaccountasyouusedforthedesktopapp.

YoucannowanswerthedoorstationwithyourAXISCompanion4mobileapp.

Giveotherusersaccesstothedoorstation:

1.FromtheAXISCompaniondesktopapp,goto>Users.

2.Invitetheusertothesite.

Turnoffcallsfromthedoorstation:

1.IntheAXISCompanion4mobileapp,gotoUser.

2.GotoNoticationsandturnoffDoorstationcalls.

Addcamerastoyoursite

1.ConnectthecamerastotherecordersintegratedPoEswitchoranexternalPoEswitch.

2.Goto>Cameras.

3.ClickAdddevices.

4.Selectthedevicesyouwanttoaddtoyoursite.

Ifanydevicesarepassword-protected,thenyoumustenterthepasswordforthembeforetheycanbeselected.

Note

Ifyouhavedevicesthatarenotsupported,thenyoucanclickReadmoretondourwhytheyarenotsupported.

5.ClickNext.

6.Enterapassword.

ThispasswordisusedforaccessingthedevicewebpagesorofinemodeintheAXISCompanionmobileapp.

7.ClickNext.

AXISCompanion

Dailyuse

8.OntheReadytoinstallpage,theremightbealistofcamerasthatneedtoberestored.Ifso,clicktheRestoredevice

linktoxtheissueonthedevicewebpage.

9.ClickFinishandwaitwhileAXISCompanionconguresthecameras.

Note

Thecongurationmaytakeseveralminutes.

Removeacamerafromyoursite

1.Goto>Cameras.

2.Ontherowofthecamerayouwanttoremove,click>Remove.

3.Ifthecamerahasongoingrecordings,selectStopmotionandcontinuousrecordingtostoprecordings.

4.ClickOK.

Manageyoursystemremotely

Remoteaccesstoasurveillancesystemcansavealotoftimeandmoneywhenmaintainingandtroubleshootingasystem.

WiththeRemoteSystemManagementtoolforAXISCompanionyougetanoverviewoftheinstallationsandcanundertakesimple

maintenancestepsrightaway,suchas:

•Restartingdevices

•Upgradingdevices

•Manageuserpermissions

Getstartedwithremotemanagement

Note

Onlyuserswithadministratorrightshaveaccesstothesites.

1.Gotohttps://connect.axis.com

2.LogintoyourMyAxisaccount.

Alistofyoursitesisshown.

AXISCompanion

Dailyuse

•Tondasite,typeinthesearcheld.

•Toonlydisplaysitesthatcontainerrors,clickHaserror.

•Tosignout,clicktheinitialsmenuandthenSignout.

•Toseewhoiscurrentlyloggedin,clicktheinitialsmenu.

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Axis COMPANION User manual

Axis COMPANION User manual

Axis COMPANION User manual

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