Configuring Motion/Noise Detection
For automatic motion and/or noise detection, you must first configure Motion Detection or Noise detection after selecting and scheduling devices. WebCam Monitor is equipped with an advanced algorithm that automatically monitor changes. When motion or noise is detected, all selected Alerts are triggered.
To configure motion or noise detection:
- Make sure that the video or audio device is not disabled. If disabled then you can still configure Motion Detection but you won't be able to do Motion Detection when monitoring is started.
- On the Tools menu, click Options.
- Select the Monitoring.
- Check the DetectMotion and/or Detect Noise option.
- Specify the Motion Detection Delay and/or Noise Detection Delay in seconds.
- Select a Sensitivity value.
- Click OK.
Once you have configured the Motion/Noise Detection parameters, it is recommended that you test these settings. The best method to test these settings is to select the Sound Alarm and start monitoring with Alerts. When motion is detected then you will hear the alarm and an entry to this effect will be logged.
What is Motion/Noise Detection Delay?
When you start monitoring for motion/noise in a passage way, a compound or any premises, WebCam Monitor will detect any motion/noise and will trigger all selected Alerts. This can also include the movement/sound you make when you try to move out of the premises being monitored. For this reason, WebCam Monitor provides the Motion Detection Delay and Noise Detection Delay options. They delay motion and noise monitoring by the duration specified in seconds. You can leave the premises being monitored during this time.
What is Motion Sensitivity?
WebCam Monitor does motion detection by comparing images received from the currently selected video capture device. Motion detection involves computing the difference between two images. If the difference between the compared images crosses a certain threshold value then motion is detected and the selected Alert is triggered. Motion Sensitivity represents this threshold in motion monitoring.
As is inherent with any machine based operation, motion detection is not 100% accurate. It may tend to ignore genuine motion at times or report motion when there is none leading to false alarms. As sensitivity increases, WebCam Monitor will detect the slightest motion, and as sensitivity decreases, it will detect only pronounced motion and ignore slight movements. You may therefore think that higher the sensitivity, the better it is. However this is not the case. As motion sensitivity increases, the chances of false alarms also increase.
To improve motion detection accuracy, it is important to select an optimum (as high as possible) motion sensitivity value while keeping the chances of false alarms to a minimum. Some video capture devices may support Flicker Reduction and Backlight Compensation. If you happen to have these options then you can use them to good effect with Sensitivity.
What is Noise Sensitivity?
WebCam Monitor detects noise that exceeds a certain frequency. Noise Sensitivity represents the frequency in noise detection. Although noise detection is more accurate than motion detection, a 100% accuracy is still not possible. What you might consider as noise may not reach the set frequency and may not be reported while sound not considered as noise may reach the set frequency and will be reported.
As sensitivity increases, the frequency value decreases and even the least audible noise is detected. With lower sensitivity values, louder noise is required to trigger an Alert. Even though noise detection is less susceptible to false alarms, there can still be some aberrations. Therefore to gain high noise detection accuracy, it is important to select an optimum (as high as possible) noise sensitivity value while keeping the chances of false alarms to a minimum.
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