Edit quality settings for your IP bird box camera on Windows/Mac computersUpdated a month ago
This guide will show you where to find the quality settings for your bird box camera on a Windows or Mac computer using CMS5/VMS.
Some of the following settings will not be available, depending on the model of camera you have
Before you begin
Make sure that your bird box camera is connected to the internet, and that you have added your bird box camera to your computer. If you have not yet connected the camera to your computer, follow this guide.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Finding the quality settings -
Open up VMS and click on 'Device Config'
Now click on the arrow next to 'Default Group' in the panel on the left side, select the IP address, serial number or name of your camera, and then click on 'Encode Config' when the icons light up.
Meaning of the settings -
When you click on Device Config you will be presented with the screen below.
Main Stream and Extra Stream
Main stream is the high quality version of the video feed. Extra stream is the low quality version for low bandwidth connections or small screens. These settings are shown as 'UHD/HD' and 'SD' on the mobile app, for high definition and standard definition.
Compression
This is the type of format the videos will be recorded in. H.265 is newer and uses less space, but it is harder to convert into a usable video format so it is highly recommended that you set it to H.264 if the option is there.
Resolution
This is the size of the videos that will be produced. A higher resolution image means the video will look better on large monitor screens or TV's, but it will also use more bandwidth and take up more storage space.
Quality
This is how sharp the image will be when produced by the camera. Higher quality means a better image but will also use more bandwidth and take up more storage space.
FPS
This is the number of frames per second of video, higher FPS will create a better image but will also use more bandwidth and take up more storage space.
Stream Control
CBR/Constant bit-rate: The bit-rate will be kept consistent, causing the video quality to vary.
VBR/Variable bit-rate: The quality of the video feed will be kept consistent, causing the bit-rate to vary.
Bit-rate (Kb/s)
This is the number of kilobytes the device will use per second, and is determined by the other settings. If you set the quality settings to maximum, the bit-rate will increase also.
If you are concerned that your bit-rate is too high then run a speed test on your computer, make a note of the upload speed and compare this to your bit-rate (your upload speed will likely be shown in MB, whereas the bit-rate is shown KB, so be aware that 1024KB is equal to 1MB). Make sure that the bit-rate does not exceed the upload speed, and if many people use the same internet connection as you make sure it is significantly below.
I Frame Interval
All you need to know is if you expect the video to have a lot of motion, set this higher but be aware it will increase the bandwidth and storage used. If you expect the image to be mostly still, set this to 1. For a full definition, see here.
Video/Audio
This allows you to disable audio for the main stream, or video/audio for the extra stream.
Static Encode Config
High Profile: Set to high profile if the feed will mostly be viewed from larger screens.
Main Profile: Main profile is intended for medium sized screens and larger phones.
Baseline: Baseline profile is intended for very small screens.
H264+ Enable
If you want to change the VBR/CBR setting, disable this setting.
Need more help?
If you need help with anything else please check out our other guides or get in contact.