Netcam Watcher, Frequently Asked Questions

Technical FAQs

Q1: My camera is supported, I can see it with a browser OK but cannot get it to work with Netcam Watcher.

Q2: I have set up a schedule for my cameras but nothing happens?

Q3: How do I get Netcam Watcher to start recording automatically?

Q4: How do I get the Timer or Alarms to be enabled on startup?

Q5: What is the CPU Throttle and what is it for?

Q6: What does Autotune CPU do?

Q7: How do I stop Netcam Watcher recording noise at night?

Q8: Can I use a Joystick for Pan/Tilt?

Q9: How do I handle camera presets that have names and not numbers?

Q10: Will I have to configure all my cams after registering my trial version?

Q11: I bought Netcam Watcher 1.75 or up and would like to use AlwaysUp. How can I get a license key?

Q12: The trial version only shows me 4-cams but I have more. What can I do to test them all?

Q13: We use cameras from different manufacturers. Can Netcam Watcher handle them all?

Q14: Is it possible to run Netcam Watcher as Windows Service?

Q15: Does Netcam Watcher support the XYZ camera?

Q16: My camera is not supported; how can I get you to add support for it?

Q17: My camera has Pan/Tilt facilites and they show up in Netcam Watcher but when I click the control buttons nothing happens. Help?

Q18: Can you help me with setting netcam watcher up when it is used for movement sensing day and night. I find that the camera records nearly all night, presumably seeing slight changes in darkness as movement. This means that the hard drive is full very quickly.

Q1: My camera is supported, I can see it with a browser OK but cannot get it to work with Netcam Watcher.
A1: Here are the fields that you need to fill in on the Edit Camera dialog to get most cameras to work:

Camera Address: something like 192.168.0.111 - note that no http:// is needed
Camera Type: select your camera
Monitoring type: try both Full Motion and Snapshot
Check Use Authentication and enter the Admin username and password

Once you have entered all these, click OK. Now click Start All and see if you get an image. If not contact us with the camera type and the details you entered.

Q2: I have set up a schedule for my cameras but nothing happens?
A2: You have probably not pushed the Timer button down. Like a VCR, you program schedules but they are not active until the Timer button is pressed.

Q3: How do I get Netcam Watcher to start recording automatically?
A3: You need to pass the command line argument -AUTOSTART to the program when it starts. You can do this by editing the desktop shortcut and adding -AUTOSTART to the end (right click on the shortcut, click Properties, then edit the field marked Target)

If you are using AlwaysUp you can simply add -AUTOSTART to the Arguments field.

Q4: How do I get the Timer or Alarms to be enabled on startup?
A4: On File > Preferences, select the checkbox that says After Program Starts force (alarms/timer) on

Q5: What is the CPU Throttle and what is it for?
A5: This is a delay (in milliseconds) added after each frame. It has two main uses. Firstly it can be used to slow down a Full Motion video stream. Full motion streams by their nature are controlled by the camera. If you want to slow this down you can insert a delay, for example if you put 500 as the CPU throttle then the frame rate will be roughly 2 frames per second.

Secondly, on systems with lots of cameras it can be used to tune the CPU. With no throttle, the CPU will sit at 100% and this can sometimes not allow foreground tasks to be done in a timely manner. Adding CPU throttle until the CPU usage is only 80-90% allows the PC to work in a more efficient manner.

Q6: What does Autotune CPU do?
A6: This adds CPU Throttle to maintain the total CPU usage at the amount specified by the Target CPU Usage slider. Useful on a heavily loaded system.

Q7: How do I stop Netcam Watcher recording noise at night?
A7: Use the Minimum Darkness Level on File > Preferences. This is a value between 0 (black) and 255 (white) where motion detection is turned off. Normally use a value between 30 and 60. It's a good idea to turn on Highlight Motion and watch a dark scene. When you have this value correct you will no longer see random red boxes

Q8: Can I use a Joystick for Pan/Tilt?
A8: Yes you can use a normal USB or games port joystick to control pan and tilt. Check Use Joystick on File > Preferences.

Q9: How do I handle camera presets that have names and not numbers?
A9: Netcam Watcher recalls the presets using the name you typed in the camera configuration. So the name as defined in the camera must match exactly the name you defined on the Edit Cam, Preset names tab. Best to use the same case and not to put any spaces in the names.

Q10: Will I have to configure all my cams after registering my trial version?
A10: No, all settings remain in your Netcam Watcher Version! There is no need to reconfigure anything. Just type in the key and continue working as before

Q11: I bought Netcam Watcher 1.75 or up and would like to use AlwaysUp. How can I get a license key?
A11: Please contact us with your registration code to get your license key for AlwaysUp.

Q12: The trial version only shows me 4-cams but I have more. What can I do to test them all?
A12: Please contact us. We can send you a time-limited full functional key to test Netcam Watcher with all your cams.

Q13: We use cameras from different manufacturers. Can Netcam Watcher handle them all?
A13: Yes, as long as Netcam Watcher knows the camera definitions, Netcam Watcher can handle cameras of many manufacturers at the same time! Please check the list of supported cameras. Not all cameras are listed there. If you can't get your cam to run, please contact us and we can check if this camera runs with other camera definitions (please give us the exact name and a link to technical specifications).

Q14: Is it possible to run Netcam Watcher as Windows Service?
A14: Yes, you can use AlwaysUp to monitor Netcam Watcher and run the application as Windows Service. Learn more about AlwaysUp.

Q15: Does Netcam Watcher support the XYZ camera?
A15: First check the list of cameras, either on the website, or on the drop-down list when you edit a camera in Netcam Watcher. If your camera is not there then contact us for advice. We are constantly adding new cameras and may have actually added your camera already.

Q16: My camera is not supported; how can I get you to add support for it?
A16: If your camera is an MJPEG or JPEG camera then it's likely to be a case of setting up the correct definition for it. If you can arrange for your camera to be viewable over the internet there is a good chance that we can set up a definition for it remotely. Contact us for help.

Q17: My camera has Pan/Tilt facilites and they show up in Netcam Watcher but when I click the control buttons nothing happens. Help?
A17: You probably need to enter the administrator's username and password on the Edit Cam dialog (and check Use Authentication). Often the admin username is needed to operate pan/tilt on a camera.

Q18: Can you help me with setting netcam watcher up when it is used for movement sensing day and night. I find that the camera records nearly all night, presumably seeing slight changes in darkness as movement. This means that the hard drive is full very quickly.
A17: There is a setting on File > preferences that is "Minimum darkness level for motion detect" ... this goes from 0 (black) to 255 (white) and if you put it at 50 it ignores pixels darker than 50. This is designed to get around this problem of night recording. Try using "highlight motion" and then you will see red boxes. If you watch at night and adjust the minimum dark value until the boxes vanish then that is the right value. Start at 50 and see how it goes and then adjust.

Answer not found? Go to the contact page.

Hai bisogno di aiuto per questioni relative alla Pre-vendita?
[altro]

Applicazioni tipiche per Netcam Watcher.
[altro]

Lista completa delle netcam supportate.
[altro]

Cosa dicono di Netcam Watcher Professional.
[altro]

Di cosa ha bisogno per gestire Netcam Watcher Professional
[altro]

Confronto tra la versione Home e quella Professional.
[altro]

Vedi il listino prezzi completo.
[altro]