AXIS 2420 Network Camera  - FAQs

Images

Q: How can pictures taken with the AXIS 2420 Network Camera be viewed?
Q: Can both still and motion pictures be viewed from the camera?
Q: What frame rate can a user get when viewing images over the network?
Q: What image compression technique does the camera use?
Q: So is that streaming video?
Q: So if it’s not streaming video, is every single image taken by the camera then transmitted to the viewer at the full quality?

Transmission over modem

Q: Is it possible to connect over a modem or ISDN line?
Q: What frame rates can be expected then?

Alarms

Q: How can an alarm be triggered to the camera?
Q: What actions can be taken when an alarm is triggered?
Q: Is there any possibility for the customer to define his own actions?

Hardware

Q: What technology is the AXIS 2420 built upon?
Q: How much memory is available and what is it used for?
Q: What connectors are available on the AXIS 2420?
Q: What are the dimensions and weight of the AXIS 2420?

Images

Q: How can pictures taken with the AXIS 2420 Network Camera be viewed?
A: Pictures can be remotely viewed over a network. The viewer uses a web browser and enters the web address of the AXIS 2420, whereby the images taken by the AXIS 2420 becomes visible in the user’s web browser. Pictures can also simultaneous be viewed locally by attaching a video monitor directly to the AXIS 2420 and thereby get video motion on the screen.

Q: Can both still and motion pictures be shown?
A: The AXIS 2420 can either show still images, updated at intervals specified by the customer, or it can be set to show motion images at up to video quality.

Q: What frame rate can a user get when viewing images over the network?
A: In NTSC countries the maximum rate is 30 frames/sec, and in PAL countries it is 25 frames/sec. However this requires a bandwidth of approximately 1 Mbit/sec – 5 Mbit/sec depending on image size, complexity of image and compression. Please use the bandwidth calculator to calculate the frame rate and required storage space.

Q: What image compression technique does the camera use?
A: JPEG is being used and it’s possible to choose from 5 different compression levels.

Q: So is that streaming video?
A: No, it’s by definition not a streaming video technique but with the high frame rate provided by the AXIS 2420, the result may be a video quality moving picture.

Q: So if it’s not streaming video, is every single image taken by the camera then transmitted to the viewer at the full quality?
A: Yes, and this is the advantage by having a motion JPEG stream, every image received at the viewer at full quality (as defined by compression level).

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Transmission over modem

Q: Is it possible to connect over a modem or ISDN line?
A: Through the RS-232 connector you can connect over a modem or ISDN line.

Q: What frame rates can be expected then?
A: With a 128 kbit/sec connection, you normally get between 1 frame/sec and 3 frames/sec.

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Alarm

Q: How can an alarm be triggered to the camera?
A: Either through the built-in motion detection (up to three windows can be defined), or through the external alarm input.

Q: What actions can be taken when an alarm is triggered?
A: For example, an e-mail alert can be sent, images in the so-called alarm buffer can be sent as attachments to an e-mail or by being uploaded to an FTP server. 

Q: Is there any possibility for customers to define their own actions?
A: In fact customers can define their own actions by writing a customer application as a PHP script.

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Hardware

Q: What technology is the AXIS 2420 built upon?
A: The hardware core is the AXIS ETRAX 100LX chip, including CPU, Ethernet interface, memory controllers, device interfaces and much more, and the AXIS ARTPEC-1 chip containing the JPEG compression technology.

The software core consists of the Linux kernel for ETRAX, and the camera applications built on the Linux OS.

Q: How much memory is available and what is it used for?
A: The flash memory available is 4 MB, which is used for storing program code in a compressed format, non-volatile parameters, and customer scripts and html code. The 16 MB of RAM is used for program code, temporary parameters and alarm buffer.

Q: What connectors are available on the AXIS 2420?
A: - Power connector for DC/AC in and alternative power connector on terminal block
    - RJ-45 for Ethernet 10/100
    - BNC for analogue video out
    - RS-232 for modem
    - RS-485 for external device control
    - DC-Iris lens connector
    - Relay output control.

Q: What are the dimensions and weight of the AXIS 2420?
A: The W x L x H is 3.3” x 5.9” x 2.2” and the weight is 1.03 lb.

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