AXIS Media Control - FAQ

Checking the current bandwidth and frame rate for one client

Question:

Is there an easy way to check bandwidth and frame rate delivered from the product when streaming to one client?

Answer:

Checking the current frame rate and bandwidth is possible without using external tools. This can be useful when optimizing the network bandwidth requirements.
The average bit rate can be seen by setting #b or #B in the overlay text for the video image. To display the frame rate, use #r or #R in the overlay text.

#r shows the frame rate with two decimals, #R shows the frame rate with no decimals, #b shows the bit rate in kbit/s and #B in Mbit/s. To configure the overlay in the product’s web interface, go to the Video &Image > Image Settings, and under Overlay Settings , check the box Include Text and enter, e.g. the following in the text field: #r fps, #b kbit/s.

This will show the frame rate and bit rate as overlay text for the video on the Live View page.
The bandwidth (bit rate) measuring is performed so that the average bit rate is measured for the 100 latest frames. That is why for lower frame rates it may take a while before the figures can be considered as stable.

When checking the bandwidth and frame rate using this method there are a couple of limitations to consider:

• If the frame rate or bandwidth has been limited in the product configuration, this will not be apparent in the Motion JPEG bit rate/frame rate information in the overlay.
•  The values will only be valid for MPEG-4 if no bandwidth limitation has been specified.
•  Quad View does not show the total frame rate and bandwidth possible to get from all four video channels separately, but only the bandwidth it takes for the quad view image to be transferred via the network and presented on the client. When one of the source’s image updates, this impacts the total frame rate for Quad View**.

For more information see the section 'Technical Specifications' in the User's Manual.
Note that this method does not take into account the client's performance.

This FAQ applies to the AXIS 207/207W/210/210A/211/211A/212 PTZ/213 PTZ/214 PTZ/216FD/221/225FD/241S(Blade)/Q(Blade)/241SA/QA.

**Valid only for AXIS 241Q(Blade)/241QA Video Server