Creating High-Quality Timelapses for Low-Bandwidth Connections

3dEYE is a versatile platform that allows you to monitor and capture timelapse footage efficiently. This article will guide you through the process of configuring a camera to create high-quality time-lapses while conserving bandwidth.

Leveraging a Single Camera for Both Time-lapse and Live Monitoring

One of the key advantages of 3dEYE is its ability to use the same camera for both live monitoring and timelapse recording. This not only saves resources but also simplifies your setup.

Configuring the Timelapse Stream

Properly configuring your timelapse settings is essential to achieve top-notch results. For sites with ample bandwidth to stream at the desired resolution and image quality, you can seamlessly add the camera following standard procedures. For more information on how to add a camera, please visit this page↗️. The same stream serves a dual purpose: real-time monitoring and time-lapse recording. You can set the duration of the "live" archive to any timeframe without affecting the timelapse duration, as these two archives operate independently.

Optionally Disabling the Live Stream

For users with slower internet connections, high-resolution timelapse recording is still possible, even though live monitoring at high resolution might be not possible due to insufficient upload speed. To ensure minimal impact on your internet connection, you can disable the timelapse stream camera after adding it. The platform will only download one frame every few minutes, which places a relatively light load on your internet connection.

However, it's important to note that disabling the live stream will result in the suspension of certain health monitoring services. This will necessitate periodic manual checks to ensure the camera's operational status.

Health Monitoring with a Second Stream

To address challenges related to live streaming and health monitoring in situations where the internet connection lacks the capacity for high-resolution live streaming, a viable solution is to establish a secondary stream from the same camera. To do this, simply add a second copy of the camera using one of the standard integration methods. This secondary stream should be configured to a different streaming channel and set to a lower resolution and a low bitrate. This dual-purpose secondary stream serves two key functions: it ensures ongoing live monitoring capabilities while also serving as a health monitoring tool for the camera.

To receive timely alerts if the camera goes offline for any reason, you can easily set up a System alert. 

For more detailed instructions on how to create such an alert, please refer to the information available on this page↗️.

Selecting the Secondary Stream Resolution

Depending on your particular needs, you have the flexibility to fine-tune the resolution of the Secondary stream. For instance, even configuring it at a modest 720p resolution with a bitrate of 350 Kbps can yield satisfactory results for numerous analytics applications. In situations where rapid motion is not a critical factor, you can reduce the frame rate to 5 frames per second (FPS). This adjustment allows you to further reduce the required bitrate to approximately 150-200 Kbps, resulting in substantial bandwidth savings.

Remarkably, even at these lower bitrates, it remains entirely feasible to achieve robust results in terms of object detection. For more in-depth guidance on configuring object detection under low bandwidth conditions, please consult this informative article↗️.

Monitoring Both Live Stream and Timelapse

To effectively manage both copies of the camera and access their live streams and time-lapses, follow these step-by-step instructions

Step 1: User Setup

• Create a new user or use an existing user account with the necessary permissions.
• To learn more about how to edit a user, please visit this page↗️.

Step 2: Role Configuration

• Create a new role specifically for camera access,
•  or edit an existing role to include both copies of the camera
• To learn more about role configuration, refer to this article↗️.

Step 3: Log in to Video Portal

• Use the user account you created or selected to log in to the Video Portal.

Step 4: Accessing Cameras

• After logging in, navigate to the Cameras Menu.

• A live stream copy of the camera will be shown on the "Active" tab of the camera's menu assuming the camera is online and streaming video fine.
• The timelapse copy of the camera can be found on the "Offline" tab of the camera menu.

Step 5: Viewing and downloading timelapse footage

• Click on the "Timelapse" button specifically on the timelapse copy of the camera.