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Presets management

A presets in Watcher is a set of DVR and analytics parameters that you can use as a template when creating and configuring cameras. When you select a preset in the camera settings, the parameters from the preset are populated to the camera settings. A set of presets on the camera is defined by the set of presets selected for the camera's Organization.

The presets can be adjustable or non-adjustable. A non-adjustable preset will not allow any user to change the populated settings manually, and an adjustable preset allows that.

Purposes of the presets:

  1. If you are deploying a subscriber service, presets correspond to billing plans. In most cases, the non-adjustable presets are utilized in the subscriber services to forbid subscribers with permissions to edit cameras from changing DVR and analytics settings since these parameters are usually determined by the plan. Create and configure the presets before or in the same time with the billing system integration to provide your subscribers with flexible and affordable plans.
  2. If you are arranging CCTV on a secure site, presets facilitate DVR and analytics settings for a bunch of cameras. Typically, adjustable presets are used for video surveillance systems in order to be able to individually change the parameters on each camera as needed.

User permissions required to manage or use presets:

  • Watcher Administrator permissions to create, delete or change presets.
  • Permission to edit Organizations to add presets to Organizations.
  • Permission to edit cameras within an Organization to assign a preset to the camera within the Organization.

Any camera must have a preset selected for it. When you have just installed Watcher, there is a Default preset in it. The Default preset is available in all organizations.

Note

If you are using Watcher as a CCTV system, the Default preset would be enough. However, feel free to use presets as you like to facilitate DVR settings for many cameras.

Creating a preset

To create a preset:

  1. Select Camera presets in the main menu on the left of the page.

    The list of presets opens:

    List of presets

    You may select an existing preset to edit or delete some presets here. This page also shows a non-editable preset summary: DVR parameters, adjustability and availability in all Organizations. These parameters are set via the form described below.

  2. Click Create preset.

    The form with preset settings opens:

    Creating a preset

    Note

    When you hover over the info mark, a pop-up box with the parameter explanation opens.

  3. Change the following preset parameters as needed:

    1. Title is the name of the preset.

    2. DVR depth, DVR days limit for records with detected motion, DVR space, Precise event thumbnails are the archive parameters. Learn more at Archive settings.

    3. Available in all organizations: check the box to allow selection of the preset for any camera in any organization (i.e. any subscriber), or uncheck it to make the preset available only for the organization(s) where it is selected (see Adding organizations).

    4. Adjustable: if checked, allows changing the DVR settings for each camera with such preset individually; if unchecked, the DVR settings become disabled for the camera where such preset is selected.

    5. Enable recognition: if checked, one of the analytics type will be available on the camera with such preset: select license plates recognition (LPR) or face recognition in the list under the box.

After adding a preset you can select one or more of the created presets in the organization settings so that the presets become available in the camera settings (unless the preset is available in all organizations, then just select it for some cameras).

Please note that these selections should be made in accordance with the billing system integration: in some cases the billing system can forward all the settings to Watcher while in other cases only cameras are added using the billing system as a proxy with all presets, organizations, users settings made in Watcher.