How To Set Motion Detection Options to Extend Recording Capacity

To access the motion settings of the camera

  1. When you login to NVR from a computer browser, you will see several icons at the top right hand side of the screen.
  2. Please click on the Gear icon to enter the main Setup menu
  3. You should automatically be put into the Cameras menu by default. Click on the camera that you wish to set the motion settings on. This will bring up the camera's settings menu.
  4. Now click on the Motion tab at the top of the screen
  5. You'll see two options on the left hand side: Motion Sensitivity and Noise Sensitivity.

We will describe these settings below.

Motion Sensitivity

In the settings of the Motion tab, the following info pertains to the Motion Sensitivity setting:

  • How big of an area that is being detected for motion, if you can imagine that the screen is split up into a grid, each of the squares that make up the entire image is the grid
  • Setting this option to a higher number will make the amount of detection area smaller so that it will detect more motion. So, each of those squares will be made smaller so that the system will detect smaller bits of motion since each area is smaller.
  • Setting this option to a lower number will make the amount of detection area larger so that it will detect less motion. The movement in the image will need to be larger to be considered motion
  • You would want to have the sensitivity set to a higher number if you want to detect smaller bits of motion such as if the camera overlooks a parking lot, the higher sensitivity should detect cars moving in the distance
  • You would want to have the sensitivity set to a lower number if you have an area that has a lot of small bits of constant motion and you want to detect larger big areas of motion

Noise Sensitivity

In the settings of the Motion tab, the following info pertains to the Noise Sensitivity setting:

  • This is an overall sensitivity to the overall full image
  • Setting this number to a higher number will make the overall entire image more sensitive to motion
  • Setting this number to a lower number will make the overall entire image less sensitive to motion
  • For example, if you have a large area with a lot of organic material like trees or grass and you set this option to a larger amount, there will be much more motion being detected
  • If you want the overall area of an image to not be too sensitive to motion, then set this option to a lower amount
  • If you have an area that has a lot of noise, such as snow or other weather-related anomaly, you might want try setting the number to a lower amount

Image Offset is the amount of time that the NVR will wait after it detects motion before it will take a snapshot preview of the screen. When you look at the events, it will present you with a thumbnail of the image that is taken as per the Offset in seconds. That way you will see a thumbnail with the motion already in progress

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Reset Defaults Will reset the defaults of the Motion Sensitivity, Noise Sensitivity, and Image Offset.

Setting up Motion Grids

You will want to make custom Motion Grids when there are areas of motion that you specifically wish to exclude, such as a busy street or sidewalk that will create a lot of false positive events. You can fine-tune these grids by using the settings outlined below.

  • The Select option allows you to grab and move individual grids or boxes within the image area. You would select the tool, then you can click on a grid or empty box and drag it around. Then click Apply to continue on to the next step.

  • Select All allows you to select the entire image to start over with a full motion detection gird in place. This is helpful if you just want an easy way start over with a full motion grid on the whole image.

  • Add Motion Area will add a motion area where you want. You can create motion grids by selecting the Add Motion Area button and then clicking and dragging the cursor to create a rectangular shaped area. You can add multiple areas.

Note: Each motion detection box is processed separately from one another. For that reason, we highly recommend using as few boxes as possible to avoid performance issues.

  • Remove Motion Area will allow you to remove motion areas. You can create empty grids that will specifically ignore motion detection by selecting the Remove Motion Area button and dragging the cursor to create a rectangular shaped area. You can add multiple areas.

Note: This option is highly recommended for areas where constant motion is occurring like a busy street or busy sidewalk.

  • Clear All is for doing the opposite of the Select All option. This allows you to clear the entire motion grid in the image so that you can then add new motion areas. This is helpful if you want to easily add a small area of motion and ignore the majority of the image. Simply click Clear All to start with an empty image and then click on the Add Motion Area button to add motion areas.

  • Pre Motion is a setting that can’t be changed. This setting just lets you know that when it detects motion, the system will then start recording the high stream/high quality 5 seconds before the actual motion event occurs.