Vivotek Motion Detection Not Working? A Troubleshooting Guide
Vivotek cameras are professional-grade security solutions known for their reliability and advanced features. However, when a feature as critical as motion detection fails, it can be a significant concern. The complexity of the settings, especially when integrated with a Video Management System (VMS) like VAST 2, means the problem is often a simple misconfiguration.
This guide will walk you through the necessary checks, both on the camera itself and within your VMS, to diagnose and resolve why your Vivotek camera is not detecting motion.
Understanding the Chain of Events
For Vivotek motion detection to work, a chain of commands must be correctly configured:
- Camera-Side Detection: The camera itself must be set up to detect motion in specific areas.
- VMS Event Rule: The VMS (e.g., VAST 2) must have a rule that tells it what to do when the camera sends a motion trigger.
- VMS Action: The rule must be linked to an action, such as starting a recording or sending a notification.
A failure at any point in this chain will result in no motion detection.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting for Vivotek Motion Detection
We will start with the camera's own settings and then move to the VMS configuration. You will need to know your camera's IP address to begin.
1. Configure Motion Detection on the Camera Itself
Before your VMS can act on a motion alert, the camera must be able to generate one.
- Log into the Camera's Web Interface: Open a web browser and type in your camera's IP address. Log in with your credentials.
- Navigate to Motion Detection: Go to Configuration > Motion Detection.
- Add and Define a Detection Window:
- You must create at least one detection 'window'. Click 'Add' or 'New'.
- A grid will appear over the camera's view. Click and drag to draw a box over the precise area you want to monitor. You can create multiple windows to cover different areas.
- This is essential. If no window is defined, no motion will be detected.
- Adjust Sensitivity and Percentage:
- Sensitivity: This controls how significant the changes in pixels need to be. Higher sensitivity means smaller objects can trigger an alert.
- Percentage: This defines how much of the window area must change to trigger an alert. A higher percentage means a larger object is required.
- Start with values around 70-80 for both and fine-tune based on testing.
- Save Your Settings: Click 'Save' to apply the configuration to the camera.
2. Create an Event Rule in Your VMS (e.g., VAST 2)
Now that the camera is ready, you need to tell your management software what to do with the alerts. The following steps are for VAST 2 but are conceptually similar for other VMS platforms.
- Open VAST 2 LiveClient and Log In.
- Go to Configuration: Navigate to Configuration > Event & Action Management.
- Add a New Event Rule: Click the '+' icon to create a new rule.
- Configure the Rule:
- Event: In the 'Trigger Event' section, select the 'Device' tab. Choose your camera from the list and then select 'Motion Detection'.
- Action: In the 'Action' section, define what should happen. The most common action is recording. Select 'Camera Recording', choose the same camera, and set a pre- and post-event recording duration (e.g., 5 seconds before and 30 seconds after).
- Schedule: Ensure the schedule for this rule is set to 'Always' or your desired active times.
- Save and Apply: Save the rule and ensure it is enabled (the checkbox next to it should be ticked).
3. Check Firmware and Software Versions
Bugs in outdated firmware can sometimes cause issues with event triggering.
- Camera Firmware: In the camera's web interface, go to 'System > Maintenance' or a similar section to check the firmware version. Visit the Vivotek website to see if a newer version is available.
- VMS Software: Ensure your VAST 2 or other VMS software is updated to the latest version to ensure compatibility and benefit from bug fixes.
4. Test the Configuration
After configuring both the camera and the VMS, you must test it.
- Walk in front of the camera within the defined detection window.
- Check your VMS playback timeline. You should see a new recording marked as a motion event.
- If it's working, but you get too many false alarms, go back to step 1 and slightly decrease the sensitivity or increase the percentage. If it's not detecting you, try increasing the sensitivity.
By ensuring both the camera and the VMS are correctly configured to talk to each other, you can solve the vast majority of Vivotek motion detection issues.