HME VisionTech 2000 User manual

VisionTech™
2000
Version 9.0
Remote Video Transmission
and
Digital Recording System
Operating Instructions
HME# 400487
Rev B 10/29/02

VisionTechTM 2000
Version 9.0
HM Electronics, Inc.
14110 Stowe Drive
Poway, CA 92064
Sales: (858) 535-6060
Service: (858) 535-6030
Fax: (858) 552-0172
Copyright © October 2002, HM Electronics, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
TRADEMARK INFORMATION
HME, VisionTech and MegaMotion are registered trademarks of HM Electronics, Inc.
MS-DOS, Windows and Windows98 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Download.com is a trademark of CNET Networks, Inc.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
PRECAUTION ON COPYRIGHT
HME’s MegaMotion®board is not made or sold for unauthorized copying or
recording of copyrighted video works, including, without limitation, unauthorized
video recording from prerecorded copyrighted video products. Television
programs, films, videotapes and other materials might be copyrighted. Therefore,
unauthorized recording of such materials might be a violation of copyright law.

FCC NOTICE
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is
subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause
harmful interference and (2) this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. These
limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in residential installations. This equipment generates, uses, and
can radiate radio frequency energy and if not installed and used in
accordance with the instructions, might cause harmful interference to radio
communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not
occur in a particular installation.
If this equipment does not cause harmful interference to radio or television
reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on,
the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of
the following measures:
•Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
•Move the equipment away from the receiver.
•Plug the equipment into an outlet and circuit different from what
powers the receiver.
•If necessary, the user should consult the dealer or an e2000d
radio/television technician for additional suggestions.
Finally, any changes or modifications to the equipment by the user not
expressly approved by the grantee or manufacturer could void the user’s
authority to operate such equipment.

Minimum System Requirements For Upgrade Kits
•PENTIUM \CELERON CPU 500MHZ OR FASTER
•128 MB RAM
•1024 X 768 16-BIT VGA SCREEN DISPLAY
•WINDOWS 98 SE ONLY

MODULAR DESIGN
VisionTech 2000 Transmitter is available with many different features and capabilities.
The differences are intended to suit particular applications and customer needs. Most of the
differences depend on the software modules that have been installed on the transmitter.
This manual covers a VisionTech 2000 Transmitter system with all of its modules
enabled. If there is feature in this document that you are interested in, the features are listed in
the VisionTech program group, you can access the relevant part number in the Start Menu under
VisionTech\HME Modules Registration. If a module has been enabled on your system, it will be
listed as “Active”. If not, it will have a part number. Contact your dealer or vendor for pricing
and availability. Not all of the features listed will be available at the time of this publication.
With a full-featured version you can:
•Automatically accept a call from a PC running VisionTech 2000 Receiver Software
and transmit digital video over a Modem-to-Modem, LAN, WAN or Direct Cable
Connection.
•Control the camera views. View Touring allows you to automatically switch through
groups of cameras for hands free monitoring.
•Control Pan Tilt Zoom cameras.
•Respond to alarm triggers and trigger outputs to open doors or gates, turn on and off
lights and more.
•Automatically call a PC when an alarm trips and display a picture on its desktop of
what happened.
•Accept connections from as many as 255 receivers simultaneously.
•Record only when the video image has changed with HME’s hardware-based Video
Motion Detection.
•Record cameras regardless of what is on the screen. Previous VisionTech titles could
only record what was on the screen.
•Record video to a remote location or locally with Record On Demand.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. ACCESS RIGHTS ........................................................................................1
2. GENERAL ....................................................................................................4
3. COMMUNICATION....................................................................................5
4. LOCAL SITE.............................................................................................. 15
5. REMOTE SITES ........................................................................................17
6. CAMERA.................................................................................................... 19
7. AUDIO RECORD.......................................................................................23
8. PTZ..............................................................................................................28
9. EVENTS ......................................................................................................30
10. CASH REGISTER...................................................................................... 35
11. VIDEO MOTION DETECTION ...............................................................42
12. VIDEO MULTI-VIEW............................................................................... 45
13. ALARM I/O ................................................................................................47
14. NOTIFY ......................................................................................................51
15. RECORD ON DEMAND............................................................................57
16. CONTINUOUS RECORDING ..................................................................60
17. LOGICAL DIAGRAM ...............................................................................70
18. UTILITIES..................................................................................................77

VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide Access Rights
1
1. ACCESS RIGHTS
The Access Rights module protects the system setup configuration. Users will not be
able to enter areas of setup that may cause configuration errors and bring the system down.
Since exiting the program stops recording, operators can be denied exit rights.
Groups and Users
Entries made to Access Rights are sorted by Groups and Users. There can be up to 256
group entries and 256 users within each group. Access rights are granted or denied to each
group. Each user then shares the same rights within the group they belong to.

General VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide
2
Adding Groups
The system has one default group entry
and one default user entry. The Supervisor
group has access to all levels. The default
group should not be removed since doing so
would lockout all users from the system. The
default user can be edited to fit the profile of
the environment it is placed in. To add a
group, click the Group of Access Rights tab on
the Access Rights dialog. Click on the Add
Group button. Once the entry is in place, the
name field is selected to accept the name of the
newly added group. All of the Assigned
Rights are locked as indicated by the padlock
icon next to the feature name.
Click the padlock icon next to the features you want to enable for this group. The icon
will change to a check mark.
All of the entries under List of
Features pertain to entering
VisionTech 2000 Setup except
for Exit Right.

VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide Access Rights
3
Adding Users
To add a user, click the Add button on the Users tab. The user information fields are then
enabled for input.
The Group Name drop down list will reflect entries made to the List of Groups. Select
the group this user will belong to. Note that a user can only belong to one group.
Managing Users
There are several buttons that provide additional tools to manage user accounts. Add
Edit and Delete are used to manage specific user information. Search and Refresh assist in
selecting the user record.
Once Search is clicked the user data fields become blank so you can enter search
criteria. Any part of the user’s record can be used to search. The inner arrows are used to
move to the next record (right arrow) or the previous record (left arrow). The outer arrows
will go to the last record (right arrow) or the first record (left arrow). Click Refresh if any
changes you have made are not updated on the screen

General VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide
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2. GENERAL
The General dialog shows the path of the VisionTech 2000 database. This database
contains all of the transmitter’s configuration information. It is not absolutely necessary for
changes to be made here although; the path may need to be changed to conform to other
languages.
The Language Path contains a file that is specific to each language that is supported by
VisionTech and Windows.
If the Wizard has taken you to General, simply click Next unless you are using a version
of Windows other than English.

VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide Communication
5
3. COMMUNICATION
Communication setup is the hub for all devices that will transfer data between the
VisionTech 2000 system and other devices. These other devices can range from modems to RS-
232 controlled Pan Tilt Zoom cameras. What you see in the main Communication window will
depend greatly on which modules were purchased for the system. The picture below shows all
of the supported communication devices. Let’s take a look at each one of them.
NOTE: The PTZ and Cash Register modules are not covered here. Those sections will walk
through the necessary portions of Communication setup.
Network
NOTE: VisionTech 2000 does not have to log in to a network server to connect over a network!
It simply ‘plugs in’. However, if you must log in to back up files to a network drive, login can
be automated with ‘TweakUI’. TweakUI is a freeware utility from Microsoft. Though it could
be difficult to locate from the Microsoft web site, you can find it at www.download.com.
For most installations of turnkey systems configured by HME, no Network setup is
required here. This is not to be confused with setting up the network connection in Windows.
While HME will install and configure the required network hardware and software components,
adjustments MUST be made to the Windows Network setup to integrate the system into an
existing network environment. For a Value Added Reseller building systems from and upgrade
kit, the Windows Network setup will have to be configured from scratch. For the uninitiated this
can be a daunting task. It is highly recommended that the services of a network consultant be
used whenever a new network is being set up.

Communication VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide
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How does VisionTech communicate over a network? Let’s start with the bare essentials.
•A Network Adapter Card. Also referred to as a NIC. There are many different
kinds of NICs. But the most prevalent kind is Ethernet. If you need to have the
system connect through a LAN, DSL or a Cable Modem, an Ethernet card is what is
used.
•The Network Protocol. A protocol is what computers use to talk to each other.
Think of it as a kind of language. VisionTech speaks TCP/IP. That stands for
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The name is very descriptive of
what it does. It controls how data is transmitted between computers and is the de
facto standard for communicating across the Internet. A computer does not have to be
connected to the Internet to use TCP/IP. TCP/IP can be used to connect two
computers to each other directly.
•A Static IP Address is an address that never changes. Most computers that connect
to the Internet have Dynamic IP Addresses. That means that the Internet Service
Provider assigns the address and it changes about every 3 to 6 months. Dial up
connections may have a different IP address every time they connect to the ISP. You
can assign any IP address you like to a closed network as long as each machine has a
different one. If you will be connecting across the Internet, you will have to get a
static IP Address from your ISP or the organization’s network administrator.
•The Port Address is part of the TCP/IP stack. Each computer program that uses
TCP/IP must have its own port address in order to gain access outside of the local
network. If this port is blocked by a network firewall, the application will be unable
to make a connection. This is by far the main reason why a connection might fail
between a VisionTech Transmitter and Receiver! The default port for VisionTech
is 7128. Fortunately, HME has made it very easy to change this port address. If 7128
is blocked, you can change it to a known open one. If the network’s security is
especially tight, you may have to ask the network administrator to open a port for
VisionTech to use. It can be the default port or one that the administrator assigns.
That is essentially all that VisionTech needs to communicate over a network. The details
of fulfilling these requirements are often best left to network professionals. But with the advent
of high speed internet access and home networks, it is possible for you to gather just enough
networking information from other sources to implement a small network or plug the system into
an existing one.

VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide Communication
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This portion will go over what you will need to do with VisionTech and Windows 98 to
make a network connection. Turnkey systems require a different plan of attack than an upgraded
PC. We will take the path of an upgrade. To make it easier for turnkey installers, the steps will
be laid out in numbers and bullets. If you are doing an upgrade, follow the numbers and bullets.
If you are installing a turnkey system, just follow the numbers.
Set up a network connection:
1. First, set up windows networking. Go to Start, Settings, and Control Panel and
double-click on the Network Icon.
ØWhen the network adapter is installed, Windows will automatically add Client for
Microsoft Networks, the adapter and TCP/IP to the list of Network Components.
Those are the required network components for VisionTech. See the
documentation for your network adapter about installing network components.
More than the aforementioned components may be in the list. It is not necessary
to remove any of the components that have been installed.
2. Double-Click on TCP/IP in the list of Network Components that has an arrow <--
pointing to the network adapter. On the Specify Address tab, enter (or change)
the IP address. Enter (or change) the Subnet Mask. The WINS, Gateway and
DNS Configuration tabs may or may not need to have information added to them.
Find out from the network administrator or ISP if any of these settings need to be
changed. Click on OK.
3. Under Primary Network Logon, click the arrow on the drop down list and select
Windows Logon. OK again on the Network Properties window. You will be
prompted to restart the system. Do so and when the system starts, go into
VisionTech TX Setup.

Communication VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide
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Adding a Network entry to Communication:
WARNING! Having more than one network entry in Communication will result in
failure to establish a connection. Do not add a Network entry if one is present.
1. Double-click on Communication in VisionTech TX Setup.
2. Click the Add button.
3. Click on Network in the Connection Device list.
4. In the Connection name field, type Network.
5. Click OK.
Changing the Port Address:
1. Double-click on Network in the Communication window.
2. Click in the Port Address box.
3. Directly type in the new Port Address. Click on OK.
You could also select one of the alternate addresses from the drop down list.
This port address has
been changed from the
default 7128 to a port that
is known to be open on
this network.

VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide Communication
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Changing the Shared Bandwidth value:
Shared Bandwidth, also known as a Sliding TCP/IP Window, means that VisionTech will
open a TCP/IP window that will slide open up to the value that is selected in the Shared
Bandwidth list. If Maximum is selected, the window will open wide enough for 1.5Mb of data.
As the demand for bandwidth decreases due to fewer connections or lower Size and Quality
settings, the window will slide narrower. This leaves more bandwidth for other applications to
use on the network.
1. Double-click on Network in the Communication window.
2. Click the drop down arrow under the Shared Bandwidth label.
3. Select a Data Rate value from the list and click OK.
Changing the Dedicated Bandwidth value:
Dedicated bandwidth is reserved. VisionTech will open a TCP/IP window that will
remain the size of the value you select.
1. Double-click on Network in the Communication window.
2. Click the Dedicated Bandwidth radio button
3. Click the drop down arrow under the Dedicated Bandwidth label.
4. Select a Data Rate value from the list and click OK.

Communication VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide
10
Modem
NOTE:On turnkey systems, the modem has been configured at the factory and no setup is
required for a receiver to make a dialup connection to the VisionTech 2000 transmitter.
Modem communication allows remote users to connect to the VisionTech transmitter
over standard phone lines. Up to four modems can be installed on a receiver station to connect
to four different transmitters at the same time.
In order to connect to multiple transmitters over phone lines, the receiver station must
have a separate phone line for each modem.
To install a modem in VisionTech:
1. First, install the modem in Windows. Refer to the modem manufacturer’s manual for
more information about installing modems in Windows. Once that is done, go to
VisionTech TX Setup and double click on Communication. Click the Add button. If
Modem is not highlighted in the Connection Device list, click on it once to select it.
2. Name the connection Modem. If you are going to add multiple modems, name them
Modem 1, Modem 2, etc.
3. Under Device Type, select your modem from the list. (TIP: Any device that can be
classified as a modem in windows will appear in the list, including Direct Connect
and Serial Cables.)

VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide Communication
11
4. Select the Com Port that the modem is using.
If you don’t know which one it is, go to Modems in Control Panel and click the
Properties button. You will see the port listed on the General tab.
5. Select the init string for the modem from the list if it did not appear when you
selected the modem.
6. The default baud rate of 56700 will work for 56k modems. Use 115200 or higher for
ISDN modems.
7. Click the drop down arrow next to Volume and select none if you do not want
anyone to hear the modem handshake at the location.
8. Select ATDT for regular modems. Use ATD for ISDN modems.
9. Change the number of Answer Rings if you do not want VisionTech to answer on the
first ring.
10. Click OK when you are finished, and then click Close.

Communication VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide
12
Hardware Watchdog
The hardware WatchDog is a serial device that connects to a COM port and listens for a
signal from the system. VisionTech will tell it that it is active. If the WatchDog does not get a
response from VisionTech, it will force a hard reset to bring VisionTech back up and recording.
If the WatchDog senses mouse movement, it will disable itself so that it will not reset the system
if VisionTech is not running.
NOTE: The default setting for the hardware WatchDog is OFF. This will prevent the
WatchDog from resetting the system during initial setup. It is safe to enable it now. To add the
hardware WatchDog or edit its properties, do the following:
1. Click on Watchdog, and then edit to make settings for the Hardware as well as software
watchdog.
2. Click the left mouse button once on the checkbox to remove the check and enable this
feature.
3. Change the COM PORT setting to reflect the COM PORT the watchdog is actually plugged in.
An HME turnkey system will have the Hardware Watchdog on COM 1. As shown in the
table below, you can tell of the Watchdog is disabled by the led on the front of the system that is
labeled WD. If it is steady on, then the Watchdog is disabled.
FLASH RATE STATE
Off No power or not working
Steady On Disabled
1 second Shutdown timer
2 seconds on /2 seconds off Normal operation
2 seconds Reset wait timer
4 seconds Initialization timer
15 seconds Hardware reset

VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide Communication
13
Open RS-232
Open RS-232 allows you to control serial devices from a remote location. For example,
if you have an RS-232 PTZ camera, you can attach the camera to a serial port on the transmitter.
Then, attach the joystick to a serial port on a PC running VisionTech 2000 Receiver Software.
Over an Ethernet or Dial-Up connection, you can control the camera from the receiver station.
This is especially useful if you have a camera that is not compatible with an HME PTZ Interface
Module.
The diagram on the following page illustrates the Open RS-232 concept.
To setup an Open RS-232 device in VisionTech, do the following:
1. Attach the device to an available Com port.
2. In VisionTech TX Setup, double-click the RS232 icon.
3. Name the device RS1 or some other descriptive name for the device if you will be
attaching more than one. Otherwise the default name will do. Each device must
have a unique name and it must be the same on both the transmitter and receiver.
4. Select the Com port that the device is attached to. In some cases the use of a serial
port expander must be used. The FIRST port on the expander will be COM 5.
5. Refer to the device specifications to set the Baud Rate, Parity, Data Bits and Stop Bits.
Do the same procedure on the receiver.

Communication VisionTech 2000 9.0 Setup Guide
14
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