AXIS Q8641–E PT Thermal Network Camera

This user manual describes several products. This means you may find instructions that aren’t applicable to your product.

The AXIS Q864x PTZ Network Camera is intended for mission-critical surveillance that demands 24-hour monitoring of restricted areas, such as airports (1).

In difficult lighting conditions (2), the thermal camera can detect objects (3) that a visual camera cannot.

The camera (4) is often installed in inaccessible locations.

The wide tilt range allows you to, for example, detect various flying objects (5).

For specifications of the hardware components, see Specifications

1. Sunshield
2. Positioning camera
3. Lid
4. Base unit
5. Base unit screws

1. Back lid
2. SD card lid
3. SD card slot
4. Control button
5. Input power connector
6. I/O connector
7. RJ45 connector
8. SFP slot for SFP module (SFP module not included)

To find Axis devices on the network and assign them IP addresses in Windows®, use AXIS IP Utility or AXIS Device Manager. Both applications are free and can be downloaded from axis.com/support.

For more information about how to find and assign IP addresses, go to How to assign an IP address and access your device.

You can use the device with the following browsers:

*To use AXIS OS web interface with iOS 15 or iPadOS 15, go to Settings > Safari > Advanced > Experimental Features and disable NSURLSession Websocket.

If you need more information about recommended browsers, go to AXIS OS Portal.

1. Open a browser and enter the IP address or host name of the Axis device.

   If you do not know the IP address, use AXIS IP Utility or AXIS Device Manager to find the device on the network.

2. Enter the username and password. If you access the device for the first time, you must set the root password. See Set a new password for the root account.

3. The live view page opens in your browser.

1. Type a password. Follow the instructions about secure passwords. See Secure passwords.

2. Retype the password to confirm the spelling.

3. Click Create login. The password has now been configured.

The device password is the primary protection for your data and services. Axis devices do not impose a password policy as they may be used in various types of installations.

To protect your data we strongly recommend that you:

• Use a password with at least 8 characters, preferably created by a password generator.

• Don’t expose the password.

• Change the password at a recurring interval, at least once a year.

You can access the built-in help from the device’s webpage. The help provides more detailed information on the device’s features and their settings.

Electronic Image Stabilization (EIS) can be used in environments where the product is mounted in an exposed location and subject to vibrations, for example, wind or passing traffic. Turn on EIS to get a smoother and steadier image without blur.

EIS also reduces the file size of the compressed image and lowers the bitrate of the video stream.

1. Go to Settings > Image > Image correction.

2. Turn on EIS.

Color palettes applied to thermal images help the human eye distinguish image details. The colors in the palette are artificially created pseudocolors that emphasize temperature differences.

The product has several color palettes to choose from. If an operator watches the video stream, you can choose any of the palettes. If the video stream is only used by applications, select the white-hot palette.

A privacy mask is a user-defined area that prevents users from viewing a part of the monitored area. In the video stream, privacy masks appear as blocks of solid color or blurred image elements.

You’ll see the privacy mask on all snapshots, recorded video, and live streams.

You can use the VAPIX® application programming interface (API) to turn off the privacy masks.

You can create one or several privacy masks to hide parts of the image.

1. Go to Settings > Privacy mask.

2. Click New.

3. Adjust the size, color, and name of the privacy mask according to your needs.

A guard tour displays the video stream from different preset positions either in a predetermined or random order, and for configurable periods of time. Once started, a guard tour continues to run until stopped, even when there are no clients (web browsers) viewing the images.

A guard tour displays the video stream from different preset positions either in a predetermined or random order, and for configurable periods of time.

1. Go to Settings > PTZ > Guard tours.

2. Click .

3. To edit the guard tour’s properties, click .

4. Type a name for the guard tour and specify the pause length in minutes between each tour.

5. If you want the guard tour to go to the preset positions in a random order, turn on Shuffle.

6. Click Done.

7. Click Add to add the preset positions that you want in your guard tour.

8. Click Done to exit the guard tour settings.

9. To schedule the guard tour, go to System > Events.

Bitrate control helps you to manage the bandwidth consumption of your video stream.

Variable bitrate (VBR)Variable bitrate allows the bandwidth consumption to vary depending on the level of activity in the scene. The more activity, the more bandwidth you need. With variable bitrate you are guaranteed constant image quality, but you need to make sure you have storage margins.

Maximum bitrate (MBR)Maximum bitrate lets you set a target bitrate to handle bitrate limitations in your system. You might see a decline in image quality or frame rate as the instantaneous bitrate is kept below the specified target bitrate. You can choose to prioritize either image quality or frame rate. We recommend that you configure the target bitrate to a higher value than the expected bitrate. This gives you a margin in case there is a high level of activity in the scene.

1. Target bitrate

Average bitrate (ABR)With average bitrate, the bitrate is automatically adjusted over a longer period of time. This is so you can meet the specified target and provide the best video quality based on your available storage. Bitrate is higher in scenes with a lot of activity, compared to static scenes. You are more likely to get better image quality when in scenes with a lot of activity if you use the average bitrate option. You can define the total storage required to store the video stream for a specified amount of time (retention time) when image quality is adjusted to meet the specified target bitrate. Specify the average bitrate settings in one of the following ways:

• To calculate the estimated storage need, set the target bitrate and the retention time.

• To calculate the average bitrate, based on available storage and required retention time, use the target bitrate calculator.

• 
  1. Target bitrate
  2. Actual average bitrate
• You can also turn on maximum bitrate and specify a target bitrate within the average bitrate option.
• 
  1. Target bitrate
  2. Actual average bitrate

Decide which compression method to use based on your viewing requirements, and on the properties of your network. The available options are:

Motion JPEG

Motion JPEG, or MJPEG, is a digital video sequence that is made up of a series of individual JPEG images. These images are then displayed and updated at a rate sufficient to create a stream that shows constantly updated motion. For the viewer to perceive motion video the rate must be at least 16 image frames per second. Full motion video is perceived at 30 (NTSC) or 25 (PAL) frames per second.

The Motion JPEG stream uses considerable amounts of bandwidth, but provides excellent image quality and access to every image contained in the stream.

H.264 or MPEG-4 Part 10/AVC

H.264 can, without compromising image quality, reduce the size of a digital video file by more than 80% compared to the Motion JPEG format and by as much as 50% compared to older MPEG formats. This means that less network bandwidth and storage space are required for a video file. Or seen another way, higher video quality can be achieved for a given bitrate.

1. Go to live view and select H.264.

2. Go to Settings > Stream.

3. Do one or more of the following:

4. • Turn on the Zipstream functionality and select the desired level.

   • Turn on dynamic GOP and set a high GOP length value.

   • Increase the compression.

   • Turn on dynamic FPS.

1. To store recordings on the network, you need to set up your network storage.

2. Go to Settings > System > Storage.

3. Click Setup under Network storage.

4. Enter the IP address of the host server.

5. Enter the name of the shared location on the host server.

6. Move the switch if the share requires a login, and enter username and password.

7. Click Connect.

The Image tab contains camera settings that affect all video streams from the product. If you change something in this tab, it immediately affects all video streams and recordings.

The Stream tab contains settings for video streams. You get these settings if you request a video stream from the product and don’t specify for example resolution, or frame rate. When you change the settings in the Stream tab, it doesn’t affect ongoing streams, but it will take effect when you start a new stream.

The Stream profiles settings override the settings from the Stream tab. If you request a stream with a specific stream profile, the stream contains the settings of that profile. If you request a stream without specifying a stream profile, or request a stream profile that doesn't exist in the product, the stream contains the settings from the Stream tab.

To record video you must first set up network storage, see Set up network storage, or have an SD card installed.

1. Record video

2. Go to the live view.

3. To start a recording, click Record. Click again to stop the recording.

1. Watch video

2. Click Storage > Go to recordings.

3. Select your recording in the list and it will play automatically.

You can create rules to make your device perform an action when certain events occur. A rule consists of conditions and actions. The conditions can be used to trigger the actions. For example, the device can start a recording or send an email when it detects motion, or show an overlay text while the device is recording.

To learn more, check out our guide Get started with rules for events.

1. Go to Settings > System > Events to set up a rule. The rule defines when the device will perform certain actions. Rules can be setup as scheduled, recurring, or for example, triggered by motion detection.

2. Select the Condition that must be met to trigger the action. If you specify more than one condition for the rule, all of the conditions must be met to trigger the action.

3. Select which Action the device should perform when the conditions are met.

This example explains how to set up the camera to go to a preset position when it detects motion in the image.

1. Make sure that AXIS Video Motion Detection is running:

2. Go to Settings > Apps > AXIS Video Motion Detection.

3. Start the application if it is not already running.

4. Make sure you have set up the application according to your needs. If you need help, see the user manual for AXIS Video Motion Detection 4.

Add a preset position:

Go to Settings > PTZ and set where you want the camera to be directed by creating a preset position.

1. Create a rule:

2. Go to Settings > System > Events > Rules and add a rule.

3. Type a name for the rule.

4. In the list of conditions, select a video motion detection condition under Application.

5. From the list of actions, select Go to preset position.

6. Select the preset position you want the camera to go to.

7. Click Save.

AXIS Camera Application Platform (ACAP) is an open platform that enables third parties to develop analytics and other applications for Axis products. To find out more about available applications, downloads, trials and licenses, go to axis.com/applications.

To find the user manuals for Axis applications, go to help.axis.com.

To reset the product to the factory default settings:

1. Disconnect power from the product.

2. Press and hold the control button while reconnecting power. See Product overview.

3. Keep the control button pressed for 15–30 seconds until the status LED indicator flashes amber.

4. Release the control button. The process is complete when the status LED indicator turns green. The product has been reset to the factory default settings. If no DHCP server is available on the network, the default IP address is 192.168.0.90.

5. Use the installation and management software tools to assign an IP address, set the password, and access the video stream.

   The installation and management software tools are available from the support pages on axis.com/support.

It is also possible to reset parameters to factory default through the web interface. Go to Settings > System > Maintenance and click Default.

Axis offers product firmware management according to either the active track or the long-term support (LTS) tracks. Being on the active track means continuously getting access to all the latest product features, while the LTS tracks provide a fixed platform with periodic releases focused mainly on bug fixes and security updates.

Using firmware from the active track is recommended if you want to access the newest features, or if you use Axis end-to-end system offerings. The LTS tracks are recommended if you use third-party integrations, which are not continuously validated against the latest active track. With LTS, the products can maintain cybersecurity without introducing any significant functional changes or affecting any existing integrations. For more detailed information about Axis product firmware strategy, go to axis.com/support/firmware.

Firmware is the software that determines the functionality of network devices. One of your first actions when troubleshooting a problem should be to check the current firmware version. The latest version may contain a correction that fixes your particular problem.

To check the current firmware:

1. Go to the product’s webpage.

2. Click the help menu .

3. Click About.

AXIS Device Manager can be used for multiple upgrades. Find out more at axis.com/products/axis-device-manager.

1. Download the firmware file to your computer, available free of charge at axis.com/support/firmware.

2. Log in to the product as an administrator.

3. Go to Settings > System > Maintenance. Follow the instructions on the page. When the upgrade has finished, the product restarts automatically.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for here, try the troubleshooting section at axis.com/support.

When setting up your system, it is important to consider how various settings and situations affect the performance. Some factors affect the amount of bandwidth (the bitrate) required, others can affect the frame rate, and some affect both. If the load on the CPU reaches its maximum, this also affects the frame rate.

The following factors are the most important to consider:

• High image resolution or lower compression levels result in images containing more data which in turn affects the bandwidth.

• Rotating the image in the GUI will increase the product's CPU load.

• Access by large numbers of Motion JPEG or unicast H.264 clients affects the bandwidth.

• Simultaneous viewing of different streams (resolution, compression) by different clients affects both frame rate and bandwidth.

  Use identical streams wherever possible to maintain a high frame rate. Stream profiles can be used to ensure that streams are identical.

• Accessing Motion JPEG and H.264 video streams simultaneously affects both frame rate and bandwidth.

• Heavy usage of event settings affects the product’s CPU load which in turn affects the frame rate.

• Using HTTPS may reduce frame rate, in particular if streaming Motion JPEG.

• Heavy network utilization due to poor infrastructure affects the bandwidth.

• Viewing on poorly performing client computers lowers perceived performance and affects frame rate.

• Running multiple AXIS Camera Application Platform (ACAP) applications simultaneously may affect the frame rate and the general performance.

This product supports microSD/microSDHC/microSDXC cards.

For SD card recommendations, see axis.com.

microSD, microSDHC, and microSDXC Logos are trademarks of SD-3C LLC. microSD, microSDHC, microSDXC are trademarks or registered trademarks of SD-3C, LLC in the United States, other countries or both.

• The control button is used for:

• Resetting the product to factory default settings. See Reset to factory default settings.

RJ45 Ethernet connector.

SFP connector.

Use the I/O connector with external devices in combination with, for example, motion detection, event triggering, and alarm notifications. In addition to the 0 V DC reference point and power (DC output), the I/O connector provides the interface to:

Digital input

For connecting devices that can toggle between an open and closed circuit, for example PIR sensors, door/window contacts, and glass break detectors.

Digital output

For connecting external devices such as relays and LEDs. Connected devices can be activated by the VAPIX® Application Programming Interface, trough an event or from the product’s webpage.

6-pin terminal block

Exemple

1. DC ground
2. DC output 12 V, max 50 mA
3. I/O configured as input
4. I/O configured as output
5. Configurable I/O
6. Configurable I/O

4-pin terminal block for power input.