Video Channel

📹 Object: Video Channel (The Digital Eye of the System)¶

Represents a single video stream from a device, typically a security camera.
It's one of the most complex objects because it acts simultaneously as: - Sensor → Provides visual information and metadata. - Actuator → Can be commanded to record, move, etc.

📖 Concept¶

It's the "eye" of the system, allowing observation of an area in real-time.
Responds to: - What is happening here? - Can you show me the details? - Can you save a record of this?

A single camera device can have multiple Video Channel objects (e.g., main stream in high quality and sub stream in low quality for previews).

⚙️ Operation¶

The Video Channel exposes properties that describe: - Its capabilities → If it's PTZ, if it supports recording. - Its current technical state → Resolution, FPS, bitrate.

Rules can: - Read these properties. - Send commands to start recordings, move the camera, etc.

✨ Key Point¶

It's the visual source of truth and contextual evidence.
While other sensors offer abstract data, the Video Channel provides irrefutable visual proof, crucial for verification and investigation.

📊 Key Properties¶

1️⃣ Channel Capabilities (static)¶

ptz → Indicates if the camera supports Pan, Tilt, Zoom.
support_recording → Informs if the channel can record video.
resolutions → List of supported resolutions.

2️⃣ Stream State (dynamic)¶

resolution → Image quality.
fps → Frames per second.
bitrate → Video data rate.
codec → Compression format.
Main stream → High quality (recording).
Sub stream → Low quality (optimized live viewing).

3️⃣ Identifiers and Resources¶

stream_id → Unique identifier to access the stream.
thumbnail_url → Recent static image for preview.

🧠 Derived States and Common Actions¶

recording (Recording) → Most important state; can be activated by a rule (e.g., Alarm Panel in in_alarm).
motion_detected (Motion Detected) → Activated by internal motion analytics.
ptz_control (PTZ Control) → If ptz = true, allows moving the camera to predefined positions (presets).
idle / offline (Idle / Offline) → Indicates availability or connection loss.

✨ Key Point to Highlight¶

The Video Channel transforms the system from a data collection to a verification and evidence platform.

Goes from knowing something happened (e.g., a door opened)
to understanding how, who, and what happened next, with visual context for security and decision-making.

Properties¶

ptz: boolean indicating if the video channel is PTZ
support_recording: boolean indicating if the video channel supports recording
resolutions: array of strings indicating supported resolutions
main_stream_fps: number indicating current frames per second rate
main_stream_resolution: string indicating current resolution
main_stream_bitrate: number indicating current bitrate. Bitrate is the bandwidth used by the video channel.
main_stream_codec: string indicating current codec. Codec is the compression algorithm used for the video channel.
main_stream_audio_codec: string indicating current codec. Codec is the compression algorithm used for the audio channel.
main_stream_support_audio: boolean indicating if the video channel supports audio.
main_stream_profile_name: string indicating current profile name. Profile is the video profile name used for the video channel.
sub_stream_fps: number indicating current frames per second rate
sub_stream_resolution: string indicating current resolution
sub_stream_bitrate: number indicating current bitrate. Bitrate is the bandwidth used by the video channel.
sub_stream_bitrate: number indicating current bitrate. Bitrate is the bandwidth used by the video channel.
sub_stream_codec: string indicating current codec. Codec is the compression algorithm used for the video channel.
sub_stream_audio_codec: string indicating current codec. Codec is the compression algorithm used for the audio channel.
sub_stream_support_audio: boolean indicating if the video channel supports audio.
sub_stream_profile_name: string indicating current profile name. Profile is the video profile name used for the video channel.
stream_id: string indicating the main stream id, i.e., the highest quality stream.
sub_stream_id: string indicating the secondary stream id, i.e., the lower quality stream.
thumbnail_url: string indicating the video channel thumbnail url.
video_engine_id: string indicating the video engine id assigned to the video channel for video encoding and decoding.

The properties of fps, resolution, bitrate, codec, audio_codec, support_audio, profile_name are updated by the driver only if the integration protocol supports it.