SKJM - iCam

iCam Help
Getting Started | Motion Detection | Troubleshooting
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Motion Detection

One of the main features of iCam is the ability for the iCamSource to send Push Notifications to your iOS (iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad) or Android device as well as record Motion Events to your computer whenever motion is detected.

iCam's Motion Detection capabilities have been featured on both CNN and Good Morning America.

You can configure the iCamSource to Send Push Notifications and/or Record Motion Events whenever motion is detected. You can also adjust the sensitivity of the motion detection settings so as to reduce "false-positives" while still detecting motion when appropriate.

Those Motion Detection Settings can also be adjusted remotely via iCam:

Push Notifications

Here is a quick overview of what to expect with Push Notifications in iCam:

A Push Notification looks like an SMS message or Calendar alert on your iOS or Android device.
You will only receive Push Notifications when iCam is not running on your iOS or Android device.
The maximum number of notifications you will see from a specific camera is one every minute. (In other words, if a camera is constantly detecting motion, you will only be notified at most once a minute.)

Here is a video demonstration of the Motion Detection Settings and Push Notifications from an earlier version of iCam.

Motion Events

Motion Events are saved to the iCamSource computer's Motion Events Folder whenever motion is detected. You can View or Change the Motion Events Folder by clicking the appropriate button on the iCamSource. The Motion Events Folder Limit can be adjusted to use as little or as much of your computer's hard drive space as you specify. Once the limit is reached, old Motion Events are deleted to make room for new ones.

Motion Events can be browsed through and played back remotely from within iCam. Individual images from a Motion Event can be saved to your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad's Photos Camera Roll to be e-mailed, sent via MMS, or simply saved for later viewing. Using iCam, users can delete individual images, entire Motion Events, or even All Motion Events associated with a single camera.

Here is a video demonstration of the Motion Events features and interface from an earlier version of iCam.

Many iCam users also take advantage of the free DropBox service to automatically backup their Motion Events Folder to the Internet as Motion Events are recorded in case the iCamSource computer is stolen.

Global Motion Detection Settings

Tapping the

icon from the iCam thumbnail view will display the Global Motion Detection Settings that allow you to turn the Sending of Push Notifications and Recording of Motion Events ON or OFF for all cameras with the tap of a single button.

Impact on CPU Usage

The Motion Detection processing does increase the overall CPU usage of the iCamSource, and on some older or slower systems the iCamSource does not run properly when using the default Motion Detection settings. To decrease the overall CPU usage of the iCamSource you can either adjust the Perform Motion Detection slider down towards Less Often or uncheck the Enable Motion Detection checkbox to disable it completely.

Motion Detection Zones

In addition to adjusting the sensitivity of the motion detection settings you can also enable Detection Zones to selectively monitor or ignore specific sections of your camera's view to further reduce "false-positive" detections.

If your camera's view includes an oscillating fan or trees swaying in the breeze you can specify that those movements be ignored by the motion detection processing by clicking on the appropriate detection zone to disable them.

Scheduling

The Schedule tab of the iCamSource allows you to schedule the Send Push Notification and Record Motion Events Motion Detection checkbox states at specific days and times for each camera.

The Schedule entries can best be thought of like this:

"On this day (or these days), at this time, make sure that the Send Push Notifications and Record Motion Events checkboxes are checked (or unchecked)"

So, for example, if you wanted a camera to always Record Motion Events but only Send Push Notifications every weekday between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm you would create the two entries shown above.

You can still manually change the states of the Send Push Notifications and Record Motion Events checkboxes at any time. The iCamSource will simply change them to whatever state is specified by the schedule entry when the time comes due.