Alta Video Video stream requirements

Last modified: Wednesday September 28, 2022.

To provide the analytics needed for creating events and responding to rules, Alta Video requires multiple streams from each camera to provide the best possible experience.

Ideally, at least two streams are needed:

  • The analytics stream needs to be configured as follows:

    • Table 1 – Stream requirements for Avigilon Alta analytics

    ResolutionFrame rateGroup of Pictures (GOP) Length
    Ideal resolution: 1280x720
    Maximum resolution: 1920x1080
    		10 fps0.5 seconds (5 frames)
  • The stream used for storage needs to support the maximum resolution and frame rate that you have selected for storing video.
  • The video streams must be H.264 for storage and for the user interface, and must be either H.264 or MPEG for the analytics.
  • For cameras that only provide two streams, the UI information can be taken from one of the other streams, typically the same stream as used for Analytics.
  • Additionally, if available, a third stream can be used for the live video feeds displayed in the Alta Video user interface.

Each of these streams can have different parameters (resolution, FPS, GOP length, and codec used).

If these streams are either not available, or are sub-optimal, then the performance of Alta Video might be negatively impacted.

Reasons for sub-optimal streams include:

  • Alta Video using passive mode to communicate with the cameras, and therefore needing the required streams to be manually configured using the camera interface.
  • Using cameras that cannot support the required resolutions or GOP lengths needed by Alta Video analytics or storage.
  • Using cameras where the advertised stream capabilities do not provide the expected results.

If a particular camera does not seem to correctly respond to the automatic stream configuration from Alta Video, consider manually configuring settings for that specific camera using Manual stream mode.

To view information for each stream for a camera, open the Devices tool and select the camera of interest. From the device details pane on the right of the screen, expand the Detailed information section, and click View stream information. Scroll through this dialog to view information about each stream from the selected device.

Video stream information

Device video stream information screen