Swap out a broken camera in Alta Video

Last modified: Thursday October 12, 2023.

If a camera breaks, Alta Video provides the tools to easily get the replacement camera up-and-running.

Prerequisites

Ensure that the replacement camera has been physically installed in your site, and that you have the following information available:

  • The name assigned to the camera (optional). This name is used to refer to the device from within Alta Video.
  • IP address of the camera (if using static IP addresses).
  • Username and Password needed to access the camera.

Task — Replace a camera

  1. Choose Tools Open a tool > Devices Devices.
  2. Select the camera to be replaced.

    Use Search for devices Search to find the camera in large lists of devices. Use Advanced search options Advanced Search options to filter search results by your selected category (for example, Device Name, View, or other information that can be used to identify the device).

  3. Click Edit settings.
  4. Click Maintenance.
  5. Click Replace camera.
  6. For Avigilon cloud-native cameras:
    1. Use Read QR code to scan the QR code for the new camera, or enter the Alta Key for the camera that is replacing the old one.
    2. Click Done.
      The new camera replaces the old one.
  7. For cameras connected to Alta Cloud Connectors:
    1. Use Network discovery, or enter the IP address for the replacement camera.
    2. Choose to have the camera feed encrypted. This can be:
      1. Off
      2. On (when available)
      3. On
    3. From Protocol, select from:
      1. Onvif camera
      2. Ava camera
      3. Avigilon camera
      4. Axis camera
      5. Vivotek camera
      6. RTSP camera
    4. Set the required Port.
    5. Click Next.
    6. Select the Username and Password combination to use for the new camera.

      You can select multiple Username/Password combinations, or add new credentials. For some cameras, they might need multiple Username/Password combinations, used for different streams or for different protocols.

      Some devices have account lockout policies based on the number of failed attempts. This may cause the device to fail to be added when selecting multiple credentials. If this happens, wait for the accounts to become unlocked and try again with only the correct credentials for the device selected.

    7. Click Next.
    8. Click Ok to replace the camera.

    8. After checking that the selected Username and Password and all other information matches the replacement camera, the device is added in place of the defective camera in Alta Video.

You should review and adjust all line-crossing and masking settings.