Dartfish Software now supports streamed video from the Axis Q1615 MK II and the Merit Lilin UFG1122 IP cameras. These are the first cameras which we have tested which offer a frame rate of up to 120 fps and, in the case of the Lilin camera, full HD (1080p) at this frame rate.
Generally speaking, IP cameras are good for video analysis where the camera needs to be to be left in position. They are designed for this; being left permanently switched on; connected to the computer via a network (wired or wireless); free from the cable length restrictions imposed on USB connected devices; and they can be easily weatherproofed. Furthermore, they provide the same controls over the image quality that you’ll find on a decent camcorder: exposure and gain for example.
Dartfish has now had many years of experience with capture from IP cameras. We support those which use the ONVIF standard and although those specifications cover things like IP configuration, device discovery, device management, PTZ camera control, and video analytics, ONVIF does not specify the suitability of the video format for video analysis. For this reason, Dartfish continues to recommend specific camera models and drivers, while expecting that other untested models may also work.
That’s the significance of these cameras then – devices with double the typical number of frames per second which have been tested by Dartfish. Higher frame rate confers two advantages. The first being that more detail of a movement can be observed in slow motion or frame by frame replay as the jump from one frame to another is smaller. The exposure time must also be faster, thus reducing motion blur although the concepts of frame rate and exposure are often confused and in fact it is usually possible to set an exposure to eliminate motion blur on lower frame rate cameras too.
We have written a detailed document which explains more and also lists all IP cameras tested.
