Frequently Asked Question

Overview

When installing an IP camera which is not in the Surveillance Station IP Camera Support List, you can try to select [Generic_brand] as the Camera model to operate the basic camera functions (See the table below).

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1. What is Generic model?

[Generic_brand] is an option of the camera model setting which supports most models of the specified brand. When you choose this option, Surveillance Station will be automatically configured according to the capability of the IP camera being installed.
This option is suitable when the IP camera to be installed is not in support list or has new functions brought by new IP camera firmware updates.

2. How do I use a Generic model?

1. In IP Camera, click Add > Add Camera.
   
2. Select the brand (e.g., AXIS) of your IP camera.
   
3. Select [Generic_brand] (e.g., [Generic_AXIS]) as Camera model.
   

   Note:

   • If your camera model is listed in the drop-down list, we recommend to select the proper model instead of the Generic one for better compatibility.
   • If you fail to set up with the Generic model of the camera's brand, you may try to select [ONVIF] as the Brand, and set the camera model to be [Generic_ONVIF].
   
   
4. When your Surveillance Station and Device Pack versions are updated, you can try to click Load Capability in the camera's edit page to check if any camera features are newly supported by the new package and add-on version.
   

Current compatible camera functions of Generic models

The models of [Generic_brand] are supported in Surveillance Station 7.0 and above.
The following table shows the currently supported Generic models and their compatible camera functions.

Model	Generic_AXIS	Generic_BOSCH	Generic_ONVIF	Generic_HIKVISION
Video Codec	MJPEG, H.264	H.264	MJPEG, H.264, MPEG4	MJPEG, H.264, MPEG4
PTZ Control	Pan, Tilt, Zoom	Pan, Tilt, Zoom	Pan, Tilt, Zoom	Pan, Tilt, Zoom
Auto Focus			✓	-	✓	✓
Present Position & Patrol	✓	✓	✓	✓
Event Detection	Motion, Audio, Tampering, PR	Motion	Motion, Audio, Tampering, PR	Motion, Audio, Tampering, PR
Digital Input/Output	Input, Output	Input	Input, Output	Input, Output
Audio Input/Output	Input, Output	Input	Input, Output	Input, Output
Multicast Streaming	✓	✓	✓	✓
Edge Storage	✓	-	✓
Constant Bitrate Control		✓	✓	✓	✓
		NTP Server Mirror	✓  -	✓	✓	✓
Optimization	Flip	✓	✓	✓	✓
Rotate Exposure Control Day/Night Mode	✓ ✓	✓ ✓	- ✓	✓ ✓
On-Screen Display	✓	✓	-	✓