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Record and Playback on the FTP: FD7901, FD7902, FD7903

PREREQUISITES:

A microSD card must be inserted. The camera supports up to a 32GB microSD card. We recommend a class 10 or higher card.

1) PREPARING THE FTP SERVER:

There are many different FTP servers and services available. The actual steps will vary depending on what you’re using, but the idea is the same. We will illustrate how to connect and record on a common server called FileZilla.

  1. First, download and install the FileZilla server. It can be downloaded at https://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=server.
  2. Once downloaded, run the program and use the default install settings.
  3. After it is installed, run the Filezilla Server Interface.

2) SETUP A USER FOR THE FDT CAMERA:

  1. Click the User button then click on the Add button on the Users window that pops up. Enter whatever username you’d like. In this example, we used “Camera”.

2. Now check the “Password” box and create a password for this user.

3. Click the “Shared folders” option on the left panel.

4. Next, click the “Add” button in the Shared folders section.

5. A Browse for Folder window will pop up. Navigate to and select the folder where you want all of the videos and pictures stored.

6. Next, set the permissions for this user. Check “Read” and “Write” under Files as well as “Create” under Directories.

7. When you’re finished, click the OK button and return to the main window.

3) ENSURE THE FTP SERVER IS NOT BLOCKED BY FIREWALL:

  1. Start by opening up the Windows Firewall settings.
  2. Click the start menu then type “firewall”.
  3. Click the option “Allow an app through Windows Firewall”.

4. This will bring up the Allowed apps window. Click the “Change settings” button then the “Allow another app…” button.

5. On the Add an app screen, click the “Browse…” button.

6. Now navigate to and select the “FileZilla Server.exe” file.

7. Click the “Open” button. Click the “Add” button on the Add an app window.

8. You should now be back at the Allowed apps window. Be sure the FileZilla Server has both “Private” and “Public” are check.

9. Click “OK” to close this window.

4) CONNECT THE CAMERA TO THE FTP SERVER:

  1. Login to your cameras interface and click the Config tab at the top.
  2. On the left panel click Advanced and then FTP below it.
  3. You will now see the FTP screen. For “Server” you need to enter the IP address of your FTP server. If the FTP server is running on your computer, it will be the IP address of your computer.
  4. Enter the User Name and Password you created into the corresponding fields.
  5. Click the “Apply” button then the “Test” button.
  6. It should then show “Success” next to the test button. If it shows “Failed” check the IP address of your FTP server, user name and password.

You have now finished setting up the FTP portion of the setup.

Some important notes – this computer and the FTP server app will have to remain on and running to record.

5) CAMERA SETUP:

There are two options for recording: Motion Detection Recording and Timed Recording. Like the names suggest, Motion Detection recording records once motion is detected and Timed Recording records based on the schedule you set.

MOTION DETECTION RECORDING:

  1. Start by logging into the camera’s web interface then going to the Config tab.
  2. On the left panel, click Alarm then Motion Detection.

In this section, you can setup up to four windows with varying sensitives for detecting motion. The sliding bars change the sensitivity of the respective window. Sliding the bar to the right will increase the sensitivity level and show more of the red. Sliding the bar to the left will decrease the sensitivity level and show more of the green.

  1. Slide the bars to your preferred sensitivity.
  2. Enable the windows and adjust the size and position as desired.

Once the window is set to Enable, it will appear in the video feed. This window can be moved and resized as desired. Move the window by clicking and dragging to the desired location. Resize the window by clicking and dragging the bottom right corner of it.

  1. Click Apply once you have configured your preferred settings.

We recommend starting with the default sensitivity setting and adjusting more or less sensitive to meet your needs.

Now, we need to instruct the camera on what to do when motion is detected.

6. To do this, click Alarm Link on the left panel.

7. Set the option “Save Video to FTP” to “Enable” to record when motion is detected and set the option “Save Picture to FTP” to “Enable” to take a snapshot when motion is detected.

8. “Capture Image” will also allow you to save 1, 2, or 3 snapshots when motion is detected.

9. Click Apply to save your settings.

The last adjustment to make is scheduling when you want motion detection to be active.

  1. Click Schedule on the left panel.
  2. The Schedule page shows a grid with days of the week and hours in the day. Red means the motion detection is active and gray means it is inactive.
  3. Click Apply to save your settings.

Timed Recording:

  1. To setup timed recording, on the left panel, click Advanced then Timed Recording.
  2. Change “Enable Recording” to “Enable” to begin timed recording. There is a grid with days of the week and hours in the day. Red means the camera is recording and grey means it is not recording.
  3. “File Recording Duration” is how long the camera will record before creating a new file.
  4. “Stream” is which stream you would like to record. These streams can be adjusted under Media with the sub category Video.

Playback:

There are multiple ways to playback recordings. The easiest way is to download the files from your FTP server and play them using your media player of choice. The other option is to download the files from your FTP server then open them with the web interface by click on the Playback tab then the Open button. You will then browse to the recordings that you’ve downloaded.