Release Notes for MOBOTIX Camera Software

Document Information

Contents

These Release Notes contain a technical description of the most important changes in the software for the MOBOTIX network cameras.

Software Releases—Overview

Notes:

• Please download the stable customer releases of the software from www.mobotix.com in the Support > Download Center > Software Downloads section.
• Please note that some of the described features in the dialogs will only be visible if the More button at the bottom of a dialog has been pressed.
• Please send an email to support@mobotix.com for feedback.

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Software Release MX-V5.1.0.99.r4 − for Mx6 Camera Models D16, M16, S16, V16, D26, M26, Q26, S26, c26, i26, p26, v26

Creation Date: 2018-10-24

Publishing Date: 2018-11-06

Enhancements and Improvements

New Storage Method "Buffered MxFFS Archive"

In the Admin Menu > Storage > Storage on external file server dialog, the new option Buffered MxFFS Archive can now be selected as the Primary Target. SMB / CIFS and NFS File Servers can also be used here as an MxFFS Archive Target.  As a result, data in MxFFS format is no longer stored first on the SD card but directly on a connected file server (e.g. NAS device). The internal SD card is then used only for storing some administrative information. Only in the case of a detected file server failure (e.g. lost connection) will the storage be automatically switched to the SD card. Once the file server is available again, the data previously saved on the SD card will be transferred to the server. Due to the significantly reduced load on the SD card, its service life is considerably extended.

Support of Mx6-B Camera Models With MxBus

This release supports the use of MxBus features in the new B variants of the Mx6 models.

Support of the Camera Configuration in MxManagementCenter (MxMC)

As of version 1.8 of the MxManagementCenter (MxMC), the most important settings on the camera can be made from this program. For Mx6 camera models, the current or a newer version of the camera firmware is required to support that function in MxMC.

Automatic Request for Password Change And Password Length

When you first log in to the camera, the user is automatically prompted to change the default password ('meinsm') for the admin user. The new password to be entered must also be at least 8 characters long.

Improved Dual-Core Support

This firmware version now better supports the dual-core processor architecture of the Mx6 camera model. As a result, more functions can be performed by the camera at the same time, without negatively affecting the frame rate.

Improved Online Help

The online help's layout has been improved and all pages now start with an index including links to the different chapters. Additionally the online help page for the Admin Menu > Storage > Storage on External File Server/Flash Device dialog has been completely redesigned and important notes and best practices, mainly for the MxFFS archive, have been added.

Other Improvements and Changes

• Network settings
  Changing the network settings in the Admin Menu > Network configuration > Ethernet Interface dialog is now directly applied directly by pressing the Set button and a camera restart is no longer necessary. Settings are also directly applied (without a camera restart) even when loading a configuration file with changed network settings. When making such a change, it is necessary to ensure that the camera can still be connected via the current network!
• Dual cameras with PoE Class 3
  By default, all Mx6 dual cameras are now set to PoE class 3. This can be changed to class 2 if necessary, but this then leads to deactivation of the second processor core.
• Thermal reference windows (V5.1.0.99.r3 and higher)
  On Thermal cameras without TR sensor, you can now use thermal reference windows when defining events.
• Genetec-Integration
  Integration in the Genetec Security Center now also supports MxAnalytics behavioral events (length of stay, restricted area,...). These are offered for selection in the Security Center in the Events area of the Options dialog (although they are named somewhat differently).
• MxActivitySensor 2.1
  Further improvements to Activity-Sensor 2.1 resulting in reduced false alarms in dark "noisy" images.

Bugfixes

• S26 with external sensors (V5.1.0.99.r3 and higher)
  After connecting and activating an external image sensor to an S26, the information about the on-board image sensor was faulty. As a consequence, the camera did not offer the different display modes for correcting the distortion of the hemisperical lens.
• Image generation with special combinations of MxActivitySensor and MxAnalytics (V5.1.0.99.r3 and higher)
  If you had been using both MxAnalytics and MxActivitySensor and the MxActivitySensor window had a lower height than the MxAnalytics window, image generation did not work properly. This happened quite easily if you had been using the entire image area for MxAnalytics (factory default) and chose to reduce the size of the MxActivitySensor window.
• vPTZ actions in the live image
  After applying vPTZ functions, it could happen that the live image jumped after that and displayed a different area than previously set.
• S26 and Audio
  When using the microphone of an external sensor module with an S26 camera, the audio input in the Admin Menu > Audio and VoIP Telephony > Speaker and Microphone dialog has to be set to Disabled instead of the microphone of the connected sensor module in order to receive an audio signal. Also, with S26 cameras, when using an external speaker (such as the MOBOTIX AudioMount) and with other models when the echo cancellation is activated, a steady soft whistling tone could be heard after a camera restart.
• Alarm notification for storage failure detection
  In the case of a detected failure of MxFFS archives, it was possible that an alarm notification (e.g. E-mail) configured in the Admin Menu > Storage Failure Detection dialog was still sent even after the archive was available again.

Known Limitations

• Shrinking MxFFS archives
  Shrinking existing MxFFS archives takes place in 2GByte steps and it can happen that a file and thus 2 GByte too much can be deleted.
• MxAnalytics results after camera restart
  If a camera restart occurs within the first half hour after a previous camera restart, the MxAnalytics result data generated within that time may be lost. This problem can be prevented by pressing the Force New Record button in the Setup Menu > MxAnalytics Control > MxAnalytics Overview dialog before executing the second restart.
• SIP video
  This release does not support SIP video. This feature will be available again in a later release.
• Translations
  Currently, only the English and German translations of the camera's web browser interface and online help are up-to-date.

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Software Release MX-V5.0.2.14 − for Mx6 Camera Models D16, M16, S16, V16, D26, M26, Q26, S26, c26, i26, p26, v26

Creation Date: 2018-02-07

Publishing Date: 2018-02-14

Enhancements and Improvements

ONVIF S Compatibility

With this release, cameras of the Mx6 product range are compliant to the ONVIF S standard. With respect to the predecessor release, the following functions have been added for ONVIF:

• Event Handling (Notify, Pull Point, Meta Data Stream)
• Meta Data Streaming

Support of the Optional POS Features in MxManagementCenter (MxMC) 1.7 and Higher

From this version on, Mx6 cameras can be integrated with Vectron cash point systems (POS = point of sale) in order to transfer the transaction data of a cash point (e.g., the items on a sales slip) to MxManagementCenter. You can then use MxMC to search and retrieve the transaction data in different views. In addition, MxMC can play back the video recordings for individual transactions.

To set up such a system, a special script for MOBOTIX cameras needs to be installed and configured on the Vectron cash point. To set up the POS system on the camera, you need to follow the steps below:

• Enter the name of the cash point in the new Admin Menu > Camera Administration > Retail Configuration dialog.
• If required, activate the Event Logging option in the Admin Menu > Storage on External File Server / Flash Device dialog (activated by factory default).
• Reboot the camera.

After that, you need to license the feature in MxMC to be able to configure a new "Retail System" consisting of the cash point and the assigned camera. You can now search the transaction data of the cash point to retrieve the corresponding recordings in the special "Retail view" of MxMC.

For additional information about this new feature, please also see the Online Help of the camera.

Bugfixes

• MxFFS archive with files of 4 bytes size
  When writing MxFFS archives, the archives sometimes contained files with 4 bytes, which led to a situation where the camera could not write to the archive any more.
• MxAnalytics Reports
  The counting corridor and heatmap reports sent after MxAnalytics events sometimes did not contain any data.
• Network switches with IEEE 802.3az
  Connecting a camera to a switch with activated energy saving mode according to IEEE 802.3az sometimes resulted in connection failures.
• Image errors on S16 cameras
  After updating the camera software from release V5.0.x to V5.0.1.53, S16 cameras sometimes showed image errors.
• Power supply of USB devices
  USB devices connected to the camera were powered by the camera although they had not been activated in the software.
• Translations
  On some dialogs of the browser-based web interface of the camera, the French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese texts were faulty.

Known Limitations

• SIP video
  This release does not support SIP video. This feature will be available again in a later release.

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Software Release MX-V5.0.1.53 − for Mx6 Camera Models D16, M16, S16, V16, D26, M26, Q26, S26, c26, i26, p26, v26

Creation Date: 2017-10-26

Publishing Date: 2017-11-20

Enhancements and Improvements

MxPEG+ Video Codec

Together with the new Mx6 hardware, the proprietary MxPEG video codec by MOBOTIX has been improved to MxPEG+. This codec is now the default codec on Mx6 cameras, although the visible name has not changed. From this release onward, the "MxPEG" codec actually uses the much more efficient MxPEG+ variant, which uses significantly less bandwidth for displaying and storing the video stream than its predecessor. Using MxPEG+ instead of MxPEG typically saves about 25 % in bandwidth. In dark scenes or at night, the increased efficiency is much more significant – the required bandwidth drops by up to 50 %.

MxActivitySensor 2.1

MxActivitySensor 2.1 of this release uses a significantly improved strategy compared to its predecessor release 2.0. The main objective is to avoid false alarms that occurred in a scene due to changes in illumination or light shadows, for example. The basic functionality and the sensor settings have not changed from MxActivitySensor 2.0.

ONVIF Enhancements

This release contains some important enhancements regarding ONVIF:

• Authentication
  The authentication of an ONVIF client now uses a WS security UsernameToken profile. HTTP digest authentication has been removed from ONVIF.
• ONVIF Users
  The users required for establishing an ONVIF connection are now managed separately from the regular camera users. Open the Admin Menu > Camera Administration > Integration Protocols dialog and go to the ONVIF section to add ONVIF users and to change their passwords. By factory default, three different ONVIF users are already present – admin, operator, user.
  Note: After upgrading a camera from release 5.0.0.x to the current release with existing ONVIF clients, you need to change all connections to the camera to the new ONVIF users. This does not happen automatically.
• Multicast Support
  You can now use the Multicast interface of the camera via an ONVIF connection.

Bitrate Control for H.264 Streaming

You can now set H.264 streaming to maintain image quality and to reduce the frame rate instead, if required. This happens only if the defined bit rate (bandwidth) is exceeded. Open the Admin Menu > Camera Administration > Integration Protocols dialog, go to the H.264 Settings section and activate the new Constant Quality Mode option.

Support of the New MxIOBoard-IC Module for x26 Indoor Cameras

Thanks to the new MxIOBoard-IC Module, the c26, i26, p26, and v26 camera models can use two signal inputs and two signal outputs (isolated relay or 12 V self-powered). The module is to be wired fully before it is plugged onto the powered-off camera's mainboard. After finishing the installation and starting the camera, the module is recognized automatically and listed in the Camera Status dialog in the System section.

You can immediately use the signal inputs to define signal event profiles in Setup Menu > Event Overview. Likewise, you can immediately use the signal outputs to define signal output profiles in Admin Menu > Hardware Configuration > Signal Out Profiles. In addition, the signal inputs and outputs are automatically listed in the Admin Menu > Assign Wires dialog so you can use them immediately for door and light features. Input 1 is assigned to the door sensor, Input 2 to the lock sensor, Output 1 is assigned to the door opener and Output 2 to a light switch.

If you want to use one or both signal outputs not as isolated relay outputs, but as self-powered 12 V outputs, you set this mode for the desired outputs in the Admin Menu > Hardware Configuration > Manage Hardware Expansions dialog, MxBus/IO Board section.

Other Enhancements

• Shock Detector
  This release supports the on-board shock detector that can trigger events of the type Shock Detector.
• RTSP Streaming
  The camera can now send the requested RTSP stream via an HTTP tunnel. Open the Admin Menu > Camera Administration > Integration Protocols dialog, go to the Global Settings section and activate the new RTSP-over-HTTP Tunnel option.

Bugfixes

• MxActivitySensor
  When using MxActivitySensor areas together with the new $generate option, the camera sometimes developed issues and rebooted.
• H.264 Streaming
  H.264 streaming produced image errors and instabilities on some streaming clients (such as some DVRs).
• Configuration of S16 and S26
  On the S16 and S26 camera models, the browser-based user interface contained the Admin Menu > Video Door Station section.
• MxAnalytics Counters
  Resetting the MxAnalytics counters in blue counting corridors did not work properly.

Known Limitations

• Image errors on S16 cameras
  After updating the camera software from release V5.0.x to V5.0.1.53, S16 cameras sometimes show image errors.
• MxAnalytics Reports
  Creating MxAnalytics reports with counting corridors or a heatmap from the data stored on an SD card does not work properly in this release.
• SIP video
  This release does not support SIP video. This feature will be available again in a later release.
• Translations
  Some languages (such as FR, ES) show texts in some dialogs that actually belong to other dialogs.

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Software Release MX-V5.0.0.133 − for Mx6 Camera Models D16, M16, S16, V16, D26, M26, Q26, S26, c26, i26, p26, v26 − With Thermal Sensors as well as 6MP and 5MP Image Sensors

Creation Date: 2017-07-21

Publishing Date: 2017-08-08

Enhancements and Improvements

Support of FTPS (TLSv1, TLSv1.1 and TLSv1.2)

This software release supports file transfers of the camera using FTPS (FTP via Transport Layer Security). The supported TLS versions are TLSv1, TLSv1.1 and TLSv1.2.

Other Improvements

• Improvement to Intrusion Detection
  When attempting to connect an IP address that is blocked by intrusion detection, the error message "404 not found" can now be returned by the camera instead of the standard error message "403 forbidden". For that purpose the following entry must be inserted in the camera configuration file:
  SECTION httpd
  ids_http_403_to_404=1
  ENDSECTION httpd
• Update of the OpenVPN-Client to version 2.4.3.
  This version provides, among other things, improved protection against DoS and memory overflow attacks.

Bugfixes

• Fixed gSOAP security issue in OVIF integration
  This release fixes the gSOAP security issue "Devil's Ivy", which was created due to a vulnerable part of the ONVIF Toolkit.
  

  However, this vulnerability could only be exploited in the affected software releases, if the ONVIF integration had been activated. If only the MxPEG video streaming codec developed by MOBOTIX was being used, the vulnerability could not be exploited.

• Profile for Network Messages and Full Image Recording
  When using profiles for network notifications (IP-Notify) with event images in combination with Full Image Recording, the IP Notify message was not sent if the triggering event of such a profile did not simultaneously trigger recording.
• Image Logo Upload
  Automated uploading of logos via web server URLs did not work properly in some cases.
• Thermal TR cameras with temperature values ​​above 2000° C
  A Thermal TR camera could, in rare cases, display a temperature of more than 2000 ° C.
• Integration Protocols dialog and IE 11
  The Admin Menu > Cameras Administration > Integration Protocols dialog did not work properly when using Internet Explorer 11. The changes made in the dialog were not stored properly in the camera.

Known Limitations

• SIP video
  This release does not support SIP video. This feature will be available again in a later release.
• Shock Sensor
  This version does not yet support the integrated shock sensor to trigger Shock Sensor events.

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Software Release MX-V5.0.0.130 − for Mx6 Camera Models D16, M16, S16, V16, D26, M26, Q26, S26, c26, i26, p26, v26 − With Thermal Sensors as well as 6MP and 5MP Image Sensors

Creation Date: 2017-06-21

Publishing Date: 2017-07-14

Enhancements and Improvements

Support of Mx6 Indoor Camera Models

This software release also supports the new Mx6 indoor camera models i26, c26, p26 and v26. As a consequence, the new features of the Mx6 camera line are also supported on these models (noticeably higher frame rates, H.264 video streaming, ONVIF etc. In addition, the design and the handling of the i26, c26, p26 and v26 cameras does not differ from their predecessor models of the P3 camera line.

Factory Default Settings changed

The following factory default settings have been changed in this version:

• Image size = MEGA and Image Quality = Normal
  The camera now delivers 25 fps immediately after first start because of this change.
• Genetec and ONVIF Support activated per default
  The integration of cameras in Genetec and ONVIF video management systems is easier now because Genetec and ONVIF are now activated per default in the Admin Menu > Camera Administration > Integration Protocols dialog.

Event Stream Group Right for Integrating Cameras into MxManagementCenter

To integrate a MOBOTIX camera into MxManagementCenter (MxMC), you had to use the access credentials of a user with admin rights on the camera.

This software release provides a better solution: In the Admin Menu > Security > Group Access Control Lists, you can now add a new group with the new Event Stream right. If you are using the credentials of such a user to integrate the camera into MxMC, you can use all features of MxMC (except updating the camera software). In addition, the user cannot make any configuration changes in the browser-based user interface of the camera.

Separating the rights in such a manner has significantly increased the system security, especially where larger installations are concerned.

Enhanced Security Thanks to Special Characters in Passwords

Firmware release MX-V5.0.0.130 (just like MX-V5.0.0.127) allows using special characters to create more complex passwords (Admin Menu > Security > Users and Passwords). This again increases the protection against unwanted camera access. To prevent problems when logging in from different browsers, all printable special characters from the US ASCII character set are allowed:
! " # $ % & ' ( ) * +, −. /:; < = >? @ [ \ ] ^ _ `{ | } ~.

ONVIF Description

The online help for the ONVIF integration has been extended.

Bugfixes

• M16: Day/night operation
  When using an M16 in Day/Night mode, the Black&White (Night) image sensor sometimes showed image errors.
• Warning note for network settings
  After changing and storing the network settings in the Admin Menu > Network Configuration > Ethernet Interface dialog, the Administration dialog showed a faulty warning in the Network Configuration section.
• Storage on external file server after changing the language
  After setting French or Italian as language in the browser-based user interface, the Admin Menu > Storage > Storage on External File Server / Flash Device dialog showed some wrong contents.

Known Limitations

• IP Notify profiles and full image recording
  When using IP notify (network message) profiles with event images in combination with full image recording, errors may occur if the event that triggered the sending of the message not also triggers a recording.
• Logo upload
  The automated loading of logos from web server URLs does not always work reliably.
• Thermal TR cameras show temperature values above 2000 °C.
  On rare occasions, Thermal-TR cameras can show temperatures above 2000 °C.
• Integration Protocols dialog and IE 11
  The Admin Menu > Cameras Administration > Integration Protocols dialog does not work properly when using Internet Explorer 11. The changes made in the dialog will not be stored properly in the camera.
• SIP video
  This release does not support SIP video. This feature will be available again in a later release.
• Shock Sensor
  This version does not yet support the integrated shock sensor to trigger Shock Sensor events.

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Software Release MX-V5.0.0.127 − for Mx6 Camera Models D16, M16, S16, V16, D26, M26, Q26, S26 − with Thermal Sensors as well as 6MP and 5MP Image Sensors

Creation Date: 2017-04-27

Publishing Date: 2017-05-05

The following list describes the new features, enhancements and improvements as compared to the P3 models (software releases V4.x).

Enhancements and Improvements

Higher Frame Rates

As mentioned above, the Mx6 models display noticeably higher frame rates with less variation as in the P3 camera models. This is mainly due to the higher computational power of the dual-core processor. The frame rate can reach 42 fps when using HD image size (1280x720), the MxPEG video codec and Normal image quality:

RTP Streaming, H.264 and Genetec Integration

To integrate these camera models into other video management systems, you can use RTP streaming, H.264 and a special Genetec integration interface. Open the Admin Menu > Camera Administration > Integration Protocols dialog and activate the RTP Server and/or Genetec options to use these features.

ONVIF Integration

This is the first software release to support the ONVIF standard; it complies with many basic features of this global and open communication standard. Currently, the following ONVIF features or codecs and protocols are supported: Discovery Service, Digest Authentication, Scope Management, Profiles with Reset via Web UI, H.264, M-JPEG, RTP, TCP, HTTP.

Open the Admin Menu > Camera Administration > Integration Protocols dialog and activate the ONVIF option to activate the integrated ONVIF support. If you activate the ONVIF Discovery Service in this dialog, you can also define ONVIF Scopes and show or delete the ONVIF Profiles created by an ONVIF video management system.

Bugfixes

The bugfixes described in the following refer to the software releases prior to release V5.0.0.127 that had been delivered with the first Mx6 camera models.

• Recording on SMB/CIFS file server
  When using an SMB/CIFS file server as primary recording target (with MX folder/file structure) or as MxFFS archive, the camera sometimes could not connect to the file server.
• Several RTP H.264 streams
  When requesting more than one RTP H.264 stream, the additional streams sometimes displayed image errors.
• RTP server and storage on file server as primary target
  When recording on a file server as primary storage target (MX folder/file structure) and activating the RTP server, a camera reboot sometimes deleted the recorded video data.

Known Limitations

• SIP video
  This release does not support SIP video. This feature will be available again in a later release.
• Shock Sensor
  This version does not yet support the integrated shock sensor to trigger Shock Sensor events.