New to LPR

[Redemption]

I recently purchased an NVR5208-8P-4KS2E NVR and a LPR camera HFW5241E. I been having issues figuring out how to set the NVR to capture license plates. I been reading here and have tried some of the recommended configs based on my camera. Any advice or help will be appreciated. If someone is familiar with both my NVR and ow to configure it, please send me a PM, I am willing to Venmo some cash just to get this set up as quickly as possible. Thanks.

 

[wittaj]

Post some screen shots from the camera GUI of your settings.

Set the camera up in the camera GUI, not the NVR. The NVR is simply to record.

If you try to set them up via the NVR they may or may not hold.

 

[bigredfish]

Note that neither that NVR nor those cameras have any auto plate reading software capability. I use them and they work great, but its a manual process to snag a plate snapshot.

At 120ft

 

[bigredfish]

And as mentioned, all your setting changes should be made on the camera, not the NVR

 

[Redemption]

Thank you Bigredfish, I saw a video on youtube where the individual seemed to be capturing information on to the NVR itself. That confused me. To make sure I understand you correctly, out of the box there is no feature to capture plate and store the data on the NVR. If I want to do that, I will have have to set the camera manually to capture the pictures and maybe a third party software if I want the information added to a database? If I wanted that functionality and no fuzz then I should have purchased a ANPR camera?


I do not mind doing it the hard way.

 

[bigredfish]

Correct
There are some NVRs with the capability I believe but not that one (unless they’ve updated firmware to include that functionality I suppose is possible) and dedicated LPR cameras with the capability.

Many here use OpenALPR, a 3rd party service/software to do it

I don’t have the need. The handful if times a year it’s important for LE evidence, it’s easy enough for me to simply find and pull the footage and get a snap. I have overview cameras along side the 5331/5241’s and can easily correlate a vehicle, time and provide LE all they need.

 

[Redemption]

Thanks for the info. This is why I originally wanted to have a db or something. So that I could proactively keep an eye on the traffic and maybe embed third party analytics to alert me when a car for example goes around more than usual, especially if the care is not one that has been around before. I will look into OpenALPR.

 

[Redemption]

Ok I am starting to get the hang of the DVR. Created an FTP server to use as a go between my Vlan and the security system VLAN. I think I saw in the NVR an FTP option need to double check what that is about. OpenmALPR seems to be a cloud based solution, I might have to rig something local to analyze and catalog pics. Rapidminer might be just the tool for that project. For now let me try get the cams capturing. Attached are pictures of my config and the view from the camera. One thing I could not get working right is that I set the day and night profile based configurations I saw on the forum. However it seems to default to the General profile.

 

[bigredfish]

1- I recommend CBR, 30FPS/Iframe 30 and at least 8192 for the bitrate for LPR. You want as many frames as consistent as possible with a vehicle that may only occupy the cameras visible area for 3-5 frames to begin with. VBR , expecially at night, often cant ramp up quick enough.

2- You'll want a faster shutter, especially at night. (Note that the Z-12's can have issues with focus if over 85% zoom when changing from color to B&W/IR). To mitigate this, I keep mine in B&W 24/7. This still allows different day/night exposure settings. I also use the 'Schedule" profile to force a change from Day to Night and back about 45 min before sunset and 30 min after sunrise. All to keep focus from shifting. This is the most reliable method IMHO, however others use a script, the Sunrise/Sunset utility running on a network machine to fine tune the switchover. Search and you will find it .







Your location may require some changes to the above, but this will get you on the ballpark. Its part art part science, no two locations are identical. be prepared to spend time getting the right Exposure, IR, Gain, etc to produce the best results.

 

[Redemption]

Wohoo, thanks!! This gives me a ton to work with.

 

[bigredfish]

I will say your angle is so good you may be able to get away with a lot that I can't. But generally your image is too light. The Plate will be overexposed on Auto at night

 

[pozzello]

yes, you will certainly want much reduced exposure at night. at least 1/500, or higher (ie, shorter exposure).
you'll notice at those exposures, you won't see anything but head/tail-lights and (with enuf IR), license plates, which is what you're after.
with an almost-head-on angle like that, you might be able to get away with 10fps, but 5 is probably too low, as brf mentioned.

 

[bigredfish]

true, he has a perfect angle of attack

 

[Redemption]

Changes implemented FPS is now 30, Bit Rate Type is now CBR. BIT RATE 8192. Sub Stream, what purpose does it serve? I also changed the conditions, put the day night on schedule. Changed the Exposure to match BigRedFish configuration. I will tweak from there as needed.

 

[bigredfish]

Substream is what you'll use for smartphone/remote viewing for example.

 

[Redemption]

I want to mention this for the benefit of others. My camera has a day night function, but if used it will not allow you to manually configure B/W on the conditions section. The day/night option will be set conditions to auto. If you want full control and configure for b/w around the clock. Then you must set a schedule.

 

[bigredfish]

You may be able to run color in daytime - I do on one of my LPR cams. The key is overcoming the focus shift problem.

Other than the Sunset/Sunrise utility, I accomplish this by using the “ Schedule” profile, and making sure the switch to B&W occurs 30-45 min Before sunset and to Color 30-45 min After sunrise. This allows the camera to obtain a good focus while it can see something to focus on.

 

[Redemption]

Great point, thank you for explaining the reasoning behind the scheduled times you chose.

 

[funkybunch]

keep us updated with a screenshot of the vehicle and your settings. i'm in the the woods with hardly any ambient lighting. IF i can pull an LP one night, the next night all bets are off. i've been adjusting settings for months with not much success.

 

[Redemption]

I will, I have been messing with setting the AI to know when cars go by. DO not know yet how to look for the plate, I guess take pictures when i see the car in the recording?