DW Spectrum - Camera Audio Setup

Camera Audio Setup for DW Spectrum IPVMS

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Affected Roles: Owner, Administrator

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum® IPVMS

Last Edit: August 19, 2024

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Camera Audio

DW Spectrum® IPVMS allows users to record and play live audio from supported cameras. Cameras with built-in microphones or supported audio peripherals, like external microphones or speakers, can be configured in DW Spectrum® to enable audio recording.

This article will outline how to configure DW Spectrum® for camera audio.

Supported/Affected Devices

DW MEGApix® Series (audio supported models)

Supported Streaming Codecs

Use the information below to confirm that your camera will be supported by DW Spectrum®:

Live Camera Streams:

Video: H.265, H.264, MJPEG
Audio: AAC, PCM (Mu-Law, A-law), g726,mp3
Protocols: TFTP over UDP, RTSP, HTTP

Streaming From Desktop (Windows/Linux) DW Spectrum® Server:

Video: H.264, MJPEG, WebM
Audio: AAC, PCM (Mu-Law, A-Law), g726, mp3 and transcoding to WebM
Protocols: RTSP, MJPEG, HTTP progressive streaming (WebM), HLS

Streaming from ARM DW Spectrum® Server:

Video: H.265, H.264, MJPEG
Audio: AAC, PCM (Mu-Law, A-Law), g726, mp3
Protocols: RTSP, MJPEG, HLS

Configuring Audio

To enable Audio in DW Spectrum®:

Ensure that your camera supports audio through ONVIF. If the camera does not communicate audio through an ONVIF profile, DW Spectrum® will not be able to register the audio input.

Access the camera directly and verify that you can hear audio from the camera’s web client. If you can hear audio from the web client, the microphone and camera are communicating with each other properly.

If you cannot hear audio from the web client, locate the camera’s audio settings to ensure that the audio settings are enabled and that the volume and codec are configured accordingly.

Right-click on the camera, then select Camera Settings.

Under the General tab, locate and enable the Enable Audio setting.

- Enable Audio will associate inbound audio from the specified device (microphone).
- Enable 2-way audio will associate outbound audio from the specified device (speaker).

Click the Apply button to save the changes.

**NOTE: Audio will only be available to user roles that have permission to access audio.

To test the camera audio in DW Spectrum®, open the camera in a layout.

Select the camera from the layout. The camera will have an orange border, indicating that the camera is currently selected in the layout. If the camera is not selected in the layout, audio will not play.

To adjust the audio levels in DW Spectrum® (separate control from the camera), use the volume slider located at the bottom of the client.

To adjust the audio levels of the camera, right-click on the camera and select Camera Settings.

Select the Advanced tab.

If the option to adjust the camera audio levels is not present, adjustments will need to be made using the camera’s web client.

Optional Client Settings: Local Settings > General

Audio Input: Select Client Audio Devices (Requires Client restart to take change)

Mute Audio: Mutes audio input when Mic is active (to reduce audio loopback issues)

All Audio: Plays audio from all cameras on a layout rather than requiring a selected camera.

Troubleshooting Tips

If audio still does not work:

Can you hear audio through the camera’s web client? If not, you may be experiencing a microphone issue, camera issue, or connection issue.
If you have changed the client input settings, restart the client software.
Ensure the user you are logged on with has audio permissions.
Make sure that you can hear audio from your computer.

Ensure that the computer audio is not muted and that the speakers are connected and turned on.

If you do not have an audio output device (speakers) connected to the computer, audio will not play from that computer.

Ensure that the firmware version of DW Spectrum® is up-to-date.

Ensure that the camera’s firmware is up-to-date.

If you have confirmed the above troubleshooting recommendations and audio issues persist, flash the camera firmware, then default the camera.