Overview
Broadly classifying, integration with ONVIF comprises of the following aspects:
- Video - ONVIF clients being able to receive the video feed from Azena devices.
- Metadata - ONVIF clients being able to receive the metadata sent from apps running on Azena devices.
- Events - ONVIF clients being able to receive events sent from apps running on Azena devices.
Because of how there are different aspects of integration and different constraints for each of these aspects, it is highly recommended that you have an initial exploration discussion with your point of contact at Azena. They can help you choose the right solution for your needs.
Video
Azena devices support the ability to stream video via RTSP as per the ONVIF specifications described for Profile S and Profile T. This will allow Profile S and Profile T clients (like video management software) to capture the video via RTSP and play it in real time.
As of writing this document, several popular VMSes including (but not limited to) Milestone, Genetec, Nx Meta, Bosch VMS are able to stream the video from Azena devices.
Metadata
Azena devices support the ability to stream metadata that enrich the video via RTSP to Profile S and Profile T clients. This will allow these clients to receive the metadata and overlay it on top of the image. It is important to remember that the metadata must be in a format specified by ONVIF.
As of writing this document,
- Milestone and Genetec have been very well able to receive the ONVIF metadata and draw bounding boxes on top of the video images.
- Nx Meta as of version 5.0 cannot yet display ONVIF Metadata. It is likely that this feature will be included in 5.1
Here is an example of how ONVIF bounding boxes sent from an app running on a Azena device is being displayed in Milestone:
Events
Broadly classifying, there are 2 types of ONVIF events:
-
Standard ONVIF Events
- ONVIF defines several events to indicate several operations in day-to-day activities. Examples include, but not limited to SceneTooCrowded, LineCrossed, LicensePlate, etc.
- ONVIF defines a payload format for each of these standard events.
- It is important to remember that VMSes actually do not support all of these events, but only a very small percentage of it :-(
- When apps create a standard ONVIF event as per the specifications, Azena devices are well capable to deliver these events to the clients, provided the clients have support for those events.
-
Custom ONVIF Events
- For use cases, where standard ONVIF events, it is possible to create custom ONVIF events.
- ONVIF defines a payload format for custom events as well.
- As of writing this page, not all VMSes have support for custom ONVIF events.
- Some VMSes (e.g. Genetec) may require a handshake before being able to accept ONVIF events. This handshake mechanism is available on Azena devices starting 1.6 and higher.
Azena app <> ONVIF
The Store listing for an app, particularly the section Integrations with external systems will indicate how the app integrates with external systems including ONVIF. This section also includes information on how to contact the developer for any questions regarding integrations.
