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Video Camera Help

Watching Live Video & Controlling Video Cameras

Our video camera pages lets you watch live video from our seafloor cameras. If you are a registered camera operator, you can also control video cameras.

Quick Instructions

If you want to watch live video

  1. Check the Lights Schedule for Seafloor Cameras on our eventcalendar to see when different cameras are turned on.
  2. Log in - You need to log in to view live video. If you haven't registered, it's easy to create a new account.
  3. Open one of the camera windows
  4. Watch the live video.
  5. Click the Users tab to see who's operating the camera and who else is watching.
  6. Add your own annotations if you see something interesting.

If you want to operate a camera

  1. Log in - _You need to log in to view live video. To operate a camera, you need to be a registered camera operator; if you want to become an operator, tell us about your research idea.
  2. Open one of the camera windows
  3. Power on the camera lights. (20% or less is needed for our low-lights cameras.)
  4. Adjust pan and tilt to explore the field of view.
  5. Use Messages tab to chat with other operators.
  6. Use Camera Presets to move camera to saved positions.
  7. Use Automated Observations to move camera through predefined observation routines.
Tips
  1. Lights-on time is generally limited to one hour per day to minimize light pollution.
  2. Our black & white cameras are very sensitive to light - often just a few percent light power is sufficient to see well.
  3. Having the lights on over 50% while moving the camera can cause the system to shut down.
  4. Lasers cannot be turned off; they are used to scale images and are separated by 10cm.
  5. Horizontal and vertical rulers are also present in the field of view to help with onscreen measurements.

Detailed Instructions

Live Video Window

The upper-left panel lets you watch live video from cameras on the seafloor. Although the cameras are usually powered on, the lights are only powered for limited time periods. We need to restrict our use of lights in sensitive deep-sea environments, which are normally dark all the time. On some cameras, the laser beams stay on all the time (as shown in the above-left image).

Annotations


Anyone can add an annotation, whether you're a camera operator or not.

Full Annotations

If you see something of interest, click the Add Full Annotation button, and describe what you've seen. You can also define a time period for your comment, either as a point in time, a period of time, or an indefinite length of time. If you click Share, your annotation will be shared with others (this cannot be undone). You can also click Flag to mark an annotation as something to be reviewed later.

Quick Markers

If you don't have time to fill in the details for an annotation, click the Quick Marker button. This will save your annotation as a placeholder, which you can review and add to later.

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