Under Global Settings it's possible to protect all cameras with a global username and password.

With manual file editing it's also possible to protect individual cameras with a private username and password:

1. The files to be edited can be located through ContaCam's Settings - Browse Config/Log Files menu entry.
2. Go to ContaCam's Global Settings and enter a unique Area Name, User Name and Password for your private camera. Check Secure Authentication, press Ok. Make a copy of httpd_pw.txt and rename it to httpd_pw_cameraname.txt.
3. Go to ContaCam's Global Settings and restore your previous security settings. Press Ok.
4. Open httpd_conf_editable.txt with notepad and paste the following text into it:
   <Location "/CAMERA_NAME/">
   AuthType Digest
   AuthDigestDomain "/CAMERA_NAME/"
   AuthDigestFile "PASSWORDFILE_PATH"
   AuthName "AREANAME"
   Require valid-user
   </Location>
5. In the pasted text replace:
   • CAMERA_NAME with your camera name configured in Camera Basic Settings dialog.
   • PASSWORDFILE_PATH with the path of the above created httpd_pw_cameraname.txt file (please include the full path with extension).
   • AREANAME with the chosen Area Name.
6. Save httpd_conf_editable.txt and restart ContaCam.

Notes

• Repeat 1. - 6. for each private camera using a different name for the httpd_pw_cameraname.txt file and a different Area Name.
• httpd_conf_editable.txt survives ContaCam's updates.

• If a camera is unplugged, broken, tampered then the last available MOTION DETECTION FRAMES ARE STORED.
• If ContaCam is closed or the computer running ContaCam is turned off then the last MOTION DETECTION FRAMES ARE NOT RECORDED (if that's a problem use ContaCam's 24h recording which is storing everything up to the last frame).
• ContaCam automatically reopens re-plugged USB, DV or network devices. Frames from before being unplugged and the ones after the re-plugging are ALL STORED BY THE MOTION DETECTION ENGINE.

It's possible to re-stream a recorded video file to trim the ContaCam detection parameters. The procedure is to record some subjects and feed the motion engine with that video.

1. Issue the following VLC command by adapting the path to vlc.exe and changing motion_detection.mp4 with the full name of your recorded video file:

vlc.exe -R "motion_detection.mp4" --sout "#transcode{vcodec=mjpg,vb=2500,acodec=none}:standard{access=http{mime=multipart/x-mixed-replace;boundary=7b3cc56e5f51db803f790dad720ed50a},mux=mpjpeg,dst=:8080/videostream.cgi}"

-R: means to infinitely repeat the given video file

boundary: do not change the boundary string, it's hardcoded inside the VLC mpjpeg muxer!

dst: set the port used in ContaCam to connect to the generated mjpeg stream

2. In ContaCam's Capture - Network dialog enter:

Now in the opened device fine tune the detection parameters and when done backport them to your real camera.

If the default storing location doesn't fit your needs then change it as follows:

1. Close all running devices.
2. Open ContaCam's Global Settings dialog and change the Parent Directory of all Cameras (all existing camera folders will automatically be moved to the new location).

Note: because of web server constraints it's not possible to change the location for individual cameras. Advanced users can create junctions, symlinks or execute a .bat file on movement detection to move/copy the video files to another place.

To delete continuous recording files

Call View - Browse Files, it will open the directory location with all the recordings. Delete the files starting with rec_ which you do not want anymore.

To delete detection files

Call View - Browse Files, it will open the directory location with all the detections. Delete the files starting with det_ which you do not want anymore (for each detection event there are usually two files: a small video in .gif format and a corresponding full video in .mp4 or .avi format).

Note: each time that video files are deleted the web page is updated as soon as the browser's reload button is pressed.

Exposure, brightness, contrast, ... adjustments are camera specific and are provided by the camera drivers or the camera configuration web interface. ContaCam just shows what is given by the camera manufacturer.

For USB camera / capture card

Go to Camera Advanced Settings - General Tab and press the General Settings button to display the driver provided dialog.
Note: some drivers do not store the set values; ContaCam can do nothing about that, please contact your camera / capture card maker.

For IP camera

Go to its web interface (accessed through http://camera_ip_address from your web browser).

• On 64 bit systems use C:\Program Files (x86)\ContaCam\ContaCam.exe as Cmd.
• On 32 bit systems use C:\Program Files\ContaCam\ContaCam.exe as Cmd.
  
• Replace C:\ring.wav with the path to your audio file (try to open it through File - Open File... to make sure ContaCam supports it).
  Attention: the audio file path must include the file extension (like .mp3 or .wav for example) and be enclosed in double quotes.
• For automatic doorbell only usage, uncheck Save Full Video, uncheck Save Small Video and set Drop detections shorter than to 0 seconds.

To enable the detections when not working we have to think the other way around by disabling the motion engine when working:

On of the better free software is Avidemux. Install it and follow these easy steps:

Lossless cut a video file

1. Open the video in Avidemux through File - Open.
2. Make a selection with the A and B controls at the bottom of the video view.
3. Under Edit menu call Cut.
4. Set Video Output and Audio Output to Copy mode and the Output Format to MP4 Muxer or AVI Muxer depending on your source file format.
5. Run File - Save giving a new name.

Lossless join video files

1. Click on File - Open and select the first video file.
2. Click on File - Append for your second file and repeat that for the rest of your files (it's also possible to Drag and Drop the files into Avidemux).
3. Run File - Save giving a new name.

Note: if you have many files to join download the following Avidemux Tinypy Scripts, extract the zip file and run the wanted script through File - Project Script - Run Project...

Hint: create a shorcut that executes the following: avidemux.exe --run AvidemuxJoinMp4s.py

Here are explained the ways to control ContaCam without the user interface. The APIs 2. and 3. are also working in service mode because they use the registry/ini file/trigger file to communicate with the running instance.

1. Command line options (not working in service mode)

All command line options are case sensitive, file names are not:

• /play "Audio File Name"
  to start playing an audio file.
  Note: if no full path is specified the file must reside in the same directory as the program (not the current directory).
• /close
  to close the program right after audio playing is done.
• /hide
  used to hide the program window while playing an audio file (use this switch together with the /play and the /close switches).

The following .bat file could be executed on movement detection, it would bring the ContaCam window in foreground and play a sound:

@echo off
START "" "C:\Program Files (x86)\ContaCam\ContaCam.exe"
START "" "C:\Program Files (x86)\ContaCam\ContaCam.exe" /hide /close /play "C:\sounds\ring.wav"

2. Change detection mode (or enable/disable movement detection)

The detection mode is regularly polled by ContaCam. If the settings are stored in an ini file then modify VideoProcessorMode under your CAMERA_ADDR section. When using the registry the wanted path is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Contaware\ContaCam\CAMERA_ADDR\VideoProcessorMode

CAMERA_ADDR

is a long hardware address for USB/DV/PCI devices and the network address plus port and mode for IP cameras (do not invent those addresses, just get them from the ini file or registry)

VideoProcessorMode

0: detection off

1: both trigger file + software detection on

To turn off the motion detection for all your cameras the following .bat file can be used:

REGEDIT4
; @ECHO OFF
; CLS
; REGEDIT.EXE /S "%~f0"
; EXIT
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Contaware\ContaCam\CAMERA_ADDR1]
"VideoProcessorMode"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Contaware\ContaCam\CAMERA_ADDR2]
"VideoProcessorMode"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Contaware\ContaCam\CAMERA_ADDRX]
"VideoProcessorMode"=dword:00000000

3. Trigger a movement detection

It's possible to trigger a movement detection by writing something to movtrigger.txt in your camera's folder. ContaCam polls the modified time of the mentioned file and triggers a movement on change. See the movtrigger.bat file in your camera's folder:

@echo off
SET batchdir=%~dp0
echo PIR detection: %date% %time% > "%batchdir%movtrigger.txt"

By adapting the DetectionTriggerFileName entry in registry or ini file it's possible to change the trigger file name from the default of movtrigger.txt to something else. To also change the location from the default of the camera's folder, provide a full path name in DetectionTriggerFileName.

Trigger File mode is enabled by:

1. Choosing Det ON
2. Optionally setting the Detection Sensitivity to 0
3. Configuring the Drop detections shorter than to 0 seconds

In the same folder as the executable there can be the MasterConfig.ini file with the following format:

[General]
UseRegistry=
ConfigFilesDir=
TempDir=

UseRegistry

empty: use registry if application installed, otherwise ini file (read also this)
1: force registry use
0: force ini file use

ConfigFilesDir

empty: configuration/log files are under "%APPDATA%\Contaware\ContaCam" and application's ini file in executable's folder
path: configuration/log files and application's ini file are all in given folder (double quotes not necessary around the path)

TempDir

empty: store temporary files in system default location
path: store temporary files under given folder (double quotes not necessary around the path)

Note: if the MasterConfig.ini is missing then the empty entries apply.

Here are explained the ways to control ContaCam without the user interface. All the APIs are also working in service mode because they use the registry/ini file/trigger file to communicate with the running instance.

1. Change detection mode (or enable/disable movement detection)

The detection mode is regularly polled by ContaCam. If the settings are stored in an ini file then modify VideoProcessorMode under your CAMERA_ADDR section. When using the registry the wanted path is:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Contaware\ContaCam\CAMERA_ADDR\VideoProcessorMode

CAMERA_ADDR

is a long hardware address for USB/DV/PCI devices and the network address plus port and mode for IP cameras (do not invent those addresses, just get them from the ini file or registry)

VideoProcessorMode

0: detection off

1: both trigger file + software detection on

To turn off the motion detection for all your cameras the following .bat file can be used:

REGEDIT4
; @ECHO OFF
; CLS
; REGEDIT.EXE /S "%~f0"
; EXIT
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Contaware\ContaCam\CAMERA_ADDR1]
"VideoProcessorMode"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Contaware\ContaCam\CAMERA_ADDR2]
"VideoProcessorMode"=dword:00000000
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Contaware\ContaCam\CAMERA_ADDRX]
"VideoProcessorMode"=dword:00000000

2. Trigger a movement detection

It's possible to trigger a movement detection by writing something to movtrigger.txt in your camera's folder. ContaCam polls the modified time of the mentioned file and triggers a movement on change. See the movtrigger.bat file in your camera's folder:

@echo off
SET batchdir=%~dp0
echo PIR detection: %date% %time% > "%batchdir%movtrigger.txt"

By adapting the DetectionTriggerFileName entry in registry or ini file it's possible to change the trigger file name from the default of movtrigger.txt to something else. To also change the location from the default of the camera's folder, provide a full path name in DetectionTriggerFileName.

Trigger File mode is enabled by:

1. Choosing Det ON
2. Optionally setting the Detection Sensitivity to 0
3. Configuring the Drop detections shorter than to 0 seconds

Delete from the web interface

In Camera Basic Settings dialog check Allow deleting files, reload the web page and click the trash icon of the unwanted files.

Delete multiple continuous recording files

Call View - Browse Files, it will open the directory location with all the recordings. Delete the files starting with rec_ which you do not want anymore.

Delete multiple detection files

Call View - Browse Files, it will open the directory location with all the detections. Delete the files starting with det_ which you do not want anymore (for each detection event there are usually two files: a small video in .gif format and a corresponding full video in .mp4 or .avi format).

Delete multiple snapshot files

Call View - Browse Files, it will open the directory location with all the snapshots. Delete the files starting with shot_ or manualshot_ which you do not want anymore.

Note: each time that files are deleted the web page is updated as soon as the browser's reload button is pressed.

• Download and install VLC.
• On 64 bit systems use C:\Program Files (x86)\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe as Cmd.
• On 32 bit systems use C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe as Cmd.
• Set Params to -I dummy --dummy-quiet --play-and-exit --no-loop --no-repeat "C:\test.wav" replacing "C:\test.wav" with the path to your audio file.
  Attention: the audio file path must include the file extension (like .mp3 or .wav for example) and be enclosed in double quotes.
• For automatic doorbell only usage, uncheck Save Full Video, uncheck Save Small Video and set Drop detections shorter than to 0 seconds.

Under Global Settings it's possible to protect all cameras with a global username and password.

With manual file editing it's also possible to protect individual cameras with a private username and password:

1. The files to be edited can be located through ContaCam's Settings - Browse Config/Log Files menu entry.
2. Open a command prompt and change directory to the folder opened by ContaCam's Settings - Browse Config/Log Files menu entry.
3. In the command prompt type the following line to create a password file for your camera:
   "C:\Program Files (x86)\ContaCam\microapache\htpasswd.exe" -c httpd_pw_cameraname.txt username
4. Open httpd_conf_editable.txt and append the following:
   <Location "/Camera Name">
   AuthType Basic
   AuthUserFile "Drive:\Path\httpd_pw_cameraname.txt"
   AuthName "Camera Name"
   Require valid-user
   </Location>
5. In the above pasted text set the correct camera name and the full path to httpd_pw_cameraname.txt.
6. Save httpd_conf_editable.txt and restart ContaCam.

Notes

• Repeat 1. - 6. for each private camera.
• httpd_conf_editable.txt survives ContaCam's updates.

• If a camera is unplugged, broken, tampered then the last available MOTION DETECTION FRAMES ARE STORED.
• If ContaCam is closed or the computer running ContaCam is turned off then the last MOTION DETECTION FRAMES ARE NOT RECORDED (if that's a problem use ContaCam's 24h recording which is storing everything up to the last frame).
• ContaCam automatically reopens re-plugged USB, DV or network devices. Frames from before being unplugged and the ones after the re-plugging are ALL STORED BY THE MOTION DETECTION ENGINE.

It's possible to re-stream a recorded video file to trim the ContaCam detection parameters. The procedure is to record some subjects and feed the motion engine with that video.

1. Issue the following VLC command by adapting the path to vlc.exe and changing motion_detection.mp4 with the full name of your recorded video file:

vlc.exe -R "motion_detection.mp4" --sout "#transcode{vcodec=mjpg,vb=2500,acodec=none}:standard{access=http{mime=multipart/x-mixed-replace;boundary=7b3cc56e5f51db803f790dad720ed50a},mux=mpjpeg,dst=:8080/videostream.cgi}"

-R: means to infinitely repeat the given video file

boundary: do not change the boundary string, it's hardcoded inside the VLC mpjpeg muxer!

dst: set the port used in ContaCam to connect to the generated mjpeg stream

2. In ContaCam's Capture - Network dialog enter:

Now in the opened device fine tune the detection parameters and when done backport them to your real camera.

If the default storing location doesn't fit your needs then change it as follows:

1. Close all running devices.
2. Open ContaCam's Global Settings dialog and change the Parent Directory of all Cameras (all existing camera folders will automatically be moved to the new location).

Note: because of web server constraints it's not possible to change the location for individual cameras. Advanced users can create junctions, symlinks or execute a command on movement detection to move/copy the video files to another place, for example:

Cmd:    cmd
Params: /C "mkdir "C:\MyFolder\%year%\%month%\%day%" & move "%fullvideo%" "C:\MyFolder\%year%\%month%\%day%" & move "%smallvideo%" "C:\MyFolder\%year%\%month%\%day%""

Delete from the web interface

In Camera Basic Settings dialog check Allow deleting files, reload the web page and click the trash icon of the unwanted files.

Delete multiple continuous recording files

Call View - Browse Files, it will open the directory location with all the recordings. Delete the files starting with rec_ which you do not want anymore.

Delete multiple detection files

Call View - Browse Files, it will open the directory location with all the detections. Delete the files starting with det_ which you do not want anymore (for each detection event there are usually two files: a small video in .gif format and a corresponding full video in .mp4 or .avi format).

Delete multiple snapshot files

Call View - Browse Files, it will open the directory location with all the snapshots. Delete the files starting with shot_ or manualshot_ which you do not want anymore.

Note: each time that files are deleted the web page is updated as soon as the browser's reload button is pressed.

Exposure, brightness, contrast, ... adjustments are camera specific and are provided by the camera drivers or the camera configuration web interface. ContaCam just shows what is given by the camera manufacturer.

For USB camera / capture card

Go to Camera Advanced Settings - General Tab and press the General Settings button to display the driver provided dialog.
Note: some drivers do not store the set values; ContaCam can do nothing about that, please contact your camera / capture card maker.

For IP camera

Go to its web interface (accessed through http://camera_ip_address from your web browser).