CudaEye FAQs
Q) CudaEye uses the Internet, is this secure?
A) CudaEye is extremely secure. The cameras connect to the service and authenticate themselves. Nothing connects to your network, so you don't have to change any network configuration. This outbound connection model prevents a huge class of security issues faced by facilities based solutions where end users connect directly to your video archive.
CudaEye cameras encrypt and digitally sign video and images, right when they are created. They are encrypted when being sent over the Internet and they remain encrypted in the VideoVault . For compatibility, they are decrypted before being sent to the user interface, but even that can be done over HTTPS if you choose. Your privacy is extremely well protected.
Q) How much bandwidth does a CudaEye Camera need?
A) During normal operation CudaEye records video data in small, short spurts, and only when important activity occurs in that location. Without Bandwidth Shaping, or when you are live streaming, this data is immediately transmitted over the broadband connection. CudaEye video is less than 380kbps, so the minimum required bandwidth to support streaming is 380kilobits/second.
With Bandwidth Shaping (which needs a microSD Card installed), the small video segments are uploaded slowly at a low target bandwidth. In almost every video monitoring situation there is a lot of nothing going on. The average bandwidth a camera needs is very low - we set the cameras up at 30kbps (yes, 30 kilobits per second) and they rarely require more in normal operation.
In summary - A single CudaEye needs 380kbps minimum, which it will use occasionally. With Bandwidth Shaping, the same connection will support 8 to 12 cameras (if you are dedicating the link to the cameras).
Q) How much bandwidth does the application need?
A) The CudaEye application needs enough bandwidth to smoothly stream video - 380kbps. For best experience, you should have greater than 1mbps of download bandwidth.
Q) What is Bandwidth Shaping?
A) Bandwidth Shaping stores video and images on an onboard SD card at high speed, then slowly sends them to the service as bandwidth allows. This smooths the camera bandwidth demand, enabling installation of several CudaEye Cameras on you existing Internet connection.
Bandwidth Shaping allows most cameras to use less than 30kbps of uplink bandwidth. You can further configure Bandwidth Shaping to match your network needs.
Q) What do I need for Bandwidth Shaping?
A) Shaping requires you install a Micro SD card in the camera. A 1GByte card will store about 6 hours of video, which is typically enough to time shift video across few days. Once you install the SD Card, you will probably have to format the and enable the card under settings.
Q) What happens if my camera Internet connection goes down?
A) CudaEye Cameras with Bandwidth Shaping will continue recording video and images if the Internet connection goes down. When connectivity is restored recorded events will be uploaded to CudaEye. The cameras are somewhat brittle in this condition, for example if they loose power they cannot record new video until they have communicated with CudaEye.
If you have video or media shaped onto the MicroSD card - stored but not yet uploaded to CudaEye - you will be able to navigate the user interface normally, but when you try to access the video or images you will get an error. As soon as connectivity is restored you will be able to access the data as usual.
If you are not using Bandwidth Shaping, your CudaEye Cameras will not record video or images.
In most cases, your CudaEye Camera will automatically recover from the outage when connectivity is restored, no action required on your part. If you want to help it along, after you have restored your network, power cycle the camera.
If it is an extended outage (> 10 minutes) you can get an alert from CudaEye (if enabled), telling you we have lost connection with your camera. The period of the outage will be marked in yellow in your time line.