By Dilen Thakrar, Product Manager
Today, we launched a firmware update that transforms the already powerful and compact C-Series 360-degree cameras into some of the most advanced and flexible cameras of their kind on the market. And if you can’t already tell, we’re more than a bit excited to share the news with you.
Based on your needs, Multi-Mode delivers unrivalled flexibility from a single sensor camera. Whether you need a 360-degree camera, a panoramic camera, or both simultaneously, the C-Series now wraps all these capabilities into one solution. So how did we do it? (We may have tapped into our 15-year expertise in 360-degree video security.)
With Multi-Mode, you can choose from five different views and stream up to four of them simultaneously, providing the versatility modern enterprises require. This means you can also record everything that happens within a scene with full 360-degree video coverage and easily configure alternate more natural dewarped views for easier live monitoring depending on your needs. Here is a closer look at the views, other than the standard fisheye, are now available with Multi-Mode:
Panoramic+
Panoramic+ combines panoramic imaging expertise with the power and flexibility of the C-Series to deliver a stunning180-degree ultra-wide panorama, optimized for wall mount installations, without stitching, aligning, or light balance problems. It uses the center of the fisheye sensor to generate a true 180-degree image.
For security reasons and to avoid tampering, you may want to mount the camera high up on your wall, which means that you’ll need to tilt the camera to ensure the image is focused on the area of interest. Installing the camera at an angle can be troublesome and can also lead to unnatural looking views. However, tilting a camera has been made quick and easy with our Panoramic+ accessories (available for both the Indoor and the Outdoor Plus cameras) and with Angle Compensation Technology (ATC) and Scene Offset you can also optimize the image making the most important area the most natural looking. You can watch a short explanation of how ACT and Scene Offset work here.
With this new functionality, the 180-degree view can also be set for all streams in Panoramic+ Only mode, providing a compelling replacement for the popular Evolution 180 cameras, which are being placed in End of Life.
Corridor+
Corridor+ gives the perfect coverage of a corridor from a ceiling mounted camera. It is a dewarped split two-way corridor view, that allows you to watch both directions of the 360-degree image simultaneously. With no blind spots between those two images, an individual walking down the corridor will move seamlessly from one view to the other. In this way, you’ll gain an excellent natural perspective of the area, allowing you to easily monitor those important high-activity areas.
T-Corridor+
T-Corridor+ covers three corridors from a ceiling mounted camera, leaving no blind spots among them. In this way, you will get perfect coverage of the space, and you will see individuals or objects move seamlessly among the three different views. Ideal for areas with three corridors like a hotel elevator lobby, this functionality eliminates the need to install multiple cameras to cover the space.
VCams
VCams allow you to zoom in and focus on specific areas of interest within a 360-degree Image, creating natural looking dewarped views of the areas that matter. In this way you can for example focus on entrance or exit, while recording the entire scene for retrospective review.
Panoramic+ Accessories
As we briefly mentioned above, Panoramic+ also includes the launch of specifically designed accessories to help ensure the camera can be installed at the desired angle from a height. The Indoor Panoramic+ Tilt Mount is a discreet easy to install wall mount that allows the camera to be tilted between 20 and 45 degrees. The Outdoor Panoramic+ Tilt Bracket is a very flexible 1 1/2″ NPT pendant mount compatible bracket that allows the cameras to be titled at any angle between 0 and 90 degrees. An Outdoor Panoramic+ Rain Guard is also available to provide extra protection in wet weather conditions. These exciting new accessories will be available In Q3 2021.
Since launching the C-Series in 2020, we’ve been passionately focused on expanding the customer needs our 360-degree camera series can address. Multi-Mode is the next step in this journey. If you want to see how Multi-Mode works or read more about it and the views, visit our technology section.
In our following blogs, we will look at specifics around the design of the interface and accessories, the genius minds that drove the development of Multi-Mode, and the various use cases this update enables. Stay tuned but until then click here for more information on the C-Series.