If you cannot find the answer to your question in the list below, please contact us and we will answer as soon as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How does the included traffic in my GPRS/3G data subscription translate into viewing time for an AutoMonitor camera?
2. Does the AutoMonitor system transfer any data when I'm not looking at it live?
3. I can see live video but I cannot hear the sound, although I've selected one of the video+sound options from the menu. Why is that?
4. My vehicle is out of the 3G coverage area and I cannot view video or sound. What can I do?
5. How long can I record on the SD card?
6. I need to record more, can I use a higher capacity SD card?
7. What is the power consumption of the AutoMonitor camera? Will it affect my car battery?
8. I cannot access the AutoMonitor system, I receive a "Page not found error" from my browser. Why is that?
9. How can I view live video and audio from my car on my mobile phone?
10. How can I demo the system to my friends or clients without giving them full access to the interface?
11. When I start viewing live video from my vehicle, the image contains strange green blocks for a few seconds. Is that normal?
12. I am trying to download one of the recorded movies from the SD card, but after a while the download seems to stall. Should I stop the process and try again?
13. I have downloaded one of the movies from the SD card but I cannot view it with Windows Media Player. Can you suggest another viewer that can open that file?
14. How can I transfer the recorded movies from the SD card to my computer?
15. I want to give multiple people access to the system, is that possible?
16. Do I need to pay any monthly fees in addition to my data subscription at the mobile network operator?
17. I have a CCTV system installed in my office/apartment. Can I attach the AutoMonitor system to the existing cameras and stream live video and audio?
18. Can I find out the current position of the vehicle using AutoMonitor? Does your system use GPS?
19. I have lost the administrator password to my AutoMonitor system, can you help me recover it?
20. Does the AutoMonitor system come with a data modem or do I need to purchase that separately?
21. Can I use the AutoMonitor system on any GSM/3G network? How can I check if my mobile network supports your system?
22. Do I have to be a company to purchase your system or can I purchase as a person?

1. How does the included traffic in my GPRS/3G data subscription translate into viewing time for an AutoMonitor camera?
At the maximum transmission speed, 24 hours of live monitoring equal 4GB of data, so one hour equals 170MB of data through the mobile network. By live monitoring we mean live video and audio as well as downloading movies from the SD card directly through the mobile connection.

2. Does the AutoMonitor system transfer any data when I'm not looking at it live?
Yes, AutoMonitor checks your network connectivity every few seconds to make sure it can answer incoming requests. The data traffic for this check is less than 100MB/month.

3. I can see live video but I cannot hear the sound, although I've selected one of the video+sound options from the menu. Why is that?
When AutoMonitor detects a network congestion, it tries to reduce the data rate by discontinuing the sound stream and reducing the framerate for the video stream. As soon as the vehicle moves to an area with better 3G coverage, the sound stream will resume and the video stream will switch back to its original high framerate. As an alternative, you can try the "small" stream size from the menu, it takes up less bandwidth and has greater chances of streaming video and sound at the same time even in areas with no 3G coverage.

4. My vehicle is out of the 3G coverage area and I cannot view video or sound. What can I do?
Use the "Switch to low resolution" option from the AutoMonitor menu. This option will reduce the size of the video and the framerate to enable transmission over GPRS or EDGE networks. When your car moves back into 3G coverage, choose "Switch to high resolution" to revert to the original settings.

5. How long can I record on the SD card?
AutoMonitor Basic comes with a 2GB SD card and AutoMonitor Pro comes with a 4GB SD card. A 4GB card can hold up to 10 hours of video at the maximum quality or up to 48 hours of lower quality video. AutoMonitor Basic can only record at the lower setting, so its 2GB card will fit up to 24 hours of video. Please note that these are estimates, the actual length of each movie heavily depends on the amount of motion happening in front of the camera. More motion equals longer movies.

6. I need to record more, can I use a higher capacity SD card?
The maximum accepted capacity for SD cards in AutoMonitor systems is 4GB (which is the maximum size for SD cards in general). SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity) cards can be larger than 4GB, but they are not officially supported by our system. You can use them at your own risk, they may cause the AutoMonitor system to become unstable.

7. What is the power consumption of the AutoMonitor camera? Will it affect my car battery?
The maximum power consumption for AutoMonitor Basic and Pro is 12W and the maximum for AutoMonitor Starter is 5W. Average power consumptions are about 50% of the maximum. Keep in mind that AutoMonitor will continue to work even when your vehicle is parked. Depending on the type and capacity of your car battery, it can be completely depleted within a few days. Please deactivate the AutoMonitor system when you park your car for a long time.

8. I cannot access the AutoMonitor system, I receive a "Page not found error" from my browser. Why is that?
Your car is most probably in an area with no cellular coverage (including parkings, tunnels, etc.). AutoMonitor transmits live video and audio through the GSM/3G networks and depends on their coverage. Please contact your mobile operator if you experience constant problems in a certain area.

9. How can I view live video and audio from my car on my mobile phone?
If your mobile phone supports 3GPP streaming (most recent phones do), all you have to do is add "/m" to the URL you normally use to access the AutoMonitor system in your car. For instance, if your vehicle is normally accessible at http://automonitor-test.dyndns.org/ then the address for the mobile interface is http://automonitor-test.dyndns.org/m/ . You will be prompted for your administrative username and password, just like in the case of accessing the system from your web browser. The mobile interface allows you to view live video and audio from your car and to take snapshots from anywhere in the world, using just your mobile phone.

10. How can I demo the system to my friends or clients without giving them full access to the interface?
AutoMonitor supports two user levels: "admin" and "user". "admin" is the administrative level, this user can make any changes to the system, can view live video and audio and can access the recorded movies from the SD card. The "user" level has only live viewing rights, it cannot change passwords or settings and cannot view previously recorded movies. If you wish to grant another person viewing rights on your camera, change the password for the "user" account ("Change passwords" in the AutoMonitor menu) and give this password and the access URL to that person.

11. When I start viewing live video from my vehicle, the image contains strange green blocks for a few seconds. Is that normal?
Due to the video compression algorithm used by AutoMonitor, it is possible that the first few seconds of the live stream contain green blocks. The image should return to normal within 3 seconds. If you continue to see green blocks after the initial 3 seconds, you might have an older version of the QuickTime player, please uninstall it and redownload from http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/

12. I am trying to download one of the recorded movies from the SD card, but after a while the download seems to stall. Should I stop the process and try again?
Do not stop the download, just wait a few seconds. It is possible that the car has travelled to an area with poor coverage and the link has been temporarily interrupted. If the download does not resume within 20 seconds, you can stop it and try again later.

13. I have downloaded one of the movies from the SD card but I cannot view it with Windows Media Player. Can you suggest another viewer that can open that file?
It is possible that the movie you have downloaded is incomplete. Incomplete movies are created when the AutoMonitor system is reset or when you attempt to download the movie that is currently being recorded. These movies cannot be played with Windows Media Player, we recommend the excellent VideoLan VLC player - http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

14. How can I transfer the recorded movies from the SD card to my computer?
You can transfer the movies by directly downloading them to your computer over the GSM/3G network or by inserting the SD card into a computer that has an SD card reader. To remove the SD card from the AutoMonitor camera, press the Reset button at the back of the camera for about 10 seconds and wait for the red LED next to it to start blinking. When the LED blinks, it is safe to remove the card. The movies are located in the "RECORDING" folder, in folders called RECORD-year-month-day-hour-minute-second. In each movie folder you will find the actual movie, a JPG snapshot taken at the beginning of the movie and a small thumbnail image. After you have transferred the movies, we recommend that you format the SD card before reinserting it into the system. After you insert the card, press the Reset button again for 10 seconds until the red LED stops blinking. WARNING: NEVER REMOVE THE MEMORY CARD WHEN THE RED LED IS NOT BLINKING! THIS CAN DAMAGE THE MEMORY CARD AND THE AUTOMONITOR CAMERA!

15. I want to give multiple people access to the system, is that possible?
It is possible for multiple users to access AutoMonitor at the same time, as long as they know one of the two access passwords ("admin" or "user"). However, the communication speed of the system is limited by the maximum bandwidth available in the mobile network, so video and audio might be significantly degraded when more than one user accesses the system. If you plan to have multiple users on the same camera at the same time, we recommend that you consider an HSUPA (Hight Speed Uplink) modem that allows for higher transmission speeds. Please contact us for details.

16. Do I need to pay any monthly fees in addition to my data subscription at the mobile network operator?
No, you do not need to pay Cayenne Graphics / AutoMonitor anything after you have purchased the camera. Your mobile operator will charge you for the data traffic. Your operator is also the proper contact for coverage problems.

17. I have a CCTV system installed in my office/apartment. Can I attach the AutoMonitor system to the existing cameras and stream live video and audio?
Yes, a special AutoMonitor system called AutoMonitor Video Server allows you to connect to existing CCTV cameras. The AutoMonitor Video Server connects to the cable between the camera and your existing monitoring system. this way you can transmit live video and audio from existing cameras, without disturbing the existing CCTV infrastructure. Please contact us for details and pricing.

18. Can I find out the current position of the vehicle using AutoMonitor? Does your system use GPS?
GPS support is planned for a future release of the AutoMonitor system. Current systems do not support GPS positioning. However, most mobile operators offer fleet management systems that can position a phone (and in your case, the AutoMonitor camera) within a few hundred meters, based on the cell towers. Such systems might not be available to private users however, they are usually targetted at corporations.

19. I have lost the administrator password to my AutoMonitor system, can you help me recover it?
To change your password, you must contact the AutoMonitor tech support and know the PUK code that you received with your system as well as personal identification details of the original buyer. Your regional reseller will also be able to reset the password for you. Please note that we cannot recover your old password, we can only reset it.

20. Does the AutoMonitor system come with a data modem or do I need to purchase that separately?
No, AutoMonitor does not come with a modem, you will have to purchase one from your mobile operator. However, the modem is usually offered free of charge if you subscribe for 1 or 2 years to their data plans. You can choose the data plan that best fits your usage (see question 1). Please contact your mobile operator for details.

21. Can I use the AutoMonitor system on any GSM/3G network? How can I check if my mobile network supports your system?
Yes, you can use AutoMonitor on any GSM/3G network. Some networks may require additional setup or the purchase of a second modem from the same operator in order to be able to access the camera installed in your vehicle. Please contact us for details or check with your local distributor, they should be able to provide a list of supported modems and networks.

22. Do I have to be a company to purchase your system or can I purchase as a person?
Some network operators require you to be a company in order to offer certain services (such as GSM positioning or some data options). However, these cases are rare, most of the time the services offered to companies and private persons are similar. Please note that if you wish to purchase the AutoMonitor system directly from us, you will be charged VAT if the delivery address is within the European Union and you cannot provide a valid VAT ID. That is also the case if you are a private person.