Fisheye cameras are becoming popular tools to view wide areas of a property without purchasing multiple cameras for the same job. These cameras generally offer a 360 degree or 180 degree view. Fisheye panoramic security cameras are often used for offices, warehouses, or retail stores. Ultra wide angle cameras by CCTV Camera World require our free software or compatible NVR recorders to dewarp and view their video streams. De-warp is the process of splitting the fisheye view into several virtual cameras.

How to dewarp a Fisheye or Panoramic security camera using the Central Monitoring Software

Using our Central Monitoring Software and one of our fisheye panoramic cameras you can view and dewarp the stream. You can use the software whether you are using the camera by itself over the network, or with a NVR. The software allows for dewarping in live-view or during playback of recorded video. 

Please note this dewarp feature is unavailable on DVR recorders such as Tribrid DVRs and XVRs.

There are three installation modes that the software allows you to set up, and they determine the type of views that are available for dewarping the video stream. The available view modes for panoramic cameras are: 

  • Ceiling
  • Wall
  • Flat surface mounts

You will want to match your mode to how you have your security camera mounted. The image below depicts the different views available under each mounting mode.

The views available for each installation mode.

Depending on the mode that you’ve selected you will be offered several different types of dewarping views. You can swap between the dewarped views as you wish, and the software will remember the last view you used. You can also save the views following our guide on How to Setup Camera Tours using the software. Check out our video guide below on how to view panoramic cameras. We used the 5MP 180 Degree Fisheye Dome Camera in this video demonstration.

Dewarping also works on the Mac version of SmartPSS and looks like the screenshot below.

Fisheye views using the Mac version of SmartPSS

How to dewarp a Fisheye or Panoramic camera using a compatible NVR system

If you have one of our Network Video Recorders that support dewarping you can watch the following guides. These video guides will serve to show and demonstrate how you can use one of our compatible NVRs to dewarp a fisheye camera without any additional software. You will want to select the video based on the main menu that is on your NVR.

If your NVR has a blue interface you will want to watch the video below. Type A

If your NVR has a black interface you will want to watch the video below. Type B

How to dewarp a Fisheye camera using the web interface from a compatible NVR system

Using the Internet Explorer web interface of a compatible NVR also allows customers to dewarp their fisheye or panoramic cameras. The video guide below shows how to access the Internet Explorer web interface using Microsoft Edge's compatibility mode and web plugin.

Matt Rossi is a Technical Support Manager at CCTV Camera World, a leading CCTV Camera distributor located in Buffalo, NY. He is a technical support expert for everything video surveillance related.

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