Docs · How it works · Install · First night · Using the desk
Camera
One roof camera has recorded with these night settings: an Amcrest IP5M-T1179EB, 5 megapixel, PoE, fixed to the roof. Other cameras can work. Stars and satellites are one or two pixels, so do not record at a lower resolution than the camera's main stream.
Use the camera's night profile. The recorder runs from civil dusk to civil dawn, so that profile is the one that matters.
| Setting | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 3072 × 2048 | Full main stream. Never downscale before detection. |
| Frame rate | 5 fps | Matches a 1/5 s shutter, so the sensor is exposing almost all the time. |
| Shutter | 1/5 s, manual | Long enough for faint stars. A meteor is one line. A strobe is a bead. |
| Gain | 50, fixed | Brightness stays comparable from night to night. |
| 3D noise reduction | Auto | Cleans sensor noise. Check that meteors stay sharp if you change it. |
| IR illuminator | Off | IR lights insects near the lens and washes out the stars. |
| Codec | H.264, CBR 6144 kbps | Turn smart codecs off. They drop the quiet sky where faint movers are. |
| Keyframe interval | 20 frames (4 s) | Star trails and the time-lapse decode keyframes, so this sets their pace. |
| Clock | NTP on | Matching a light to a satellite needs the clock right to the second. |
Aiming
- Face north and tilt up, so the celestial pole stays in view.
- Keep the road and yard lights out of the frame. Headlights are the main source of junk low in the sky.
- Leave a thin tree line. The sky mask finds the sky as the bright region above the dark ground at dusk.
- After you move the camera, do nothing. The next dusk notices the scene changed and builds a new mask.
Read the settings back
The camera's own web page can change the bitrate when you save something else. After any change, open the review desk and read the stream status: bitrate, frame rate, shutter, gain, noise reduction, and clock drift. A night at 6144 kbps is about 25–30 GB.