Managing thousands of cameras in Macroscop 4.4

Large-Scale Camera Management: Batch Operations and Filters in Macroscop 4.4

In large video surveillance systems with thousands of cameras, manual configuration leads to significant time investments. The updated camera tree in Macroscop 4.4 enables batch operations, filtering, and device identification with minimal steps. This reduces routine tasks for administrators by an order of magnitude.

The camera tree is organized as a hierarchical list with nested elements, displaying connected devices, their properties, and settings. It serves as the primary interface for managing cameras in environments ranging from dozens to thousands of devices.

Issues in Previous Versions

Administrators of systems with large numbers of cameras faced limitations:

• Lack of batch operations: moving cameras to a server or folder had to be done one by one.
• Complex search: no filters for properties like audio, PTZ, or video analytics.
• No comment support: inability to record metadata about cameras, such as installation location.

These shortcomings increased time spent on routine tasks, especially in scenarios with hundreds of devices.

User Experience Research

Development of the update began with scenario analysis. Given the B2B model and closed systems without telemetry, data was gathered from several sources:

• Interviews with users who reported issues.
• Surveys of partners and their clients.
• Cases from technical support, presales, and managers.
• Analysis of competitor interfaces.

Identified pain points were prioritized: focus on batch actions, search, and metadata. Prototypes were created, tested internally and with users, and refined.

New Camera Tree Features

Version 4.4 implements functionality that reduces operations by tens of times. Example: moving 150 cameras with audio to a new server—filter by audio + batch operation.

Key improvements:

• Property filters: search by audio, PTZ, video analytics, and other parameters for instant selection.
• Comments and tags: adding descriptions and labels for navigation and context.
• Property display: key camera characteristics are visible immediately in the list.
• Batch operations: moving, copying, deleting groups of devices.
• Hotkeys: speeding up routine actions.

These tools make administration efficient even in mega-systems.

Feedback and Development

A post-release survey confirmed value: users noted simplified routines, convenience of tags and comments. Suggestions for further iterations were received, some of which are in progress.

UX Improvement Process in the Product

The workflow for major features is standardized:

• Problem identification (feedback, objectives, competitors).
• Experience research (interviews, employee surveys, market analysis).
• Prototyping considering dev constraints.
• Internal testing.
• User testing.
• Release and post-feedback.

In closed systems, emphasis is on quality feedback from limited samples.

Key Takeaways

• Batch operations and filters reduce administration time by tens of times.
• Filtering by properties (audio, PTZ, analytics) solves search in large trees.
• Tags and comments simplify navigation and documentation.
• The UX process relies on interviews and cases due to lack of telemetry.
• Hotkeys and property display speed up daily work.

— Editorial Team