The Body Camera Settings section enables agency administrators to control settings for Axon body worn cameras – such as video quality, event pre-buffering, audio mute control, and indicator light control. It also allows administrators to add devices as Early Access Devices. There are separate pages for controlling the settings for an agency’s Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 cameras, and Axon Body and Axon Flex cameras.
See Body Camera Setting Descriptions below for additional information about each setting.
Note: Some setting changes can only be enforced on each Axon camera after the camera has been inserted in an Axon Dock or connected to an Evidence Sync application.
Microphone controls are intended for agencies in locations with restrictions on audio recordings.
Video quality settings provide the ability to define the Axon video encoding rate or the space used per hour of recording. This is useful for agencies wanting to reduce the impact of Axon video uploads on the agency’s Internet connection.
Note: To ensure that the quality of videos is acceptable, it is strongly recommended that you always validate the effect of the configured camera settings.
- On the menu bar, click Admin, and then under Devices and Applications, click the appropriate body camera link.
There are separate Body Camera setting pages for Axon Body 2 and Flex 2 cameras, and Axon Body and Flex cameras.
- For each setting, choose the option that best supports your agency’s policies regarding video, audio, and offline camera usage.
See Body Camera Setting Descriptions below for additional information about each setting.
- At the bottom of the page, click Save Settings.
Evidence.com saves the camera settings. Axon Dock and Evidence Sync updates each camera with any changed settings the next time that the camera is connected.
Body Camera Setting Descriptions
This section provides descriptions for each of the settings on the Body camera settings page.
Axon Body and Axon Flex Camera Settings
Video Settings
- Pre-Event Buffering
This setting determines if video in the pre-event buffer is included in a video recording. When enabled, video from the 30 seconds prior to the user starting a camera recording is included in the final video.
- Quality Settings
This sets the video quality for body camera recordings. Higher quality videos will take up more storage space. For the best balance of quality and storage space, Axon recommends that the cameras record in Medium.
Audio Recording Settings
- Camera Audio Recording
This sets if the camera records audio while recording video.
Additional Settings
- Offline Configuration
This sets if Axon Body and Axon Flex cameras can be set to and used in standalone (or offline) mode. Selecting the checkbox below enables individual devices to be set to offline mode using the Evidence Sync application.
WARNING: Enabling offline mode requires users to accept a disclaimer acknowledging risks to the agency and data when configuring Axon video devices in offline mode.
Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 Camera Settings
Video Settings
- Quality Settings
This sets the video quality for body camera recordings. Higher quality videos will take up more storage space. For the best balance of quality and storage space, Axon recommends that the cameras record in Low HD.
Note: If the Quality Setting High HD (1080P) is selected, the Pre-Event Buffering setting cannot be set to 120 seconds.
- Pre-Event Buffering
This setting determines if video in the pre-event buffer is included in a video recording. The pre-event buffering time is configurable in 30 second increments for up to 120 seconds (two minutes). When enabled, video from the selected amount of time prior to the user starting a camera recording is included in the final video.
Note: Pre-event buffering settings above 30 seconds are only available for Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 cameras with the v1.9 firmware release or higher. Additionally, pre-event buffering cannot be set to 120 seconds if the Quality Setting is High HD (1080P).
- Watermark
This setting controls if a permanent watermark appears in the upper right corner of all Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 camera videos. The watermark displays the date, time, and camera serial number for the duration of the video.
The watermark time uses the ISO 8601 international standard 24-hour format with a trailing Z for “Zulu” or “zero hours” from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) time standard.
Why does the Watermark use UTC time?
UTC is based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) however the use of UTC is preferred because Greenwich observes daylight savings time in the form of British Summer Time (BST), then switches back to GMT in the winter.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) created the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) as a way to represent dates and times using numbers in a form that is accepted by the national standardization body in most countries globally. This standard is used by most militaries and the aviation industry worldwide to ensures that all references to time are coordinated to the same standard.
Axon believes it is critical to maintain the UTC time standard for all videos and therefore cannot support customization of the watermark to match a particular customers local time zone.
After uploading, Evidence.com converts the time for each video to local time shown in the upper right corner next to the video player.
- Show Recording Status with Front Camera Light
This setting enables the visible indication of the recording status on the front of the camera using the battery LED. During pre-event buffering the light will blink green. During recording the light will blink red. Stealth Mode must be disabled for this setting to be enabled.
Audio Settings
- Camera Audio Recording
This sets if the camera records audio while recording video. To mute the audio on all Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 camera videos at your agency, select Disable Camera Audio Recording. If you do not want users to have the ability to turn audio recording for their camera back on, then the Toggle Camera Audio Recording setting must be set to Prohibit Users from Toggling Camera Audio.
- Toggle Camera Audio Recording
This setting controls if users can enable and disable audio while recording an event. Audio is muted during a recording by pressing and holding the function button for 3 seconds.
- Pre-Event Buffering Audio Recording
This setting determines if audio will be recorded in the pre-event buffer.
Connectivity Settings
Note: Visibility of the Bluetooth setting is managed by an Axon-controlled agency level setting. Agencies that would like to have the Bluetooth setting available can contact their Axon representative or Technical Support to request this option.
- Bluetooth
This setting controls the camera's ability to use Bluetooth features. Disabling this setting turns off Bluetooth for all Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 cameras at your agency. Bluetooth features including Axon Signal, Axon View, and Multicam will be disabled.
Application Support Settings
- Axon ViewXL Pairing
This sets if the cameras can be paired with the Axon ViewXL mobile application for Axon Fleet and Axon Fleet 2. Enabling this feature turns on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Peripheral mode and Wi-Fi.
Axon Signal Settings
- Axon Signal
This sets if the camera will start recording when alerted by Axon Signal. The trigger events for the cameras are set on the Signal Configuration page.
User Configurable Settings
- User Configurable Modes: Stealth and Indicator Lights
This setting allows camera users to turn on or off (toggle) stealth mode or indicator lights. Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 cameras emit lights, sounds, and haptic feedback (vibrations) when they are switched on or off, and when a user starts or stops recording. When officers enable stealth mode, all lights, sounds, and vibrations are turned off. When officers disable indicator lights, all lights are turned off. These settings will also disable the front camera light regardless of the Show Recording Status with Front Camera Light setting.
Additional Settings
- Bookmark while Recording
This setting controls if users can leave a bookmark on a video while the camera is recording. Bookmarks are added to the recording by pressing the function button on the side of the camera. This function can be used to quickly note the time of a memorable incident while the camera is recording. The bookmark will be visible when viewing the video on Evidence.com.
All Body Camera Settings
- Offline Configuration
This sets if Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 cameras can be set to and used in standalone (or offline) mode. Selecting the checkbox below enables individual devices to be set to offline mode using the Evidence Sync application.
WARNING: Enabling offline mode requires users to accept a disclaimer acknowledging risks to the agency and data when configuring Axon video devices in offline mode.
- Enhanced Low Power Warnings
This setting enables a robust warning system when the camera is low on battery. When enabled, the warning consists of four audio beeps and four vibrations that occur when battery capacity reaches 20%, 15%, 10%, and 5%. Additionally, the device will emit an extra-long audio beep and vibration immediately before it shuts down due to low power.
The setting is disabled by default, but Axon recommends that you enable the setting for your Axon Body 2 and Axon Flex 2 cameras. When the setting is enabled, the warnings will be turned on the next time the camera or controller is placed in an Axon Dock.