Set up the cameras.

What you’ll need.

Plan the cameras.

These apply to every camera in the system.

• Rigid mount.

  Mount only to structure that doesn’t move: house walls, eaves, solid posts. Never fence panels that flex, thin poles that sway, or trees.

• Height and angle.

  Mount 8–14 ft above the ground, angled down at the area it covers. Higher, steeper views detect better than shallow ones.

• Clear sightline.

  Keep the view clear, now and later. Think about plants that grow, umbrellas that open and gear that gets stored.

• Sun.

  Where you have a choice, don’t point a camera into the sunrise or sunset. Lens flare hurts detection and calibration.

• Privacy.

  Frame only the areas Kourai should monitor. Keep neighbouring properties out of view wherever you can.

• Cable path.

  One Ethernet run from each camera back to the PoE switch. No AC power is needed at the camera.

A pool needs two cameras.

Pool safety needs better detections, and a view of the water from more than one side, than one camera can give. Both pool cameras follow the guidelines above, plus these.

• Both cameras see the whole pool.

  Keep all the water, including steps, tanning ledges and any attached spa, plus the first 3 ft around the edge, in both cameras’ views. Water only one camera sees is still monitored, with lower-quality detections. If moving a camera fixes it, move it.

• See the approach.

  At least one camera sees the deck and yard between the doors or gates and the pool’s edge, so a person is in view well before they reach the water.

• Different sides.

  Put the cameras on different sides or corners, so they see the water from different directions. Side by side, the second camera adds little.

Quick check: in the portal’s Cameras step, look at both frames before you tighten the mounts. Get the whole pool, edge to edge, in both views. To re-aim one, tap Reposition, then Recapture.

Good placements

Placements to avoid

Cover every way in.

Security cameras look out for anyone entering the property who shouldn’t be there. Each follows the guidelines above, plus these.

• Coverage.

  Plan a camera for each way onto the property: front door, driveway, side gates and back-yard access. An entry with no camera is a blind spot.

• Cover the approach.

  Keep each entry, gate or driveway fully in frame, with the camera facing the way people arrive, so they’re seen coming.

• Backlight.

  Don’t frame a door against strong backlight, like glass with a low sun behind it, or a bright driveway behind a shaded porch.

Good placements

Mount and connect.

PoE switch

1. Put the PoE switch near your router.
2. Move the hub’s Ethernet cable from the router to the switch, then connect the switch’s uplink port to that router port.

Link your hub.

Mount and connect every camera first: the portal lists them when it reaches the Cameras step.

1. Sign in. Open install.kourai.com on your phone and sign in with Google, email or phone, using the email or phone number Kourai invited.

2. Register your hub. In New Device, tap the scan icon and scan the QR code on the side of the hub, or type its UUID. Tap Register, choose your time zone, then Continue.

3. Let it update. Device Software checks the hub. If it says the software is outdated, tap Update Device Now. It can take several minutes; the next step opens by itself.

Calibrate.

With the cameras mounted, the portal takes you through four steps. Plan for 20–35 minutes, most of it waiting for validation.

1. Cameras. Wait for the hub to find the cameras; they’re listed as Camera 0, Camera 1 and so on. Clear the area of people and pets, check each frame shows the whole pool, and tap Capture All Frames. To fix a framing, tap Reposition, re-aim the camera, then Recapture. Tap Confirm All Frames and stay out of view until “All frames saved.”

2. Scale. Stand up straight where every camera sees you head to toe, with no one else in view, and tap Capture All Cameras (or have someone tap it for you), then Confirm All. Enter your height in feet and inches, accurately: it sets the real-world scale of the whole scene. Then tap Confirm Calibration Data.

   

3. Video. Record the walk-around in your phone’s camera app, by the rules below, then upload it under Scan Video: MP4 or MOV, 10 seconds to 60 minutes, under 4 GB. Use your Wi-Fi and keep the page open: closing it means redoing Cameras and Scale. If the upload stops, choose the same file again to resume.

4. Validate. Tap Start Validation and wait for “Installation Complete.” The 3D model then finishes in the background, and the Kourai app lets you know when your home is ready.

The walk-around video.

The video is how Kourai learns the shape of the property, and how it places each camera in it. Follow every rule.

• Landscape, at chest height.

  Hold the phone sideways at chest height, and tilt it up and down as you go so the scan takes in the ground and what’s above it.

• Walk slowly.

  Fast moves blur frames and leave holes in the result. Move slowly and steadily.

• Walk everything the cameras see.

  Anything more than about 33 ft (10 m) from where you walk is left out of the 3D model. Pass under each camera and through every way in.

• One full loop.

  Walk all the way around the outdoor property and finish on the exact spot you started.

• One or two steps back from the edge.

  On the edge, the phone sees only water. A step or two back keeps the deck, furniture and ground in frame.

• Raise the phone to each camera.

  At each mounted camera, lift the phone toward its height and point it the way the camera points, so the phone sees what the camera sees. Then lower it and carry on. Validation fails if any camera isn’t placed this way.

• Circle complex objects.

  Tables, rock features and planters need to be seen from more than one side. Walk part of the way around them.

• Watch for lens flare.

  If you see flare on screen, walk that area again from another angle, with the sun to your side.

If something’s not right.

Waiting for your vendor.

This account has no invite from Kourai. Sign in with the email or phone number Kourai invited, or email support for an invite, then tap Check again.

The QR code won’t scan.

Allow camera access and add light; the scanner has no flashlight. Or type the hub’s UUID into Device UUID.

Device is offline.

Check the hub’s power and Ethernet, and that the router has internet. Restart it: unplug the power, wait 10 seconds and plug it back in.

No cameras discovered on this device.

Check each camera is on a PoE port, powered and on the hub’s network, then tap Retry Discovery. Don’t refresh the page. A camera that was set up before needs a factory reset.

Camera model unrecognized.

Only the Reolink RLC-840A and RLC-1240A work with Kourai. Swap the camera.

A camera is offline.

Check the PoE port light. Reseat the RJ45 at both ends, test the cable again, try another PoE port, and check the switch’s power budget.

The upload fails or stalls.

Use your Wi-Fi and move closer to the router, then choose the same file again to resume. Don’t close the page. The video must be MP4 or MOV, 10 seconds to 60 minutes, under 4 GB.

Too few frames matched the scene.

Walk again, slower, with more overlap between what the phone sees from one moment to the next.

Static cameras not recognized in the scan.

Walk again, and at each camera raise the phone toward it and point it the way the camera points.

Scene reconstruction incomplete.

Walk again, slower, in good light, covering every area the cameras see.

Couldn’t read the scan video.

Record the walk-around again and upload the new file.

Any other validation message.

Email support with the message and the Task ID on screen.

After any failed validation.

Tap Start New Validation, register the same hub again and redo Cameras, Scale and Video. The home is kept.

Validation runs for a long time.

It has no time limit. If it seems stuck, email support with the Task ID on screen.