Configuring Keyence IP Cameras for Siemens Comfort Panels

Overview

Engineers frequently attempt to feed an analog VGA signal from a Keyence machine vision camera into a SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panel, but SIMATIC Comfort Panels do not include an analog VGA or composite video input. There is no frame grabber, no BNC connector, and no progressive-scan RGB input on any TP700 / TP900 / TP1200 / TP1500 / TP1900 / TP2200 Comfort device. The only supported path for displaying live or stored camera images on a Comfort Panel is the IP camera / network camera route, in which the panel acts as an HTTP client pulling JPEG snapshots or MJPEG streams from the camera's embedded web server or video server.

This guide documents the correct procedure for streaming Keyence vision system images to a SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panel using TIA Portal, the "Internet" browser control, and the panel's network interface. The workflow is anchored in the official Siemens application note 62383298 - Monitoring Machines and Plants with Network Cameras and SIMATIC HMI Comfort Panels, which lists approved IP cameras, supported image formats, and firmware prerequisites for the panel image.

Why VGA Does Not Work on a Comfort Panel

The VGA "OUT" connector on a Keyence CV-series controller or XG-series image-processing unit is intended to drive an industrial monitor for on-machine viewing. It carries the controller's local display buffer, not a streamed, network-addressable image. Comfort Panels are HMI clients, not frame grabbers, so the only architecturally correct integration is Ethernet.

Prerequisites

Verify the following before commissioning. Each item links to the relevant official reference.

1. Comfort Panel hardware: TP700 Comfort, TP900 Comfort, TP1200 Comfort, TP1500 Comfort, TP1900 Comfort, or TP2200 Comfort. The integrated PROFINET interface (X1) provides 10/100 Mbit/s on the 4" / 7" / 9" / 12" models and 10/100/1000 Mbit/s on the 15" / 19" / 22" models. Reference: SIMATIC HMI device manuals in the Siemens SIOS portal.
2. Panel firmware: Comfort image V13 SP1 Update 6 or higher for stable HTTPS handling. The web control was enhanced in V14 SP1 to allow self-signed certificates; the V15 / V16 / V17 / V18 images add cookie caching. See the firmware download section in the Siemens entry 62383298 for the specific version that qualifies each Comfort panel.
3. TIA Portal: V16 or higher recommended to match current panel images and to expose the "Internet" control under Toolbox > Controls. Use the project version that matches the panel image (for example, TIA V17 with a V17 panel image).
4. Keyence vision system: A network-capable Keyence smart camera. The Keyence Vision Systems family - in particular the VS Series (VS-070, VS-080, VS-090) and the CV-5000 / CV-X series controllers with the optional Ethernet unit - all expose an embedded web server. The Keyence Machine Vision FAQ clarifies which models offer HTTP image export.
5. Keyence configuration software: VS Creator for the VS Series or CV Creator for the CV / XG series. Setup videos are listed in the VS Series Setup Procedure Videos page.
6. Network: Managed or unmanaged switch, Cat 5e or higher cabling, IP addressing scheme (panel and camera on the same subnet, default gateway configured if remote viewing is required).
7. Memory card (optional): A SIMATIC HMI Memory Card is required for Comfort panels to enable audit, recipe, or browser logs. Not strictly required for camera display but recommended for logging.

Architecture and Network Topology

Place the Keyence smart camera and the Comfort Panel on the same IP subnet. The panel does not perform image processing; it only requests and renders snapshots. Use the following baseline addressing.

If the machine already uses PROFINET for I/O, use the second port of the Comfort Panel to keep the camera traffic on a parallel subnet. This isolates the camera stream from real-time I/O and avoids PROFINET update time violations.

Step 1 - Configure the Keyence Smart Camera for Network Access

1. Install VS Creator on the engineering PC and connect to the camera with the USB or Ethernet setup cable. The connection procedure is documented in the VS Series Setup Procedure Videos.
2. In VS Creator, open Communication > Ethernet and assign a static IP address (192.168.10.50), subnet mask 255.255.255.0, and default gateway 192.168.10.1. Disable DHCP on the camera to prevent address drift after power cycles.
3. Enable the embedded web server. On VS Series firmware, the toggle is Settings > Network > Web Server = ON. CV / XG controllers expose the same function under System > Network > Web Function.
4. Set a snapshot URL. The default Keyence snapshot endpoints follow the pattern:
   • http://192.168.10.50/liveimg.cgi (older VS firmware)
   • http://192.168.10.50/snapshot.jpg (newer VS firmware)
   • http://192.168.10.50/img/snapshot.cgi?size=3 (CV / XG series)
   Verify the URL with a browser on the engineering PC before pointing the Comfort Panel at it.
5. Configure authentication. Use a dedicated camera-read user, not the administrator. Comfort Panels V14 SP1 and higher support HTTP basic authentication. The Siemens entry 62383298 lists which panel images accept self-signed certificates without operator action.
6. Set the JPEG quality to 70 - 80% and the snapshot resolution to 640 x 480 or 800 x 600. Higher resolutions saturate the panel's browser cache and slow screen updates. Reference: Keyence Machine Vision FAQ.

Step 2 - Configure the Comfort Panel IP Address

1. Open the TIA Portal project that contains the Comfort Panel device.
2. In the project tree, select the HMI device, then open Device configuration > PROFINET interface [X1] > Ethernet addresses.
3. Set IP address to 192.168.10.20, Subnet mask to 255.255.255.0, and disable "Use router" if no off-subnet access is required.
4. If the panel has two PROFINET ports (TP1500 / TP1900 / TP2200 Comfort), bind the second port to 192.168.10.21 on the camera subnet and the first port to the PLC subnet. This avoids routing camera traffic through the PLC.
5. Compile and download the panel image. Confirm the panel boots to the configured IP and that a ping from the engineering PC succeeds.

Step 3 - Add the Internet Control to the HMI Screen

1. In the HMI project tree, expand the target screen (for example, Screen_1).
2. Drag the Internet control from the toolbox into the screen layout. The control renders an embedded browser engine based on Chromium on newer Comfort images and an older WebKit variant on legacy images.
3. Resize the control to the desired live-view area. For a 1280 x 800 panel image, a 1024 x 600 control gives the best balance between image size and refresh performance.
4. In the control properties, configure the URL field with a tag-driven string, for example "http://192.168.10.50/snapshot.jpg". Use a string tag (WString[254] or String[254]) so operators can change cameras at runtime without reloading the project.
5. Set Refresh to a tag-driven integer (in seconds). The Siemens entry 62383298 recommends a 2 - 5 s refresh interval. Faster refresh consumes CPU and competes with screen redraws.
6. If the camera uses authentication, enter the username and password in the control properties. The credential is stored in the project; restrict project access accordingly.

Step 4 - Drive the Browser URL with a Script

For dynamic updates, drive the URL tag from a button or a VBScript on the panel. Example panel VBScript that updates the camera URL from a tag:

Sub UpdateCameraURL(ByVal newIP)
    Dim sUrl
    sUrl = "http://" & newIP & "/snapshot.jpg"
    SmartTags("CameraURL") = sUrl
    SmartTags("RefreshTime") = 3
End Sub

Bind the URL and Refresh properties of the Internet control to the tags CameraURL and RefreshTime. The panel reloads the image on the next refresh interval.

Step 5 - Camera Selection Reference

Not every Keyence model can act as an IP camera. The Keyence Machine Vision FAQ clarifies which product lines ship with a web server. The table below summarizes typical capability.

Step 6 - Network Security Hardening

Industrial HMI panels should not be exposed to the office network without a firewall. Apply the following baseline controls.

1. Place the camera subnet behind a managed switch with ACL rules. Permit HTTP (TCP 80) or HTTPS (TCP 443) only from the Comfort Panel IP to the camera IP.
2. Disable HTTP on the Keyence camera if HTTPS is available. Comfort panels from V15 onward accept self-signed certificates without operator interaction; older images require the certificate to be loaded into the project.
3. Change the default camera administrator password. The Keyence default admin / admin must be replaced before deployment.
4. Disable the Keyence FTP, Telnet, and UPnP services if they are enabled by default. These are not used by the Comfort Panel integration.
5. Document the IP addressing, switch port assignments, and credential storage location in the project Functional Specification.

Step 7 - Performance Tuning

Image size and refresh rate dominate the load on the Comfort Panel. The browser control shares CPU time with the screen redraw, alarm logging, and recipe services. Tune as follows.

Avoid running more than two simultaneous Internet controls on a TP700 / TP900 Comfort. The 4" and 7" panels share a slower CPU than the 12" / 15" / 19" / 22" models and will exhibit screen redraw lag if the camera refresh interval is below 2 s.

Step 8 - Verification

1. On the engineering PC, open a browser and load the camera snapshot URL. Confirm the JPEG returns with HTTP 200 and a Content-Type: image/jpeg header.
2. On the Comfort Panel, open a Windows CE / Windows Embedded Standard command shell (Control Panel > OP) and run ping 192.168.10.50. The round-trip time should be below 5 ms on a Cat 5e link.
3. On the HMI screen, navigate to the Internet control. The first snapshot should appear within one refresh interval. If the page shows "Page cannot be displayed", verify the URL string tag value and the panel proxy settings.
4. Cycle power to the camera and confirm the panel recovers the image within the next refresh without operator action.
5. Trigger a Keyence inspection result (OK / NG) from a PLC tag and confirm the panel can display the last-result image as a still snapshot. The Keyence VS Creator provides an Output result image to FTP function for this purpose.
6. Record the final settings in the project Functional Specification: camera IP, snapshot URL, refresh interval, authentication credential storage location, and switch port assignment.

Troubleshooting Matrix

Frequently Asked Questions