Exporting a Video Recording to MKV Format

Scenario: You want to export a video recording to MKV format so that it can be viewed with an external application, such as VLC Media Player.

 

Reference: For instructions on manually recording video see Recording Video.

 

Workflow diagram:

 

Prerequisites:

  • A video recording was previously made, either manually or automatically.
  • System Manager is in Operating mode.
  • System Browser is in Application View.

 

Steps:

1 – Set the Location on Disk for Storing the Exported Video Clip
  1. In System Browser select Applications > Video.
  1. In the Extended Operation tab, the Export Clip Path property shows the location on disk where the MKV file will be stored.
  1. (Optional) To modify the location, enter a new Export Clip Path and click Send.

 

2 – Find the Recording you Want to Export in the Archive, or in a Camera Timeline

 

To find videos recorded on a specific camera less than 24 hours ago:

  1. Select Applications > Video > Cameras > [camera].
  1. Click the Video Controls tab to display the Timeline.

For more detailed instructions see Playing Back Recordings from a Camera Timeline.

 

To find older videos, or if you don’t know the camera:

  1. Select Applications > Video > Archive.
  1. Enter a query in the Video Archive tab and click Search. Recordings that match your query display in the Timeline at the bottom of the Video Archive tab.

For more detailed instructions see Finding Recordings in the Video Archive

 

NOTE: In the Timeline, you can switch between the Graphic and Textual views to help you identify the recordings.

3 – Preview the Recording and Decide Which Parts to Export
  1. From the Timeline, drag-and-drop a symbol or table row onto a the preview monitor, or onto a monitor in the video view.
  • The monitor displays the video recording.
  1. Use the controls on the monitor to play back the video:.
  • / and /: play/pause and fast forward/rewind.
  • : jump to start point of the recording
  1. If you do not need to export the entire recording, note the start and end times of the section you plan to export.

 

4 - Export All or Part of the Recording to a File
  • Do one of the following to begin exporting:
  • To export the entire video recording, on the monitor click Export .
  • To export only part of the video recording, in the Extended Operation tab, next to the Video Clip property click Start. Enter a Start Time and End Time, and click Send.
  • The export procedure starts and may take a few minutes. You cannot start another export procedure until the previous one has completed.
  • The Export icon shows a small cross to indicate that the export procedure is in progress and you can use the icon command to abort it.

 

NOTICE

Time Synchronization

The system cannot export video clips that just started being recorded (you may get an empty file).
In addition, be aware that the management platform and the VMS servers must be time-synchronized (within 30 sec) to ensure a proper export of video recordings when the upper limit of the export is the current time (for example when exporting the video recording of a very recent manual tag).
In such cases, a synchronization problem between servers may cause errors in the time interval definition and even result in an endless export process. To resolve this type of troubles, you can always abort the export process and start it again.

NOTICE

Large Files and Long Export Time

Note that the export duration and the resulting file size may be quite large if you export a long and high-definition video recording. For example, a 1 hour recording from a HD camera may take 15 minutes to export and result in a 3 GB file.