Video Troubleshooting

Milestone or Siveillance VMS installation problems.

Occasional problems have been reported in installing the VMS server.

In case of difficulty, you can refer to the Installation Troubleshooting section of the VMS Server Administration Manual (see Milestone / Siveillance Support References).
In addition, referring to the VMS server setup, you can try the following staged installation procedure, which has proved to be useful:

• Run the Custom setup for the only Siveillance VMS management Server and restart the server
• Run the Custom setup again, add the Siveillance VMS Recording Server and restart the server.
• Run the Custom setup again, add all other Siveillance VMS components and restart the server one final time.

Video Disconnected.

- Video images do not display.
- The video view only displays Video Disconnected.
- An event in Event List reports the video system as disconnected.
- The Video System property is Disconnected.

Normal situation resulting from a Disconnect command.

• Try to Connect the video interface.

Problem concerning the internal connection with the BT Video API.

For technical support, provide the Video API Log File from SMC. Read and then save the log file in the Video Settings tab of the project

Video Disconnected Not Aligned.

- Video images do not display.
- The video view only displays Video Disconnected Not Aligned.
- An event in Event List reports the video system as Disconnected Not Aligned.
- The Video System property is Disconnected not Aligned

While the Video System was Disconnected, Video Configurator changed as a result of :

• Modifications done in the VMS, for example to cameras or triggers, followed by a Refresh command.
• Modifications done directly in the Video Configurator, for example to monitor groups, camera groups, sequences, and so on.

This is a normal situation when System Browser does not match Video Configurator.

• Issue a Connect command: System Browser will be aligned to reflect the changes made in Video Configurator.

The VMS server computer, the Desigo CC server computer, or the Video API Service were restarted immediately after:

• Excluding/including cameras from the project while the Video System was Disconnected.
• Making changes in the VMS, for example to cameras or triggers, without issuing a Refresh command.
• Enabling/disabling cameras in the VMS.
  Note: The enabled/disabled state propagates to Video Configurator even without a Refresh command.

This is a known issue related to how the configuration is aligned after a restart.

• Issue a Connect command.

A project was restored incorrectly from backup.

Normally, after restoring a project from backup, Video is automatically connected and aligned. If instead a Disconnected Not Aligned event occurs, it means the configuration in Video Configurator does not match that in System Browser.

This may happen if some steps in the restore procedure were skipped. For example, if you restored the project but omitted to restore the Video API configuration.

NOTE: If there is also a Misaligned Video Providers event, see below.

1. In Video Configurator, check if the video configuration is the one you want to align with.
2. If it is not, correct the Video Settings in SMC or repeat the restore procedure.
3. Once Video Configurator is correct, issue a connect command to propagate the changes to System Browser and start using video.

Misaligned Video Providers event

and

Video System (disconnected) event

The currently active VMS provider does not match the VMS provider set for the project.

Specifically, in the properties of the main Video node, the Runtime VMS Provider does not match the Project VMS Provider.

This can happen if you:
- Edit a video project in SMC and select a different VMS provider from the original one.
- Restore a video project that used a different VMS provider from the currently active one.

To migrate the project to the currently active provider (be aware there is risk of data loss if the providers are incompatible):

1. Make sure the two providers are compatible, and back up the project data before proceeding.
2. Force a connect of the video system (manual Connect command).

To set an active provider that is aligned with the project:

1. In SMC, edit the video project and open the Video Services Settings expander.
2. From the Provider selection drop-down list, select a video provider that matches the original provider used for the project.
3. Configure the VMS host IP/name and VMS port fields as appropriate for the new provider..

VMS unreachable

A fault event in Event List reports the VMS as unreachable.

As a consequence, no video cameras can connect, and video streams do not display.

.

This problem concerns the VMS or the connection between the BT Video API (which runs on the Desigo CC server) and the VMS

• Check that the VMS is running and can communicate properly.
  Depending on the deployment architecture, the VMS may run on the same computer as the Desigo CC server or on a separate networked computer. In case of separate computers, check the network connection between them.
• Verify that you can ping the VMS server using the host name (not only the IP address) and vice versa that you can ping in the same way the Desigo CC server from VMS. See Enable VMS Name Resolution.
• Check that the VMS server and the the Desigo CC server are time-synchronized. See Time Synchronize the Video Servers.
• Check the configurations described in Milestone / Siveillance VMS Procedures.
• Check the VMS IP/Name settings in the SMC project, and check for possible conflicts in the use of the VMS TCP port 80 (for example, from other web services).

Video Manager not reachable

after stopping and restarting the project.

After restarting the project and reconnecting video, client functionality may not resume properly. In this case a Video Manager not reachable message displays.

• Stop and restart the client application.

Video API unreachable.

A fault event in Event List reports BT Video API as unreachable.

The Connect command fails.

No video cameras can connect and video streams do not display.

This may be due to a problem with the BT Video API, which runs on the Desigo CC Server

.

• In the Windows service list of the server, check that the Siemens BT Video API service is running (Started) and try to restart that service or the entire computer.
• Check the IP/Name and TCP port settings of BT Video API in the SMC project.
  The port associated to Video Services must match the corresponding configuration in the file VideoService.exe.config:
  search for the line <add key="VideoApiService.BaseAddress1" value="net.tcp://{hostname}:8002" />, with 8002 being the default port value.
• Check the BT Video API user account settings. See Configuring the VideoApiService Account.
• If the Video API service fails to start, try running it under a Windows administrator account.
  Owing to an issue with Microsoft updates, the BT Video API service sometimes requires to be started with administration privileges.

Video Api connected, VMS not connected

In SMC, the Video Project Settings expander reports the status as Video Api connected, VMS not connected

This may be due to Local Security Policy settings on the Desigo CC server or VMS server computer that restrict NTLM Authentication.

Do the following on both the Desigo CC server and VMS server computer:

1. Open the Windows Local Security Policy editor (secpol.msc)
2. Select Security Settings > Local Policies > Security Options.
3. Make sure the following settings are not set to Deny All:
• Network security: Restrict NTLM: NTLM authentication in this domain
• Network security: Restrict NTLM: Outgoing NTLM traffic to remote servers

Camera unreachable

A fault event in Event List reports cameras as unreachable

One or more cameras cannot connect. Video images for those cameras do not display.

This problem may have various causes.

• Check that the camera is powered on and properly connected over the network.
• Check the camera configuration and the license in the VMS. See Installing the VMS License.
• Check the time synchronization between cameras and the VMS. For security reasons, various video control protocols require a close time synchronization (within few seconds) to establish a connection.
  Video units can be synchronized from the central system or all components can rely on a common Network Time Protocol (NTP) server.

In a distributed installation:

Video System Offline

The connection to the Desigo CC server with video (VMS connection) is lost.

• Check the network connection between the Desigo CC servers operating in distribution.

The video application does not display any video streams. Instead the message No monitor group is associated to the station displays.

The Desigo CC station does not have an associated monitor group.

NOTE: Only the Desigo CC server station has a default monitor group assigned to it. Any other stations need to be manually assigned a monitor group before they can display video

.

This problem is due to an incomplete configuration. To display video streams the station must have an associated monitor group.

• Create an association between the station and a monitor group (see Assign a Monitor Group to a Station).

The video application does not display video streams, without apparent faults.

To display video streams in Desigo CC, the Windows user who launches the Desigo CC client must be assigned to the StreamingUsers role in the VMS.

• Check the configuration of the streaming users (see Configuring VideoStreaming Users).

If encryption of video streams is enabled in the Milestone/Siveillance VMS, the correct CA certificate must be installed on all Desigo CC stations that need to display video streams.

• On the Desigo CC station, install the CA certificate which signed the SSL server certificate of the VMS recording server, as instructed in Encrypting Video Communication Flows..

Networked Desigo CC client stations do not display video streams, without apparent faults.

The VMS and Desigo CC servers run on the same computer, and in SMC the VMS IP/Name was set to localhost.

Although this setting allows the Desigo CC server station to display video streams, it does not permit networked client stations to display video streams.

• Check the VMS IP/Name settings in the SMC project. Instead of localhost, use the full server name or IP address. See Video Project Settings.

A user or group of users cannot display video streams, or cannot change camera selections previously set by other users.

The user group does not have the necessary security rights.

To display video streams, users must have Standard command group rights on camera objects.

• In the Security settings for the user group, enable the Standard command group rights on camera objects. See Video Scope Rights.

In assisted treatment, monitor 1 does not show video streams.

The project uses one of the special AT_Video_In_Secondary_[***].LDL client profiles that provide video in the secondary pane during assisted treatment.

During assisted treatment of one event, you switched to assisted treatment of another without suspending the first event.

This is a known issue with the Video in Secondary profiles. To avoid it, always suspend an event before switching to treatment of another one.

A specific camera fails to show video streams, without apparent faults

Video images are missing, even though there is no malfunction detected on the camera. Other cameras are able to display video correctly.

• Check the corresponding VMS settings and licenses. Test the camera images with the VMS local client.
• If the camera was disabled or removed from the VMS, it will still be present in System Browser but cannot work properly. To resolve the problem, execute a refresh.

Video streams are lost after a remote desktop connection

A station is correctly showing video streams, but after a user connects to that computer using Windows Remote Desktop, the video streams disappear.

This is a known issue. As a workaround, restart the Desigo CC client to recover the video streams.

A Windows App client station does not display video streams, without apparent faults.

To display video on Windows App clients, an additional configuration step is required.

• Run the MilestoneProviderInstaller.msi file on the Windows App client computer, as instructed in Video support on web-based clients.

In a distributed Desigo CC installation, there are no camera images without apparent faults.

This may result from the following incorrect configurations:

- More than one Desigo CC server is connected to the same VMS.

- More than one of the Desigo CC projects in distribution has video enabled.

• Check that no other Desigo CC server is connected to VMS. Only one connection is allowed.
• Check that the Enable video project option is selected in only one of the SMC projects of the distributed system (see Configure Project Settings for Video).
  NOTE: If you remove the Enable video project option from a project, do the following:
• (Recommended) On the local server, in Windows Services, stop and disable the Siemens Video API Service.
• Stop and restart the project twice to allow for a complete refresh of the internal data.

Duplicated video objects after restoring a V1.x configuration and creating new V2.0 video objects.

Old V1.x video objects are not automatically removed from an V2.0 configuration.

• Delete old V1.x video objects manually.

Missing video objects in System Browser after restoring a project that previously included video objects.

Failing to restore video objects in the VMS before refreshing the system will result in the loss of video objects and related links in System Browser.

• Make sure to do the restore procedure in the correct sequence. In case of data loss, restart the entire restore procedure from the beginning.

Some video objects do not work properly, or are not available at all in System Browser.

Desigo CC is not properly aligned with the VMS configuration.

This may be a normal situation after a change in the camera configuration of the VMS. Cameras deleted in the VMS will not respond to any system command

• When the VMS configuration is stable, execute a refresh.

Video configuration misalignment in large configurations with 500 cameras or more.

The configuration fails to align and System Browser may not include all the objects.

• As a workaround, in Windows Services, try restarting the Siemens Video API Service.

First camera added to VMS appears in Unknown status after the configuration alignment. In addition, the video archive status is shown as Not Configured.

The problem occurs when only one camera is configured. It can be solved by restarting VMS and Video API.

• To solve the problem:
• Restart the VMS server computer.
• If the Siemens BT Video API service is running on another computer, restart that service or the entire computer.

Camera status incorrectly reported as Fault.

The cameras are connected to a video management system (VMS) that is not reachable.

This is a known issue. When the VMS is unreachable the camera status is incorrectly reported as Fault, rather than as Unknown.

Cameras in Fault are incorrectly reported as Reachable, and the corresponding Fault events disappear from Event List.

A Refresh command was issued with the video system Connected, but the VMS Recording Server service stopped.

• Start the VMS Recording Server service and repeat the Refresh command.

Erroneous No-VMS License event on newly configured cameras in fault status.

New cameras added in VMS that are in fault conditions are reported as not covered by a proper license.

• Resolve the camera fault in the VMS and refresh the video configuration.

Troubles with PTZ control.

PTZ commands do not work.

• Check the PTZ commands with the VMS tools.
• Check the VMS camera PTZ configuration (see Configure ONVIF PTZ).

Wrong report about Focus and Preset controls in PTZ camera configuration.

In the PTZ Capabilities of the Video Source Settings expander, Focus and Preset controls may be reported as available even though they are not.

PTZ capabilities reporting in the configuration page may be occasionally incorrect.

Cameras disabled in the VMS are not removed from the System Browser tree.

System Browser does not automatically remove disabled cameras and/or add re-enabled cameras.

You must manually set which cameras to add or remove from the Video Configurator tab.

In the Video Configurator tab, select VMS > Video Devices and, in the pane on the right, manually adjust the cameras you want to include or exclude.

For detailed instructions see Excluding Cameras from the Project.

Cameras re-enabled in the VMS are not added to the System Browser tree.

Camera links and customizations are lost when a camera is excluded and later re-imported in the project.

Exclusion is intended for permanent removal of cameras from the project.

When the same camera is removed and then re-imported, its configurations are not fully retained, and re-engineering may be required. Specifically:

• Links of the camera to graphics are maintained and operational.
• Links of the camera to scopes are maintained and operational.
• Links of graphics to the camera are no longer available until the graphic is saved again.
• Object links automatically associated to the camera through coverage area are no longer available until the graphic is saved again.
• Object links manually associated to the camera are definitively lost.
• Any customizations done on the camera itself are definitively lost.
• Camera links in documents are lost.
• Camera links in reactions are maintained, but the reaction must be re-saved to work again.
• Camera links in views are lost, except for soft links, which can be recovered with the Update View command.

• To remove a camera temporarily without losing the related configurations, disable it in the VMS.

The video application does not display in System Manager.

You do not have the rights to display the video application.

To access the Video application, the Application Rights for video must be enabled (they are disabled by default). See Video Application Rights.

Cannot modify Video Application Rights. Modifications do not apply correctly.

Previous modifications were made from the secondary System Manager, and you are now trying to modify the Application Rights from the main System Manager.

• Stop and restart the client application, then try again to modify the Application Rights.

Desigo CC client application crashes when attempting to display video streams, for example when doing drag-and-drop of video cameras or video sequences to the monitor group.

The Desigo CC client station does not have a graphics card (GPU)that meets the requirements set out in Recommended Hardware for Video Stations. When using the Milestone / Siveillance VMS, hardware acceleration is required for client stations that display video streams.

This issue may also occur as a result of an outdated graphics card driver, particularly in the case of Nvidia GPUs.

• Try updating the graphics card driver.

In case of a GPU without hardware acceleration, apply the following workaround to avoid crashes:

• On the Desigo CC client computer, under Control Panel > System Settings > Advanced system settings > Environment Variables:
• Click New.
• In the Variable name field enter Siemens_VideoApi_MIP_HardwareDecodingMode.
• In the Variable value field enter Off.
• Click OK.

In video object description strings, some special characters are replaced.

Some special characters (“.”, “:”, “?”, “*”) are replaced by other special characters due to technical constraints.

• In the description text, avoid the following characters:
  “.” (dot, replaced by underscore)
  “:” (colon, replaced by dash)
  “?” (question mark, replaced by exclamation mark)
  “*” (asterisk, replaced by hash).

Video commands (for example, start recording, tag, or trigger activation) do not work, and video events (for example, motion) are not reported in Desigo CC..

While the status of the Video System is Alignment in Progress or VMS Synchronizing, video commands and events are not available in Desigo CC.
On large configurations with many cameras, this alignment/synchronization may take a noticeable amount of time.

• Wait for the Video System status to change to Connected.

Video command feedbacks are not correctly reported in Desigo CC.
For example, after a Start Rec command is successfully executed, the Recording property does not change to True.

This is a known issue that occurs after a stop and restart of the Milestone / Siveillance VMS event server.

• Restart the VT Video API service to reinstate correct command feedbacks in Desigo CC.

On Windows App client, Microsoft .NET Framework Exception error upon selecting a camera to display live video.

Missing proxy components on the networked client can cause this error.

• Check the Video support on Windows App Clients.

Problem on Windows app clients when you expand Event List over a window that displays live video.

The problem may concern Investigative Treatment and Assisted Treatment windows with live video monitors. In certain cases, the live video monitor does not close properly and may prevent you from viewing Event List entirely.

• To solve the problem:
• Collapse Event List.
• Close the window with live video.
• Expand Event List again.