easier way to view videos

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jimh12345
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:21 am

easier way to view videos

Post by jimh12345 »

A couple of years ago I installed an UltraHD 2K camera in a friend's store. It's been working, and I've never had to do anything with it. But recently there was an incident and I needed to scan through stored video.

It's on wifi and I soon found that trying to do this with the Android app was torture, way too slow. So I pulled the MSD card, took it home and plugged it into my PC. I found that the video is stored in a zillion individual MP4s of a few seconds each - and had to view them one by one using the Windows video app.

I installed Amcrest's Windows app, which would access the camera over the net, but apparently offered no way to view local files.

SO MY QUESTION IS: how can I easily view the video stored on the MSD card, without having it in a camera?
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longedge
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Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 9:34 am

Re: easier way to view videos

Post by longedge »

Hello and welcome to the forum.

You don't say whether you have the camera setup for continuous recording but my first suggestion would be to change the Storage/Record Control/Pack Duration to a longer period. That should make the recorded files longer in duration.

The way I view videos after removing the MSD from my cameras is to put it in a card reader as you presumably did yourself.

When you say Amcrest Windows app are you referring to Amcrest Surveillance Pro ? In there you can open the Playback window and then select one of the devices in your list and then click on search. In the right hand panel you will see the available files listed. Double click on any to play it. N.B. if you have PC-NVR installed and running then this will appear as a separate device provided you added it when setting up the devices in ASP. Because PC-NVR records to your local hard drive, it works more reliably than replaying videos over the network (in my experience).
My AMCREST Cameras:-
2 x IP3M-941B firmware V2.620.00AC00.3.R, Build Date: 2019-12-18
1 x IP2M-841B firmware V2.420.AC00.18.R, Build Date: 2019-08-03
jimh12345
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:21 am

Re: easier way to view videos

Post by jimh12345 »

hi longedge,
I'll look at that Duration option.

It was set for motion detection. The business is a coffee shop, so there's a lot of motion and hence a lot of clips.
Yes, I installed Surveillance Pro, on my computer at home, brought the MSD card home and put it in the same computer. The actual camera is on cr@ppy wifi and viewing the files remotely is way too slow. I thought I could view them directly from the card, but Surveillance Pro wasn't much help. There are plenty of ways to view individual MP4s but I wanted to roll through them as a group, as if I were viewing them from the camera device instead of just the MSD card.

There's no computer at the shop where the camera is installed. I plan to improve things by putting the camera on ethernet instead of wifi, and getting the owner to upgrade his internet service. But until then, when something happens, I have to bring the MSD card home and comb through all those little files.
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longedge
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Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 9:34 am

Re: easier way to view videos

Post by longedge »

I would guess that it would make more sense to have continuous recording scheduled during opening hours and use motion detection when closed.

You can control the number of times that recording is triggered when motion is detected by experimenting with the "Anti Dither" in the event settings.

The only way I know of to stitch separate video files together is with video editing software.

You will have picked up on the fact that videos are named according to the time they were recorded so if it's a specific event you're looking for, it pays to make a careful note of the time it took place.
My AMCREST Cameras:-
2 x IP3M-941B firmware V2.620.00AC00.3.R, Build Date: 2019-12-18
1 x IP2M-841B firmware V2.420.AC00.18.R, Build Date: 2019-08-03
jimh12345
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:21 am

Re: easier way to view videos

Post by jimh12345 »

I may go to continuous recording - I was concerned about the card filling up.

Obviously the camera can 'stitch' these videos and let me browser them seamlessly - I was hoping some application can do the same thing. If I need to use the camera as the browser - by connecting remotely with Security Pro - then I need to up the bandwidth to the camera.

As a first step - can I switch it from wifi to ethernet just by plugging in a CAT5 cable, or do I have to re-do the setup?
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longedge
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Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 9:34 am

Re: easier way to view videos

Post by longedge »

When the MSD is full the oldest files will be overwritten provided you haven't changed the default setting in Storage/Record Control.

I'm not sure why you think the camera stitches video files but it doesn't. They remain discrete. When you connect to the camera, do a search and then playback the files that have been found, they are played sequentially but they aren't joined into a single file.

Yes absolutely you can connect the camera by plugging in an ethernet cable. The only thing to be aware of is that the camera will then have a different IP address if you look at your router settings. I won't go into the intricacies of what is happening and you may find that you don't have to change anything but at worst it's only a matter of changing the settings in Newtork/TCP/IP to suit.
My AMCREST Cameras:-
2 x IP3M-941B firmware V2.620.00AC00.3.R, Build Date: 2019-12-18
1 x IP2M-841B firmware V2.420.AC00.18.R, Build Date: 2019-08-03
jimh12345
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:21 am

Re: easier way to view videos

Post by jimh12345 »

Yes I knew it rolled over smoothly, I just thought I might end up with only a few hours of back-history in the event something needed to be looked at.

I understand the camera doesn't literally stitch the files, but it provides a UI that lets me browser through them seamlessly.

I'll be going there shortly to plug in a CAT5. I hope the camera just switches over to that interface on its own, and that I can still connect to it remotely. Fingers crossed.

Thanks for your replies.
jimh12345
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:21 am

Re: easier way to view videos

Post by jimh12345 »

I switched the camera to ethernet, and can access it remotely via ASP. Live view words and I can view the camera's settings. But - "Playback" doesn't work. I bring up the Playback tab, select the group/camera, and get nothing. With the Android phone app, I can see that recording is working and I view the recordings; but not with ASP.
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longedge
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Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 9:34 am

Re: easier way to view videos

Post by longedge »

After selecting the camera in the Playback window you then have to click "Search". Are you doing that?
My AMCREST Cameras:-
2 x IP3M-941B firmware V2.620.00AC00.3.R, Build Date: 2019-12-18
1 x IP2M-841B firmware V2.420.AC00.18.R, Build Date: 2019-08-03
jimh12345
Posts: 13
Joined: Mon Feb 22, 2021 9:21 am

Re: easier way to view videos

Post by jimh12345 »

Yes "Search" unlocked the magic. I have to say, "Search" is not exactly intuitive, but there it is, and thanks. Now I can search through the videos in a fairly convenient way.

I'll be figuring out "Download" next - I assume this will let me bring the videos to my local PC, and I can then browse through them with ASP, a lot faster?
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