aVIGILOn Native Video Export Player User Guide

aVIGILOn Native Video Export Player

Product Information:

Avigilon Player

Version: 7.14
The Avigilon Player is a software application that allows users to review and playback exported AVE (Avigilon Video Export) and AVK (Avigilon Video Key) video files. It provides a user-friendly interface for viewing and analyzing video footage captured by Avigilon cameras.

Product Usage Instructions

Starting Up and Shutting Down the Avigilon Player

Starting Up

1. Double-click the desktop shortcut icon [icon name].
2. In Windows, select “All Programs” or “All Apps” > “Avigilon”> “Avigilon Player”.
3. When the application opens, you will be prompted to open an AVE or AVK file.
   • If the file is password-protected, enter the password when prompted.
   • The Avigilon Player will open and display the video file.

Shutting Down

1. In the top-right corner of the Avigilon Player software, click the “X” button.
2. Select “Exit” from the dropdown menu.

Reviewing Video
The Avigilon Player offers various features for reviewing and analyzing video footage:

Authenticating Video
All AVE and AVK files contain an encrypted digital signature to ensure the integrity of exported images. To authenticate a video:

1. Select “>” (menu icon) and choose “Authenticate Images…”.
2. The “Authenticate Images” dialog box will appear, displaying the progress of the authentication process.
3. Once complete, the dialog box will show the number of authentic images and any corrupted images.

Other features for reviewing video include:

• Adding and removing cameras
• Viewing layouts
• Playing recorded video with the timeline
• Zooming and panning
• Listening to audio
• Reviewing recorded POS (Point of Sale) transactions
• Accessing camera properties

Additionally, the Avigilon Player provides advanced search capabilities for finding specific video footage based on appearance, motion, license plates, text source transactions, thumbnails, and bookmarks.

To learn more about these features and other functionalities, refer to the Avigilon Player User Guide or visit the provided help and support resources.

What Is the Avigilon Player?

The Avigilon Player is the video player for Avigilon Native Video Export (AVE) files and Avigilon Backup (AVK) files.
The Avigilon Player displays video in image panels, and allows you to control their playback through the
Timeline. The Avigilon Player is able to authenticate video files against tampering, and can be used to reexport video into other formats. Both AVE and AVK video include event data embedded in the file, so you are also able to search for events that are linked to the video.
A copy of the Avigilon Player can be downloaded from the Avigilon website, or exported with the AVE file from the Avigilon Control Center™ Client software (see The Avigilon Control Center Client User Guide for more information).

Getting Help

If you want to learn more about a feature or how to accomplish a task, visit help.avigilon.com/acc or see our in-product help.

• In the top-right corner of the window, select > Help.

For More Information
For additional product documentation and software and firmware upgrades, visit support.avigilon.com.

Technical Support
Contact Avigilon Technical Support at support.avigilon.com/s/contactsupport.

Starting Up and Shutting Down the Avigilon Player
The Avigilon Player can be started up or shut down at any time.

Starting Up
The Avigilon Player can be opened in any of the following ways:

• Double-click the desktop shortcut icon .
• In Windows, select All Programs or All Apps > Avigilon > Avigilon Player.

When the application first opens, you will be prompted to open an AVE or AVK file:

• If the file is password-protected, enter the password when prompted.
  The Avigilon Player will open and display the video file.

Shutting Down

• In the top-right corner of the Avigilon Player software, click .
• Select > Exit.

Reviewing Video

The Avigilon Player allows you to watch exported AVE video and AVK video in View tabs, similar to the Avigilon Control Center Client software.
If the video file contains video from multiple cameras, the video can be displayed in multiple image panels.
You can zoom and pan the exported video images, and use the Timeline to control the playback of the recorded video.

Authenticating Video
All AVE and AVK files contain an encrypted digital signature that is used to confirm that exported images have not been tampered with.

• To authenticate a video, select > Authenticate Images….
  The Authenticate Images dialog box appears and displays the progress as the application checks all the video images for tampering.
  When the process is complete, the Authenticate Images dialog box displays the number of images that are authentic and the number of images that have been corrupted.

Adding and Removing Cameras
You can add and remove cameras from the View tab to focus on specific parts of the video file.

• Click and drag a camera from the System Explorer to an empty image panel in the View tab.
  Tip: You can view the same camera in multiple image panels to maintain different zoom levels.

• To remove the camera, in the top-right corner of the image panel click .

Maximizing Views
In the toolbar, click to maximize the View. Click to return to the previous size.

View Layouts
Customize the number and shape of image panels in your View by editing the View Layout.

1. In the toolbar, click .

2. Select a configured layout or click Edit Layouts to create a custom configuration.

3. If you are creating a custom configuration, select a layout and enter the number of columns and rows.
   Tip: Click on the dotted or red borders to increase or decrease the size of an image panel. Up to 64 cameras can fit in a View.

4. Click OK to save.

Playing Recorded Video with the Timeline
The Timeline displays when video was recorded and lets you control video playback. Recorded video may be stored on the ACC Server or the archive storage location.

The colored bars on the Timeline show the camera’s recording history:

• motion event video.
• recorded video.
• bookmarked video.
• protected bookmarked video.
• selected motion or event search result video.
• Empty areas show that there is no recorded video.

Note: When the ACC Client starts up and displays the timeline, each device initially displays gray bars while the timeline loads the recording. A gray bar implies that the footage is still loading. Data is retrieved on a per device basis and displayed in the timeline when it becomes available eventually.

Using the Timeline

You can continue to use the timeline when the ACC Server is in recovery mode. The ACC Server that is in recovery mode will have the Recovering suffix shown after its name in the tree under the Setup tab. The server will continue to record new video and you can click on the timeline to view and scrub video.

Viewing Unusual Events

When viewing recorded video from a video analytics device, the Timeline displays motion, Unusual Activity, and Unusual Motion events.
You can filter the Timeline to display Unusual events only. 1.

1. In the top-left corner of the Timeline, select the Unusual Activity or Unusual Motion checkbox. 2.
2. Select the Skip Play checkbox to skip to the next event when playing video.
3. Select which Anomaly Type to display: l
   • All — All unusual events. l
   • Speed — Events with unusual speed.
   • Direction — Events with unusual direction.
   • Location — Events in areas where activity does not typically occur.
4. Move the Rarity slider to set how rare an event must be. Keep the slider towards the right to reduce noise.
5. Enter a Minimum Duration between 0-59 seconds to set how long an event must last. The default value is 2 seconds.
6. Use the Timeline controls to view the event video.
   Unusual Activity is highlighted in yellow bounding boxes. Unusual Motion is highlighted in teal bounding boxes. Image panels without unusual events are dimmed.

Zooming and Panning
To get a better look at events in video, you can zoom or pan to focus on a section of the camera’s field of view.

Tip:
Fisheye and panomorph video automatically dewarps when you zoom and pan.

Zooming

• Scroll the mouse wheel inside an image panel.

Panning

• Right-click and drag inside an image panel.

You can also use the Zoom and Pan icons on the right side of the toolbar.

Listening to Audio

If audio was included in the video file, you can listen to it through the video image panel. The audio is muted by default.

• In the lower-right corner of the image panel, click to mute or activate the audio.
• Move the slider to change the volume.

Reviewing Recorded POS Transactions

While you watch recorded video, you can review POS transactions that occurred at the same time.

1. Select a camera that is linked to the POS transaction source and display the camera’s recorded video

2. In the image panel, click .
   If there is more than one POS transaction source linked to the camera, you will be prompted to select one. The POS transactions are displayed in the next image panel.

   • Each transaction is separated by date and time.
   • When you select a transaction, the video jumps to that event on the Timeline.
   • Scroll up or down to see other recorded POS transactions.

3. To display cameras that are linked to the POS transaction source, click in the POS transaction image panel.
   If multiple cameras are connected to the POS transaction source, you will be prompted to select one.

4. Use the Timeline to review the video in more detail.
   For more information about Timelines, see Playing Recorded Video with the Timeline on page 8.
   If you want to find a specific POS transaction, see Searching Text Source Transactions on page 17.

Camera Properties
To see detailed information about any camera in the AVE file, you need to access the camera properties.

• In the System Explorer, right-click a camera and select Properties….
  The Camera Properties dialog box displays the following information about the camera:

• Camera Name

• Model number

• Firmware Version:

• Location:

• MAC Address:

• Serial Number:

• Default Resolution:

Searching

AVE and AVK files have embedded event data, so you can quickly search for events or motion that occurred.

Note: Some search options are only available if the video file contains the required data.

Avigilon Appearance Search™ Feature

FOR ENTERPRISE EDITION
If you have video analytics cameras with the Avigilon Appearance Search feature enabled, you can search your site for persons or vehicles of interest.

Searching by Description

If you have a physical description of a person or vehicle of interest, start an Avigilon Appearance Search query. Searching for vehicles by description requires the ACC Server software version 7.2 or later.
You can select as many or few search criteria as you want. The system ranks results that match all descriptions higher.

Note: When searching for video in both day and night scenes, avoid using color as a search criteria.
For example, the color red may appear gray at night.

1. In the New Task menu , click Appearances .
2. Select the person or vehicle icon.
3. Select the icons that best represent the person or vehicle description.
4. Click Date Range to set the date and time of your search.
5. Click Cameras to select the cameras you want to include in the search. By default, all cameras enabled with the Avigilon Appearance Search feature are selected.
6. Click Search.
   Only the first 15 minutes of search results are displayed, regardless of the Date Range selected. Move the Search Results Graph window to view more results.
   For more information, see Avigilon Appearance Search Results on the next page.

Searching Recorded Video

You can start a search for both people and vehicles of interest based on one instance in recorded video.

1. Complete a Motion, Thumbnails, Alarm or Identity search, or use the Timeline to find the person or vehicle of interest.
2. Click the bounding box around the person or vehicle and select one option:
   • Find Appearances After This — Search for instances of the person or vehicle after this event.
   • ind Appearances Before This — Search for instances of the person or vehicle before this event.
   • Additional Search Options — Select cameras and a time range before performing the search.
     Only the first or last 15 minutes of search results are displayed, regardless of the Date Range selected.
     Move the Search Results Graph window to view more results.
     For more information, see Avigilon Appearance Search Results below.

Avigilon Appearance Search Results

In Appearance Search results, when viewing zoomed in results, the person or vehicle of interest is surrounded by a white bounding box that may or may not correspond with the blue object detection box. For multiple objects in video, the white bounding box is useful to identify the vehicle or person of interest. The white bounding box appears on one frame and disappears off the clip when playing the clip.
The search results may not always match the person or vehicle of interest. Refine your results before they are saved.

Note: Only the first 15 minutes of search results are displayed, regardless of the Date Range selected. Move the Search Results Graph window to view more results.

Refining Results

1. Use the Search Results Graph or Timeline to view additional results. Click to edit the date range.
2. In the top-left area, click Change Cameras to add or remove cameras from the search.
3. For description searches, update the search criteria in the Appearance Description area.
4. If a search result matches the person or vehicle of interest, hover over a thumbnail and click . This improves the system’s accuracy.
   Tip: If there are multiple objects in the scene, a white bounding box outlines the match detected by the system. Hover over a thumbnail and click to zoom in on the image from the search result.

Saving Results
When you have verified search results, you can either bookmark or export them.

• Click to bookmark all starred results.
• Click to export all starred results.

For Native video exports, select the Password Protection: and Include Identity Data: checkboxes to enable LPR, Appearance, or Face Recognition data in the Avigilon Player.
For AVI video exports, select the Blur background checkbox to obscure everything except the detected person or vehicle.

Tip: Hover over a thumbnail and select the checkbox of all results you want to star, bookmark,export, or remove.

Searching Events

Search for configured events in recorded video.

1. In the New Task menu , click Events .
2. Select the cameras to include in your search.
3. Enter a Date Range or use the Timeline range markers to set the date and time of your search.
4. Select the type of events to include in your search:
   • Motion — Motion was detected in the target area.
   • Digital Input — A signal was sent from a device.
   • Analytic Events — A person or vehicle was detected in the configured region of interest.
   • Tampering — An unexpected change in the scene was detected.
   • ONVIF — A third-party ONVIF device event was detected.
   • Presence or Presence Dwell — The Avigilon Presence Detector sensor detected an individual.
   • Unusual Motion — Unusual pixel motion was detected.
   • Unusual Activity — A classified object behaving unusually was detected.
   • Face Watch List Match — A watch list match was detected.
   • Person Without Mask — A person without a face mask was detected.
5. Click Search.
   Your search results are displayed. For more information, see Reviewing Search Results on page 18.

Searching Motion
Search for motion events from cameras configured for Classified Object Motion or Pixel Motion detection events.

Classified Object Motion

1. In the New Task menu , click Motion .
2. Select the cameras to include in your search.
3. Select Classified Object Motion and update the following:
4. Object Types: — select the objects to search for.
5. Confidence: — set how certain the system must be that it identified the correct object type.
6. Minimum Threshold Time: — set how long the object must be in the scene before it is considered a search result.
7. Show Results As: — select whether to display each classified object as an individual search result or as a single search result if multiple objects are detected within the time entered.
8. Enter a Date Range or use the Timeline range markers to set the date and time of your search.
9. In the camera preview, adjust the green region of interest to specify the search area. You can add or remove areas to exclude from the search as needed.
10. Click Search.
    Your search results are displayed. For more information, see Reviewing Search Results on page 18.

Pixel Motion

1. In the New Task menu , click Motion .
2. Select the cameras to include in your search.
3. Select Pixel Motion and update the following:
4. Motion Activity Image Overlay: — highlights detected motion with a red overlay if enabled.
5. Threshold: — specify how many pixels must move to be defined as motion. A higher threshold provides fewer false results.
6. Join results less than — set the minimum time between search results. Enter up to 100 seconds.
7. Enter a Date Range or use the Timeline range markers to set the date and time of your search.
8. In the camera preview, adjust the green region of interest to specify the search area.
9. Click Search.
   Your search results are displayed. For more information, see Reviewing Search Results on page 18.

Searching License Plates
FOR ENTERPRISE EDITION
The License Plate Search allows you to search for license plates that were detected in the exported video.

1. In the New Task menu , click LPR .

2. Select the cameras to include in your search.

3. Enter a Date Range or use the Timeline range markers to set the date and time of your search.

4. Enter the license plate number you are searching for and select the minimum Match percent.
   The Match percent is how similar the detected plates must be to the search query to be displayed as a result. A higher percent will result in fewer false positives while a lower percent will result in more events.
   If no license plate number is entered, the system will search for all detected license plates over the selected search period.

5. Click Search.
   Your search results are displayed. For more information, see Reviewing Search Results on the next page.
   The Confidence column displays how confident the algorithm is that the detected plate number is the actual plate number.

Searching Text Source Transactions
FOR STANDARD AND ENTERPRISE EDITION

Search for specific transactions recorded by a point of sale (POS) transaction source.

1. In the New Task menu , click Text Source Transactions .

2. Select the POS transaction sources you want to include in your search.

3. Enter a Date Range or use the Timeline range markers to set the date and time of your search.

4. In the Search Text: field, add any product name or transaction value you want included in your search.
   Tip: Leaving the text field blank will search for all transactions.

5. Click Search.
   Your search results are displayed. For more information, see Reviewing Search Results on the next page.

Searching Thumbnails
When examining video for changes, use the Thumbnail search to display a series of comparison images over time.

1. In the New Task menu , click Thumbnails .
2. Select the cameras to include in your search.
3. Enter a Date Range or use the Timeline range markers to set the date and time of your search.
4. Click Search.
5. Double-click a thumbnail to narrow your search or click Open In View to display the result in a new
   View tab.
   Tip: Click Step Out to return to the previous series of thumbnails.

Searching Bookmarks
You can search for specific bookmarks.

1. In the New Task menu , click Bookmarks .
2. In the Search field, enter the bookmark name to find it in the list.
3. Select a bookmark and use the Timeline to review the video.
4. Select one or more bookmarks, and click one of the following:
   • Prevents the video from being deleted. These videos take up space and can become the oldest video on the server.
   • Removes protection.
   • Exports the video.
   • Removes the bookmark tag from the recorded video.
   • Perform a motion search on this event — Begins a Motion Search.
   • Edit this bookmark — Updates the bookmark name, description, time range, or cameras.
   • Export results to a file — Exports a CSV or text file of all the bookmark details.
     Note: The Windows operating system does not allow special characters to be used in file names. When exporting bookmarks, special characters in a bookmark name are replaced by underscores (_) for the file name to be valid in Windows.

Reviewing Search Results
After completing a search, you can review and save your results.

Reviewing Results

• Use the Timeline to watch and review the event video.
• Click Add to new View to display the results in a View tab. l
• Click Perform a motion search on this event to further refine your search.

Saving Results

• Click Export this event to download a copy of the event as a video, image, or audio. For more information, see Exporting on the next page.
• Click Export results to a file to download a CSV or text file of search results.
• Click Bookmark this event to save the event for quick access.

Exporting

You can export content in multiple video and image formats. You can export bookmarks, search results, and video from the Timeline. You can also export snapshots of an image panel as you monitor video.

Note: The Windows operating system does not allow special characters to be used in file names.
When exporting bookmarks, special characters in a bookmark name are replaced by underscores (_) for the file name to be valid in Windows.
Note: If the video is password-protected, you cannot export it from the Avigilon Player.

Adding Content to Export
As you investigate video, you can queue content that you want to export.

• Search Results and Bookmarks — Click Export this event.
• Timeline — Right-click the Timeline and select Add Export.
• Snapshot — In an image panel, click .
  A notification confirms that the file was added to the list.
  Continue working or click the link in the notification to open the Export tab. Each export file is displayed in the order it was added.
  Note: Only snapshots of recorded video are added to the Export tab. Snapshots of live video are exported individually in Live Snapshot tabs.

You can also add content directly in the Export tab:

1. In the New Task menu , click Export.

2. Click Add and select the type of file you want to export:

   • Video — Export as Avigilon Unity Player (AVE video), AVI video, or MP4 video. The Avigilon
     Unity Player format requires the Avigilon Player software, which lets users view recorded video with Timeline controls and search capabilities.
     For Native video exports, select the Password Protection: and Include Identity Data: checkboxes to enable LPR, Appearance, or Face Recognition data in the Avigilon Player.

   • Image — Export as a JPEG, TIFF, or PNG file.

   • Audio — Export as a WAV file.

   • Document — Export as a PDF file with notes or send a file directly to your printer.

3. Update the export options. For more information, see Export Options on the next page.

Combining Export Files
Export files can contain several clips and images from your investigation.

• To combine files, drag and drop. Expand and collapse the file to show and hide its clips.
• To add a clip to a file, click .
• To remove a clip from file, click
• To rename a file, double-click its name and enter a new name. Click outside the field to save.

Exporting Video Quickly
To quickly export a snapshot or a clip while viewing video:

1. Right-click the View or the Timeline and select Quick Export. The Quick Export dialog opens. quick
2. In the Time Range for Export section, configure the From:, To:, and Duration: fields as required.
3. Select the required File Type.
4. Optionally, select the Password Protection: checkbox and set a password for native video exports.
5. Click Export and save the video file.
   You can continue to work while the video is being exported.

Exporting Files

1. In the Export tab, select the files you want to export.

2. Click Export.
   A warning is displayed if your files may contain identity data but the Password Protection: and Include Identity Data: checkboxes were not selected.

3. Select a folder and then click Select Folder to start the export.
   While the export is in progress, you can Pause , Resume , or Cancel the export.
   When the export is complete, click to open the file location.

   • To edit and re-export the file, click .
   • To clear the file from the list, click .
   • To clear all finished files, click Clear finished.

Tip:
To export a video to a disc, place a writable disc in the drive and click Burn to Disc.

Export Options
The following table displays the options available for different export formats.

to maintain quality or a low one to reduce the file size.

l  Maximum file size: The export file will not exceed this size.

l  Include Identity Data: The export file will contain LPR, Appearance, or Face Recognition data. The export must be password-protected to enable this.

l  Password Protection: Select to add a password.

l  Export Avigilon Unity Player: Select to include a copy of the Avigilon Player with the export file.

AVI video| l  Resolution: Select the export video resolution.

l  Overlays: Select the video overlays to include.

l  Change Image Region… Select the field of view to export.

Note: The Change Image Region… option is not available for Fisheye cameras when exporting AVI video.

MP4 video| l  Quality: Select the export video quality.
Images and print| l  Quality: Select the image quality.

l  Resolution: Select the export image resolution.

l  Images to Export: Select the number of images to export from the selected time range.

l  Overlays: Select the image overlays to include.

l  Change Image Region… Select the field of view to export.

l  Display Adjustments… Adjust the Black, White, and Gamma levels.

l  Add Export Notes… Enter text to include with the PDF or print image.

l  Printer Settings… Select your printer and adjust print settings.

Display Settings

You can update the Site View to change the order of the System Explorer and configure how the ACC Client software displays video.

Changing the Theme
You can adjust whether the application display uses a light or dark theme. By default, the light theme is used.

Use a dark theme to reduce eye strain when using the software in a dark room.

1. In the top-right corner of the Avigilon Player, select > Player Settings….
2. In the Display tab, select a theme.
3. Click OK to save your changes.

Changing the Video Display Settings
There are multiple settings that impact color and quality of the image displayed from a camera.

1. Click > Player Settings… > Display.

2. Update any of the following settings.

   • Display Deinterlaced Images — Smooths the blur occasionally seen in analog video.
   • Loop Playback — Repeats video automatically.
   • Display Logical IDs — Displays the Logical ID next to the device name in the System Explorer.
   • Display Quality: — Adjusts image quality based on bandwidth or processing power. Increasing the quality allows you to make out objects and faces while lowering quality is better for viewing moving events.
   • Display Adjustment Settings: — Changes the levels of contrast and brightness or restores the factory default. Make small changes at a time. If video is displayed in a View tab, the new settings will not take effect until the Restore Defaults option is selected in the image panel.
     Tip: You can adjust these settings per image panel by right-clicking and selecting
     Display Adjustments….

3. Click OK to save.

Hardware Rendering
Hardware rendering is enabled by default in ACC. You can choose to enable or disable hardware rendering explicitly to troubleshoot any GPU driver issues affecting ACC applications.

1. Click > Player Settings… > Graphics.
2. Select the Enable Hardware Rendering check box to enable hardware rendering and click OK in the confirmation dialog.
3. Click OK to save.

Note: The hardware rendering option only affects how video is rendered in ACC. It has no effect on recorded footage or on video output by cameras.

Video Overlays
Overlays display additional contextual information over video.

1. In the top-right corner, click > Player Settings… > Overlays.
2. Enable any of the following overlays.
   • Device Name — Displays the device’s assigned name.
   • Device Location — Displays the custom location of the device.
   • Playback Timestamp — Displays either the device’s local timestamp or your local timezone during recorded playback.
   • Motion Activity — Highlights motion.
   • Video Analytics Activity — For video analytics devices. Highlights people and vehicles in live and recorded video.
3. Click OK to save.

References

• End-to-End Security Solutions | Avigilon (Openpath & Ava)
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• Patent Lists - Access Advance
• Patent Lists - Access Advance
• Avigilon Support Community
• Avigilon Support Community
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• Avigilon Support Community
• Avigilon Support Community

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