AMI MARINE X-MDR Replay Software Version User Guide

AMI MARINE X-MDR Replay Software Version

Product Information

• Specifications
  • Product Name: VDR Replay
  • Software Version: v1.3.5.13
  • Manufacturer: AMI Marine Ltd.
  • Website: www.amimarine.com.
• Application Overview
  • The VDR Replay application is designed to provide a detailed account of the events leading up to an incident involving a vessel.
• Accessing the Data
  • For the X2, X-VDR, and X-MDR systems, you can download the data for playback using the VDR Remote Software application directly to your PC or via the USB download option by connecting to your PC.
  • Please refer to the document “08009 – Remote Data Download Tool – User Guide” for further details.
  • For the X-VHFR and X-VCR systems, eject the removable USB drive and connect it to your PC.
• Recorded Data
  • The data is recorded in one-minute segments and saved as ZIP files. The X-VDR.xml configuration file and log files are also downloaded along with the data for analysis and playback purposes.
• Replay Installation Requirements
  • To install the VDR Replay software, you need a Windows computer running Windows 7 or above with administrator privileges. Once installed, simply click on the program icon to run the software.
• User License
  • The VDR Replay is license-free for investigative authorities but should not be reproduced or distributed without prior written consent from AMI Marine Ltd.

Product Usage Instructions

• Step 1 – Installation of the VDR Replay Application
  • To install the VDR Replay application, follow these steps:
  • Make sure you have a Windows computer running Windows 7 or above with administrator privileges.
  • Download the VDR Replay software from the AMI Marine website (www.amimarine.com).
  • Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
• Step 2 – Data Selection
  • X-VDR/X2 & X-MDR Systems
  • To select the data for playback from X-VDR/X2 & X-MDR systems, follow these steps:
  • Open the VDR Remote Software application on your PC or connect the USB drive containing the data.
  • Follow the instructions provided in the “08009 – Remote Data Download Tool – User Guide” document to download the data.
  • X-VHFR & X-VCR Systems
  • To select the data for playback from X-VHFR & X-VCR systems, follow these steps:
  • Eject the removable USB drive from the system.
  • Connect the USB drive to your PC.
• Step 3 – Time Selection
  • Navigating the Folder Tree
  • To navigate the folder tree and select the desired time for playback, follow these steps:
  • Open the VDR Replay software on your PC.
  • Click on the folder icon to open the folder tree.
  • Select the desired date and time from the folder tree.
  • Audio Scan
  • To scan and play the audio data, follow these steps:
  • Click on the play icon next to the audio file.
  • Adjust the volume using the volume control.
• FAQ
  • Q: What are the minimum system requirements for installing VDR Replay?
  • A: VDR Replay requires a Windows computer running Windows 7 or above with administrator privileges.
  • Q: Can I distribute or reproduce VDR Replay without permission?
  • A: No, you cannot reproduce or distribute VDR Replay without prior written consent from AMI Marine Ltd.

Application Overview

The purpose of the VDR Replay application is to give as close an account as possible of the events leading up to an incident involving the vessel.

Accessing the Data

• For the X2, X-VDR, and X-MDR systems.
• Downloading of the data for playback should be carried out using the VDR Remote Software application directly to your PC, or via the USB download option and connecting to your PC.
• Further details may be found in the document ‘08009 – Remote Data Download Tool – User Guide’
• For the X-VHFR, and X-VCR systems.
• Eject the Removable USB drive and connect it to your PC.

Recorded Data

• The data is recorded in one-minute segments and saved as ZIP files.
• The X-VDR.xml configuration file and log files are also downloaded with the data for analysis and playback purposes.

X-VDR/X2 System

• Each ZIP file contains:
  • 1 x NMEA data file, saved as a text file format.
  • Up to 10 x Audio files (1 per channel), saved as WAV files.
  • Up to 6 x Radar and ECDIS, image files are saved as PNG files.

X-MDR System

• Each ZIP file contains:
  • 1 x NMEA data file, saved as a text file format.
  • Up to 8 x Audio files (1 per channel), saved as WAV files.
  • Up to 2 x Radar or ECDIS image files are saved as PNG files.
  • Up to 8 x Camera Video saved as MP4 files.

X-VHFR System

• Each ZIP file contains:
  • 1 x NMEA data file, saved as a text file format.
  • 1 x Audio file (Stereo channel), saved as a WAV file.

X-VCR System

• Each ZIP file contains:
  • 1 x NMEA data file, saved as a text file format.

Replay Installation Requirements

• Install the software on a Windows computer running Windows 7 or above, with administrator privileges.
• Once installed, click on the program icon to run the software.

User License

• The VDR Replay is license-free for investigative authorities but should not be reproduced or distributed without the prior written consent of AMI Marine Ltd.

Installation of the VDR

Installation of the VDR Replay Application

• Locate the file, right click on the file a select ‘Run as Administrator’.
• You will then be asked ‘Do you want to allow this app from an unknown publisher to make changes to your device?.

X-VDR/X2 & X-MDR Data Selection Wizard

• The VDR Remote application download procedure allows the complete data set to be downloaded as a single zip file.
• This option may have been deselected and the data will be downloaded and available as in previous releases.
• On opening the VDR Replay application, Step 1 of the Data Selection Wizard will be displayed to assist with selecting the items required for replaying of the data.
• The dataset’s folder structure for v1.3.5.13 is as follows:
• The dataset Folder (imonumber-yymmdd-hhmm) Note! This is the date and time is of when the download was conducted, and that older Datasets from v1.3.5.12 and earlier do not have the IMO Number in the folder name.

Minimum Required Folder structure

• Occasions have occurred that after a vessel has downloaded the data from the VDR, they have not passed on all the necessary folders and files to a third party i.e., the office or investigating authorities, this section details the minimum data download and folder structure to be able to complete a playback operation.
• The Archive folder with the Data and the Config and Master folders, both with the Approvals.xml and X-VDR.xml configuration files.
• If for instance you only have data zip files in an hourly data folder ‘1100’.
• This ‘1100’ folder is required to be in a folder named ‘YYYYMMDD’ e.g. in the below screen ‘20230522’.
• This ‘20230522’ folder is now required to be in a folder named ‘Archive’.
• The ‘Archive’ folder is required to be in a root folder e.g. in the below screen ‘9236418-20230512-1005’.
• This folder name is not important and can be the vessel’s name.
• Then into the folder named ‘9236418-20230512-1005’ along with the ‘Archive’ folder, copy the ‘Config’ and ‘Master’ folders.
  • Note! no other folders are necessary.

INSTALLATION STEPS

• Step 1 – Choose Dataset
  • A dataset can be selected by choosing one of the following 3 options.
  • Select New Dataset …
  • Select New Zip File …
  • Selecting a dataset from the ‘Open Recent Dataset’ list
  • The ‘Open Recent Dataset’ list is initially empty until at least one dataset has been Replayed. Select New Dataset.
  • When Select New Dataset is chosen a folder browser dialog will open, as shown below:
  • Select the required dataset then press OK. It will now be available in the ‘Open Recent Dataset’ list and populate the System and Vessels Details as shown below. Now press Next > >.

Select New Zip File.

• When Select New Zip File is chosen a browser dialog will open, navigate to the location of the zip file as shown below:
• Click on Open, the Folders and Files will be extracted from the zip file to a folder of the same name and be made available in the ‘Open Recent Dataset’ list and populate the System and Vessels Details as shown below.
• Select the extracted dataset then press Next > >.

Open Recent Dataset

• An example of a populated list is shown below:
• As can be seen above, selecting a dataset populates the System Details and Vessel Details.
• The Dataset dropdown window holds up to a maximum of 20 datasets.
• If a dataset is no longer needed, it can be removed from the list by selecting the specific dataset in the list, then clicking the ‘Remove Selected Dataset from Recently Used List’ button.
• To proceed with the dataset selected for replay select the Next button to go to the next page of the wizard.
• Double-clicking on a dataset in the MRU will select it and go straight to the next page.
• If you need to remove Datasets from the list highlight the dataset and select ‘Remove Selected Dataset From #Recently Used List’.

Step 2 – Time Selection

• The Data Selection Wizard shows an overview of the dataset’s structure, as shown below:

Navigating the Folder Tree

• Selecting the ‘+’ next to a folder will expand and the ‘–‘ button will collapse it.
• Checking the box next to a folder will select that folder for playback; if no folders are checked, the whole dataset shown will be played back.
• The Replay Start and Replay End boxes indicate the period of the selected data, as shown above.
• There are special folder indicators identified by the icons; these indicate that an incident has been logged at the time indicated as shown below.

Audio Scan

• The timespan can be further refined by utilizing an audio scan of the selected files.
• This can be used to highlight periods of high audio activity, which may be of interest when investigating an incident.
• To perform an audio scan, select the ‘View Audio Waveforms’ button.
  • Please Note: An audio scan is both processor and memory intensive, therefore, it is best to perform scans no longer than 60 minutes, unless the replay application is running on a high-spec machine.
• The audio can be stopped at any time by pressing the ‘Stop’ button.
• Once finished the audio scan may look like this:
• If an area of high audio activity is identified for replay, this can be selected by right-clicking ad dragging anywhere in the waveform view; the selected area is highlighted in yellow, as shown below:
• Note also that in the above example the Replay Start and Replay End have again been adjusted to reflect the highlighted area.
• Once you are satisfied with the data selected for replay, select ‘Finish’ to load the data into the main replay window.

Data Replay

• The main replay screen is, by default, laid out as shown below:

The main sections are:

1. ‘Playback’ – contains the media controls.
2. ‘Info’ – Used to display vessel information and to select a new dataset.
3. ‘Audio’ – shows the audio level of each channel. Each individual channel may be muted.
4. ‘Timeline / Incident Markers’
   • a. Shows the UTC time of the data being replayed.
   • b. Shows the time period of the data being played.
   • c. Shows the positions of any incident markers.
   • d. Shows replay progress.
5. ‘AIS Data’ – displays:
   • a. a table of AIS data received from surrounding vessels.
   • b. a map showing vessel locations and heading.
   • c. chosen vessel details.
6. ‘NMEA Data’ – shows the raw NMEA data.
7. ‘RADAR / ECDIS’ – shows each video input RADAR or ECDIS where applicable.
8. ‘Instruments’ – shows the GPS, Heading, Wind and Rudder data as a GUI. Other views selectable are.
9. ‘Interfaces’ – shows decoded information from X32-D, X-16-A interfaces.
10. ‘Cameras’ – shows each CCTV camera *.
11. ‘Course Recorder’ – Data is presented in a table format.
12. ‘SMIDS Data’ – shows the data in the SMIDS format. Cameras are only supported in the X-MDR systems.

Media Controls

The Media Control buttons operate as follows:

Note: When skipping forwards or backwards, playback will jump to the nearest minute.

Timeline Interaction

• The timeline indicates the progress, time and incidents during playback; initially it will show the Replay Start time defined in the Data Selection Wizard.

• As playback progresses, the progress bar and time indication will update accordingly:

• The timeline can also be used to move playback forward or backward by clicking on a point in the timeline.
• Note: When clicking on the timeline, playback will jump to start of minute clicked.

Audio Controls

• The ‘Audio’ display shows the audio level of each of the active channels. M1 to M8 are microphones, V1 and V2 are VHF channels.
• The ‘M’ at the top of each level indicator is the ‘Mute’ control.
• Whilst green the audio channel will be active and will be played back.
• Clicking on the green ‘M’ will cause it to turn red and the channel will be muted. The muted channel will no longer be heard during the playback.
• Clicking the red ‘M’ will turn it green and the channel will now be unmuted, and once again become active.

AIS Data Map Symbols

• On the Map display, vessels are indicated as follows:

A target vessel may be selected by:

1. Clicking on its entry in the table at the top of the AIS display
2. Clicking on the vessel symbol on the map
   • The selected vessel’s information will be displayed in the Vessel Details table on the right of the map.
   • When a vessel is moving, it’s icon will be rotated to indicate its course.
   • The table above the map display will show the data received via the AIS transmission for each vessel in range. The ‘range units’ may be adjusted for user preference.

Map View, Control and Navigation

• The Map view shows the geographical location of all vessels whose AIS data has been played back.
• Note mapping is only available if the PC running the VDR replay software is connected to the internet.
• The ‘Map Provider’ menu in the right-hand panel will allow a choice of maps from several providers to allow map display in areas where access to certain mapping sites is limited.
• Once a Map Provider has been selected it can be set as the default map provider for future replay sessions.
• Selecting e.g. ‘OpenSeaMapHybrid’ will give a better detail of the marine environment as shown below.

Mouse Controls:

• Holding the Right Button and moving the mouse will allow movement around the map.
• Placing the mouse pointer over a target will display its MMSI number.
• Left clicking on a target will highlight and show details of the chosen target in the right-hand information panel.
• The mouse scroll wheel may be used to zoom in and out of the map.
• The zoom slider in the right-hand panel may also be used to zoom in and out of the map.
• Selecting the button on the map will display a list of Shortcut Keys:
• Selecting will hide the help.

Keyboard Shortcuts:

The map can be automatically centered as follows:

1. Auto-centre off
2. Auto-centre on own location
3. Auto-centre on selected vessel
   • No automatic centering takes place.
   • The map remains centered on VDR’s location.
   • The map center tracks the movement of the selected vessel.

NMEA Data
Serial Data messages can be displayed by selecting the ‘NMEA Data’ tab, as shown below:

Use the Filter box to filter the displayed messages. For, By typing in $GP into the Filter box, the NMEA Data window will now display only the messages from the GPS

RADAR / ECDIS
RADAR and ECDIS images are displayed by selecting the RADAR / ECDIS tab, as shown below:

Clicking on an individual thumbnail will maximise it to fill the display area, as shown below:

Clicking again on the display will return the display to show all available images.

Cameras (X-MDR Only)
The cameras are displayed by choosing the Cameras tab, as shown below:

Instruments

The instruments are displayed by choosing the Instruments tab, as shown below:

The flashing ###.### indicates that the data required for that instrument is not available.

Interfaces

• The data from X16-A, X32-D and BNWAS are displayed by selecting the Interfaces tab.
• Each interface is displayed in a separate tab, as shown in the examples below:

X16-A Analogue to NMEA

X32-D Digital to NMEA

Docking

• Each section can be docked and undocked from the main window; this allows users to optimise the layout for their own environment, such as dual screen setups.
• Docking positions are stored and restored when the application is re-opened.
• Clicking on the yellow bar of the selected window will allow it to be ‘dragged’ to a desired position on the screen and can be placed anywhere as a floating window.
• If the chosen window is to be ‘docked’ the docking control feature should be used.
• When holding the left button to drag the window, the main docking control will appear in the centre of the screen and local pane selectors at the top/bottom and left/right of the screen.
• Moving the mouse pointer to either to one of pane selectors on the main docking control or one of the local pane selector icons, a preview of the destination window by way of a blue shaded area in the main window.
• In the example below, the local right pane selector has been chosen and the AIS Data display will be ‘docked’ into the area shown as light blue.
• When the mouse is released, the pane will be docked, as shown below:
• To reset the view to the default layout, click View > Reset Layout.
• Also, here you can select/de-select any of the available windows to your preference. The replay app will remember your preferences each to you start the app.

X-VHFR & X-VCR Data Selection Wizard

• Connect the Removable USB Drive to your PC.
• On opening the replay software, the Data Selection Wizard will be displayed to assist with selecting the items required for replaying of the data.

Choose Dataset

• The first step is to browse and select the Removable USB Drive and click on OK. The below screen shows ‘X-VHFR 1Tb’.

The complete contents of the USB drive are made available.

• ‘NOTE!’ DO NOT PRESS ‘Finish’ until you have selected the data you wish to playback. As it will extract all the available data and disable your PC.
• Select the data you wish to replay select by ticking the adjacent box. Recommended to select an hour of data at most.

View Audio Waveforms (X-VHFR Only)

• The timespan can be further refined by employing an audio scan of the selected files.
• This can be used to highlight periods of high audio activity, which may be of interest when investigating an incident.
• To perform an audio scan, select the ‘View Audio Waveforms’ (X-VHFR only).
• Please Note: Audio scan is both processor and memory intensive, therefore, it is best to perform scans over no longer than 60 minutes of data, unless the replay application is running on a high-spec machine.
• The audio can be stopped at any time by pressing the Stop Scan button.
• Once finished the audio scan may look like this:
• Also, note that even when there are 2 audio sources connected to the system it will appear as a single waveform as it uses the ‘Stereo In’ on the recorder utilizing the Left and Right channels for the 2 sources.
• Note also that in the above example the Replay Start and Replay End have again been adjusted to reflect the highlighted area.
• Once you are satisfied with the data selected for replay, select ‘Finish’ to load the data into the main replay window.

AIS Data Map Symbols

On the Map display, vessels are indicated as follows:

A target vessel may be selected by:

1. Clicking on its entry in the table at the top of the AIS display
2. Clicking on the vessel symbol on the map

The selected vessel’s information will be displayed in the Vessel Details table on the right of the map. When a vessel is moving, it’s icon will be rotated to indicate its course. The table above the map display will show the data received via the AIS transmission for each vessel in range. The ‘range units’ may be adjusted for user preference.

Map View, Control and Navigation
The Map view shows the geographical location of all vessels whose AIS data has been played back.

NMEA Data
Serial Data messages can be displayed by selecting the ‘NMEA Data’ tab, as shown below:

Audio Controls
The ‘Audio’ display shows the level of both Audio 1 and Audio 2 channels.

• The ‘M’ at the top of each level indicator is the ‘Mute’ control.
• Whilst green the audio channel will be active and will be played back.
• Clicking on the green ‘M’ will cause it to turn red and the channel will be muted.
• Clicking on the red ‘M’ will turn it green and the channel will now be unmuted, and once again become active.

Instruments

• The instruments are displayed by choosing the Instruments tab, as shown below:
• Note that the ‘Instruments’ will only replay if that specific data has been recorded.

Course Recorder

• The course recorder is displayed by choosing the Course recorder tab, as shown below:

Document

Issue

|

Date

| Modification Number (where applicable)

Brief Record of Change and Reason for Change

---|---|---
Iss01| 12.01.19| Original Issue
Iss01 Rev01| 18.01.19| Updated Layout
Iss01 Rev02| 21.03.19| Updated to include X-MDR and timeline
Iss01 Rev 03| 19.08.19| Added Features and Illustrations. Changed title to VDR Replay
Iss01 Rev04| 09.09.19| Correction of Contents and Addition of Recommended Maximum Data Period
Iss01 Rev05| 13.02.20| Name changed from AMI Data Replay to VDR Replay
Iss01 Rev06| 31.03.20| Updated Data Selection Wizard, Timeline and Interfaces Display
Iss01 Rev07| 14.04.21| Correction of Some Images
Iss01 Rev 08| 07.12.22| Minor updates for consistency
Iss01 Rev09| 13.07.23| Additional Functionality and Updated graphics for v1.3.5.13
 |  |

Document Issue Details

For the latest Software version, please find our website: https://amimarine.com/product/downloads/ .

NOTICE

• This manual is for informational use only. AMI Marine Ltd continually strives to improve their products and therefore may be changed without prior notice.
• This manual should not be construed as a commitment of AMI Marine Ltd.
• Under no circumstances does AMI Marine Ltd assume any responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this document.
• The equipment should only be used for the purposes intended by the manufacturer; any deviation from this will void the warranty of the product.
  • NOTE: All alterations must be verified by re-authorization and approval of the complete document.

CONTACT

• AMI MARINE LTD
• Unit 9 Crosshouse Centre Crosshouse Road Southampton Hampshire
• SO14 5GZ
• UK
• Tel No: +44 (0) 23 8048 0450
• Email: www.amimarine.com.
• Web: technical@amimarine.com.
• 0803 VDR Replay User Guide Iss01 Rev09.docx
• For Use with Replay Software Version v1.3.5.13
• www.amimarine.com.

COPYRIGHT

• Copyright AMI Marine Ltd. 2023
• All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, translated, or stored in any form or by any means, without the written permission of AMI Marine Ltd.
• Technical details contained in this publication are subject to change without prior notice.
• 0803 VDR Replay User Guide Iss01 Rev09.docx
• 0803 VDR Replay User Guide Iss01 Rev09.docx

References

• AMI Home - AMI Marine
• AMI Downloads, Replay and Remote v1.3.5.13 - AMI Marine

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