Is there a time stamp feature in Pro Vit D?
I see time on video clip,I mean on the screen video?
time stamp feature in Pro Vit D?
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Semper Vaporo - Posts: 331
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:51 am
Re: time stamp feature in Pro Vit D?
No, VDV does not add anything to the video image. Several people have requested a time/date stamp to be done and the programmers have said they want to add it, but it will not be easy due to the way the program is architected.
Presently the only on-screen timestamping possible has to be done by the individual camera in the video stream it outputs, but not all cameras have that ability.
"Windows" (modern versions anyway) maintains the following file parameters associated with a date/time: "Date", "Date created", "Content created", "Date last saved", "Date modified" and "Date accessed"; I guess some of those may be in the actual file header but too many programs play with them as files are viewed, copied or moved so none of them can be relied upon to remain stable and meaningful. (I have seen a "Date modified" listed as occurring before the "Date created"!)
When VDV creates the "raw video file", the file name is an encoding of the date and time, but it is terribly hard to decipher it mentally --
The 1st half of the file name (before the dash) is the number of seconds since a particular date in the past in GMT or UTC. If you paste that number into a text box at the following URL it will convert it to UTC, from which you can then figure your local time.
http://www.onlineconversion.com/unix_time.htm
I think the 2nd half ofthe name (after the dash) is the number of milliseconds since midnight and I assume that also would need to be converted to local time.
-- but that is a pain to do if you want to do several!
All of the date parameters of the raw video file will be when the disk write occurs. But if you copy that file, there is no guarantee any of the date parameters will not be changed to when the copy occurs.
If you use the VDV "Export" command for a video clip then that file's Creation time will be when the export was done, not when the event recorded in the video occurred -- BUT, the file name of the created file will contain the date and time when event occurred, in a format that, though a bit weird (Weekday Month Date Hour-Minute-Second Year), us mere mortals can identify with! That is presently the only way to determine the date/time of the event in the video.
Presently the only on-screen timestamping possible has to be done by the individual camera in the video stream it outputs, but not all cameras have that ability.
"Windows" (modern versions anyway) maintains the following file parameters associated with a date/time: "Date", "Date created", "Content created", "Date last saved", "Date modified" and "Date accessed"; I guess some of those may be in the actual file header but too many programs play with them as files are viewed, copied or moved so none of them can be relied upon to remain stable and meaningful. (I have seen a "Date modified" listed as occurring before the "Date created"!)
When VDV creates the "raw video file", the file name is an encoding of the date and time, but it is terribly hard to decipher it mentally --
The 1st half of the file name (before the dash) is the number of seconds since a particular date in the past in GMT or UTC. If you paste that number into a text box at the following URL it will convert it to UTC, from which you can then figure your local time.
http://www.onlineconversion.com/unix_time.htm
I think the 2nd half ofthe name (after the dash) is the number of milliseconds since midnight and I assume that also would need to be converted to local time.
-- but that is a pain to do if you want to do several!
All of the date parameters of the raw video file will be when the disk write occurs. But if you copy that file, there is no guarantee any of the date parameters will not be changed to when the copy occurs.
If you use the VDV "Export" command for a video clip then that file's Creation time will be when the export was done, not when the event recorded in the video occurred -- BUT, the file name of the created file will contain the date and time when event occurred, in a format that, though a bit weird (Weekday Month Date Hour-Minute-Second Year), us mere mortals can identify with! That is presently the only way to determine the date/time of the event in the video.
Semper Vaporo,
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autodestruct - Posts: 6
- Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 12:42 pm
Re: time stamp feature in Pro Vit D?
Interesting stuff..
Do you know if the timestamp data is stored in the raw video file as metadata as well?
Thanks
Do you know if the timestamp data is stored in the raw video file as metadata as well?
Thanks
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donaldktsang - Posts: 4
- Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2012 1:44 am
Re: time stamp feature in Pro Vit D?
how about just changing the filenames to camera-YYYYMMDDHHmmSS (plus whatever extra resolution is needed)? Sorts just as well... just have to remember to store it in UTC, and convert to local time in your head, to avoid running into Daylight Saving Time issues...
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Semper Vaporo - Posts: 331
- Joined: Sat Oct 09, 2010 11:51 am
Re: time stamp feature in Pro Vit D?
To reply to both of the last questions as best as I understand VDV...
It is only the RAW video files that have the cryptic file names. The Camera they are from is implied by the name of the folder it is in on the harddrive.
The file name given to an EXPORTED video file is in the form of "CameraName - Day Mth Date Hr-Mn-Sc Year", and it is the date/time of when the video was taken. The Date/Time format is a bit wierd, but it is all there.
To check this, today (Aug 27) at 8:25 AM, I exported a file from my camera named "1 East", taken on Aug 21, 2012 at about 9:30 AM, and the created file name is "1 East - Tue Aug 21 09-31-17 2012.mp4".
That would be more easily understood as "1 East, Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 9:31:17".
(I assume the hours are in "hundreds" instead of AM/PM.)
The Raw data file I was viewing at the time was one with no detected motion at all. When exporting in this situation the program displays a dialog box stating that the video will be limited to just 2 minutes centered around the frame being displayed at the moment. I had the video stopped at 9:32:15, so the time indicated in the file name was off by 2 seconds if it was supposed to be "centered" around the displayed frame. I think that is because the frame I was displaying was only 58 seconds into that particular segment of the Raw video stream, but I did get a full 2 minutes of video (just not quite "centered" because the file was short on the front end).
All the other dates I can find associated with the file are from the moment I did the export. I have to admit that I am not sure just where all these dates are stored in the Windows scheme of things. Some are in the NTFS directory system, but I don't know if ALL of them are. Some may be from the Metadata in the file. I found entries in Windows Explorer for "Date", "Date created", "Content created", Date last saved", "Date modified" and "Date accessed", and were all the date/time of when I did the export. I found about 10 other items that Windows seems to know about that have a name associated with date or time and all of them were empty. I am assumming that Windows opens files that it has some knowledge of the structure of the file and extracts the data to display and it is not finding any date or time that I believe is from the time the original video was created. That would be only known from the file name that VDV assigns.
It is only the RAW video files that have the cryptic file names. The Camera they are from is implied by the name of the folder it is in on the harddrive.
The file name given to an EXPORTED video file is in the form of "CameraName - Day Mth Date Hr-Mn-Sc Year", and it is the date/time of when the video was taken. The Date/Time format is a bit wierd, but it is all there.
To check this, today (Aug 27) at 8:25 AM, I exported a file from my camera named "1 East", taken on Aug 21, 2012 at about 9:30 AM, and the created file name is "1 East - Tue Aug 21 09-31-17 2012.mp4".
That would be more easily understood as "1 East, Tuesday, August 21, 2012 @ 9:31:17".
(I assume the hours are in "hundreds" instead of AM/PM.)
The Raw data file I was viewing at the time was one with no detected motion at all. When exporting in this situation the program displays a dialog box stating that the video will be limited to just 2 minutes centered around the frame being displayed at the moment. I had the video stopped at 9:32:15, so the time indicated in the file name was off by 2 seconds if it was supposed to be "centered" around the displayed frame. I think that is because the frame I was displaying was only 58 seconds into that particular segment of the Raw video stream, but I did get a full 2 minutes of video (just not quite "centered" because the file was short on the front end).
All the other dates I can find associated with the file are from the moment I did the export. I have to admit that I am not sure just where all these dates are stored in the Windows scheme of things. Some are in the NTFS directory system, but I don't know if ALL of them are. Some may be from the Metadata in the file. I found entries in Windows Explorer for "Date", "Date created", "Content created", Date last saved", "Date modified" and "Date accessed", and were all the date/time of when I did the export. I found about 10 other items that Windows seems to know about that have a name associated with date or time and all of them were empty. I am assumming that Windows opens files that it has some knowledge of the structure of the file and extracts the data to display and it is not finding any date or time that I believe is from the time the original video was created. That would be only known from the file name that VDV assigns.
Semper Vaporo,
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saintjohnny - Posts: 30
- Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 11:38 am
Re: time stamp feature in Pro Vit D?
Please see my post showing IP cameras and time stamps: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=11138&p=13706&sid=59ec47ac28235b55e2543fe1015fa324#p13706
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BenH - Posts: 3
- Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2013 5:08 am
Re: time stamp feature in Pro Vit D?
Hi, I am new here. I have been using vit D for a while and would have no hesitation in buying it if it had timestamp options. It is a fantastic program and very reliable. I am using webcams at the moment with ManyCam as a work around.
Thank you for your post Saintjohnny, I will have a look at the ixis IP camera's. Do other makes of IP camera timestamp?
I need this option to use as evidence - without it the courts won't consider the video as evidence.
Thank you for your post Saintjohnny, I will have a look at the ixis IP camera's. Do other makes of IP camera timestamp?
I need this option to use as evidence - without it the courts won't consider the video as evidence.
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ryan - Posts: 1015
- Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 2:52 pm
- Location: Palo Alto, California
Re: time stamp feature in Pro Vit D?
Hi Ben,
Please note that Vitamin D Video is now known as Sighthound Video - http://sighthoundlabs.com/vitamind
Most models of IP cameras I have interacted with support timestamps. For webcams and those IP cameras that don't, I am planning to add a timestamp option to Sighthound, hopefully in the next release.
Please note that Vitamin D Video is now known as Sighthound Video - http://sighthoundlabs.com/vitamind
Most models of IP cameras I have interacted with support timestamps. For webcams and those IP cameras that don't, I am planning to add a timestamp option to Sighthound, hopefully in the next release.
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BenH - Posts: 3
- Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2013 5:08 am
Re: time stamp feature in Pro Vit D?
ryan wrote:Hi Ben,
Please note that Vitamin D Video is now known as Sighthound Video - http://sighthoundlabs.com/vitamind
Most models of IP cameras I have interacted with support timestamps. For webcams and those IP cameras that don't, I am planning to add a timestamp option to Sighthound, hopefully in the next release.
Thank you Ryan, that's very useful, I will look out for the next release
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ryan - Posts: 1015
- Joined: Wed Aug 25, 2010 2:52 pm
- Location: Palo Alto, California
Re: time stamp feature in Pro Vit D?
Hi everyone,
Timestamps will be in the next release of Sighthound Video. If anyone has a licensed version of Sighthound Video and would like to try out a an early build send me a message here or email me, ryan@, and I'll be happy to get you one.
Timestamps will be in the next release of Sighthound Video. If anyone has a licensed version of Sighthound Video and would like to try out a an early build send me a message here or email me, ryan@, and I'll be happy to get you one.