Exporting Footage from a VMAX® A1 Plus and VMAX® A1 G4
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Affected Roles: Administrator
Complexity: Low
Last Edit: August 7, 2024
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Video Export
The VMAX® A1 Plus and G4 records and stores video locally within its internal hard drive. On the occasion where a user may desire to export or “backup” a period of footage, the VMAX A1 Plus features a local export function where users may create a footage backup file (.SSF) directly at the unit and save it to a USB flash drive.
This article will outline how to create a footage backup file directly from the VMAX A1 Plus and G4 to a USB flash drive.
**NOTE: Make sure that you can view the playback of the video that you will be exporting. If the target video cannot be viewed, then the video export may experience issues or fail to backup to the USB.
**NOTE: The USB flash drive should be formatted to FAT32 format. It is recommended that the USB stick have a storage capacity no greater than 32 GB and it should not have any other files stored at the time of video export. Kingston and SanDisk brand USB sticks have been previously known to experience issues when exporting footage directly from the DVR.
Supported/Affected Devices:
- VMAX® A1 Plus Series
- VMAX® A1 G4™ Series
How to Export Footage
Exporting footage from the DVR is a multi-step process and will require connecting a USB flash drive, USB powered mouse, and a display monitor.
To create a video export file directly from the DVR:
- Make sure that there is a display monitor and USB powered mouse connected to the VMAX DVR. This peripheral hardware will allow you to view and navigate the DVR’s user interface.
Insert a blank (FAT32 format) USB flash drive into a free USB port. There is one USB port in the front panel and one USB port in the rear panel of the DVR.
- Using the mouse, log in to the DVR as the Administrator (admin) or as a User with Export privileges (configured by the Administrator).
**NOTE: The recording unit will prompt the Administrator to create a login password upon initial startup. If you have customized the login and have forgotten or do not know the password for the unit, you must submit a Password Reset Form for information in resetting the login. For more information, please use Password Recovery – VMAX A1 Plus.
- After logging in, in the main viewer, click on the Export icon in the menu bar located at the bottom of the screen. The Export menu will then display.
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- Alternatively, while viewing playback at the machine, click on the Quick Export icon in the menu bar to mark the START point of the backup clip.
Clicking on the icon again will mark the END point of the backup clip. The Export menu will display.
- In the Export menu, configure the following to specify the parameters of the video export:
- Camera – select which video channels that will be included in the video backup. Select the “All” option to include all camera video channels in the export. If only a single specific channel has been selected, but there is no video archive available for the specified footage, the backup export will fail.
- From/To – specify the starting point and ending point date and time of the target footage.
- Ensure that the USB flash drive is connected at this time. Configure the following for the export file:
- Device – with the USB connected, click on the “Scan” button. The DVR will attempt to recognize the connected USB flash drive. If successful, the device name of the flash drive will display.
- File Size – click on the “Estimate” button. The DVR will calculate the expected size of the backup file.
- Add Viewer – enable this option to include a backup player with the backup file. The backup player allows the viewing of the footage (.SSF format) from a computer without the need to install additional software for viewing.
- Password – [optional] if you would like to password protect the backup file, enable the “Use” option and click in the Password field to create a password. Anyone that would like to open the .SSF format file from a computer will be required to enter the password.
- Once the above settings have been configured, click the “Start” button at the bottom of the window to begin the backup process.
Use the Progress bar at the bottom of the window to monitor the progress. Once the backup process has been completed, you may close the menu and remove the USB flash drive.
Viewing Video Backup Files
Backup files that were exported directly at the VMAX A1 Plus will be in .SSF format. To view the footage within the backup file, users can use the additional viewer executable that was included alongside the exported video if the “Add Viewer” option was enabled at the time of export. Alternatively, users may install and use the C3™ CMS software if the backup player was not included.
For viewing an exported file using the included viewer:
- Insert the USB flash drive containing the exported footage into a computer.
In the USB flash drive’s file directory and launch the “MultiBackupViewer.exe” program.
- Select the channel layout type and video footage to begin playback.
- To playback a single channel at a time, select the “SINGLE CH” tab from the left panel. Drag-and-drop an SSF file from the left-panel into the viewing area to begin viewing.
- To playback multiple channels at the same time, select the “MULTI CH” tab from the left panel. Click on “Search” to open the folder where the SSF files are being stored. Drag-and-drop the SSF files from the left-panel into the viewing area to begin viewing.
**NOTE: When viewing a .AVI format video backup file, you can verify if the file has been altered/spoofed by clicking the Watermark (
) button during playback. If the file was altered, a pop-up message will display.
**NOTE: To convert the .SSF video backup file into a .AVI file format in order to play the video with ordinary media players, play the .SSF file in SINGLE CH mode, then pause the video. Click on “AVI Convert”, then define the start and end times of the footage.
