Viewing video
You can use the timeline and video player to view both live and previously recorded video from cameras.
Understanding the timeline
Below the video player for live video feeds and previously recorded videos, there is a timeline. Time ranges, annotations, and ACS events in the timeline are color-coded.
- Yellow: FortiRecorder and camera system events, such as a software update or reboot. Recordings cannot be stored while FortiRecorder is unavailable.
- Light blue: Previously recorded video.
- Dark blue: Temporary recording that has been manually initiated. See also Viewing live video.
- Bright blue: Annotation in the recording. See also Annotating a video.
- Red: Motion detection-triggered recording.
- Dark red: ACS events, such as a card swipe or door being forced open.
- White: No recording in that period of time.
If you hover your mouse cursor over an event, annotation, or time range, then a tool tip appears with more information. If you click the time line, a bright red outline indicates which time range or event you have selected.
To show events on the timeline
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Above the video players (if any), in the top right corner, click Select Cameras and select which cameras' events to include. If you select multiple cameras, then the timeline will have multiple rows.
FortiRecorder and ACS system events are automatically included.
- Below the video players, in the top right corner of the timeline, click Events Filter and select the type of events and/or annotations to include, such as motion detection (Detection Recordings) and face recognition (Face Detection).
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If you want to jump to another date or time on the timeline, then either:
- enter Start date
- drag the timeline to the left or right
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Zoom in or zoom out to specific moments on the timeline either by:
- scrolling your mouse wheel
- clicking the + (plus) and - (minus) buttons
Viewing live video
You can use the video player to watch the live video feed from a camera, regardless of whether it is currently scheduled to be recording.
During this, if the camera is not scheduled to record, then the live video feed is temporarily recorded in memory, but not saved on the hard drive. When you stop watching the live feed from that camera, the temporary recording is deleted unless you manually initiate a recording.
To view and record a live video feed
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Go to Monitor > Video > Video.
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Use the timeline to select which cameras and events to view.
The live video stream from the cameras plays.
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If a live video stream is too dark, too bright, too blurry or too gray, then:
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Click the title bar of a view pane to select that camera.
The Show Camera Control button becomes available.
- Click Show Camera Control.
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Adjust:
- Brightness
- Contrast
- Saturation
- Sharpness
and then click Apply. After a few seconds, the change should appear in the live video stream. Adjust your settings again until the video has good sharpness, color, and lighting.
Adjust these settings carefully. After video is recorded, you cannot adjust them again unless you download the file and use video editing software. Video editing software may not be able to completely correct very bad lighting and color.
Alternatively, these settings can be adjusted while configuring the camera. See Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, and Sharpness.
- Click Close.
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If you want to start recording the live video stream, then in the top right corner of the video pane, click Record.
To stop a manual recording, either click Stop, or go to another page in the GUI.
If recording has been automatically triggered (continuous schedule or motion detection), then the manual Stop button is not available. Instead, you can change the Recording setting or schedule.
Annotating a video
While watching or recording a live video feed, you can insert markers on the timeline with notes about what you see.
- Go to the live video feeds. See Viewing live video.
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Click the title bar of a view pane to select that camera.
The Show Camera Control button becomes available.
- Click Show Camera Control.
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In the text area, enter your notes and then click Annotate.
An annotation marker is inserted on the timeline. If the camera was not already recording, it will now start so that the annotation has an associated video recording.
Viewing previously recorded video
You can play any previously recorded video, including those manually initiated while watching a live video feed. Snapshots can also be viewed.
- Go to Monitor > Video > Video.
- Use the timeline to jump to a previous date or time.
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Click to select the time range or event that you want to view.
The Show, Download, and Lock buttons become available. If you selected an event with an associated snapshot images from nearby cameras, then a dialog also displays those images.
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Click Show.
A video player appears in a pop-up window.
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If there is important evidence, and you want to prevent the video clip from being deleted by storage policies, then click Lock.
Click Download if you are required to show video evidence of a particular incident to authorities. Your FortiRecorder uses the MP4 file format with your selected video codec, which can be viewed on Windows, macOS, Linux, and other platforms using Apple QuickTime, VLC, Windows Media Player, or other compatible players. All video files are signed with an RSA 2048-bit signature to provide tamper protection. This applies to files stored locally, remotely, and downloaded. Quality of previously recorded video depends on the camera's settings.