Video Availability Timeline GUI for Multi-Recorder Surveillance
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Users face challenges in efficiently navigating and identifying available digital video recordings from multiple sources in video surveillance systems, as existing systems lack a streamlined method to determine video availability in real-time, especially when traffic is high, leading to time-consuming searches.
Innovation Solution
A digital video system with a client device featuring a graphical user interface (GUI) that includes a timeline, selection indicator, availability indicators, and event tags, which allows users to visualize and interactively explore video availability across multiple recorders in real-time, prioritizing data retrieval around the user's time of interest.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If users request video availability information from multiple recorders, then users can identify available video recordings, but network and recorder traffic increases and response time slows down
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-fetches and caches video availability information from multiple recorders before users request it. The client device proactively queries recorders for their video storage status and maintains this information locally, so when a user needs to check video availability, the information is already available without triggering new network requests.
Solution Approach 2:
The availability indicators on the timeline are updated with different levels of detail based on local cache status. When video availability information is cached locally, the UI displays detailed availability status immediately. When information needs to be fetched remotely, the system shows loading states or partial information, providing differentiated user experience based on local vs. remote data availability.
2Loss of information
If the system queries all recorders for video availability, then complete information is provided, but recorder traffic increases especially during high traffic periods
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the essential availability status information from recorder responses and caches this metadata locally, rather than transferring complete video catalogs or detailed video files. This minimal data extraction approach provides sufficient information for users to identify available recordings while minimizing network and recorder traffic.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-queries recorders for their video availability status and caches this information locally before users need it. This preliminary action eliminates the need for real-time queries when users check video availability, significantly reducing recorder traffic especially during high traffic periods when multiple users might simultaneously request availability information.
3Productivity
If the system maintains real-time video availability information from multiple recorders, then users can efficiently search video, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges availability information from multiple recorders into a single unified timeline view on the client device. Instead of maintaining separate connections and interfaces for each recorder, the client consolidates video availability data from all recorders into one chronological timeline with visual indicators, simplifying the user interface while maintaining comprehensive multi-recorder functionality.
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
AI summary
A digital video system comprises a plurality of recorders and a client device. The recorders store digital video from a common source. The client device comprises a screen, an input device, and a processor configured to run a graphical user interface (GUI). The GUI comprises a timeline, a selection indicator, availability indicators, and event tags. The timeline is adjustable by user input. The selection indicator is movable on the timeline by user input, and designates a time of interest. The availability indicators indicate aggregate availability statuses of video at each time on the timeline, from the plurality of recorders. The event tags indicate types and times or time ranges of events on the timeline. The client device is configured to receive video availability information from the plurality of recorders, and the processor is configured to update the GUI as the aggregate availability status of video changes.