Table of Contents

Automatic and Custom Time-lapse Videos

Sensera Systems MC-Series cameras provide users with an automatically created time-lapse video generated daily. You can also generate a separate custom time-lapse video to your specifications.

Part I:  Automatic Time-lapse Videos

Once a time-lapse schedule is in place, your Sensera camera automatically takes these images and creates one comprehensive time-lapse video, via SiteCloud.  Provided there are at least 20 new images taken since the previous update, the video updates nightly.  You can also:

• Watch the camera’s automatic time-lapse video from within SiteCloud or public access pages
• Download the automatic time-lapse video to your computer for additional management and viewing

Please Note:  If “Play Time-lapse Video” or “Download Time-lapse Video” are not available for selection, there are not enough images available yet
The automatic time-lapse videos offers a certain level of modification that ranges from duration to exclusion of dark images.  To access these options simply do the following:

1. Within SiteCloud click on the “View” page on the top right-hand navigation
2. Click the clock button and select “Configure Time-lapse Video“

Users will see the menu below with the following options:
 
Schedule(s): Here you may choose which capture schedules will be included in your video. PTZ users please note that if multiple schedules are selected, they will all appear chronologically in the video.
Duration (minutes):  Allows users to determine the length of their automatic time-lapse video.
Please Note:

• • “Use FPS” is the default setting and allows administrators to choose the number of frames per second their video displays
  • Total length of a video is determined by the number of time-lapse images on your camera
  • You may also choose a 1, 2, or 5 minute duration in this field.  SiteCloud will then create your video based on those inputs, automatically adjust the frames per second, and select the set of images used
• Time Span:  Allows users to control how far back the automatic time-lapse video goes.
  Please Note:
  • “Since Beginning” is the default setting and would include all time-lapse images on your camera
  • Options for “Last Month” or “Last Two Months” are also available for users interested in recent time frames
• Exclude Dark Images:  If selected, SiteCloud will exclude pictures that are less than a given brightness percentage
  • If selected, a brightness scale with a percentage will appear that tells SiteCloud how dark the images must be before they’re excluded.  The default 25% is the recommended value but can be adjusted, as needed

Important:

• Automatic Time-lapse Videos are updated once per day and overnight.  Any changes to these settings will not propagate until the following day
• Automatic Time-lapse Videos are generated at a resolution of 480p (720×480).  Higher resolution videos should be done through Custom Time-lapse Video

Part II:  Custom Time-lapse Videos

Automatic time-lapse videos (see above) ensure users have a recent video for your project, whereas the custom time-lapse video provides more flexibility when it comes to managing video quality and date range.  Custom videos are available within minutes of submitting the SiteCloud request.  To create a Custom Time-Lapse Video, do the following:

1. Within SiteCloud, click on the “View” page on the top right-hand navigation
2. Click the clock button and select “Create Custom Time-lapse Video” and the below dialogue will appear:

Schedule(s): Here you may choose which capture schedules will be included in your video. PTZ users please note that if multiple schedules are selected, they will all appear chronologically in the video.

• Start/Stop Date:  Select the range you’d like to use for time-lapse images
• Duration:  Determine the length of your video in seconds and SiteCloud will compute the necessary frames per second to set that duration  Please Note:
  • 10 seconds is the minimum duration
  • Maximum duration is determined by the number of time-lapse images on your camera
  • Selecting too short of a duration means SiteCloud will not use every image and the dialogue will say “subsampled” as shown in the screenshot above
• Video Size:  Determines the frame size of the video with 480p, 720p, and 1080p as options, depending on camera model
• Quality:  Determines overall quality of the video.  Please Note:
  • Higher quality videos are much larger in size and take longer to generate.  If a smaller video file is preferred, choose a lower quality
• Compatibility:  Allows a user to select which version of the h.264 protocol to use on your video.  Please Note:
  • Older computers may be unable to play videos that use h.264
  • Select “Legacy” for a video that almost any computer can play
  • Select “Cutting Edge” for a video that uses the best available version of h.264 (provides better quality)
• Add Informative Intro:  If selected, the video will start with a three-second title page before the time-lapse begins
• Exclude Dark Images: If selected, SiteCloud will exclude pictures that are less than a given brightness percentage
  • If selected, a brightness scale with a percentage will appear that tells SiteCloud how dark the images must be before they’re excluded.  The default 25% is the recommended value but can be adjusted, as needed

Click “Create Video” when satisfied with your selections.  Please Note:

• Depending on the number of images in a video, it can take anywhere from 20 seconds to an hour for it to render
• When a video is completed, a notification will display in SiteCloud, letting you know the file is ready for download
• The video will be created whether you’re logged into SiteCloud or not