topic Timestamp Missing / iOS 16 and 17 in Arlo

Timestamp Missing / iOS 16 and 17

AG2000 — Tue, 19 Sep 2023 17:40:26 GMT

Setup:

#VMB 4000r3, running 4.8 (6787) released on Aug 31. 202

base station: VMB4000r3

firmware:

1.21.1.0_4302_9611cf3

3 cameras

problem:

The feed shows what time the videos were recorded, but the videos themselves do NOT show any embedded timestamp. The videos are of limited value to law enforcement without it.

I just now bought Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight 4 Camera Security Bundle., but am reluctant to open the box in case the same problem persists. Will be returning them if problem is not fixed.

I have tried the following without any luck:

. Upgraded to Arlo Home Secure

. power cycled the base station

. reinstalled the app

. tried using local storage (usb) and checking the video on my PC

Appreciate any help. Thanks

Re: Timestamp Missing / iOS 16 and 17

DannyBearAgain — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 05:43:46 GMT

I am not aware of arlo ever providing a feature to embed time code into the video picture.

The video recordings have meta data within the video file but this can be easily altered hence why courts would only accept video from security systems that embed time code to picture at the time of recording only.

Re: Timestamp Missing / iOS 16 and 17

AG2000 — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 14:14:25 GMT

That’s terrible. How can they not include such an important requirement? I dont think it is difficult to implement..

Re: Timestamp Missing / iOS 16 and 17

StephenB — Thu, 21 Sep 2023 20:57:06 GMT

@AG2000 wrote:

The feed shows what time the videos were recorded, but the videos themselves do NOT show any embedded timestamp.

The recordings don't have the timestamp hard-coded into the compressed video. But there is metadata inside the file that includes the recording time. Whether that's enough is hard to say - it would be depend on the local laws, and perhaps the chain of custody for the downloaded video.

Re: Timestamp Missing / iOS 16 and 17

AG2000 — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 01:00:58 GMT

I know. I have seen the Arlo meta in the iPhone photos album (video details). I don’t understand how a security camera company doesn’t embed this information in the captured video feed itself. It cannot be a rocket science to implement it. I would think that Arlo as a company is probably losing some business due to this. Or maybe Arlo supports it and I am missing how exactly to setup the cameras so the time stamp is visible in the feed itself.

Note: Ring cameras and Ring flood lights embed the timestamp info.

Re: Timestamp Missing / iOS 16 and 17

StephenB — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 11:31:52 GMT

@AG2000 wrote:

I don’t understand how a security camera company doesn’t embed this information in the captured video feed itself. It cannot be a rocket science to implement it.

I agree it should add the feature.

Not rocket science to be sure. But it does require hardware support in the camera (to merge the text bitmap into each captured image prior to compression), and of course requires that the camera know the current date/time and the appropriate format when it wakes up to capture the recording. Likely requiring a real-time-clock that runs while the camera is hibernating. So not just a software feature.

Re: Timestamp Missing / iOS 16 and 17

AG2000 — Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:13:07 GMT

I know.. but they should not have omitted such a critical feature!

Thanks everyone for your replies!