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Time and Date Display on video (Timestamp)

Preface: The property management company I work for purchased 8 Arlo cameras to set up around the apartment complex I manage. 

 

The current system does not provide an easy way to tell the exact time a specific time that an image within a video clip was captured, nor does it provice an easy way to navigate to a specific time within a video. The only mention of an exact time is the time listed when the camera began recording each clip. To find out when a still image within the video was captured, you must mentally add up the amount of time you are into a video and the start time of the clip. Example: I want to find the time 6:32 within a video clip. The video clip states that it starts at 6:30, so I navigate two minutes into the video.

 

My suggestion is to either add a time and date stamp to the video recording, in an unobtrusive area of the video, perhaps customizeable to which corner it appears in. Alternatively, rather than the time slider at the bottom of the clip playback stating the time into the video clip, it displays the real time the video was taken. Current setup for video playback begins at 00:00:00 and advances to 00:02:00, if video length is set to 120 seconds. Instead, it could start at the real time the video capture was taken and continue along at real time. Example: Video starts at 06:30:27 and the slider at the bottom of the playback advances to 06:32:27.

 

This would aid in finding a specific time in which an event reportedly occurred, as well as serve for better evidence when assessing a charge against a tenant for littering, as you could print out a screenshot of the video with a timestamp and attach it to a document for issuing a charge. It would also aid in police investigations or as evidence when in litigation. Police often come to my office to request video footage of a certain time and date, and this would assist them. We also have a problem with illegal dumping of mattresses and furniture, in which case we would need a timestamped image to present to police.

 

Thank you for reading this suggestion, and I hope that a timestamp could be implemented as an optional feature for the Arlo camera system in the future. 

J. Benson,
Ullrich Real Estate

Comments
Macahi
Apprentice

@useragent 

 

Nice, but the problem with that is that you have now altered the video from its original. I don’t know if that poses any bigger problem than the timestamp not being there in the first place. 

useragent
Fledgling

@Macahi  it doesn't matter (to me), since the original video is there.

The information in arlo can prove the recording is not altered, just timestamp added, if in any case we need provide the record to court.

arlo1901
Follower

I know this has been mentioned before, but it is such an essential feature for security cameras. 

 

When you download files from the camera, you have NO idea when the video is from. The filename doesn't seem to have any encoding of date/time, there is also no metadata with date/time. 

 

I saved all videos from yesterday on my computer (which is a nightmare in itself), now I have 250 randomly named files and no indication of when any of them occurred... 

 

Netgear, can you please fix this!

TomMac
Guru

In case you didn't know, the file name is in EPOCH time...

you can convert to human time here ;  https://www.epochconverter.com/

 

example

file name 1569236295604 is  Monday, September 23, 2019 6:58:15.604 AM GMT-04:00 DST

CaliPilot
Novice

It's somehow ridiculous, we are in 2019 and one of the most important things on a surveillance video next to the video quality is:a timestamp! This is discussed since 2015 and still not considered as a must have "feature"?

A few months ago we catched a guy "keying" our cars. We have it on video but suprise, no timestamp, it is almost useless in a lawsuite in Germany.

So Arlo-Team, please change your mind and include this feature quickly, otherwise your product will be replaced with the cheapest chinese camera on the market (they have a timestamp in general).

Don't get me wrong, your cameras are doing well, looking good and everything is fine but a showstopper without a timestamp.

Retired_Member
Not applicable

Timestamp In the video recordings. I would love this BASIC feature.. Netgear Arlo LISTEN please.   I am an Arlo Smart subscriber that I think it crazy to have to. pay for other features that should be standard.  I can understand charging for more Cloud storage but for basic features?  Common now.  

/end rant 


Does anyone think this will be added one day.  I wish to upgrade to 1080p or 4k cams and am not going to do it unless this feature is added.  

HW Version VMB4000r3
Firmware 1.14.1.2_2916_1fdeefd

Slipnick
Novice

I get that this has EPOCH time in the file name.  But seriously, the time stamp is on the file when viewed in the library.  Is it really that had to just include it in the corner of the video?

Retired_Member
Not applicable

Maybe one day they will fix GeoFence too.   luckily mine works 90% of the time.  I do have to open the app from time to time for it to work.. 

StephenB
Guru

>>> @Slipnick   But seriously, the time stamp is on the file when viewed in the library.  Is it really that had to just include it in the corner of the video?

 

Not that easy actually.  You'd either have to transcode the video in the cloud (reducing the quality), or you have to modify the hardware encoding path in the camera to embed the timestamp.  Depending on the camera hardware, that could affect the battery life.

 

It would be fairly easy to add a text subtitle to the mp4 recording.  But that is easily edited, so it might not be enough to make much difference in a trial.

Viswa566
Follower

Hi,

I want to purchase Arlo Q plus for my Organization,  Is it possible to get Date and Time stamp on both Live video footage and Video file after downloaded? Also,  How can I get that stamping to be like Wednesday, March 25, 2020, 11:18:42 AM?