Dedicated Micros BX2 Continuous Archive Owner's manual

Brand: Dedicated Micros

Model: BX2 Continuous Archive

Type: Owner's manual

Continuous Archive

Installation and Operation

Instructions

The following details the

BX2 Continuous Archive operation

MI-A-BX2M/E2-0 Dedicated Micros, March 2005

Page 1 Page 26

How to Use the BX2 Continuous Archive

The following will describe how the BX2 Continuous Archive unit operates,

installation and removing the drives and the LED functions that will

describe the process of the ‘mirror’ functionality supported on the BX2.

The standard installation and configuration of the BX2 Continuous Archive

unit is as described in the BX2 Manual MI-I-BX2/M1-0.

There are four removable drives in the BX2 Continuous Archive unit which

can be accessed from the front panel. The drives are separated into two

Primary and two Mirror drives.

BUZZER

STATUS

MIRROR

PRIMARY

Unpacking

The BX2 Continuous Archive unit will be supplied with the necessary

Primary and Mirror drives external to the unit.

These drives are labelled as C Primary and Mirror and E Primary and

Mirror, leave these labels in place to ensure the drives are always placed

back into the correct locations.

Note: If the images are copied to an external recording media it will be

necessary to supply a copy of the DM Playback application for the files to

be reviewed.

When the Begin Copy button is selected each file will be copied to the

selected destination, the percentage complete will give an indication where

the process is up to.

If at any time you wish to stop the copy process then the ‘Cancel’ button

can be selected.

Page 25 Page 2

The list of partitions is what is within the loop and are the images that can

be selected to be copied. At the top of the screen information is displayed;

copy from and to, number of files and the size of the information selected

to be copied.

Important Note

The files to be copied cannot be copied directly to a CD. These files must

be copied to a temporary area; these can then be copied to the CD using

party CD burning software.

Select Destination This allows the destintaion of where the images will

be saved to be selected.

Begin Copy When the relevant partiotions and destination have

been selected then the copy process can begin

Set All / Set None It is possible to select individual partitions or all

partitions

Note: Depending on the size of the loop and the number of files within the

loop that are to be copied the copy processes can take a considerable

amount of time

Looking from the front of the BX2 Continuous Archive unit the C Primary

and Mirror drives are to left of the unit, the other drives are the E Primary

and Mirror drive. (See diagram below).

BUZZER

STATUS

MIRROR

PRIMARY

C Mirror Drive

E Mirror Drive

C Primary Drive

E Primary Drive

Warning: The drives must be fitted in the correct bays, if they are placed

in the wrong bay then the system will overwrite the discs and it will not be

possible to boot the unit.

BX2 Continuous Archive Operation

Under normal operation the BX2 Continuous Archive will function as

described below:

The BX2 Continuous Archive will write to both the Primary and Mirror

drives, the read operation (review) is from the Primary drive.

If for any reason the BX2 Continuous Archive is unable to write to the

Primary drive, the unit will assume that the drive is faulty and will switch

the write process to the Mirror drive.

If a new Mirror drive is introduced (e.g. original drive is removed for

archiving) then the mirroring process will be activated, this ‘mirrors’ the

video images stored on the Primary drive to the new Mirror drive.

Note: All video files held on the Primary drive will be mirrored onto the

new Mirror drive; this includes the files already on the drive that has been

removed. This offers redundancy for these files.

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To Access the Removable Caddies

The front panel of the BX2 has a latched door that will allow you to gain

access to the removable caddies.

Release the door by gently pressing in until you here the release ‘click’,

lower the door. You will see the removable drives; each one is locked in

place and can be released using the keys provided.

The drives are separated into two sections with a Primary drive and Mirror

drive in each section.

Archive Procedure

When the Primary discs are full or the recorded video is to be archived, the

normal procedure would be to remove both the Mirror discs, depending on

the record rate set and the image sizes of the recorded files depends

when this would be required. The table below shows time period file size

and pictures per second

600GB 600GB

14KB 69pps 14KB 15pps

18KB 53pps 18KB 12pps

168HRS

7 Days

25KB 38pps

744HRS

31 days

25KB 8pps

14KB 34pps 14KB 7pps

18KB 26pps 18KB 6pps

336HRS

14 Days

25KB 19pps

62 days

(approx 8

weeks)

25KB 4pps

Example:

If we took the default settings of 18KB file size, with 6pps it would be

necessary to archive the drive approx. every 8 weeks.

To archive the Mirror drive, select a suitable time of day and carry out the

following process.

1 2 3 4

Cancel Loop Clicking here clears the loop markers

Loop Start Green line indicates the start of the video loop.

When the playback position reaches the “Loop

End” marker it jumps back to this position

Loop End Red line indicates the end of the video loop. See

“Loop Start”

Playback Position White line indicates the current playback position

Copy Video Files

Once a loop has been created it is possible to select the files that are

within the loop to be copied to the hard drive of the PC in preparation for

saving these on an external recording device (e.g. CD).

Select Copy Video Files and you will be presented with the following

screen.

Page 23 Page 4

Timeline Popup Menu Right clicking on the timeline brings up this menu

Mouse Position This indicates the position in the timeline of the

mouse when the menu popped up. Selecting this

option causes the current playback position to go to

this time. Note that a double left click on the

timeline will also cause an immediate GOTO the

time indicated by the current mouse position

Loop Start Selecting this option causes the loop start marker to

be set to the time indicated in the first option – this

is a green line

Loop End Selecting this option causes the loop end marker to

be set to the time indicated in the first option, this is

a red line

Copy Video Files This is the interface to allow slected video images

to be copied to a specified location and then burnt

onto an external recording device such as a PC.

1. Set the Mirror device key to Off

2. Remove the Mirror drive and store in a suitable Archive location

3. Replace with a blank Mirror disc

4. Turn the Mirror device key, the minute the key is turned the BX2 unit

will start mirroring the existing data on the Primary disc to the mirror

device.

Note: Within 24 hours the unit will be fully synchronised.

The BX2 Continuous Archive unit will continue to record during this

process and no images will be lost, you will be able to identify the mirroring

process from the LEDs on the chassis for the removable caddies (refer to

LED section below).

Calculating When to Change the Mirror Discs

There is an alternative option available to changing the Mirror discs at set

intervals allowing the Administrator the option to view information on the

BX2 and calculate if the disc is almost full.

The following describes the process of how the information contained

within the GOTO Menu of the BX2 can be used.

1. For the initial change of disc use the recommended information on

when to change the disc.

2. Make a note of the time and date the discs were replaced.

3. Allow the Mirror process to commence. After a period of time (this

is dependant on the number of alarms on the system but for

example could be one week), review the information on the GOTO

menu, to access the menu press and hold GOTO key.

Page 5 Page 22

4. With the time and date when the Mirror disc were replaced review

the information in the ‘Earliest recording’ section. This identifies

the date of the first recorded file on the discs, as this date moves

closer to the time and date the discs were replaced it can be used

as a gauge for when the discs would require changing again.

Note: When using this process it is not possible to protect the images.

Removing the Primary Disk

The normal procedure for archiving is to remove the Mirror drive. In the

unlikely event of a Primary drive failure, the following procedure must be

strictly adhered to:

1. Ensure the BX2 is in full mirrored state, this can be determined from

the LEDs on the chassis for the removable caddies

2. Unlock the Primary disc and remove the drive

3. Replace the Primary drive with a new, blank drive.

4. Insert the Primary drive and turn the key to lock. Now press the

Buzzer key once

With a full screen display and Pause button selected right mouse click

over the Play button which will present you with the Save As screen.

The type of video compression used to create the video files will depend

on the video applications that are installed on the PC. The file formats

available will be displayed in the drop down list option.

Important Note: A loop must be created before generating a video file to

ensure only the required images are included in the video file and not all

the images on the disc. Refer to the following section for information on

how to create a loop.

Creating a Loop

To select a specific area of the recorded video, create a ‘loop’ in the

timeline are right mouse click to start the loop, move the time to end the

loop and right mouse click again.

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Save Bitmap

Select the Save Bitmap option. The following Save As screen will be

displayed. Select the directory where the image is to be saved and select

Save.

The file can be reviewed with any application that supports Bitmaps.

Note: If a multiscreen is displayed then the Save Bitmap option is still

available but only for the selected camera.

Creating Video Files

It is possible to create an video file of the video being reviewed.

5. The BX2 Continuous Archive will treat the Mirror disk as the ‘Primary’

drive. The mirroring process will automatically occur and all data from

the Mirror drive will be mirrored to the Primary drive. Once complete,

normal mirroring is resumed.

Note: The discs used in both the Primary and Mirror drives MUST be the

same size.

Page 7 Page 20

How to Interpret the LED Status

The installation, operation and configuration of

the BX2 Continuous Archive is the same as

detailed in the main manual, however the

following details the information on the LED

status information for the removable caddies.

There are three LEDs on each disc drive chassis, each of these LEDs has

a state which can identify the status of the device and can be used for

troubleshooting.

Note: If any LED status occurs other than what is detailed below contact

Dedicated Micros Technical Support.

Primary LED

The leftmost LED is labelled PRIMARY and represents the disc in the

'Primary' (bottom) position.

Red LED

The Primary Disc is missing or

The Primary Disc has failed

Flashing Green LED

The device is attempting to identify the disc

Green LED

Disc is working fine

Yellow / Orange LED

The disc is Okay and is being accessed

Videowall Popup Menu

Right clicking on the videowall calls up this menu.

Left clicking the videowall video segments sets the

active segment – highlighted with a red border (in

full screen there is only one segment so it is always

active)

Full This is a shortcut to the full screen mode for the

VideoWall

Quad This is a shortcut to the quad (2X2) screen mode

for the video wall

Multiway

Allows selection of other pre-defined screen modes

from a further drop down menu

When the image is in Full screen and the Pause option has been selected,

the right mouse click on the vide image will change the available options

and add the option for the image being viewed to be saved as a bitmap.

BUZZER

STATUSMIRROR

PRIMARY

Page 19 Page 8

4 Latest Shown Time See “Earliest Shown Time”

5 Video Window This example shows full screen playback

6 Text and Audio In this example text and audio are both disabled

Double clicking in the Timeline area will take the playback to that time.

Time Line

The time line section has two scroll bars; scroll timeline and zoom in

timeline. These can be used to move through the recorded files and zoom

in on a selected section.

Zoom in timeline

This is the vertical scroll bar at the end of the time line section.

Scroll timeline

This is the horizontal bar at the bottom of the time line section.

With the Play function selected it is possible to right click on the video to

select the screen format that the video is to be displayed in; Full, Quad,

Multiway

Mirror LED

The middle LED is labelled MIRROR and represents the disc in the 'mirror'

(top) position.

Red LED

The Mirror Disc is missing or

The Mirror Disc has failed

Flashing Green LED

The device is attempting to identify the disc

Green LED

Disc is working fine

Yellow / Orange LED

The disc is Okay and is being accessed

Status LED

The third LED is labelled STATUS and is the main status LED for the unit.

Red LED

The unit is in an unserviceable state

Green LED

The unit is working correctly

i.e. data is being written to both the 'Primary' and 'mirror' discs

simultaneously.

Note: It is best (though not mandatory) to remove the disc from

the 'mirror' slot when the unit shows a solid green status LED.

Flashing Red LED

Mirroring is in progress

i.e. data is being copied from the Primary disc to the Mirror

disc, when in this state both the Primary and Mirror LEDs will

flash yellow and green rapidly

Page 9 Page 18

Playback Process

The Mirror drive of the BX2 Continuous Archive unit can be removed from

the unit and placed in a playback device (supplied by Dedicated Micros)

for off line review of the recorded images.

Minimum Operating System Requirements

Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP

Installing the Playback Software

The Playback software (found on the CD supplied) should be installed on

the PC that will be used to review the video.

1. Insert the CD into the disc drive of the PC

2. Run the Setup.exe file to install the playback software

3. Follow the onscreen prompts to install the software

4. Enable the option to launch the software when Finish is selected

Installing the Playback Device

The following describes the Installation and Operational process for

reviewing the recorded video.

Before installing the Playback device, you will need to ensure you have the

following:

Both Mirror drives from the BX2 Continuous Archive unit have been

removed and are available for review – video will be distributed across

both drives, to ensure you review all the recordings you require both drives

Full USB2 PC Card – the playback device requires full USB2 connectivity,

using a USB1 connection could result in failures.

2 3 4

1 Timeline Coloured bars indicate presences or otherwise of

video from cameras (1 at the top, 16 at the bottom).

In this example there are 5 cameras which have

been continuously recording. A black segment

shows that images are not available on the camera

during that period of time

2 Earliest Shown Time Timestamp of the earliest video represented on the

timeline. This and the Latest Shown Time vary as

the timeline is zoomed in and out and also as the

bottom slider is moved. IN this example the timeline

is zoomed right out and consequently the bottom

slider is occupying the full width

3 Current Playback Time

When this date and time is represented in white it

indicates the current playback time (also ind. As the

mouse is moved over the timeline it changes colour

to yellow and indicates the time position the mouse

is currently pointing to

Page 17 Page 10

When the Restructure process is completed you will be presented with the

file information on the drives and the ‘Select’ key will be enabled,

Note: The Validate option is not currently available this button will not be

active.

Press the ‘Select’ button to display the Video Partition Select screen which

allows you to select the video to be reviewed. The video will be rebuilt an

indication on the screen will be displayed showing the file progress

information.

Note: This process may take a a number of seconds. Do not minimise the

DM Playback software during this time. If the application is minimised then

you will be unable to gain control of the software until the re-build process

is complete.

Camera 1 may be automatically displayed, if not select the camera to be

reviewed, and press play. The video will be displayed in the main video

window.

The PC is powered up and fully operational.

1. Place both Mirror drives in the Primary and Mirror slots on the

playback device.

USB2

2. Connect to USB2.0 Input Device 1 on the unit and the USB2 port of

the PC with the USB cable provided.

3. Connect main supply to the playback station. Ensure the key is in the

‘Normal’ position.

Lock

Normal

Config

Copy

Page 11 Page 16

4. Switch the unit on. The power up LED sequence is:

Flashing Red LED

Fixed Green/Orange LED

Fixed Green

Flashing Red LED

Fixed Green/Orange LED

Fixed Green LED

Flashing Red LED

LED extinguished

Left

Fixed Yellow LED

Middle

Flashing Yellow LED

Fixed Yellow LED

Restructure

During this process the LED status on the front of the playback station will

be as follows:

Flashing Green/Orange LED

Middle

Flashing Yellow LED

Note: An hour glass will be displayed will the restructure process is carried

out. Depending on the specification of the PC this process may take a few

minutes.

Important Information

During the restructure process it is necessary to have the DM Playback

application maximised. If the application is minimised then you will not be

able to gain control of the application until the restructure process has

completed. Do not worry as this may take a number of seconds depending

on the size of the drive and the number of images on the drive.

6 Validate Partition This feature is not implemented yet

7 Cancel Selection Closes the video file selection process and returns to the

default screen

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1 Drive or Directory The player can deal with disc, or combinations of discs

directly out of a BX2 (select “Drive”) or directories which

contain video image files extracted by whatever means

(select “Directory”)

2 Drive List When “Drive” is selected this list shows a list of discs that

the player believes may contain valid image partitions (or

parts of image partitions – the player can deal with

incomplete video partitions i.e. a single disc out of a dual

drive BX2). Select either of the drives

3 Partition Details

When a valid image file is selected (and it has been

“restructured”) this windows shows the summary details for

the video file

4 Select Partition Select the currently displayed video file for viewing

5 Partition Restructure Build or re-build indexes for the currently selected video file.

For large discs or files this can take some minutes. If the

action is successful the “Partition Details” window will show

correct details. If the file is subsequently selected for

viewing there will be another delay while the timeline

information is built-up, again this can take some minutes for

large files. The player does not alter the information in the

video partition or its files, it creates its indexes separately

on Drive C

5. Your PC will identify the new hardware and will see the playback

station as a new drives on your PC.

Note: It is important that there are a minimum of two drive letters (between

A – Z) available so the PC can automatically allocate the two Mirror drives

a drive letter.

6. Using Windows explorer check that your PC has identified the two

new drives

7. Launch the Playback software previously installed.

Note: The playback station should be powered off before restarting your

PC.

Playback Software

The DM Player software allows you to review the recordings on the Mirror

drive you have placed in the playback station.

When you initially launch the software you will be presented with the main

viewing page.

Page 13 Page 14

6 7

1 Select Partition Click on this prompt to select video files to view

(see next pages). This prompt will change to show

the currently selected video file, this does not alter

the function of clicking on it

2 Video Wall Dimensions Using these field the dimensions (images across

and down) can be changed. A maximum of 16

images can be shown

3 Goto Time A date and time can be entered in here. Clicking on

the arrow button alongside will then cause the

playback position to be altered to the indicated

date/time if it exists within the video partition being

viewed

4 VCR Control Keys These keys control the speed and direction of

playback. The slider bar and its associated up/down

control can be used to alter the speed. Frame

advance is only available in PAUSE mode

5 Camera Selection Keys These can be used to select the camera to be

shown in the currently highlighted video segment.

Greyed out cameras do not exist in the video

partition being viewed

6 Auto Segment When this field is checked and the video window is

in multi-segment mode the active segment is

automatically highlighted as cameras are selected

7 Text ON/OFF If text is present in the video this control can be

used to turn its display on and off

8 Audio ON/OFF If audio is present in the video this control can be

used to mute it. Note: Audio is only heard in full

screen mode

9 Video Wall Video segments are show in this window. The video

wall automatically sizes the video segments

optimally according to the width and height

dimensions set

10 Timeline The timeline gives a visual indication of the video

present in the video partition. It can be zoomed

using the slider bars to the left and bottom

Select the ‘Click here to select Partition’ option, to allow you to select the

drives that have the video files for review.

You will be presented with the Video Partition Select screen. You have two

options to gain access to the recorded video; select drive.

Drive

With the drive option enabled you will be presented with the two drives that

were created when the playback station was connected to the PC, in this

case drive ‘d’ and ‘e’.

Select either of the drives.

Dedicated Micros BX2 Continuous Archive Owner's manual

Dedicated Micros BX2 Continuous Archive Owner's manual

Dedicated Micros BX2 Continuous Archive Owner's manual

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