4K video question

[sophie999]

Greetings,

I just upgraded my 3mp camera to new 8mp turret. My question is: What is the best way to take advantage of the hi res recordings?
Let's say I want to zoom all the way on the video to look at the face or plate number. My monitor is not 4k. What is the best way to take advantage of the video? Can I record the clip and then watch it on PC (not 4k either) using zoom function? What is the best software to do so? Do I record from the NVR directly or can I record from the IVM 4200 on laptop? IVM 4200 seems to record clips in MPEG4 lossy format.
Any guidance as to the best solution would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much.

 

[lewic]

There are two ways to get the video recording. One would be to put an SD card in the camera. With that then you can set it to record to the card and then use the IVMS4200 to view the video. Viewing the video can also be accessed by using a web browser to log into the camera and then go to playback. Second option would be to have a recorder (NVR) to get the recording saved to. Without a display that will support the 4K (8MP) resolution then the picture is only going to be as good as the display will be. The only way to take advantage of it is when you decide to zoom into the video. It will be able to zoom in more before the picture gets pixelated from lack of pixels.

 

[sophie999]

Understood. Thanks. Using SD card is not an option. Too painful.

So, if I log to the NVR via the browser and play the video that way, I ma getting full 4K, right I (as long as I am looking at the main stream)?
And if I log into the NVR using IVM 4200 and then playback, am I also getting full res?
Is there a difference in video quality between using web browser or IVM to log into the NVR?

I logged into NVR yesterday using IVM 4200, picked and saved the video clip on desktop. But it saved as MPEG4, which is lossy, not full resolution, if I understand correcly.

 

[lewic]

If you went into the camera settings of either the NVR or camera and set it to 4K (8MP) then it will be recording in that resolution. If your monitor/TV that you are trying to view the video is not 4K then you will not see the full resolution. Trying to view 4K video on 1080P TV will only show you 1080P video. The TV will not be able to show all the pixels so you only get 1080P quality on a 1080P screen. The part that makes a difference.... Take this "4K" video on your same 1080P screen and zoom/enlarge it.... It will be clear up to the "4K" resolution. After that then it will start getting pixelated. Does that make sense? This is due to it not really enlarging the pixels because it is already there. Lets say your camera is 2MP (1080P) showing on the same 1080P screen. It will be able to show ALL the pixels like it should be and if you enlarge (zoom in) that picture then it will start to be pixalated/blurry immediately because it is making that same pixel large when blowing it up.

 

[sophie999]

Thanks for explaining. I understand that part now.
What I am trying to assess if there is any difference in HOW I access the video saved on the NVR: from the web browser or from the IVM. Based on what you said it does not seem to matter, right? Both ways will give me access to 4K stream.

Also, if I want to transfer the video elsewhere, what is the best way to record the clip on external thumb drive in full resolution? What format should the video be saved for external use? Is MPEG4 correct format to not loose any original info?

Thanks

 

[lewic]

Both ways will give you the 4K stream if you are playing the "main stream". The "sub stream" will be the lower quality stream. The screen resolution scenario still applies in this case.

For transferring the video.... Depending on the length of the video.... best to do the save onto the flash drive/hard drive. Exporting the video will use the "main stream" feed anyways. The videos will be exported in a mp4 format. You would use VS Player to decode/play the video. This software has a file converter built in if you would like to convert the file so it can be played with any video player. There is some proprietary encoding in this so even though it is a MP4 format, even VLC player may not play the video perfectly.

 

[sophie999]

Got it, thanks so much.
You answered and explained all my questions.
Greatly appreciated!

 

[Trax95008]

IVMS-4200 gives you the option to export in .avi format. No need to convert later