Frequently Asked Questions
What makes SiraView different from Windows Media Player, VLC, etc?
Two main things: CCTV-specific data, and precise playback control
SiraView supports CCTV-specific data, such as camera names and numbers, and precise frame times. General media players do not know anything about different cameras, and may only represent the time from the start of the file rather than the actual time when the video was recorded.
Media players such as Windows Media Player, VLC, GOM etc. put emphasis on playing video back at real-time. This *could* mean dropping frames if it can’t keep up – something SiraView is designed to specifically not todo. As they utilise technologies such as DirectX, which is a bit of a “black box” as far as video playback is concerned and hard to control precisely, these kinds of media players may not properly support exact frame stepping.
What is the export format?
There are two export formats offered from version 1.2 onwards.
Movie File
The video is exported as Quicktime Motion-JPEG (format A). This format is widely supported by video editing software and maintains exact time information on each image. The exported video can either be optimised to give high compression or be set to give no loss of visual quality.
DVD Export
DVD export has been added as it has been the most requested feature by users. We have implemented it in as rigourous a way as possible to fit in with the other features of SiraView.
There are a number of issues exporting to DVD as most CCTV formats are inherently incompatible with the broadcast standards used on DVD. The main incompatibilities are in the frame rate and the aspect ratio of the footage. Many DVD writers will not preserve the original aspect ratio of the footage and will therefore distort the image. SiraView offers two options, either expanding the video to fill the screen in one direction, or allowing space around the edges for titles. In both cases the original aspect ratio of the image is preserved. CCTV frame rates vary but DVD requires a constant frame rate, generally 25 frames per second in the UK, so the footage will either play fast or frames must be replicated. SiraView offers 3 options:
- Playback at normal speed but jump over large gaps
- Playback at normal speed but leave large gaps intact
- Playback at 25 frames per second regardless of original frame rate
What are the minimum requirements for SiraView?
Playing video footage is demanding so best results are obtained with a current computer. If the computer is underpowered, SiraView is fully functional but may play the video slowly. Unlike normal video playback software, SiraView does not drop frames in order to maintain the playback rate. This ensures that all images viewed
The minimum requirement is a Pentium 3 processor with 128 MB Ram. The following operating systems are supported:
How does the licencing scheme work?
Unless an organisation-wide licence is purchased, the SiraView software is licenced to a particular computer. It is tied to that computer via a licence file which can also be time limited. To activate a licence you need to copy the node code that is reported by SiraView when it starts in unlicenced mode. Then email this code to support@siraview.com and a licence file will be emailed back. Copy the licence file into the directory that SiraView is installed in. By default this is c:\Program Files\Sira Defence and Security\Siraview.
If you have a number of licences you can send all the node codes in together and we will return all the licence files together. For ease of installation you may copy all the licence files into the install directory on each computer and SiraView will find the correct licence automatically.
From version 1.3 there is also the facility to license using a domain name and computer name. This is intended for the larger rollouts and will only work if a computer is part of a domain. To use this licensing system you need to supply us with the domain name and the name of each computer requiring SiraView. We will then issue a single licence which can be copied onto each of those computers. This avoids the requirement to install the software first and obtain the node code. A tool is available in the download section of this website to identify the domain and computer name. Download it and run it on the computer which uses SiraView. It will then put up a window which details the computer and domain name which you can send to us.
Please note that SiraView is licenced to a computer and can only be moved from one computer to another when the previous licence expires.
What formats are supported?
This is the most common question we are asked and the most difficult to answer. We add formats into SiraView using:
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Information from published standards
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Information from the manufacturer
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Information obtained by analysing video examples
There are many digital CCTV formats and manufactures often have multiple variants of their formats. Where our decoders are based on examples of a format, we do not guarantee to support variants that we have not encountered.
A list of supported formats is included in the SiraView help file and this provides a guide as to whether SiraView likely be able to play a particular format.
If you do come across footage that SiraView will not play, please send it to us and we will do our best to add it into the next release.
If you have a question, or require further information, please email support@siraview.com