Client Time – Exacq

Background Information

The Windows or Linux (Ubuntu) operating system time of your exacqVision Server host should be set to the local time and time zone where it is located.

It is often desirable to synchronize the system to a central time server, rather than rely on the internal clock of the recording server. There are many freely available time servers available online capable of providing reliable time references, such as:

pool.ntp.org
time.google.com
time.windows.com
time.nist.gov

These time servers communicate using the Network Time Protocol (NTP), using network port 123. For more information about network time servers, refer to the article Explaining NTP.

If your system is on an isolated network without access to the internet, or you prefer to provide your own source for time, many SOHO routers provide NTP capabilities, or you may choose to run an NTP service on another device or system of your own.

Best Practice Configuration Steps

With the exacqVision Desktop Client connected to your exacqVision Server instance, navigate to the Configure System node on the navigation tree along the left, then select the Date/Time tab from the top of the page.
The URL or IP address of the time server you choose to use will be entered into the Time Server field after checking the Enable Time Server checkbox. If the Enable Time Server box is left unchecked, the system will rely on its internal clock, which is not as reliable as the NTP sources mentioned above.
Your networked IP cameras should be synchronized to the time and date of the exacqVision Server. While it seems counterintuitive, you will log into your cameras to configure their time settings and set them to the GMT-0 time zone. Then enter the IP address or URL of your exacqVision Server as the Time Server in the camera’s settings.

This will ensure that video sent to the exacqVision Server is recorded with a time code in reference to the Server time. For this reason, it is recommended to use the exacqVision Client’s on-screen display (OSD), to display the time and date overlay on your live video panels. If enabling the OSD within the camera instead, your time and date may display incorrectly because the exacqVision software has not accounted for your local time zone difference from GMT.
The IP Camera Time Server field shown at the bottom of the Date/Time tab within the exacqVision Client is not commonly used for most deployments. Enabling the override feature allows an administrator to enter the URL or address of another time server. The exacqVision Server will then inform connected IP cameras to refer to the entered address as it’s “source of truth” for time, rather than using the time shown on the exacqVision Server.

NOTE: If using this feature, the cameras will require a network path to reach any address entered here, which may not be possible if your cameras reside on an isolated network or VLAN.

Client Workstations

Client workstations running the exacqVision Client application should be configured to use the local time and time zone where they are located.

If they are remote users in a different time zone than the exacqVision Server, all times for live and searched video will be displayed in the client’s local time.

All video recorded by exacqVision is timestamped in Coordinated Universal Time, also known as UTC, so there is no ambiguity as to the absolute time when the video was recorded. In the exacqVision Client, the OSD display shows the server time zone as an offset from UTC with the timestamp. If the timezone is not configured for the OSD, the timestamp shown is the Client’s local time.

exacqVision ePlayer

Within the exacqVision ePlayer, the timestamp of the recorded video will display the timezone of the local computer on which it is playing, but will also show the time zone offset.

As an example, if you watch a video on a computer set to Eastern Daylight Time, you could see 9:00am (GMT-4:00), while the same video viewed on a computer set to British Summer Time would show 2:00pm (GMT+1:00). The UTC timestamp is the same in both cases.

Knowledge of the physical location of the recording server, which may be needed for evidentiary purposes, can be correlated to the local time of the machine on which video is being watched and the local time of the server on when it was recorded.

exacqVision Edge/Edge+

This article applies to exacqVision Server software. For information on exacqVision Edge/Edge+ time settings, please refer to exacqVision Edge Time Zone Configuration.