Taking a Snapshot of a Video Stream

It is possible to take a snapshot of a video stream and save it as a JPEG file for future reference.

Prerequisites

The user rights to enable snapshot commands are set.

Take a Snapshot of a Live Video Stream (saved on server)

You can take a snapshot of the live video stream displayed on a monitor.

A monitor in the video view is displaying a live stream. See Displaying Video.

Click the monitor on which you want to take the snapshot.

The monitor is highlighted with a red border.

In the Extended Operation tab, next to the Recording property, click Snapshot.

A Snapshot successful message displays, and the image is saved on the Desigo CC server.
See Snapshot Location on the Server.

Take a Snapshot of a Live Video Stream (saved on client)

You can also use the overlay icon to take a snapshot of a live video stream.

A monitor in the video view is displaying a live stream. See Displaying Video.

Move the mouse pointer over the monitor on which you want to take the snapshot.

Click the Create Snapshot icon directly on the monitor.

The snapshot is saved on the Desigo CC station where it was taken, in the Pictures folder of the currently logged-in Windows user.
NOTE: For snapshots taken with this method, it is the user's responsibility to delete the images from this folder, in compliance with privacy regulations.

Take a Snapshot of a Recording during Playback (saved on server)

Monitors playing back recordings are highlighted with a green border. You can take a snapshot of a recording as it is being played back.

A monitor in the video view is playing back a recording. See Playing Back Recordings from a Camera Timeline or Finding Recordings in the Video Archive

Move the mouse pointer over the monitor that is playing back the recording.

Click the Create Snapshot icon directly on the monitor.

The image is saved on the Desigo CC server.
See Snapshot Location on the Server.

NOTE: The Snapshot command in the Extended Operation tab will not take a snapshot of the recording. It will instead save a snapshot of the live video stream from the same camera.

Snapshot Location on the Desigo CC Server

By default, snapshots saved on the Desigo CC server are placed in the path \\Siemens\DesigoCC\[project name]\data\Snapshot\
under a [camera description] subfolder, with file name constructed as follows: [date]T[time][camera name]_[P or L].JPEG.
The _P or _L suffix indicates whether the snapshot is from playback or from live video.

You can change the location on disk where snapshots are saved on the Desigo CC server.

In System Browser, select Applications > Video.

In the Extended Operation tab, locate the Snapshot Path property.

Enter the new path where you want to save the snapshots.
NOTE: The following paths are not allowed:
- directly under C:\
- any path under the following system folders: C:\Windows, C:\Program files, C:\Program files (x86)

Click Set.

Snapshots taken from this point onward will be saved in the newly specified path. Automatic deletion, if enabled, will now operate on the new path.

Pre-existing snapshots remain in the old path, and must be manually deleted within the permitted retention time.

The path set here applies to all snapshots except live stream snapshots taken with the overlay icon, which are instead saved in the Windows Pictures folder of the station where they are taken.

Automatically Delete Snapshots after a Retention Period

For compliance with privacy regulations, the system can automatically delete snapshots stored on the Desigo CC server after a predefined retention period has elapsed.

In System Browser, select Applications > Video.

In the Extended Operation tab, set the Automatic Snapshot Deletion property to Enabled.

Next to the Snapshot Retention Period property:

Enter the duration (days and hours) for which snapshots should be kept. Default is 24h.
Make sure the period you set complies with the applicable data privacy regulations.

Click Set.

Snapshots will be deleted after they exceed the specified duration. The system checks for and deletes expired snapshots every twelve hours (by default at noon and at midnight).
For example, if you take a snapshot at 3pm and the retention period is 24h, at 3pm on the following day the snapshot becomes expired. It will then be deleted when the next check happens, in this case at midnight.

NOTE: Automatic deletion applies only to snapshots stored on the Desigo CC server. Snapshots stored in the Windows Pictures folder must be deleted manually by the user.

NOTICE

Compliance with data privacy regulations

Snapshot images may not be stored indefinitely, and must be deleted after a permitted retention period has elapsed.

- For snapshots stored in the Pictures folder of stations, it is the user's responsibility to delete the snapshots within the permitted retention period.
- For snapshots stored in the Desigo CC server snapshot storage path, make sure to enable automatic deletion, and set a retention period compliant with the privacy regulations in force.

Limitations of automatic deletion:
- If the snapshot storage path on the Desigo CC server is changed, snapshots in the old path must be manually deleted within the permitted retention period.
- Automatic deletion will not work properly if the snapshots are edited or processed in any way that alters the date of the file.