Video Troubleshooting

Message/Problem

Situation

Do the following...

VMS installation problems.

Occasional problems have been reported in installing the VMS server.

In case of difficulty, you can refer to the Installation Troubleshooting section of the VMS Server Administration Manual (see Siveillance Support References or Milestone Support References).
In addition, referring to the VMS server setup, you can try the following staged installation procedure, which has proved to be useful:

• Run the Custom setup for the only Siveillance VMS management Server and restart the server
• Run the Custom setup again, add the Siveillance VMS Recording Server and restart the server.
• Run the Custom setup again, add all other Siveillance VMS components and restart the server one final time.

Misaligned Video Providers event

and

Video System (disconnected) event

The currently active VMS provider does not match the VMS provider set for the project.

Specifically, in the properties of the main Video node, the Runtime VMS Provider does not match the Project VMS Provider.

This can happen if you:
- Edit a video project in SMC and select a different VMS provider from the original one.
- Restore a video project that used a different VMS provider from the currently active one.

To migrate the project to the currently active provider (be aware there is risk of data loss if the providers are incompatible):

1. Make sure the two providers are compatible, and back up the project data before proceeding.
2. Force a connect of the video system (manual Connect command).

To set an active provider that is aligned with the project:

1. In SMC, edit the video project and open the Video Services Settings expander.
2. From the Provider selection drop-down list, select a video provider that matches the original provider used for the project..
3. Configure the VMS host IP/name and VMS port fields as appropriate for the new provider.

.

Message/Problem

Situation

Do the following...

Duplicated video objects after restoring an V1.x configuration and creating new V2.0 video objects.

Old V1.x video objects are not automatically removed from an V2.0 configuration.

• Delete old V1.x video objects manually.

Missing video objects in System Browser after restoring an V2.0 configuration that previously included video objects.

Failing to restore video objects in the VMS before refreshing the system will result in the loss of video objects and related links in System Browser.

• Make sure to do the Restoring a Project With Video in the correct sequence. In case of data loss, restart the entire restore procedure from the beginning.

In video object description strings, some special characters are replaced.

Some special characters (“.”, “:”, “?”, “*”) are replaced by other special characters due to technical constraints.

• In the description text, avoid the following characters:
  “.” (dot, replaced by underscore)
  “:” (colon, replaced by dash)
  “?” (question mark, replaced by exclamation mark)
  “*” (asterisk, replaced by hash).

Erroneous No-VMS License event on newly configured cameras in fault status.

After a Refresh command, new cameras added in VMS and in fault conditions are reported as not being covered by a proper license.

• Resolve the camera fault in the VMS and refresh again the system configuration.

Cannot modify Video Application Rights. Modifications do not apply correctly.

Previous modifications were made from the secondary System Manager, and you are now trying to modify the Application Rights from the main System Manager.

• Stop and restart the client application, then try again to modify the Application Rights.

Refresh command issues (command failed) in large configurations with about 500 cameras and more.

The refresh fails and System Browser may not be properly aligned.

• As a workaround, in Windows Services, try restarting the Siemens Video API Service.

Message/Problem

Situation

Do the following...

Video Disconnected Not Aligned.

Video images do not display.

The video view only displays Video Disconnected Not Aligned.

An event in Event List reports the video system as Disconnected Not Aligned.

This is a normal situation when starting a new project. You need to connect the video interface to align System Browser.
Unlike previous versions, restored projects only require a manual connection if not aligned.

1. In System Browser, select Application View.
2. Select the Video node and click the Video Configurator tab.
3. Make sure the Video configuration is the one you want to align with. If not, correct the Video settings in SMC or repeat the Restore procedure.
4. Connect the video interface to align the configuration and start video.

Video Disconnected.

Video images do not display.

The video view only displays Video Disconnected.

An event in Event List reports the video system as disconnected.

This may simply be the result of a Disconnect command, or a problem may concern the internal connection with the BT Video API.

• Try to Connect the video interface.
• If you need technical support, provide the Video API Log File from SMC. Read and then save the log file in the Video Settings tab of the project.

The video application does not display in System Manager.

You do not have the rights to display the video application.

To access the Video application, the Application Rights for video must be enabled. This is done in Engineering mode, in the System Settings > Security node of Management View of System Browser.

Microsoft .NET Framework Exception error upon selecting a camera to display live video.

A Microsoft .NET Framework Exception error message appears when trying to display live video on web clients.

Missing proxy components on the networked client can cause this error.

• Check the Video Support on Web Clients.

VMS unreachable.

Video Refresh command failure.

No video cameras can connect. Video images do not display.

The video refresh command fails.

A fault event in Event List reports the VMS as unreachable.

This problem concerns the VMS or the connection between the BT Video API and the VMS.

• Check that the VMS is running and can communicate properly.
  Depending on the deployment architecture, the VMS may run on the same computer as the Desigo CC server or on a separate networked computer. In case of separate computers, check the network connection between them.
• Verify that you can ping the VMS server using the host name (not only the IP address) and vice versa that you can ping in the same way the Desigo CC server from VMS. See Enable VMS Name Resolution.
• Check that the VMS server and the the Desigo CC server are time-synchronized. See Time Synchronize the Video Servers.
• Check the configurations described in Milestone / Siveillance VMS Procedures.
• Check the VMS IP/Name settings in the SMC project, and check for possible conflicts in the use of the VMS TCP port 80 (e.g. from other web services).

Video Manager not reachable after stopping and restarting the system project.

After restarting the project and reconnecting video, client functionalities may not resume properly. The Video Manager not reachable message displays.

• Stop and restart the client application.

Video API unreachable.

Video Connection command failure.

No video cameras can connect. Video images do not display.

A fault event in Event List reports BT Video API as unreachable.

This may be due to a problem with the BT Video API on Desigo CC Server.

• In the Windows service list of the server, check that the Siemens BT Video API service is running (Started) and try to restart that service or the entire computer.
• Check the IP/Name and TCP port settings of BT Video API in the SMC project.
  The port associated to Video Services must match the corresponding configuration in the file VideoService.exe.config:
  search for the line <add key="VideoApiService.BaseAddress1" value="net.tcp://{hostname}:8001" />, with 8001 being the default port value.
• Check the BT Video API user account settings. See Configuring the VideoApiService Account.

VMS configuration misaligned.

Some video objects do not work properly or are not available at all.

This may be a normal situation after a change in the camera configuration of the VMS. Cameras deleted in the VMS will not respond to any system command.

• When the VMS configuration is stable, refresh it in the system.

Camera fault events.

One or more cameras cannot connect. Video images for those cameras do not display.

A fault event in Event List reports cameras as unreachable.

This problem may have various causes.

• Check that the camera is powered on and properly connected over the network.
• Check the camera configuration and the license in the VMS. See Installing the VMS License.
• Check the time synchronization between cameras and the VMS. For security reasons, various video control protocols require a close time synchronization (within few seconds) to establish a connection.
  Video units can be synchronized from the central system or all components can rely on a common Network Time Protocol (NTP) server.

No camera images without apparent faults.

Video images are missing even though there is no malfunction detected on the camera.

This problem may have various causes.

• If the problem concerns one camera, check the corresponding VMS settings and licenses. Test the camera images with the VMS local client.
• If a camera was disabled or removed from the VMS, it will still be present in System Browser but cannot work properly. To resolve the problem, refresh the system configuration.
• If the problem concerns all cameras, check the BT Video API streaming account in the VMS (see Configuring VideoStreaming Users).
• If the problem only concerns a client stations, check the VMS IP/Name settings in the SMC project. Do not use localhost.
• If the problem concerns a web client, see the web requirements in the Video support on Web Clients.
• If a user or a group of users cannot display live video or cannot change camera selections previously set by other users, check security permissions. To display live video, users must have Standard command group rights on camera objects (check in Security > User groups).
• In a large system, check that no other Desigo CC server is connected to VMS. Only one connection is allowed.
• In distributed systems, including multiple projects, check that the Enable video project option is selected in only one of the SMC projects of the distributed system (see 4 – Configure Project Settings for Video).
  NOTE: If you remove the Enable video project option from a project, do the following:
• (Recommended) On the local server, in Windows Services, stop and disable the Siemens Video API Service.
• Stop and restart the project twice to allow for a complete refresh of the internal data.

Troubles with PTZ control.

PTZ commands do not work.

• Check the PTZ commands with the VMS tools.
• Check the VMS camera PTZ configuration (see Configure ONVIF PTZ Cameras).

Erroneous unknown events on cameras in single-server solutions.

Instability after restarting the server.

Some problems may occur after restarting the common server.

• In Windows Services, try to modify the Video API Service properties: in the Startup Type field, select: Automatic (Delayed Start).
• Refresh the video configuration.

Missing fault events from VMS.

Fault events of cameras are not presented after restarting VMS.

Some problems may occur after restarting the VMS.

• In Windows Services, try to modify the Milestone XProtect Event Server properties: in the Startup Type field, select: Automatic (Delayed Start).
• In Windows Services, stop and then manually restart the Milestone XProtect Event Server service.

No monitor group associated to the station.

The message No monitor group is associated to the station displays.

No live video displays.

This problem is due to an incomplete configuration.

• Create an associating between the station and a monitor group (see 4 – Assign a Monitor Group to a Station).

Wrong report about Focus and Preset controls in PTZ camera configuration.

In the PTZ Capabilities of the Video Source Settings expander, Focus and Preset controls may be reported as available even though they are not.

PTZ capabilities reporting in the configuration page may be occasionally incorrect.

Problem on Web clients and Windows app clients when you expand Event List over a window that displays live video.

The problem may concern Investigative Treatment and Assisted Treatment windows with live video monitors. In certain cases, the live video monitor does not close properly and may prevent you from viewing Event List entirely.

• To solve the problem:
• Collapse Event List.
• Close the window with live video.
• Expand Event List again.

First camera added to VMS appears in Unknown status after the configuration refresh command. In addition, the video archive status is shown as Not Configured.

The problem occurs when only one camera is configured. It can be solved by restarting VMS and Video API.

• To solve the problem:
• Restart the VMS server computer.
• If the Siemens BT Video API service is running on another computer, restart that service or the entire computer.

Video system offline message

The problem concerns a distributed system when the connection to the server with video (VMS connection) is lost.

• Check the network connection between Desigo CC servers.

Message/Problem

Situation

Do the following...

Erroneous event counter in the Summary bar.

The number of events indicated by the counter does not exactly correspond to the system status. Event List is however always correct.

Different alarm classes are mapped on the same lamp counter and this may result in a wrong count. Be aware that the total count may summarize more detailed conditions, for example in case of multiple faults or exclusion.

Events from the License Plate Recognition (LPR) plugin of Siveillance VMS are reported as Unidentified Event in Desigo CC.

The Desigo CC video alarm table contains entries for the two default lists (in English language) of the Siveillance LPR plugin:

• License plate match list
• Unlisted license plates

If the names of these lists in the VMS are changed (or put in a different language), you must customize the Desigo CC alarm table with the new name.

If additional lists are created in the VMS, you must add entries for them in the Desigo CC alarm table.

1. Customize the Video library structure and the Alarm Table Generic Events to the allowed customization level.
2. Modify the customized alarm table as follows:
   - Edit the event types License plate match list and Unlisted license plates so that the Event Type field corresponds to the name of the list in VMS.
   - Add entries for any additional lists created in the VMS.
3. Customize the Management object model to the allowed customization level.
4. Apply the modified alarm table to the customized Management object model

For detailed instructions see Customizing Video Alarm Tables.

Message/Problem

Situation

Do the following...

Video recording does not actually start even though the Successfully executed message displays upon executing recording/tagging commands

Video recording does not start in case of:

• Camera in fault status
• Recording Server in fault status
• Recording rule not activated or not properly configured in VMS

• Check camera status
• Check recording server status
• Check VMS configuration

Video recording status in the system does not correspond with the actual camera condition after recovering from a failure of a VMS recording unit.

After a connection failure with a Network Video Recorder (NVR), the camera recording status cannot be properly realigned in the system. Specifically, if video recording was stopped during the communication problem, the system may still report the video recording as active.

• After a failure, when the VMS condition is stable again, perform a refresh command.

Cannot find tags starting with character "["

In the video archive, cannot find tags if the search string starts with character "["

• Locate the tag using date and time or a graphical timeline search
• Do not use such a character

Unable to export recorded video clips to a file

The procedure for exporting a video recording to a file fails owing to incorrect permissions.

• Check that Desigo CC services are correctly 5 – Set Management Platform Services to Run with the VideoApiService Account.