Archive settings¶

Video archive storage is a fundamental function of any video surveillance system. Archive recording allows for incidents analysis and violations discovery, as well as helps in law enforcement intelligence.

On this page, you will find out how to configure the archive recording. The archive in Watcher can be recorded continuously or on motion/analytics events. Motion-based recording saves disk space if there is little activity in the camera's field of view. You can also limit the disk space allocated for the archive so as not to fill the disk completely which can disrupt the operating system.

Archive parameters¶

Setting up an archive in Watcher is convenient with presets. In a preset, you can set a template for archive parameters, and then select it on cameras as needed. If the preset is customizable, then parameters can be changed later individually for each camera.

You can set the following archive parameters in the preset and/or in the camera settings:

DVR depth. The archive depth. In other words, it’s the number of days after recording during which the video archive is available (then it is purged but motion detection records may be left in place according to the setting described in the next item). Available values:
- DVR disabled: archive is not recorded.
- Record on motion: only motion events are recorded.
- The number of days/weeks/months: the archive is recorded continuously and stored for the time specified in the parameter. If a longer period is selected for motion recording, then motion recordings are stored longer.
DVR days limit for records with detected motion. The number of days during which it is necessary to keep records of motion events. This limit is set in addition to the archive depth. If you select not set, then all motion events are stored. Available values:
- Unlimited: motion event recordings are stored until the maximum archive size (DVR space) is reached or the disk is full.
- DVR disabled: motion event recordings are stored for the same time as the rest of the archive, i.e. as set in DVR depth.
- The number of days/weeks/months: motion recordings are stored for the specified time.
DVR space. The maximum storage space for camera's archive, in Gigabytes.

The relationship between DVR parameters is explained in the diagram below:

Precise event thumbnails is a number of days for which the precise screenshots of face recognition and/or LPR events are available. These screenshots are displayed on the Events page. The object that triggered the detector is guaranteed to be present on the precise screenshot. If disabled or the precise screenshot storage time expires but there is an archive for the period, then the first frame of the five-second video segment in which the event occurred is displayed on the Events page. In this case, the object that triggered the detector may be present at any place in the video fragment, so you will have to search for it manually.
Warning
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The precise screenshots are stored in Flussonic Watcher database. Make sure your system complies with the [requirements](watcher-system-requirements.md#watcher-system-requirements) before selecting a long storage period.
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Archive cleanup¶

The archive cleanup process starts automatically once an hour. Records that have expired are deleted as well as the oldest records, if the maximum archive size is reached.

Please note that a camera's' archive is not deleted immediately when you delete the camera; it is cleaned in accordance with the archive storage parameters that were set for the camera. For example, if you set an unlimited storage time for motion events recordings, they are deleted only when the DVR space limit is reached or when the disk is full.