Working with the traditional media player – TASER | Axon

Beginning with release 1.27, a new media player is the default player; however, users who want to use the traditional Evidence.com media player and redaction tools can switch to the traditional player and tools as needed. For information about using the new media player, see Using the Media Player.

Working with Video and Audio Evidence

This section describes the actions available on the View Evidence page for video and audio files when you use the traditional media player.

Actions available for all files types are described in Working with Any Evidence.

Play, Pause, Rewind, and Fast Forward

On the View Evidence page, the video and audio player each provide the following basic functions:

Play — Click anywhere on the player or, below the player, click (play).
Pause — Click anywhere on the player or, below the player, click (pause).
Rewind — Below the player, click . Each click rewinds the file approximately 4% of its overall length.
Fast Forward — Below the player, click . Each click fast forwards the video approximately 4% of its total length.

Show and Hide Clock

In addition to the clock shown below the video image, you can show or hide the clock in the video image itself.

To show or hide the clock, on the toolbar, click .

Magnify Zone

You can use the zone magnification tool to zoom in on a portion of a video frame. You have the option of converting a magnified zone into a marker.

Play the video to about the frame that you want to magnify and then click (pause).
You can pick the exact first frame more easily later.
From the tool bar, click (magnify zone).
The zone magnification tool appears over the player.
Use the zone magnification tool as needed to view details in the video.
- To move the tool, at the top center of the tool, click and hold and then drag the tool to where you need.
- To resize the tool, click and hold one of the corners ( , , or ) and then drag the corner until the tool is the size and shape that you need.
- To skip backwards or forwards one second, click or .
- To expand what is inside the rectangle of the tool, at the bottom of the tool, click .
- To return to full frame from the expanded tool, at the bottom of the video image, click .
- To add or remove pixel smoothing, click or .
If you want to save the magnified area as a marker, click .
The Add Marker dialog box appears. For more information, see Add Marker.

View Video Frame by Frame

Play the video to about the time that you want to view frame by frame and then click (pause).
From the tool bar, click (view frame by frame).
Below the player, the frame-by-frame scrub bar appears. Each segment of the bar represents a video frame.
Use the frame-by-frame features as needed:
- To preview frames, hover the mouse pointer over the scrub bar.
- To go to a frame, click on its segment on the scrub bar.
- To skip backwards or forwards one second, click or .
You can exit frame-by-frame viewing mode in one of two ways:
- To remain at the last frame you viewed in frame-by-frame mode, click Continue.
- To return to where you were in the video prior to viewing frame by frame, click Cancel.

Show and Hide Thumbnails

Thumbnails provide an easy way to preview parts of a video. They appear at the bottom of the video image. You can move the mouse pointer across them to see each thumbnail.

You can also control whether thumbnails appear.

To hide thumbnails, click
To show thumbnails, click

Rotate the Video

You can rotate the player image 90, 180, or 270 degrees clockwise. This feature is for convenience while viewing a video only. For example, the camera itself may have been on its side or upside down while recording.

The rotation does not affect the original video file and is not saved in any way. The next time you access the video, the video is not rotated.

To rotate the video image 90 degrees clockwise, click .

Markers

You can use markers to indicate key moments or highlight important aspects of a video or audio evidence file.

For video markers only, you can download markers as image files. Prior to downloading the marker, you can specify options such as whether the title and description appear on the downloaded image.

Show and Hide Markers

You can control whether the scrub bar, located below the video image, shows red icons for each marker.

To hide marker icons on the scrub bar, click
To show marker icons on the scrub bar, click

Add Marker

On the View Evidence page, below the player, click Add Marker.
The Add Marker dialog box appears over the player.
Find the video frame that you want to mark.
- To move rapidly through the video, on the scrub bar, click and hold and then drag it left or right towards the frame that you want to mark.
- To skip backwards or forwards one second, click or .
In the Title box, type the title that you to give the marker.
In the Description box, type a useful description of what is shown in the marker.
Select the marker options that you need.
- To add fisheye distortion, click .
- To use pixel smoothing, click .
- To make the title, timecode, and description visible in the marker image, click .
Click Add Marker.
The Add Marker dialog box closes.

The new marker icon appears on the scrub bar at the time where you added the marker.

Below the player, under Markers, the new marker appears in the list of markers.

Edit Marker

On the View Evidence page, below the player and under Markers, find the marker that you want to edit.
Click the marker name.
The player jumps to the marker. In a transparent dialog box over the player, the name and timecode of the marker appear.
In the transparent dialog box, click Edit.
The Edit Marker dialog box appears.
If you want to change the video frame of the marker, find the video frame that you want to mark.
- To move rapidly through the video, on the scrub bar, click and hold and then drag it left or right towards the frame that you want to mark.
- To skip backwards or forwards one second, click or .
If you want to edit the title, in the Title box, type the new title that you to give the marker.
If you want to edit the description, in the Description box, type a new, useful description of what is shown in the marker.
Select the marker options that you need.
- To add fisheye distortion, click .
- To use pixel smoothing, click .
- To make the title, timecode, and description visible in the marker image, click .
Click Edit Marker.
The Add Marker dialog box closes.

The new marker icon appears on the scrub bar at the time where you added the marker.

Below the player, under Markers, the new marker appears in the list of markers.

View Marker

On the View Evidence page, below the player and under Markers, find the marker that you want to view.
Click the marker name.
The player jumps to the marker. The name and timecode of the marker appear over the bottom of the video.

Download Marker

You can download a video marker as a PNG file.

On the View Evidence page, below the player and under Markers, find the marker that you want to download.
To the left of the marker, click (download).
The Download Marker dialog box appears.
If you want to modify the title or description or if you want to select marker options, you can do so prior to downloading the marker.
For more information, see Edit Marker.
Click Download Marker.
Use the dialog box that appears to save the marker to your computer.
On the Download Marker dialog box, in the upper-left corner, click (exit).

Delete Marker

On the View Evidence page, below the player and under Markers, find the marker that you want to delete.
Click the marker name.
The player jumps to the marker. In a transparent dialog box over the player, the name and timecode of the marker appear.
In the transparent dialog box, click Delete and then click Confirm.
The deleted marker no longer appears in the Markers list below the player.

Clips

A clip is a segment of a video or audio evidence file. When you create a clip, Evidence.com creates a new evidence file that you can use in the same way as other evidence.

Show and Hide Clips

You can control whether the scrub bar, located below the video image, shows yellow zones for each clip.

To hide clip zones on the scrub bar, click
To show clip zones on the scrub bar, click

On the View Evidence page, below the video or audio player, click Add Clip.
The Create Clip dialog box appears over the player. On the scrub bar, two blue sliders appear. The time to the left of the scrub bar is the start time of the clip. The time to the right of the scrub bar is the end time of the clip.
Use the two blue sliders to set the start and end of the clip.
- To set the start of the clip, click and hold the left slider and then drag it to the time where you want the clip to start.
- To set the end of the clip, click and hold the right slider and then drag it to the time where you want the clip to end.
On the video or audio player window, click (play) and review the clip.
If necessary, repeat steps 2 and 3 until the start and end of the clip are what you need.
In the Title box, type the title that you to give the clip.
In the Description box, type a useful description of what is shown in the clip.
Click Create Clip.
On the notification message box, click OK.
Evidence.com generates a new video title, “Clip from [original evidence title]”. You can use an evidence search to find the video or audio clip.

View Clip

You can access clips from the View Evidence page of the evidence from which the clip was made.

On the View Evidence page, below the video or audio player and under Clips, find the clip that you want to view.
Click the clip title.
The View Evidence page for the clip opens.
Use the features of the View Evidence page as needed.

Redacting a Single Video

For information about using the new redaction tools, see Redacting Videos.

You can redact video evidence as needed, such as to ensure anonymity of persons in a video. Redaction never affects the original video. Instead, when you have finished redacting the video, Evidence.com generates a redacted version of the video.

The process of redaction involves placing one or more masks in the video. You can specify precisely which video frame a redaction mask applies to. The redaction mask types are the following:

Vector — Redacts a portion of video frames, in a shape, color, and opacity that you specify.
Blackout mask — Replaces video frames with a solid black frame.
Filter mask — Obscures entire video frames with either a blur filter, an outline distortion filter, or a segmentation filter.
Audio mask — Remove the audio from the frames that you apply the mask to.

For the video masks, you have the option of also redacting audio for the duration of the mask.

Play the video to about the first frame that you want to apply a new mask to and then click  (pause). You can pick the exact first frame more easily later.
From the tool bar, click (redact video).
The Redaction Masks dialog box appears over the player.
Apply redaction masks to the video as needed. You can apply as many masks as required to ensure that the video is redacted to suit your needs. For information about specific mask types, see the following topics:
Modify masks as needed. For information about specific actions, see the following topics:
On the Redaction Masks dialog box, click Finish.
On the notification message box, click OK.
Evidence.com generates a new video title, “Redacted video of [original video title]”. You can use an evidence search to find the redacted video.

Add a Vector Mask

You can use a vector mask to redact parts of individual video frames. You can also redact the audio associated with those frames.

If the Redaction Masks dialog box is not open, from the tool bar on the player, click (redact video).
The Redaction Masks dialog box appears over the player.
Click New Mask.
The Add Mask dialog box appears.
Under Mask Style, click Vector Mask.
Under Duration, click Find.
The Find First Frame Viewer shows the current frame.
Move the slider until the first frame that you want to redact appears.
Click Confirm.
The Add Mask dialog box reappears.
Under Color, click View.
The Opacity and Color Viewer shows a preview of the current frame and the selected vector details.

By default, the mask is black and opaque (100% opacity).
If you want to change the mask color, click the desired color.
If you want the vector mask to be transparent, move the Opacity slider until the mask shown in the frame thumbnail under Mask Style.
Click Confirm.
The Add Mask dialog box reappears.
Under Vectors, select the shape of the vector mask:
- Elliptical
- Rectangular
Choose whether you want to redact the area inside or the area outside of the vector mask:
- Interior — Redact what is inside of the vector mask.
- Inverted — Redact what is outside the vector mask.
Under Audio, select whether the audio associated with the redacted frames will be redacted, too. By default, audio is redacted. If you do not want to redact the audio, clear the “Redact associated audio” check box.
Click Continue.
The video frame that you selected appears with the vector mask over it. Below the video is a frame bar that enables you to select other frames.

Apply the vector mask to frames as needed. The following table lists basic actions for applying a mask.

Basic Action	Method
Select a frame	You can do any of the following: To move forward one frame, press Right Arrow or D. To move backward one frame, press Left Arrow or A. To jump to a specific frame, move the mouse pointer over the frame bar to the desired frame and click it.
Move the mask	Click and hold the mask, avoiding the handles at the corners. Drag the mask to where you want it. Release the mouse button.
Shape the mask	Click and hold a handle at one corner of the mask. Drag the corner to where you want it. Release the mouse button.
Apply the mask to the frame	Press Down Arrow or S.
Clear the mask from a frame	Press Up Arrow or W.

You can also use the following advanced actions.

Advanced Action

Method

Go to the next segment of video

Press Shift + Right Arrow or press Shift + D.

Go to the previous segment of video

Press Shift + Left Arrow or press Shift + A.

Apply the mask to a range of frames

If you do not need to move the mask from frame to frame, you can apply it to the range of frames:

Select the first frame in the range.
Apply the mask to the first frame.
Select the last frame in the range.
Apply the mask to the last frame.
After you finish applying the mask, Evidence.com adds the mask to all frames in the range.

After you have applied to mask to the frames you want to redact, click Confirm.
The Redaction Masks dialog box lists the vector mask that you created.

Add a Blackout Mask

If the Redaction Masks dialog box is not open, from the tool bar on the player, click (redact video).
The Redaction Masks dialog box appears over the player.
Click New Mask.
The Add Mask dialog box appears.
Under Mask Style, click Blackout Mask.
Under Duration, next to Start Time, click Find.
The Find First Frame Viewer shows the current frame.
Move the slider until the first frame that you want to redact appears.
Click Confirm.
The Add Mask dialog box reappears.
Under Duration, next to End Time, click Find.
The Find Last Frame Viewer shows the current frame.
Move the slider until the last frame that you want to redact appears.
Click Confirm.
The Add Mask dialog box reappears.
If you want to change the mask color, under Color, click the desired color.
Under Audio, select whether the audio associated with the redacted frames will be redacted, too. By default, audio is redacted. If you do not want to redact the audio, clear the “Redact associated audio” check box.
Click Confirm.
The Redaction Masks dialog box lists the vector mask that you created.

Add a Filter Mask

If the Redaction Masks dialog box is not open, from the tool bar on the player, click (redact video).
The Redaction Masks dialog box appears over the player.
Click New Mask.
The Add Mask dialog box appears.
Under Mask Style, click Filter Mask.
Under Duration, next to Start Time, click Find.
The Find First Frame Viewer shows the current frame.
Move the slider until the first frame that you want to redact appears.
Click Confirm.
The Add Mask dialog box reappears.
Under Duration, next to End Time, click Find.
The Find Last Frame Viewer shows the current frame.
Move the slider until the last frame that you want to redact appears.
Click Confirm.
The Add Mask dialog box reappears.
Under Filter Effect, click the desired filter.
- Blur
- Outline Distortion
- Segmentation
To see an example of each filter type, hover the mouse pointer over the filter name.
Under Audio, select whether the audio associated with the redacted frames will be redacted, too. By default, audio is redacted. If you do not want to redact the audio, clear the “Redact associated audio” check box.
Click Confirm.
The Redaction Masks dialog box lists the vector mask that you created.

Add an Audio Mask

If the Redaction Masks dialog box is not open, from the tool bar on the player, click (redact video).
The Redaction Masks dialog box appears over the player.
Click New Mask.
The Add Mask dialog box appears.
Under Mask Style, click Audio Only.
Under Duration, next to Start Time, click Find.
The Find First Frame Viewer shows the current frame.
Move the slider until the first frame that you want to redact appears.
Click Confirm.
The Add Mask dialog box reappears.
Under Duration, next to End Time, click Find.
The Find Last Frame Viewer shows the current frame.
Move the slider until the last frame that you want to redact appears.
Click Confirm.
The Add Mask dialog box reappears.
Click Confirm.
The Redaction Masks dialog box lists the vector mask that you created.

Editing a Mask

If the Redaction Masks dialog box is not open, from the tool bar on the player, click (redact video).
Over the player, the Redaction Masks dialog box lists all the masks.
To the right of the mask that you want to edit, click Edit.
The Edit Mask dialog box appears.
Change the mask as needed. For more information about options available for each type of mask, refer to the topic for adding that mask type:

Preview Masks

If the Redaction Masks dialog box is not open, from the tool bar on the player, click (redact video).
Over the player, the Redaction Masks dialog box lists all the masks.
Choose how you want to preview masks:
- If you want to preview a single mask, next to the mask name, click Preview.
- If you want to preview all masks, click Preview All.
The player shows you the portions of the video affected the mask you selected or by all masks.
To end the preview, click (pause).
After you end the preview or after the preview completes, the Redaction Masks dialog box appears again.

Rename a Mask

If the Redaction Masks dialog box is not open, from the tool bar on the player, click (redact video).
Over the player, the Redaction Masks dialog box lists all the masks.
Click the name of the mask that you want to rename.
In the Mask Name box, type the new name for the mask, and then click OK.

Deleting a Mask

If the Redaction Masks dialog box is not open, from the tool bar on the player, click (redact video).
Over the player, the Redaction Masks dialog box lists all the masks.
For each mask that you want to delete, click (delete) and then click Confirm.
The deleted masks no longer appear on the Redaction Masks dialog box.