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Automating Video Retrieval from HIKVision NVR using Python Scripts

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In today’s surveillance-driven world, managing and retrieving recorded videos from Network Video Recorders (NVRs) is crucial for security professionals. This blog post will introduce a set of Python scripts that automate the process of searching for and downloading recorded videos from a HIKVision NVR. The scripts enable users to specify a date range and camera track, making it easier to access and manage video footage efficiently.

The Python Scripts:

generate.py

#!/usr/bin/env python

# This scripts calls search.py to search in the HIKVision NVR for recorded videos and the uses download.py to download those videos.
# The script loops over the camera tracks and the last 120 days.

import sys
import os
import datetime

base = datetime.datetime.today().replace(hour=0, minute=0, second=0, microsecond=0);
numdays = 120;
dateList = [base - datetime.timedelta(days=x) for x in range(numdays)];

tracks = ["101", "201", "301", "401", "501", "601", "701", "801"];

for trackID in tracks:
  for dateItem in dateList:
    os.system("python search.py " + trackID + " " + dateItem.strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ') + " " + (dateItem + datetime.timedelta(days=1)).strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ'));

for trackID in tracks:
  for dateItem in dateList:
    os.system("python download.py " + trackID + " " + dateItem.strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ') + " " + (dateItem + datetime.timedelta(days=1)).strftime('%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ'));

search.py

#!/usr/bin/env python

# This script makes an API call to the HIKVision NVR with a Track ID and a datetime range and retrieves an XML list with all videos with their download links that were recorded on that camera during that time period.

import sys
import os

trackID = sys.argv[1];
startTime = sys.argv[2];
endTime = sys.argv[3];
xmlFilename = "results/" + trackID + "." + startTime + "." + endTime + ".xml";

os.system("curl 'http://username:password@10.20.30.1/ISAPI/ContentMgmt/search' --data-raw $'<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?>\n<CMSearchDescription><searchID>CA77BA52-0780-0001-34B2-6120F2501D36</searchID><trackList><trackID>" + trackID + "</trackID></trackList><timeSpanList><timeSpan><startTime>" + startTime + "</startTime><endTime>" + endTime + "</endTime></timeSpan></timeSpanList><maxResults>100</maxResults><searchResultPostion>0</searchResultPostion><metadataList><metadataDescriptor>//recordType.meta.std-cgi.com</metadataDescriptor></metadataList></CMSearchDescription>' -o "+ xmlFilename);

download.py

#!/usr/bin/env python

# This script reads an XML file that was retrieved from the HIKVision NVR which containes videos with their download links. For each link, it appends the credentials for login and uses ffmpeg to download the video.

from xml.dom import minidom
import os
import sys

trackID = sys.argv[1];
startTime = sys.argv[2];
endTime = sys.argv[3];
xmlFilename = "results/" + trackID + "." + startTime + "." + endTime + ".xml";
dom = minidom.parse(xmlFilename)
elements = dom.getElementsByTagName('playbackURI')

i = 0
for element in elements:
    video = element.firstChild.data
    video = video.replace("rtsp://10.20.30.1", "rtsp://username:password@10.20.30.1")
    video = video.replace("\n", "")
    size = video.rsplit('=', 1)[1]
    os.system("ffmpeg -i '" + video + "' -max_muxing_queue_size " + size + "0 videos/" + trackID + "." + startTime + "." + endTime + "." + str(i+1) + ".mp4;")
    i += 1
exit

Usage:

To use these scripts, you’ll need to modify the following parts:

With these Python scripts, you can automate the process of searching for and downloading recorded videos from a HIKVision NVR. This can significantly simplify video retrieval tasks for security professionals, saving time and effort in managing surveillance footage. By customizing and expanding upon these scripts, you can further enhance your video management capabilities and streamline your security operations.

This post is also available in: Greek

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