Are There Gaps in Your Avigilon System's Continuous Recordings?
One of the primary strengths of an Avigilon surveillance system is its ability to provide robust, 24/7 continuous recording. When you review your timeline and discover gaps in the footage, it undermines the integrity of your security and can mean missing a critical incident. This issue is typically not a fault of the hardware but rather a matter of configuration within the Avigilon Control Center (ACC) software.
This troubleshooting guide will explore the common reasons why your Avigilon cameras may not be recording continuously and provide the steps needed to diagnose and rectify the problem.
Understanding Avigilon Recording Modes
Within the Avigilon ecosystem, cameras can be configured to record in several ways. The two most important modes to understand are:
- Continuous Recording: The camera records a constant video stream, 24/7, regardless of whether there is activity in the scene. This is ideal for high-security areas where a complete record is necessary.
- Motion-Based Recording: The camera only records video when its analytics detect motion in the scene. This saves storage space but creates a timeline with potential gaps between events.
If you are expecting a solid, uninterrupted timeline but are seeing segments of missing footage, your system is likely not configured for true continuous recording.
Common Symptoms of a Recording Issue
- The video timeline in the ACC Client has blank or greyed-out sections where there is no recorded footage.
- You can view live video from the camera, but the playback history is incomplete.
- Recordings seem to only exist when a motion event was flagged.
- The camera status log shows events for "Recording Started" and "Recording Stopped" frequently.
How to Troubleshoot and Fix Gaps in Recording
Follow these steps within your Avigilon Control Center (ACC) software to ensure your cameras are set to record continuously.
1. Check the Recording Schedule
This is the most common reason for a lack of continuous recording. The schedule tells the camera when and how to record.
- Log in to your ACC Client software with administrative privileges.
- Navigate to the Setup tab and select the camera you want to check.
- Find the Recording Schedule settings for that camera.
- You will see a timeline grid for the week. Different colours represent different recording modes (e.g., green for motion, blue for continuous).
- If the timeline is set to record only on motion, you will not have 24/7 footage.
- To fix this, change the schedule to Continuous. You can click and drag across the timeline to fill it with the colour corresponding to continuous recording, ensuring all 24 hours of every day are covered. Save your changes.
2. Verify Server Storage Capacity
If the server dedicated to storing your Avigilon footage runs out of disk space, it may stop recording.
- In the ACC Admin Tool or ACC Client, check the status of your server's storage volumes.
- Ensure there is adequate free space.
- More importantly, check the Data Retention settings. The server should be configured to "Delete oldest data" when storage limits are reached. If it's set to "Stop recording," this will cause the exact issue you're facing.
3. Inspect Network Connectivity
A stable network connection between the camera and the ACC Server is essential for an unbroken stream of video.
- In the camera's status log within ACC, look for any 'Disconnected' or 'Network Error' events.
- These events indicate that the camera lost its connection to the server, which will result in a gap in the recording for the duration of the outage.
- Troubleshoot the physical network: check the network cables, switches, and any other network hardware between the camera and the server for faults or instability.
4. Check Camera Licensing
Ensure that the camera is properly licensed within the ACC software. While less common, licensing issues can sometimes affect a camera's ability to record. Verify in the Setup tab that the camera is licensed and showing as operational.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Why is my Avigilon camera not recording 24/7?
A: This is often due to the camera's recording schedule being set to record on motion detection only, rather than continuously. Other causes can include insufficient storage space on the server, network connectivity issues between the camera and the Avigilon server, or incorrect licensing that doesn't permit continuous recording.
Q: How do I enable continuous recording in Avigilon ACC?
A: You need to adjust the recording schedule in the Avigilon Control Center (ACC) Client software. Connect to your server, go to the 'Recording Schedule' settings for the specific camera, and ensure the timeline is configured for continuous recording (usually represented by a solid colour) for all hours of the day, rather than motion-only recording.
Q: Can a lack of storage space stop continuous recording?
A: Yes, if the server's hard drives are full and the data retention policy is set to stop recording when full, all recording will cease. You should configure the ACC Server to automatically delete the oldest footage to make space for new recordings, ensuring that the recording process is always active. Check your server's storage capacity and settings.
Q: How does network connectivity affect continuous recording?
A: A stable network is crucial. If the camera loses its connection to the ACC Server, even for a moment, it will create a gap in the continuous recording timeline. Check for network cable issues, switch problems, or any network instability that could be interrupting the data stream from the camera to the recording server.