Full Motion Video metadata player

Available with Image Analyst license.

The full-motion video (FMV) capability in ArcGIS Pro allows you to work with archived and live streaming video data using a metadata viewing and analysis system called the metadata player. It works with video data that includes essential geopositional, sensor, and platform orientation information encoded into the video data stream that allows you to know where the video image is placed on a map. This capability gives the video geographic context as you view and analyze the data.

The metadata player experience is similar to the ArcGIS Pro map viewer and can be moved anywhere on your display, resized, minimized, and closed.

FMV and the metadata player

The characteristics of FMV-compliant video data and ArcGIS Pro determine the form and functionality of the Full Motion Video metadata player. The metadata player works with global and local scenes. The Orient Scene Camera feature orients the scene view camera to the perspective of the video sensor. These characteristics, and how they affect the metadata player, are outlined below.

  • The FMV-compliant video data contains camera-pointing information, platform position and attitude, and other data that is encoded into the video stream so that each video frame is associated with geopositional information.
  • The metadata player is linked to the map display, enabling the following:
    • Display the video footprint, sensor location, and field of view on the map.
    • Update the map to zoom to the video frame, or follow videos across the map.
  • The metadata player display and map display are linked with a bidirectional image and map coordinate transformation. Any information collected in the metadata player is projected and displayed on the map together with your existing GIS data.
  • Any number of metadata players can be opened and played at the same time. Each video, and its associated graphical information, is identified by a unique color when displayed on the map.
  • Work with live streams and archived videos.
  • Use intuitive playback controls.
  • Display metadata in real time as the metadata plays.

Contents pane

When you add a video file to a map, the video file is listed in the Contents pane. Also listed are the individual elements associated with the video, including Frame Center, Frame Outline, Platform Trail, and Platform Position values. Check the check boxes next to the elements in the Contents pane to display them in the map view. For details about the video file, right-click the video file in the Contents pane and select Properties. Details about video files are presented for the Data Source, Program Information, Frame Information, Stream Metadata - Video Stream, and Data Stream items.

Video file and associated elements in the Contents pane and on the map

Note:
Once the elements are checked or unchecked, it may be necessary to select play in the metadata player to update them in the Map.

Select Data Source in the Contents pane to expand video files and display KLV stream elements. You can turn the KLV stream display on and off when the video source has one or more KLV streams. Uncheck the KLV stream to turn off the KLV data from processing. By checking the check box, KLV elements can be enabled or disabled for viewing on the map. When using Metadata to CSV or Metadata to Features, the checked KLV stream passes data to the export process. If no KLV elements are checked, or if they are disabled, the view will maintain the last known data, and the file will continue to play without updating the map.

The supported video formats are listed in the following table:

DescriptionExtension

MOV file

.mov

MPEG-2 Transport Stream

.ts

MPEG-2 Program Stream

.ps

MPEG File

.mpg

MPEG-2 File

.mpg2

MPEG-2 File

.mp2

MPEG File

.mpeg

VLC (mpeg2)

.mpeg2

MPEG-4 Movie

.mp4

MPEG-4 File

.mpg4

MPEG-Dash

.mpd

H264 Video File¹

.h264

H265 Video File¹

.h265

VLC Media File (mpeg4)

.mpeg4

VLC Media File (vob)

.vob

HLS (Adaptive Bitrate (ABR))

.m3u8

¹ Requires multiplexing

To play an archived video file, browse to the video file and add it to the Contents pane or the display. Right-click the video name and select the Metadata Player option. The metadata player opens with the video file loaded. The metadata player can be moved and placed anywhere on your display. It can be resized by moving a corner or edge of the player.

Metadata player

Choose a color to identify the video file and the associated graphics—such as a video footprint—on the map, and feature class data you want to collect on the video. You can filter the displayed metadata by field name and value while the video is playing using the search bar.

Control playing of the video in the metadata player

If multiple metadata players are open, the active player will be controlled by the keyboard shortcut keys.

Player controls

The metadata playback controls are described in the following table:

ControlLabelDescription
Play

Play

Plays the metadata according to the frames-per-second rate of the video.

After clicking Play, the control changes to the Pause control while the metadata plays.

Pause

Pause

Pauses the metadata.

After clicking Pause, the control changes to the Play control while the metadata is paused.

Step Forward

Step Forward

Steps the metadata forward by a number of seconds or frames defined on the Full Motion Video toolbar.

Step Backward

Step Backward

Steps the metadata backward by a number of seconds or frames defined on the Full Motion Video toolbar.

Fast Forward

Fast Forward

Fast-forwards the metadata based on the playback rate of the metadata player.

The speed increments by a whole number each time Fast Forward is clicked.

Playback speed is reset to 1x when the player is paused or stopped.

Rewind

Rewind

Rewinds the metadata based on the playback rate of the metadata player.

The speed increments by a whole number each time Rewind is clicked.

Playback speed is reset to 1x when the player is paused or stopped.

Jump to End

Jump to End

Goes to the end of the metadata.

Jump to Start

Jump to Start

Returns to the beginning of the metadata.

You can search the metadata fields by keyword while the video file is playing.

Video frame information display

Information about each video frame is displayed in the metadata player in real time as the archived video is played.

Video player information display

The user interface items that are numbered in the image above are described in the following table:

Information displayDescription

1—Video playback slider handle

The video playback slider handle indicates the relative location within the video timeline that os displayed in the metadata player. Click the video playback slider handle and move it along the playback slider.

2—Metadata Timestamp

The coordinated universal time (UTC) stamp in human-readable format is displayed as the video plays. This time stamp reflects the position of the video slider along the video file timeline. Click to update the jump-to-time stamp functionality.

3—Video play time position

Displays the time of the current video frame relative to the total time of the video file. Time is displayed in 12-hour format.

4—Video start time

The date and time at the start of the video file.

5—Video end time

The data and time at the end of the video file.

6—Adjust playback rate

Adjust the playback rate with the fine-tune slider as the video plays, and the metadata player adjusts and plays at the new rate.

7—Player controls

The video playback controls, such as play, pause, fast-forward, and others. The playback controls are described in more detail below.

Adjust the playback rate

You can adjust the playback rate with the Fast Forward and Rewind playback controls:

  • The playback rate is indicated next to the playback controls.
  • The playback rate reflects whole numbers.
  • When you click the Pause button to stop the video, the playback rate is reset to 1x.

You can adjust the playback rate with the fine-tune slider:

  • The playback fine-tune slider allows fine-grained control over playback speed.
  • The playback rate is a fractional number based on the slider position. The resolution is .01 second.
  • The playback speed ranges from 0.01x to 8x play speed. This means that you can play a video in slow motion when playing at speeds less than 1x.
  • The slow motion playback rate is reset to 1x when any of the time slider or standard playback controls are used.

Move to time stamp

The Metadata Timestamp item (video play time display, item 2 , in the table above) reflects the time of the video slider along the video file timeline. As the metadata plays, you can right-click in the time display window to copy, cut, or paste a time stamp. When you paste a time stamp into the time display window, the metadata player moves to that position in the video file.

Metadata player tools

In addition to the playback controls, FMV functionality is accessed from tools on the metadata player. These tools support common video analysis and management operations and workflows.

The following table lists the tools on the metadata player:

ToolLabelDescription
Display Metadata

Display Metadata

Displays the embedded metadata.

Orient Scene Camera

Orient Camera

Orient the SceneView camera to the perspective of the frame outline and the platform position.

Zoom To Video

Zoom To Video

Zoom to the map location of the video. The view within the map display includes the video frame as well as the ground track of the imaging platform.

Zoom To Frame

Zoom To Frame

Zoom to the map location of the video’s current frame.

Start Follow

Automatic Follow

Continuously center the map display on the video frame and ground track of the sensor as it plays. The map display pans as the video reaches the edge of the display.

To stop following the video, click the Automatic Follow video button again.

Display VMTI Graphics

Display VMTI Graphics

Display VMTI graphics on the video and map.

Metadata to Features

Metadata To Features

Save platform, frame center, and frame outline metadata as a feature class to the project's geodatabase, unless you reconfigure it in the Configure Workspace settings.

Metadata to CSV

Metadata To CSV

Save platform, frame center, and frame outline metadata in a comma-separated values file (.csv).

VMTI To Features

VMTI To Features

Save VMTI centerpoint data to a geodatabase.

Buffer Playback

Buffer Playback

Buffer the playback to enable full control over video playback.

QuickLaunch toolbar

Due to the increasing capabilities of the video and metadata players in ArcGIS Pro, additional controls for interacting with the video and map ave available. Not all buttons are used by all analysts, so you can configure the player buttons to customize the player for your instance of ArcGIS Pro.

Customize the QuickLaunch Toolbar section

Expand the Customize the QuickLaunch Toolbar section to establish the tools in the metadata player pane. Select an item in the first panel and click Add to move the item to the second panel, which displays and enables the item in the metadata player pane. Use the following keyboard shortcuts with the Customize the QuickLaunch Toolbar interface:

  • R—Remove enabled buttons from the list.
  • A—Add a button to the enabled buttons list.

Video Moving Target Indicator

Full Motion Video supports the display and capture of Video Moving Target Indicator (VMTI) information embedded in a FMV-compliant video data stream. VMTI is a machine learning artificial intelligence method for detecting moving objects in videos. The object detection is performed and encoded into the video stream by third-party software providers, as defined in a Motion Industry Standards Board (MISB) document. If VMTI data is encoded in the FMV-compliant video, you can display the data in the metadata player and map as the video plays. Click the Display VMTI Graphics button Display VMTI Graphics to display rectangle graphics denoting objects identified in the video file.

Full Motion Video also supports object tracking using deep learning methods. See Object tracking in motion imagery for more information.

A confidence level or object identifier associated with each identified object can also be displayed in the metadata player and map. With the VMTI-enabled video selected in the Contents pane, click Standalone Video > Data > Configure Workspace to open the Full Motion Video (FMV) Properties: Workspace dialog box. Click the VMTI category on the dialog box to specify the VMTI settings for display in the metadata player and map. You can specify the Confidence Level Threshold value for the objects to be identified, and you can display the Confidence Level, Object Location, or Object ID label of the objects identified in the metadata player and map.

Click the VMTI To Features button VMTI To Features to save all the objects identified in each video frame to a geodatabase. Specify the file name and location of the geodatabase, and the data capture Frequency value for the objects identified. The recorded feature class data includes the centerpoint of each object detected and all the FMV metadata related to the associated video frame. The associated feature attribute table allows you to use existing geoprocessing tools to create object tracks and other statistical information for VMTI features.

VMTI To Features tool dialog box
Specify the path, file name, and capture frequency of the objects to be identified in the VMTI-enabled video.

If you have VMTI information in a separate file associated with a specific video, you can encode it into the video file using the Full Motion Video multiplexer. See the Video Multiplexer tool documentation for details.

Metadata To Features tool

Click the Metadata To Features button Metadata to Features to save video metadata as a feature class in a geodatabase. A dialog box appears where you can specify a geodatabase and capture frequency as an interval of video frames or seconds. You can also display the features on the map as they are created. The geodatabase is continuously updated while the video plays until you click the Metadata to Features button again to disable the tool.

The sensor ground location is stored as a point feature class with the video file name appended with Camera. The video frame center is stored as a point feature class with the video file name appended with Center. The video frame outline metadata is stored as a polygon feature class with the video file name appended with Outline.

Metadata To CSV tool

Click the Metadata To CSV button Metadata to CSV to save video metadata to a comma-separated values file (.csv). A dialog box appears allowing you to save the .csv file to the project's geodatabase or to a separate directory. The .csv file contains all the MISB metadata encoded into the video stream. Click the button again to stop the recording of the video metadata to the .csv file.

Play a live video stream

To play a live video stream and only view the metadata stream, you need either the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) or Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) address of the video stream.

Note:

The Full Motion Video metadata player supports Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses and both the UDP and the RTSP. MPEG TS streams can be broadcast as UDP unicast or multicast and can include MPEG-1, MPEG-2, H.264, and H.265 video decoding, and KLV metadata parsing. RTSP playback is supported for live RTSP streams that use any of the following video codecs: MPEG-1 Video, MPEG-2 Video, H.264, and MJPEG.

HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) is supported to load and play back .m3u8 files. HLS is an HTTP-based adaptive bitrate streaming communications protocol used in media players, web browsers, streaming media servers, and mobile devices.

Once you verify that your broadband connection is operating, add a live stream video to the map display from the Map tab, click the Add Data drop-down menu, and click Data from Path. The Add Data From Path dialog box appears, where you enter the UDP or RTSP address of the video stream and click Add. The live stream video is loaded into the metadata player and begins to play. Locate the video name in the Contents pane, right-click, and select Metadata Player.

metadata player

Buffer Playback tool

The video playback controls are enabled in Buffer Playback mode, which is accessed either from the metadata player or from the Live Stream group on the Player contextual tab. All the metadata player tools are enabled and operate as they do with an archived video file.

Click the Buffered Playback button to enable or disable the playback mode. The live stream video is stored in a temporary file, or you can designate a storage location for saving live-stream videos in the Configure Full Motion Video Workspace pane.

Keyboard shortcuts for Full Motion Video

Keyboard shortcuts allow you to work efficiently with video data. The keyboard shortcuts perform operations on the active video player. These operations behave the same as the corresponding tools on the video player toolbar. If multiple metadata players are open, the active player is controlled by the keyboard shortcuts.

Keyboard shortcutActionComment
Shift+E

Save video frames as images in a directory or in the project geodatabase.

This is the same as the Export Frames video player tool Export Frames.

P

Export the current video frame and map to a PowerPoint presentation.

This is the same as the Export To PowerPoint video player tool Export To PowerPoint.

Note:

The system may not respond immediately. Double-clicking the progress indicator or double-pressing the shortcut can cause unexpected results.

Alt+Z

Zoom to frame.

Zoom to the video frame's location on the map. The view within the map display includes the video frame, as well as the ground track of the imaging platform.

This is the same as the Zoom To Frame video player tool Zoom To Frame.

F

Enable or disable automatic following.

Continuously center the map display on the video frame and ground track of the sensor as it plays. The map display pans as the video reaches the edge of the display.

This is the same as the Automatic Following video player tool Automatic Following.

N

Display an arrow pointing north on the video of the active video pane.

This is the same as the North Arrow video player tool North Arrow.

D

Display features from the map on the video pane.

This is the same as the Display Features video player tool Display Features.

I

Apply invert pixel color transformation on the active video pane.

This is the same as the Invert Color video player tool Invert Color.

Z

Zoom to video.

Zoom to the map location of the video. The view within the map display includes the video frame, as well as the ground track of the imaging platform.

This is the same as the Zoom To Video video player tool Zoom To Video.

V

Display VMTI.

Display VMTI graphics on the video and map.

This is the same as the Display VMTI video player tool Display VMTI Graphics.

Shift +M

Save metadata to features.

Save platform, frame center, and frame outline metadata as a feature class to the project's geodatabase, unless you reconfigure it in the Configure Workspace settings.

This is the same as the Metadata To Features video player tool Metadata To Features.

Shift+Ctrl+M

Save metadata to a .csv file.

Save platform, frame center, and frame outline metadata to a comma-separated values (.csv) file.

This is the same as the Metadata To CSV video player tool Metadata To CSV.

Shift +V

Save VMTI to features.

Save VMTI centerpoint data to a geodatabase.

This is the same as the VMTI To Features video player tool VMTI To Features.

R

Record video.

Interactively record a segment of video to a file on disk.

This is the same as the Record Video video player tool Record Video.

S

Export a segment.

Export a segment of the archived video. Set the start and end times using the markers on the timeline.

This is the same as the Export Segment video player tool Export Segment.

E

Export a frame.

Save the current video frame as an image.

This is the same as the Export Frame video player tool Export Frame.

Note:

The system may not respond immediately. Double-clicking the progress indicator or double-pressing the shortcut can cause unexpected results.

C

Chip a frame.

Extract an image chip from a video frame and paste it into any application that supports standard clipboard operation.

This is the same as the Chip Frame video player tool Chip Frame.

Note:

The system may not respond immediately. Double-clicking the progress indicator or double-pressing the shortcut can cause unexpected results.

Ctrl+Space

Buffer playback.

Buffering playback enables full control over video playback.

This is the same as the Buffer Playback video player tool Buffer Playback.

M

Display metadata.

Display the embedded metadata.

This is the same as the Display Metadata video player tool Display Metadata.

B

Create a bookmark.

Bookmarks are stored with the map or scene and the video that captured them and can be used with any open view and player.

This is the same as the Create Bookmark video player tool Create Bookmark.

A

Display annotations.

Create and display any point, polyline, and polygon annotations on the video.

This is the same as the Display Annotations video player tool Display Annotations.

W

Exclude the window box.

Detect and correct the border around the video field of view.

This is the same as the Exclude Windowbox video player tool Exclude Windowbox.

Shift+S

Record segments.

Record a live stream video in segments.

This is the same as the Record Segments video player tool Record Segments.

Ctrl+C

Copy a frame to the clipboard.

Copy an image clip from a video frame to the clipboard.

Note:

The system may not respond immediately. Double-clicking the progress indicator or double-pressing the shortcut can cause unexpected results.

Ctrl+Alt+C

Navigate the video.

Make the Explore tool Explore Tool active and use mouse buttons to pan, zoom, and zoom continuously.

.

Keyboard shortcuts for Full Motion Video

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