Offshore staff
HOUSTON — Forum Energy Technologies (FET) has released its latest generation of video recording solutions for the survey and inspection of subsea assets.
Version 11 (V11) of VisualDVR is a digital video recorder produced by FET’s VisualSoft product line, which was originally launched in the early 2000s.
In common with its predecessors, VisualDVR (V11) is a multi-channel, rack mountable digital video system designed for use on ROVs, supporting activities in the energy, defense and ocean science sectors.
The system can record up to four channels of HD video and is equipped with a host of tools and complementary applications to support real-time documentation of the video images with data from subsea sensors and inspection personnel.
As part of the update, V11’s user interface has been completely modernized. Configuration of recording quality, data paths, input and output profiles can be accessed easily, and channels can be developed in a step-by-step process. There are also new tools to flag potential setting conflicts while improvements have been made to allow video overlay set up to be simpler.
The new system is also supported by new hardware architecture. A proficient motherboard and high-end graphics card have been chosen alongside a multi-channel video encoder card that has been selected for optimum performance and reliability.
FET’s technology now has the capability to record four channels of HD Video at 1080p / 60fps from HD-SDI sources. As with the legacy VisualDVR system, files are encoded using H.264 format. A new higher compression option, H.265, is now included.
Each channel can output HD-SDI video complete with video overlay. In addition to this, VisualDVR can now stream each channel of overlayed video over a network using UDP. A free network player will be available to allow these video streams to be easily viewed.
According to VisualSoft, it is expected that subsequent releases in the coming months will include a capability to stream video using an alternative protocol and also to output an HD-SDI signal using H.265. Testing of these options is ongoing while the ability to accept video from IP camera sources is in the test pipeline.
02.01.2023
