How video timeline thumbnails work in Security Center SaaS

2025-11-12Last updated

In Security Center SaaS, video thumbnails on the timeline help you navigate and review a video. To quickly and easily find a person or object of interest, you can scrub the timeline to visually scan thumbnails from hours of video footage.

Requirements

Video thumbnails on the timeline are only supported for Axis D2C cameras when using the Investigation task or intelligent search functions in Genetec™ Operation web to review video.
  • Only Axis D2C cameras with firmware 11.11 or later are supported.
  • ONVIF or Managed Archiver cameras are not supported.

Activating video timeline thumbnails

To activate or deactivate video timeline thumbnails:
  1. On the Devices page, select a camera.
  2. Click the Settings tab.
  3. In the Video section, select or clear the Activate video thumbnails on timeline checkbox.

    If your camera does not support the video thumbnails stream, the checkbox is not available for that camera.

Note:
Video thumbnails on the timeline are not privacy-protected. If privacy protection is activated, thumbnails on the timeline will be turned off by default. The thumbnails are still uploaded while privacy protection is active, but they are not displayed.

Deactivating video thumbnails on the timeline in Security Center SaaS removes the ability to see video thumbnails on the timeline and reduces bandwidth usage. Thumbnail generation from the camera is affected.

Video timeline thumbnails

Operators use the video thumbnails on the timeline to perform video scrubbing: a method to quickly navigate through the video timeline without starting playback.
Hovering over the timeline
When you hover the mouse over the video timeline, a thumbnail preview is displayed above the timeline of the currently selected video playback position or seek time.
Note:
When hovering over the timeline, the thumbnails that are available for review vary depending on how much of the timeline you're viewing. For example, a 24-hour timeline view might show thumbnails at hourly intervals, while a 30 min timeline view might show thumbnails at minute intervals.
Scrubbing the timeline
When you click, hold, and drag the mouse along the video timeline, the thumbnail preview displays in the full video frame over the current video, the white cursor shows the current position on the timeline. Releasing the mouse sets the video playback position or seek time to that point on the timeline.
Investigation task in Genetec Operation showing the experience when using video scrubbing to quickly navigate and find a person or object of interest on the video timeline.
Note:
Video scrubbing is only available when using the Investigation task or intelligent search functions.