How To Get Started with DVR Examiner
DVR Examiner allows you to recover video and metadata from CCTV and surveillance DVRs including those that are password protected or damaged. Let’s walk through the best practices to get started with DVR Examiner, including some video clips that will help you get the most out of DVR Examiner for your investigations.
Head over to the Customer Portal to make sure you have the latest version of Magnet DVR Examiner!
When you first run DVR Examiner, you’ll be taken to the start screen, where you’ll find information on your license, resources for how to use DVR Examiner, and options to proceed with your case.
From the start screen, you’ll have the option to select a hard drive or forensic image to scan. Once selected, DVR Examiner will detect the specific filesystem you are working with and take you to the Detection Results – Scan Options screen.
If you scan your hard drive or image file, and receive an “Unrecognized Filesystem” message, you’ll have the option to submit a Profiler Report on your source. A DVR Profiler provides essential information to our developers that will allow us to add support for your requested DVR in the future.
If your source is supported, once you proceed from the Detection Results – Scan Options screen your source will be scanned, and ultimately, you’ll be taken to the Clip List within DVR Examiner. Here, you can perform various actions including previewing clips, filtering, adjusting for date/time, and selecting clips for export.
One of the most common issues facing investigators in cases involving a DVR is inaccuracies in the date and time of the DVR itself. DVR Examiner allows you to correct for date and time inaccuracies utilizing the Date/Time Offset Manager.
If you are working a case that involves footage from multiple DVRs, DVR Examiner allows you to scan multiple sources in a single case, and view all clips within a single Clip List interface.
DVR Examiner allows you to build out a detailed case file directly within the application, including information such as agency information, incident details, locations, and more. This feature helps to save time in compiling information into a case file after exporting from DVR Examiner.
Once your Case file is built, you can also create relationships between your specific source(s), devices from which the source originated, as well as locations where those devices were found. Creating associations such as this improves overall case structure and allows for additional options for organizing your exports folder hierarchy.
Now that you have a solid foundation to begin using DVR Examiner, learn more about video forensics in these webinars:
“The Basics of Forensic Video Recovery with DVR Examiner” with Jimmy Schoering, Director or Video Forensic Technology.
“The Basics of Digital Image and Video Compression” with Tim Bienvenu-Bate, Forensic Video Examiner.