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Visualize full motion video

The ability to view and analyze video in the context of a GIS offers a dynamic view of events or facilities that can provide essential decision support. There are obvious applications in the military, law enforcement, and emergency response; with the rapid growth of low-cost drone aircraft, applications are expanding into areas like wildlife management and linear asset monitoring (powerlines, pipelines, etc.). The variety of potential applications, and the range of different sources—including airborne drones, military systems, dashcams, and stationary surveillance cameras, all of which might record infrared as well as visible video—influence both processing decisions and spatial accuracy.

The full motion video (FMV) capability of ArcGIS Pro allows users to view live-stream or archived video that's linked to a map display showing the video footprint, sensor location, field of view, and flight path. You can also display metadata in real time, view GIS data overlaid on the video, collect features in the video to view on the map, and more. If your video does not have embedded metadata, you can use the Video Multiplexer tool to encode metadata at the proper video location.

The general workflow for FMV in ArcGIS Pro includes these three steps:

  1. Preprocess videos with the Video Multiplexer (if your video doesn't have embedded metadata)
  2. Use the Video Metadata to Feature Class geoprocessing tool to extract frame outlines, frame centers, and sensor position for data management
  3. View videos to extract features or make decisions

Explore the following resources to learn more about visualizing FMV. (Not sure where to start? Look for the star by Esri's most helpful resources.)

Note:
To work with geotagged video, you need the ArcGIS Image Analyst extension for ArcGIS Pro 2.2+. ArcGIS Pro Basic will support FMV functionality, but for any geoprocessing or data management tasks that create mosaic datasets, you need ArcGIS Pro Standard or ArcGIS Pro Advanced. FMV is also available as a mature add-in for ArcMap 10.2+; some functionality is only available with ArcGIS Pro.

Imagery Workflows resources

Review the community-supported tools and best practices for working with and automating imagery and remote sensing workflows:

ArcGIS help

Review the following links on reference materials for ArcGIS products:

ArcGIS blogs, articles, story maps, and technical papers

Review the following supplemental guidance about concepts, software functionality, and workflows:

  • Read a blog covering tips and tricks for working with the FMV Multiplexer.

Videos

Review the following Esri-produced videos that clarify and demonstrate concepts, software functionality, and workflows:

Training and tutorials

Review the following guided lessons and tutorials based on real-world problems and key ArcGIS skills:

  • Watch this technical workshop to learn how to work with streaming or recorded videos in ArcGIS Pro. (36 minutes)
  • Take this web course to learn how to utilize and analyze video using the FMV add-in for ArcMap 10.4 –10.6. (5 hours)

Esri Community

Online places for the Esri community to connect, collaborate, and share experiences:

* Esri's top picks