program to open .lvf file?

jonph · 26 Sep 2009 at 21:21

hi folks,
We have a cctv dvr at work, and I had to back up some files to usb dongle.
now when I try to play them back on pc I cant seem to find a program that recognises the file format.
they are .lvf files. I did a bit of googling and found reference to Logitech.VideoEffectPackageHandler. tried their web site but all I could seem to find was software for web cam but nothing to actually play back these files.
I would have thought that backup from the dvr would give the option to save as avi or something but the manual is about as much good as a chocolate fireguard(translated from I think tiawanese to english by a dyslexic russian if you get my drift).The dvr is a H.264 network dvr If that helps any.
any help much appreciated

jonph · 26 Sep 2009 at 21:30

oops sorry my bad. they are .lvf files

jonph · 26 Sep 2009 at 21:52

tried vlc but no joy. there are several individual files of about 235000kb each.

jonph · 26 Sep 2009 at 22:25

I've downloaded the hex editor, now the lets make myself look dumb bit

how do I take a screenshot and post it?

jonph · 26 Sep 2009 at 22:43

here goes
http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/3448/lfvo.png

jonph · 26 Sep 2009 at 23:15

The manual says H264 network dvr. not sure of the model, I'll have to pop in to work tomorow and see if theres a model no. on the dvr.
we installed the system for security. I'm glad I started looking into this out of curiosity rather than waiting untill we actually might need video evidence backing up. would look a right numpty when plod asked for a dvd of a crime and I had to say sorry I dont know how to get it off the damn recorder

thanks for your input so far. I'll report back tomorow hopefully with a model no.

jonph · 27 Sep 2009 at 12:11

It comes with a disc which does'nt install a program as such but it loads something called Lvf_PLAY_Plus which once installed you can't actually find anywhere on hard drive,but when you link to the dvr through lan cable and open web browser and connect to dvr ip address it installs an active x control that brings up a page that allows you remote access to the dvr controls.Once open I can watch cctv in realtime, access and change dvr setting and also record to laptop realtime footage(still saves in the same file format), but I cant seem to access pre recorded dvr footage via the web browser(The search button is there but greyed out).To access pre recorded footage I have to back up to usb dongle.
by the way on the dvr it says product No.DVR-7104HV(I'm assuming this is the model no?).

jonph · 27 Sep 2009 at 18:40

not sure where they were from, my boss ordered them. I'll try and find out.been googling most of today but not found anything as yet

jonph · 28 Sep 2009 at 18:25

yep they were bought off the bay! Managed to contact the seller and thankfully they responded. They are going to contact their supplier and hopefully get some advice.
been playing around with the dvr today. Can connect laptop via ethernet cable and view live feed can access settings etc, worked out how to view recorded footage on laptop but still can't record to laptop.Seems the remote viewing software is on the dvr and opens when you log onto the dvr ip address. I think the software on the dvr is linux based, don't know if this makes any difference

jonph · 28 Sep 2009 at 20:22

yes its via web interface. there are options to search, record, capture etc and settings to set folder options for saving recordings, capture etc but when you try to record to laptop you get a message saying record failed. I'm not at work at the moment, but I'll try and take some snapshots tomorrow.
btw pho I see your in derbyshire. are you born & bred here like myself?
thanks again for the input

jonph · 29 Sep 2009 at 19:57

pho, I'm in heanor. small world!
Right, been playing around a bit more,and it seems the live feed is recording to laptop, but nothing is showing up in the folder it's meant to be in.something is definatly being written to the laptop as the c drive is fuller after recording.I'll have another go at posting some images.
http://img80.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=cdriveafterrecord.png

jonph · 29 Sep 2009 at 22:11

yep they should be in my video folder but nothing there :confused:

enabled view hidden files also, but nothing showing up :confused:

something has definitelybeen added to my hard drive but I can't find it.
this may sound really stupid, but could the recorder be encoding the file in a way that windows does'nt recognise it(not sure how linux software works)?
another thought. I have a usb hard drive which I partitioned and use one partition for ps3 stuff. this partition does not show up when plugged into laptop because it's fat32 not ntfs. Could the fact win 7 uses ntfs make a difference?

jonph · 29 Sep 2009 at 23:00

right then, overdisk is showing the files in C:\users\john\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Virtualized\C\Users\john\
now when I try to access I can open as far as temporary internet files but the rest is not showing

jonph · 29 Sep 2009 at 23:13

whooohoooo!!! used command tab on overdisk to open folder and there it is as an avi file. can copy to disk and all

now can any one explain to me why on earth these files dont just record straight to my video folder?
thanks again pho, you're a star

jonph · 30 Sep 2009 at 13:24

changed settings in ie but files are still being written to virtualized folder.this is no biggie though because at least I know where they are now and can access them.
however,I can still only record live feed to laptop not pre recorded stuff.
I can view pre recorded files through the lvrweb interface and can capture still images of footage, but the record option is greyed out.This brings me back to the option of backup to usb dongle which gives me files in .lvf format.
So I either need a program to convert .lvf to avi, or a a program that will allow me to access the dvr via lan and access pre recorded footage.
This is so frustrating :mad:

Much more googling me thinks

jonph · 4 Oct 2009 at 01:28

no luck in finding any program to open lvf files,
I have downloaded trial version of camtasia and it does screen record. a bit of a long winded way of resolving my problem(have to log into dvr via web interface,find pre recorded footage,playbacck via web interface,use screen record on camtasia then save to file on laptop),but at least it works.
does anyone know of any free software that does screen record? does'nt need to be as fancy as camtasia(much more than I need in both capabilities and price),

jonph · 5 Oct 2009 at 23:35

Heres a screenshot of what mediasource is showing
http://img14.imageshack.us/img14/5963/lvffileinfo.png
Unfortunatley the dvr is'nt online atm.
Tried changing the filename to various things to see if it would open but no joy.
Have the file if you want I could send to you pho for you to play around with. If thats ok with you

jonph · 6 Oct 2009 at 01:01

Yep tried that, no joy

jonph · 6 Oct 2009 at 17:42

thanks for the input pmbuzz, but all it backs up onto usb are the lvf files.
wondering if the backup files are in a compressed archive, if so I need to work out how to open them.
when recording live feed onto laptop it saves as avi files so this makes me think the lvf files are compressed.

jonph · 27 Feb 2010 at 21:13

long awaited update. not really looked at dvr prob for a while, but I had to get some footage off player. after some head scratching and lots of swearng, I tried haali media splitter and gdsmux converts the files to .mkv!!

yaeeeee! problem solved
Must admit I danced a little jig then realised the cameras were recording.
fortunatley only me there so it got deleted(couldnt have thatfinding it's way onto youtube)lol
thanks again guys, and hope this luverly little program might help anyone with the same problem