Table of Contents
Timelapse Feature
TetherX automatically captures timelapse snapshots - a "best image" every 5 seconds, 24 hours a day, even when there's no motion. This allows you to quickly review hours of footage by scrubbing through snapshots rather than watching video in real-time.
Why Timelapse?
Evidence of No Evidence
Prove that something didn't happen. If someone claims they were at a location or that an incident occurred, timelapse can demonstrate the area was empty during the claimed time. Disproving false claims is often as valuable as proving true ones.
Review Days of Footage in Minutes
Scrub through hours, days, or even weeks of footage in minutes instead of watching in real-time. Find the exact moment something happened without sitting through endless hours of empty corridors.
Monitor Long-Term Projects
Track construction progress, renovations, or seasonal changes over weeks or months. Create visual records of project milestones or document the state of a site over time.
Safety Net for Missed Events
Camera analytics can miss incidents due to sensitivity settings, lighting conditions, or unusual activity patterns. Timelapse captures everything regardless of whether an event was triggered - your backup when analytics fall short.
Support Insurance and Legal Claims
Provide visual evidence for insurance claims, disputes, or legal proceedings. Timestamped snapshots every 5 seconds create a comprehensive record of activity - or lack thereof.
Accessing Timelapse
Timelapse Page
The main Timelapse feature is accessed from the side menu (stopwatch icon) or directly at /timelapse.
The Timelapse page provides:
- Multi-camera grid - View multiple cameras simultaneously (layouts from 1 to 100 cameras)
- Timeline slider - Scrub through hours or days of footage
- Playback controls - Play, pause, and adjust speed
- Presets - Save camera layouts for quick access
Use this when you need to review footage across multiple cameras or investigate a specific time period.
Event Timelapse Tab
When viewing an individual event on the Events page, click the Timelapse tab to quickly peek through the entire event duration using snapshots.
This is useful for:
- Getting a quick overview of what happened during an event
- Seeing context before and after the triggered moment
- Quickly scrubbing through long events without watching video in real-time
Tip: Timelapse is particularly useful when investigating incidents - you can quickly scrub through hours of footage to find the moment something happened, even if no event was triggered.
How Timelapse Works
TetherX captures the "best image" from each 5-second window of video. The best image is selected based on motion and clarity - if nothing is moving, it captures a clear frame; if there's activity, it captures the most representative moment.
Key features:
- 24/7 capture - Snapshots are taken continuously, not just during events
- Efficient storage - Images are compressed and stored efficiently on the TetherBox
- Quick navigation - Scrub through days of footage in seconds
- Event context - See what happened before and after triggered events
Cloud Backup Options
By default, timelapse images are stored only on your TetherBox. You can optionally back them up to the cloud for off-site protection.
Configuring Cloud Timelapse
- Go to Cameras → select your camera → Cloud Backup tab
- Find the Timelapse section
- Choose a backup mode:
| Mode | Description |
|---|---|
| None | Timelapse stored on TetherBox only (default) |
| Event | Back up timelapse during events only |
| Always | Back up timelapse 24/7 |
Upload Interval
When cloud backup is enabled, you can also set the upload interval:
| Interval | Images per hour | Storage usage |
|---|---|---|
| 5 seconds | 720 | Highest |
| 10 seconds | 360 | Medium |
| 15 seconds | 240 | Medium |
| 30 seconds | 120 | Lower |
| 60 seconds | 60 | Lowest |
Tip: Start with Event mode and a 10-15 second interval. This gives you cloud-backed context around incidents without excessive storage costs.
Using Timelapse for Investigations
Timelapse is invaluable when:
- Events weren't triggered - Camera analytics didn't capture an incident, but you can still review what happened
- Quick overview needed - Scrub through a day's activity in minutes instead of watching hours of video
- Before/after context - See what led up to an event and what happened afterwards
- Verifying reports - Quickly check if something happened at a specific time
Investigation Workflow
- Navigate to the approximate time on the Timelapse tab
- Scrub forward/backward to find the moment of interest
- Click on a snapshot to jump to that point in the video recording
- Use the Recordings tab to play back full video
Troubleshooting
Timelapse images are missing:
- Check the TetherBox is online and has been recording
- Verify the camera is in Record mode (not Monitor mode) - see Monitor vs Record Mode
- Check the TetherBox has sufficient storage
Cloud timelapse not uploading:
- Verify cloud backup is enabled and timelapse mode is set to Event or Always
- Check the camera has an active cloud subscription
- Ensure the TetherBox has Internet connectivity
Related Articles
- Events - Finding and managing events
- Cloud Backup - Off-site backup options
- Monitor vs Record Mode - Recording vs monitoring cameras
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