When to Share vs Download vs Create a New User in Survail
Survail has three main ways of allowing third parties: share, download, and creating a user.
The three methods of allowing an individual to have access to survail can be confusing. This short guide should help clear this up.
Share is designed for the needs of a first responder in the midst of an emergency situation. It replaces the old VMS or NVR processes of downloading the footage and the proprietary video player and distributing that among first responders so that they can know what the subject looks like. Share moves a file from the hard drive on the survail box to the cloud and allows it to be played in a web-browser. This "First Responder Viewport" page will continue to be able to play the video, even if the assailant cuts power or network access to your location or damages the survail hardware or cameras on location.Share links are designed to be sharable, so that the first responders can share them with other emergency management personel, as they arrive.
Download is designed for the legal system, where the video must be turned in as evidence, or in situations where share links cannot be accessed (such as a rural area with no cellular internet).
Creating a user is recommended when you want to share access to an account but need it to either last more than 24 hours, need to be able to revoke access (such as when someone quits), need to be able to track user activity, or have more granular control over the user permissions in regards to what the can see, edit, delete or add. You should use "create a user" rather than "share" when you want to allow IT to manage the system, allow HR to view incidents in Vault, allow your legal team to view incidents in Vault, or allow the Chief of Police to view live footage during an emergency.
Q. Can shared events be shared to anyone? Yes. Share links can be viewed by anyone with the link. They are a faster and safer version of the old process of downloading and distributing video files, which could also be viewed by anyone. Share links are more private and secure as they only work for 24 hours; after 24 hours the link will no longer display the video. Within the 24 hour period these "First Responder viewer" pages can be viewed by anyone, so you do want to be careful what you share. Don't share anything that you would not want leaked to the media.
Q. Can I share live video? No, you want to create a user for this. Why not? (1) Shared events can be moved to the cloud where unlimited people can view them. This is not true of live video. Too many people trying to stream a video live can cause the local area network to bottleneck, potentially preventing the chain of command from being able to view video. (2) First responders need to have a central point of comms during an emergency. Sharing live video with every one of them would be counterproductive. (3) When you decide to share an event, you know what you are sharing and you can select which recording to share. Live video in an emergency has the possibility of showing violent, aggressive, or disturbing content, so a login is ideal.