Introduction

The timelapse feature allows you to create high-quality videos that showcase your project’s progress over time. Long-term time-lapse recording captures every stage of a project, whether it lasts a few weeks or several years. At any point during or after the project, you can review progress, download the complete video, monitor activity, and share the timelapse with others.

Note: Timelapses can currently be enabled only by the 3dEYE team. Self-service configuration through the Admin Portal will be added in a future release.

Timelapse options

If a 4K timelapse is required, the camera must support 4K recording, and the camera’s main stream must be configured to 4K resolution.

3dEYE offers three configuration approaches:

Option 1: Single camera copy streaming at 4K

Configure the camera to continuously stream at 4K.

This provides high-quality continuous recording and timelapse footage but increases on-site bandwidth usage and cloud storage costs, since the 4K stream is transmitted at all times.

Option 2: Two copies of the same camera

Create a second copy of the camera.
The original camera copy is configured to use a lower-resolution sub stream for regular monitoring. The second copy is configured to stream at 4K and then disabled.
This approach minimizes on-site bandwidth usage while still allowing the platform to access the highest image quality for timelapse creation and retain full platform functionality.

Option 3: Single camera copy, set to 4K and disabled

Reconfigure the camera to 4K and then disable it.
This stops continuous recording and live streaming, significantly reducing bandwidth usage, while still allowing the platform to record a high-resolution timelapse. In this scenario, other platform features are unavailable because there is no continuous stream.

Best practices for optimal results
Use a high-quality camera that can remain installed for the entire project duration. Replacing a camera mid-project can cause visible quality changes in the final video and may result in lost footage.
Ensure the camera supports 4K recording if a 4K timelapse is required.

Choose a fixed camera position that captures the project throughout all stages. Repositioning the camera will create noticeable scene changes in the final video.
Avoid placing the camera where direct sunlight or strong artificial lighting can shine into the lens, as this can temporarily overexpose the image.
Select the appropriate resolution and image quality, and confirm that your internet connection can support the required bandwidth.
Define time-lapse parameters carefully.

Enter an accurate camera address in the Admin Portal. This is required to calculate the correct sunrise and sunset times for scheduled image capture.

Required timelapse parameters

Camera ID
Time of the day to record
Days of the week to record
Resolution
Duration of video per day

1. Recording schedule

   The time of day and days of the week define when images are captured. Supported schedules include:
   • 24 hours per day, 7 days a week
   • 24 hours per day, Monday through Friday
   • Sunrise to sunset, 7 days a week
   • Sunrise to sunset, Monday through Friday

2. Resolution

   Images can be captured using a secondary, higher-quality stream while the primary stream remains at a lower resolution for monitoring. The high-resolution stream is active only when a timelapse image is captured, minimizing additional network load.

3. Duration of video per day

   This defines how many seconds of the final video are generated from each day of recording.

Where:

D = duration per day (seconds)
L = desired final video length (minutes)
P = total number of recording days

Example

If a project lasts 300 days and the desired final time lapse length is 10 minutes:
D = (10 × 60) / 300 = 2 seconds per day

The final video is rendered at 24 frames per second. With a duration of 2 seconds per day, each day contributes 48 frames (2 × 24). These frames are captured at equal intervals during the defined recording window. For example, with 24-hour recording, one image is captured every 30 minutes.

Example configuration

Camera ID	00000
Time of the day to record	sunrise to sunset
Days of the week to record	every day
Resolution	4K
Duration of video per day	2 seconds

Here is an example of a video that will be created:

NOTE: Once you have set up a long-term time-lapse and need to conserve bandwidth, consider disabling the camera through the admin portal (consult the following article↗️ for information on how to disable a camera). This action won't disrupt the ongoing recording or subsequent timelapse viewing. To access and download the timelapse, navigate to the Cameras menu in the video portal, filter by Offline, open the offline stream, and click the timelapse button.