Starting with CVMS 2.0 Lite v2.1.4.40731, you can now search for license plate reads from any capable Plug & Play NVR with an attached ALPR IP camera. Below are instructions on how to use this new function:


  1. First, make sure to download and install CVMS 2.0 Lite v2.1.4.40731 or newer on your PC and then launch the software.


  2. Click on the Home tab so that you can navigate to Search menu.


  3. Once you are on the Home "page", find the Search tile and then click on Smart Snapshot Retrieval.


  4. On the left-hand side of the screen, you will see the list of connected recorders/cameras, along with different Smart events you can search for. To start the process to search for license plates specifically, first choose Motor Vehicle for the Match Type. Then for the Search Source, choose the Face Recognition NVR option. After you have made those selections, then from the Monitoring Point list of recorders, find the LPR camera that captured the license plates, and make sure to check the box next to it. Finally make sure to select your desired time period by clicking on the small calendar icon in the Time field and selecting the proper time period.

    At this point, you have two options. If you are wanting to search for a particular plate or if you have partial plate information, you can enter those characters in the License Plate field and then click on the Search button. If you are just wanting a full list of license plates to browse, you can leave the License Plate field blank and just click on Search.


  5. While the software is searching all plates during the time period you had selected, you will notice a pop-up window indicating so. Depending on network bandwidth, this could take anywhere from 15 seconds up to 1-2 minutes on slower internet connections.


  6. Should you want to review any of the video clips, you can click on the Play icon (▶) and a small pop-up window will show and automatically start playing the video clip. If you want to export a snapshot, you can click on the export button and it will prompt you on where to save the snapshot image file.