Examining Online VMS Training Videos from Exacq

Using the Internet to provide direct and immediate training, especially using video demonstrations, can reduce support costs and help users quickly solve their problems. Last year, we looked at how Avigilon was improving their online training options and discussed the importance of online training including offerings by Axis, Pelco, IQinVision and Salient.

Recently, Exacq added an interesting onling training directory. What's different about this is the visual organization. It is laid out in the frame of their configuration page with all the tree hierachy options displayed. When you click on an item in the configuration tree (say joystick setup or schedule), it displays the corresponding video on the right hand side (e.g., the joystick setup video or scheduling video). Each video is a few minutes long and provides immediate contextual help about how to use the function.

Here's a visual overview of it:

The basis of course is having the 30 or so videos for each function. The nice additional touch is to make it easy for users to find the function they care about and know where that function is located in the real application.

We are seeing more online videos but, at least in VMS, many vendors still rely primarily on in person training. While nothing can match the richness of in person training, online videos provide a very valuable complement of easy to access, quick response for immediate needs.