ClassMonitor

A comprehensive monitoring software application with video recording, time overlay, exposure adjustment, and announcement management features.

Features

1. Video Recording with Time Overlay

   • Record videos from your camera/webcam
   • Real-time timestamp display at adjustable corner positions
   • Choose from 4 positions: top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right
   • Videos saved in AVI format with timestamps in filename

2. Exposure Adjustment

   • Real-time exposure control with a slider
   • Range from -10 to +10
   • Instant feedback on video feed

3. Announcement Table

   • Display important announcements at the top of the interface
   • Add new announcements with timestamps
   • Clear all announcements when needed
   • Announcements persist between sessions
   • Highlighted display area for easy visibility

Installation

1. Install Python 3.8 or higher

2. Install required dependencies:

pip install -r requirements.txt

Usage

Starting the Application

Run the monitoring application:

python monitoring_app.py

Controls

Camera Operations

• Start Camera: Activates the webcam and displays live feed
• Stop Camera: Stops the camera feed and releases resources
• Start Recording: Begins recording video to file (camera must be running)
• Stop Recording: Stops recording and saves the video

Settings

• Exposure Slider: Adjust camera exposure from -10 to +10
• Time Position: Select where the timestamp appears on the video
  • Options: top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right

Announcements

• Add Announcement: Opens a dialog to add a new announcement message
• Clear All: Removes all announcements after confirmation

Recorded Videos

All recorded videos are saved in the recordings/ directory with the format:

video_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.avi

Example: video_20241119_143022.avi

Configuration

Settings are automatically saved to config.json and include:

• Exposure level
• Time position preference
• All announcements

These settings persist between application sessions.

Features Overview

Video Feed Display

• Real-time video preview with timestamp overlay
• Recording indicator (red "REC" text) when recording is active
• Automatic video scaling to fit display area

Announcement System

• Timestamped announcements for important messages
• Yellow highlighted display area for visibility
• Scrollable list for multiple announcements
• Persistent storage across sessions

User Interface

• Clean, organized layout with labeled sections
• Intuitive controls and status indicators
• Color-coded status messages:
  • Blue: Idle
  • Green: Camera Running
  • Red: Recording

Requirements

• Python 3.8+
• OpenCV (opencv-python)
• NumPy
• Pillow
• Tkinter (usually included with Python)
• Webcam or camera device

Troubleshooting

Camera Not Opening

• Ensure your camera is not being used by another application
• Check camera permissions in your operating system
• Try changing the camera index in the code (line: cv2.VideoCapture(0))

Recording Issues

• Ensure you have write permissions in the project directory
• Check available disk space
• The recordings/ folder will be created automatically if it doesn't exist

Exposure Control Not Working

• Some cameras may not support exposure adjustment via OpenCV
• The feature depends on your camera's capabilities and drivers

License

See LICENSE file for details.