Natural Language Search

Use Find footage on the Events page to describe what you want to see. TetherX turns your description into event filters and shows you a preview before applying them.

You can search the sites, cameras and events your account can access. Object and appearance searches depend on the detections recorded by your cameras and TetherX AI.

 Describe the Footage

1. Open Events and select Find footage. On a computer, you can also press ⌘ K on a Mac or Ctrl K on Windows.
2. Type a description, such as “Show me a person around noon wearing a red hat.”
3. Press Enter or select the arrow to preview the search.
4. Check the dates, time window, locations and detection filters. Edit your description if something needs changing, then preview it again.
5. Press Enter or select the arrow once more to apply the filters and open the matching events.

• Review the preview before searching. A red-hat request shows the person detection, the hat colour and the time window it will use.
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After applying the search, the filter bar shows the active choices. Use a badge’s cross to clear that criterion, or open the filter sidebar to make further changes. Clearing an appearance badge removes its subject, colours and hat criteria together; the other filters remain selected.

 Examples to Try

Use names that match your own sites and cameras. You can write a short phrase or a full sentence:

• “Parking.” Find events with the parking detection.
• “Red car, two weeks ago at night.” Combine a car detection, red appearance, a date and an overnight time window.
• “Show me my cat in my back yard at 2am last night.” Find animal detections at matching back-yard cameras around the requested time.
• “Show me footage at night from all front doors with a vehicle.” Match the front-door locations your account can access and vehicle detections.
• “Show me a person around noon wearing a red hat.” Combine a person detection with appearance filters and a window around noon.

Cats and dogs are searched as animals. TetherX does not distinguish those species in the current event filters, so a cat request may also return other animals. Check the broadening explanation in the preview.

Single times such as “at 2am” and “around noon” produce a surrounding time window. Check its displayed start and end before applying the search. Times use the timezone shown in the preview.

 Choose Dates and Times

A date range and a time window answer different questions. For example, “Show me all vehicles detected in the morning from beginning to end of June” selects the whole month, then limits the search to the morning window on those dates. It does not mean one continuous interval from the first morning to the last morning.

• Check both parts. The date selection shows the beginning and end of June; the separate time chip shows the morning hours. Include a year in your description when it matters.

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• Override the dates without rewriting your description. Open the date chip below the search box and set From and To. Use the same date at both ends for one day. Today, Yesterday and Clear provide quick choices; changing the dates keeps the other interpreted filters.

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Any date means there is no extra calendar restriction from this search. Your account’s access period and the footage still available on the system continue to apply. Accounts with a fixed footage-access period may not have the date override controls.

 Use or Hide Examples

When the search box is empty, TetherX may suggest examples using your accessible locations and analytics those cameras have recorded. Select an example to put it in the box, then edit or preview it as usual. Examples illustrate useful searches; they do not guarantee matching footage for today.

• Keep the box simple. Select Hide examples to turn suggestions off in this browser. Select Show examples in the empty search box to turn them back on. Examples disappear while you type or review a preview. When no examples are available, there is no hide control.
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 Dictate a Search

Select the microphone in the search box and allow microphone access if your browser asks. Speak your description, then review the text before previewing or applying the search. Select the microphone again to stop listening.

Dictation depends on your browser’s speech-recognition support and may process speech online. If microphone access is denied, allow it in the browser’s site settings or type your search. If the browser does not support this feature, use your keyboard’s own dictation control or type normally. The search button cannot open the operating system’s dictation panel for you.

 Refine a Search

If a location is not recognised, try the site or camera name shown in TetherX. If the search asks for clarification, simplify the description or adjust the relevant filter in the sidebar.

Some descriptions go beyond the available filters, such as a specific vehicle make or model, identifying a named person, or a relationship between two objects such as “next to.” Review any explanation before continuing. Use supported details such as object type, recorded colours, location and time to narrow the events, then review the footage itself.

If no events match, widen the date or time window, or remove one criterion at a time. A natural-language request searches recorded event information; it does not create detections that your cameras did not record.

Related Articles

• Events - Review, flag, share and download footage.
• TetherX AI - Object, appearance and audio analytics.
• Events View Menu - Change the event display and live updates.