Microsoft Teams - How to Download a View-Only Teams Meeting Recorded Video

 

Intro:

I had asked for a video to be recorded with during an interaction with a vendor so I could reference it later. Upon receiving the email with the link I quickly realized you can't download it locally to save. There's another caveat:

According to this post (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-teams-blog/how-to-manage-microsoft-teams-meeting-recording-auto-expiration/ba-p/3053035), new video recordings will automatically expire 60 days after they are recorded if no action is taken, except for A1 (education license) users who will receive a max 30-day default setting.

Since we have no clue what other admins have set as the default time expiration, we need a way to download a copy of the video to reference in the future asap. Microsoft presents the video as view-only and it cannot be downloaded.

Solution:

1. Open Chrome (or the browser of your choice) and load the page with the video that you want to download.
2. Open page inspector (Ctrl + Shift + C).
3. Click on the Network tab.
4. Type "videomanifest" where it says “Filter URLs“.
5. Press F5 to refresh the page.
6. When the page reloads, copy the file URL. See below:

Next we'll use FFmpeg to download the video from the URL above:

ffmpeg -i "https://videomanifest_url" -codec copy output.mp4

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Fusion 360 - Use the Correct Face for Thread Placement on a Cylinder

 

Intro:

Placing threads on an extruded cylinder has one caveat when working in Fusion 360. When placing threads, it depends on what end of the cylinder face you pick when it's asking for the placement face. If you just click anywhere on the cylinder your thread placement will be wrong if you intend to apply an offset to the start or the ends of the threads.

Which End Do I Choose?

When applying threads to a cylinder, choose which end of the cylinder face (not the actual end faces of the cylinder) you want the threaded section to be on as seen below.

Choosing the left portion of the cylinder results in this. So far so good right? Not if you want to apply an offset to the start or end of the threads.

Watch what happens as soon as you uncheck "Full Length"...

The thread placement is now on the left half.

If we choose the right side initially, this is what happens after we uncheck "Full Length":

Conclusion:

To avoid having to go back and delete the feature and recreate, do it right from the beginning. In the below example we drag left on the blue handle and it carries the offset leftward.

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Convert ASF to MKV & Join Multiple MKV Files

Intro:

Dahua NVR systems export to DAV and ASF. A DAV file is a compressed and encrypted video file created by DVR365 or Dahua Technology's digital surveillance system. ASF files exported straight from the NVR cannot be fast forwarded during playback without significant artifacts occuring while viewing in VLC, etc. For compatibility we ultimately want an MKV container file for audio (if it exists) and video. We can speed playback up to our heart's content and without creating unwanted artifacts.

Procedure:

HandBrake:

Export ASF from NVR and rename files so you'll remember which order they go in.

Drag first ASF onto HandBrake v1.7.2 or greater

Select "NVR" profile. This is a custom profile keeping the source resolution the same, taking x264 and re-encoding it to x265 to save space. (format: mkv, dimensions: resolution limit = none, video: encoder x265, fps = same as source, constant framerate, advanced options = make blank, del subtitle track)

Save the file to a common location.

Click "Add to Queue" at the top.

Start Queue.

Drag file #2 onto HandBrake and repeat until all files have been converted from ASF to MKV.