Extract text from DVR index files (XI1)
To convert XI1 index files to another format, you need Xiongmai CMS or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Surveillance Video Index" file type, you need software like Xiongmai CMS or a similar tool.
The .xi1 file is a proprietary surveillance video index file used primarily by Xiongmai Technology and Hikvision Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) and Network Video Recorders (NVRs). It is generated alongside security recordings to store crucial metadata, timeline markers, and exact timestamp synchronization for the recorded CCTV footage.
Users typically encounter .xi1 files when exporting incident backups from their security system to a USB flash drive. Because security cameras record continuously, they split footage into raw chunks. The .xi1 file acts as a map, allowing proprietary Video Management System (VMS) software to stitch these chunks together and enable fast-forwarding or timeline scrubbing.
The main disadvantage of the .xi1 format is that it causes immense user confusion. Users often mistake it for the video file itself. In reality, it is strictly an index file - usually just a few kilobytes in size - that contains absolutely no video or audio data. Because of this, standard media players like VLC media player and standard online converters fail to process it entirely.
Converting an .xi1 file directly to a video format like MP4 or AVI is impossible because there are no video frames inside it. To get standard video, you must locate the accompanying raw video file (typically a H264, 264, or DAV file) and use the manufacturer's export tool to combine the index and the stream into a universal format.
This is a heavily closed, proprietary format that is difficult to open outside of specialized CCTV software. However, you can just drag and drop your .xi1 file into convert.guru to identify the format and inspect the file. We can extract the internal text headers or hex data to verify if it contains readable timestamps or embedded device details, helping you understand exactly what your security system exported.
Convert.Guru analyzes your XI1 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted XI, MP4, AVI and BIK files.
If you want to convert XI1 file to , you can use Xiongmai CMS or similar software from the "Surveillance Timeline Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to XI1, try Xiongmai CMS or another comparable tool in the "Surveillance Timeline Data Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our XI1 converter.