FAQ Answer:
Viewing and Extracting Images from Browning TLS Files

What are TLS files?

Some Browning trail cameras, when set in timelapse mode to capture an image every time interval, store a sequence of captured images as TLS file rather than as individual jpg files. A TLS file is actually a video file, where images are just frames in that video.

Can I play the TLS video file on my computer without using the Browning software?

Yes, as a TLS file is nothing more than a standard .avi file playable by most computers. To play it, just:

  1. Change the filename suffix .TLS to .avi
  2. Double click it to play it in your preferred video player.

Are there limitations in TLS video files?

Yes. I am not sure why Browning decided to store videos as a TLS (actually .avi) file. It seems like a strange decision fraught with problems as described below (these problems are generic, and not Timelapse-specific). The only justification I can see is that Browning perhaps expects its users to use only their software. If you have a choice of not using TLS files (or if you are considering purchasing Browning cameras that do produce those), consider the following.

  1. If you just use the video review features of Timelapse to examine the images collected as video frames, then you will only have one data row to describe all images in the video. I suspect this is not what you want.
  2. Video is a lot more problematic than jpgs or images as it does not store the same metadata.
    • Many camera traps add metadata that specify extra information known to the camera (often also displayed in a bar printed as part of the image). A good example is the current temperature. Timelapse and other common systems can extract that data to populate fields. However, that metadata is not included in TLS videos.
    • Images include metadata timestamps describing when an image was taken. In contrast, the video timestamp is only for the video as a whole; no timestamp is provided for a particular video frame representing an image. However, as described below, you may be able to calculate what it should be (although it may not be completely accurate).
  3. You may be able to use software to extract images from the video (see below) and save them as image files. However, any metadata associated with that video will be lost (including the video timestamp).
  4. It is difficult to extract images from video with 100% reliability. My solution below expects a new image to appear in the video every specified time interval, where it extracts a video frame and saves it as a jpg. However, if there is any clock drift or if the time is inexact, you may get some duplicates or some missing frames.
  5. If you are considering buying those cameras, perhaps because they are cheaper than competing products, consider the cost of all these extra steps below in terms of staff having to do this extra work.

Can I analyze TLS video files in Timelapse?

Yes. There are two different ways to do that, although both are a nuisance and less than perfect. The sections below describe how to do it along with the various limitations.

Method 1. Analyze each video file

You can view and analyze the TLS files as a video within Timelapse. This is the easiest way, but it has a major limitation. Timelapse considers each video file as a single file rather than as a collection of images. Thus you will have only one set of fields to fill in for each file. This is problematic if you have to enter different data for every image seen in the video file. If you want to do this, follow these steps.

  1. Change the suffix of all your TLS files to .avi. (You may want to use a file renamer script mentioned in Method 2 to do this if you have many files).
  2. Load them into Timelapse as normal
  3. You can then view and play each video within Timelapse.
  4. As mentioned, you will have only one set of fields to fill in for each video file.

Method 2. Extract images from the video file as jpg images

The instructions and provided scripts will extract images from your TLS files, save them as standard jpg images, and adjust each file’s creation date so they match the actual image timestamps (this allows timelapse to record the dates correctly). However, this is a more complex process, where you will have to check (and perhaps change) a few settings in the scripts I provide, and do some manual work. The good news is that others have used this method and it works.

Step 1. Download the example files (so you can test this)

Lets assume we have three TLS files in a folder (e.g., TLSDemo containing 3 files: TIMEL0001.TLS, TIMEL0002.TLS and TIMEL0003.TLS). I have three such files that you can download to try the steps below before doing it on your own files.

Download 3 TLS files as a zip file. Unzip them and put them in your test folder. Here is what the folder looks like:

Step 2. Download the scripts as a zip file

  • Download TLStoJPGScripts.zip
  • It contains three Powershell scripts that you will execute later.
  • Extract the three script files from the zip file and save it to the same folder above
  • If your computer won’t let you download this file (as it contains scripts), contact me and I’ll send you a variation of this file.

Step 3. Copy (or download) ffmpeg.exe into the folder above

  • Your Timelapse executable folder will contain a copy of the ffmpeg.exe program
  • Just copy that program into the folder above.
  • Alternately, you can download a windows version of ffmpeg from the ffmpeg download site
  • At this point, your folder should contain the following:

Step 4. Open Powershell as Administrator, set its execution policy, and change to your folder

Powershell is a command-line system that lets you type commands into Windows, which in turn lets you run scripts. You have to run Powershell as administrator and adjust its security settings, as otherwise it won’t let you run the various scripts you just downloaded.

There are various ways to open Powershell as administrator. If the method below doesn’t work for you, search the web for ‘open powershell as administrator’ to find an alternate method that works on your machine.

  • In the Start menu, search for PowerShell and select Run as administrator from its context menu. A window should appear.
  • Type the following into the Powershell window (neede to run scripts).
    • Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
    • It will ask you to verify this: just type Y for Yes.

Within Powershell, change into the folder containing your files.

  • Open File Explorer on your folder.
  • Copy the text (the path to that folder) from its title bar
  • In the Powershell window, type CD “”, arrow back so you are inbetween the quotes, and paste the text from there into it. Alternately, type in the path. For example:
    • PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> cd “C:\Users\saulg\Desktop\MyFolderWithTLSFiles“
  • The command prompt should indicate that it is now in that folder., e.g.,
    • PS C:\Users\saulg\Desktop\MyFolderWithTLSFiles

Step 5. Rename your TLS files to have a .avi suffix

You will use a script to rename all your TLS files into avi files.

  • Type: .\RenameTLSFiles.ps1
  • It may ask you to confirm the operation. Do so.

Step 6. Check how many images are recorded per second in an example file, and adjust the ConvertToImages.ps1 script if needed

Open a TLS file in a video player, and check to see how many different images are recorded per second. The ones I tried were 5/second. The ffmpeg command (you can see this if you view or edit the ConvertToImages.ps1 file) has an argument ‘-r 5’, which means extract 5 frames for every second. If your video files have more or less than that number of frames, change that argument to match that number of frames.

  • Inspect an example TLS file to see how many different images your camera recorded per second.
    • Open a TLS file in a video player.
    • Count how many images are recorded for each second (e.g., 5 means 5 frames are captured for every second). The most accurate way is to count and step through every frame in your video (e.g., using arrow keys on the VLC video player), and dived that by the total number of seconds (e.g, 96 distinct frames over 36 seconds is 2.5 frames per second)
  • Edit and then save the ConvertToImages.ps1 file to change the ffmpeg argument to that frame rate.
    • The ffmpeg command in the above file has an argument ‘-r 5‘, which means extract 5 frames for every second. If you counted a different frame rate, just change the 5 to the number you found.

Step 7. Extract the images

  • Type: .\ConvertToImages.ps1

This will create a folder representing each file containing all the extracted images for that file. Its name will be the same as the filename but without the suffix. For example, this is what my main folder now looks like, as well as one of the subfolders:

Step 8. Check images in at least one subfolder

Check that the extraction more or less extracted one image for every time period i.e., with no duplicates and nothing skipped.

  • Open the first image in a photoviewer, and then look at the timestamp on successive images
  • If there are excessive duplicates or skipped images, you may have to double check and adjust that -r 5 argument above to reflect a more accurate number of frames per second.

Step 9. (Optional, but likely required). Adjust the Creation/Modifed Date/Time for each file.

Unfortunately, the extracted images record their creation date and time as the date/time they were extracted. This means that when Timelapse reads them in for the first time, the date/time it records for each image will not match the timestamp burnt onto the image. However, another script – with a bit of effort – can correct these dates.

  1. Go into one of the folders, open the first image, and check to see what the time interval is in minutes between the 1st and 2nd image (this should match how your camera’s timelapse mode was set). For example, if the timestamp on the first image is 07/19/2020 06:59PM and the second is 07/19/2020 07:09PM, the time interval is 10 minutes.
  2. Open AdjustDates.ps1 in an Editor (right-click, Edit). You will see a line that says $minutes=10. Change that to the actual time interval you use.
    • Note. If you need a time interval in seconds, then just replace $minutes with $seconds, and change the line $date = $date.AddMinutes($minutes) to $date = $date.AddSeconds($seconds)
  3. Do the following for each folder (yes, that is a bit painful but better than nothing)
    1. Copy AdjustDates.ps1 into the folder
    2. Open the first image in a photoviewer so you can see its timestamp
    3. Open Powershell in that folder, or change your existing Powershell to that folder via the CD command.
    4. Type: .\AdjustDates.ps1
    5. It will ask you for a date/time in dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm:ss format (24 hour format). Enter the date/time on the first image e.g. 07/19/2020 18:59:00
    6. Each file’s Date Created and Date Modified timestamp will be updated. The first image will have the date/time you put in, while the subsequent ones will have its date/time incremented by the specified minutes. You may have to hit F5 to refresh the display to show the current dates.
    7. Check the results. A good way to do this is to examine the first and last image tosee if their creation date/time matches the burnt in timestamp. If it doesn’t then likely the image extraction method in Step 7 either duplicated or skipped a file, and you will have to redo that step. Some minor differences are likely, as the above process is more of an estimate than exact.
    8. Repeat for the other folders

For example, my first folder using the above now looks like this:

Step 10 Load images into Timelapse as normal.

Load images into Timelapse as you normally would. If your template is in the root folder, it will find all those images in the subfolder and use the revised dates.

Tada!