Add a camera or recorder

Cameras and recorders are added on the Devices page, like any device. Hermetry tests the connection first and stores nothing until it works, so a wrong address or password leaves nothing behind.

Before you start

Permissions: you need to create devices, manage protocol endpoints and manage cameras (Admin by default).
A public address. The camera or recorder must be reachable from the cloud at a public host name or IP address. Private, loopback and link-local addresses are refused. Allow the platform’s addresses through your firewall to the camera’s HTTP and RTSP ports.
A view-only user. “Use a camera user that can only watch live video (a view-only user), not the administrator account: the platform needs nothing more.”
A device profile for the type. For supported cameras and recorders, Hermetry provides a ready profile in your workspace. For RTSP camera, create a profile with the transport RTSP camera first under Device profiles. Without one you see: “Create one device profile whose transport is “…” first; the new devices use it.”
Room in your plan for the new devices, and for cameras with live view.

Choose the type

Type	Use for	What Hermetry can read
RTSP camera	Any camera or encoder with an RTSP stream	The video only. The codec cannot be checked in advance; the device is “seen” when its RTSP port answers.
The HTTP protocol of supported cameras and recorders (shown by its name in Type)	Supported network cameras and network video recorders	The video streams and their codecs, health readings (uptime, CPU, memory, disks, clock drift, channel state), recorder channels, and optionally device events

Add a camera

Open Devices, select New device and choose Camera or recorder (“By its address and password; the connection is tested first.”).
Choose: pick the Type, enter a Name (for example “Front door”) and the connection fields below. Less common fields are under More settings.
Select Test connection. On success you see “The connection works.” and, for a single camera, “Ready to add “…” as a camera.”
Select Add camera. Hermetry creates the endpoint, tests it again, creates the device, makes it a camera and turns live view on when a playable stream exists.
Done: “The camera was added.” and “Live view is on for 1 of them.” If live view stayed off, the reason is named (“the plan’s limit of live cameras is reached”, “no stream that can be played”, “the streams are not known”); switch it on later on the camera’s Camera tab.

Fields for RTSP cameras

Field	Default	Notes
Host	—	“A public host name or IP address of the camera or recorder.”
RTSP port	554
Stream path	`/`	“The path of the main stream, starting with /.” `{variant}` in the path becomes `main` or `sub`.
Sub-stream path	empty	“Optional. The main path is used when empty.”
User, Password	—	The password is write-only.
Ask the camera (RTSP OPTIONS) as well as connecting	On	Checks that an RTSP server answers, not only an open port.

The stream path is specific to each camera model; see the camera’s manual.

Fields for supported cameras and recorders

Field	Default	Notes
Host	—	Public host name or IP address
Scheme	`http`	Or `https`. “The password is sent as a Digest answer, never in clear. A device that only offers Basic is accepted over HTTPS only.”
HTTP port	80
RTSP port	empty	“Leave empty to read it from the device”: many cameras are moved off 554.
User, Password	—	“Use an account with live-view rights only”. The password is write-only.
Verify the certificate	On	HTTPS only. “Switch off only for a camera with its own self-signed certificate.”
This is a	Detect	Or Camera, Recorder (NVR / DVR). “The test warns when the device is something else.”
Receive device events	Off	See Camera events.

Add the channels of a recorder

For a recorder, the test also lists its channels with their names and whether they are online.

After Test connection, the Channels to add list appears with every channel ticked. Use Tick all / Untick all to change the selection.
The recorder itself is listed but cannot be ticked (“The recorder itself, not a camera.”). Channels added earlier show “Already added (as “…”).” and cannot be ticked. Offline channels show “Offline right now.”
Select Add {count} cameras. One add takes at most 64 channels (“One go adds at most 64 cameras. Add the others afterwards: the channels already added are skipped.”).

Each channel becomes its own device and camera, named “ – “. All channels share one endpoint, so a change to the recorder’s address or password applies to all of them.

To add more channels later, add the same recorder again: the channels already added are skipped.

What gets created

Item	Where you see it
An endpoint named like the camera, holding the address and the encrypted password	The device’s Connection tab, and the Camera tab’s Edit connection
One device per camera or channel, on the type’s profile	Devices
A camera for each device, with its streams	The device’s Camera and Watch tabs

The add is all or nothing: if a step fails, everything created so far is removed again and the reason is shown. Each device counts toward your device limit, and each camera with live view toward your live camera limit.

Make an existing device a camera

A device already connected through a camera endpoint (for example after Disconnect and Connect through an endpoint) can be made a camera on its Camera tab: select Use as a camera. “The platform reads the camera’s streams from its endpoint and pulls the picture only while someone watches it.”

Errors

Message	Fix
“A camera at this address is already connected (as “…”).”	The same camera is already added. For a recorder, add it again to take its other channels.
“The camera did not answer the connection test.”	Check the host, ports, user and password, and your firewall. See Troubleshooting cameras.
“The connection was just tried. Wait a few seconds and try again.”	One test every two seconds per organisation.
“Another camera is being added right now. Try again in a moment.”	One add at a time per organisation.
“The camera reported no video stream for channel …. Untick it and try again; nothing was added.”	That channel has no stream.
“An endpoint with this name already exists. Choose another name.”	Rename the camera.
“{current} of {limit} devices used; {adding} more do not fit in your plan.”	Remove devices or change the plan.