Live view shows a camera’s picture in the browser, a few seconds behind real time. You switch it on per camera on the Camera tab, and anyone allowed to watch uses the Watch tab or a dashboard video card.
The Camera tab
The device page of a camera has a Camera tab. It shows:
- Protocol and Endpoint, with Edit connection for people who manage endpoints.
- The camera’s streams (Main stream, Sub stream) with codec, resolution, frame rate (“{fps} fps”) and key frame interval (“key frame every {s} s”), and which one is the Default.
- Live view, the switch, with your plan’s use: “{used} of {limit} cameras with live view used.”
- Test and read the streams again, and Remove.
Turn live view on or off
- Open the camera’s device page and the Camera tab.
- Switch Live view on. “People with access can watch this camera. It is pulled only while someone watches, and every running minute counts.”
- To stop anyone from watching, switch it off.
Live view counts toward your plan’s limit of cameras with live view. At the limit: “Your plan allows {limit} cameras with live view, and {current} of {limit} are used.” Turning off another camera frees a place. A camera that is switched on but not watched costs no camera minutes.
A device whose camera has live view on cannot be deleted. Turn live view off first.
Which stream plays
Hermetry never converts video. It plays only H.264.
| Situation | Default stream |
|---|---|
| The sub stream is H.264 | Sub stream |
| Only the main stream is H.264 | Main stream |
| No stream is H.264 | None: live view cannot be switched on (“No stream of this camera can be played. Live view needs an H.264 stream.”) |
| The codec cannot be checked (RTSP cameras) | The stream is played and marked unverified: “The codec of this camera could not be checked. If the picture does not play, set the camera to H.264.” |
Streams that are H.265 (“H.265 cannot be played in the browser. Set the camera to H.264.”), MJPEG (“MJPEG cannot be played as live video. Set the camera to H.264.”) or another codec are listed with the reason and left out.
When both streams are H.264, the second one is offered as High quality in the player.
After you change the camera’s video settings, select Test and read the streams again. If no stream can be played any more, live view is switched off: “No stream of this camera can be played any more, so live view was turned off.”
Key frame interval
The picture can only start on a key frame. If the camera sends one rarely, the first picture is slow: “The camera sends a key frame rarely, so the picture starts late. Set its I-frame interval to twice the frame rate.” That gives a key frame every 2 seconds.
For supported cameras, people with the right permission see Set to 2 seconds next to a slow stream. It changes only that one setting on the camera (“Only this setting changes; the previous value is kept so you can restore it.”). Recordings on the camera or its recorder get slightly larger. The change is recorded in the audit log.
The Watch tab
- Open the camera’s device page and the Watch tab. You need the permissions to view cameras and to watch live, and read access to the device.
- Select Watch. “Connecting to the camera… the first picture can take up to half a minute.”
- Use the player’s quality menu to switch between Standard and High, when the camera has a second stream.
Nothing is pulled from the camera until you press Watch.
- The player starts muted. Cameras carry no audio in Hermetry.
- Still watching? Every 5 minutes the player asks whether you are still watching. Without an answer in 30 seconds the picture stops, so a forgotten tab does not run up camera minutes.
- After about 9 minutes of continuous watching the player restarts itself with a fresh link; you may see a short pause.
- If the player is paused or the tab is hidden, the tab goes back to its Watch button. Select Start again to resume.
If live view is off, the tab says “Live view is off for this camera. Turn it on in the Camera tab to watch it here.”
How long the picture is behind
Live view is delivered as short video segments. Expect a delay of a few segments plus the camera’s key frame interval, typically several seconds. It is meant for watching, not for controlling machines in real time.
Camera minutes
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| What counts | Each minute a camera is being pulled counts one camera minute |
| Several viewers | One camera watched by ten people still counts one minute per minute |
| Sub and main stream | Count once per camera |
| After the last viewer | The pull stops about 20 seconds later; that tail counts |
| Monthly limit | Your plan’s camera minutes per month; see Camera limits and privacy |
When the month’s minutes are used up, every viewer sees a still picture instead of the camera: Camera minutes used up — “This month’s camera minutes are used up. Your account administrator needs to buy more minutes or a larger plan to continue.” The player returns to the camera by itself once more minutes are available or the month changes.