Live view
Live view shows cameras live in a grid. Every role may use it (Roles and permissions).
The camera list
On the left, Cameras lists the tenant's cameras by site, then by NVR (NVRs without a site are under No site). Each NVR shows a dot with its status; a switched-off camera is marked (disabled). Search cameras filters the list by name. The list is hidden on narrow screens.
Putting cameras in the grid
- Layout opens a picker with a drawing of each split (as in SmartPSS); choose one. Cameras that still fit stay where they are.
- Click a camera in the list: it goes into the selected tile (the one with the coloured frame), and the selection moves to the next empty tile, so clicking through the list fills the grid.
- Or drag a camera from the list onto any tile.
- Click a tile to select it; an empty tile says Drag a camera here or pick one from the list.
The grid is part of the page's address: a bookmark or a copied link opens the same cameras in the same layout.
Splits
| Split | Tiles | Shape |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | One camera |
| 2×2 | 4 | Four equal tiles |
| One big + 5 | 6 | A 3×3 grid whose first tile covers 2×2 cells |
| One big + 7 | 8 | A 4×4 grid whose first tile covers 3×3 cells |
| 3×3 | 9 | Nine equal tiles |
| 4×4 | 16 | |
| 5×5 | 25 | |
| 6×6 | 36 | |
| 8×8 | 64 |
In the "one big" splits, the first tile is the big one. On 5×5 and larger splits the tiles are small: they show only the camera's name (no NVR), hovering shows only Show only this camera and Close {camera}, and an empty tile shows a +. Every tile plays a stream, so a full 8×8 grid of one site is 64 streams from its connector (Limits).
Tile controls
Hover a tile to see its controls:
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Save a snapshot | Downloads the current picture as a PNG (<camera>-<date>-<time>.png). It is taken in the browser, from what the tile shows. |
| Open {camera} | Opens the camera on its own page, with PTZ controls and a link to Playback. |
| Show only this camera / Back to the grid | Shows the tile alone in the grid area, on the camera's full-resolution stream. Double-click a tile does the same; Escape goes back. |
| Full screen / Exit full screen | The tile on the whole screen, also on the full-resolution stream. |
| Close {camera} | Empties the tile. |
The title bar shows the camera and its NVR, and an H.265 badge when the stream it plays is H.265 (may not play in browsers). Tiles of 5×5 and larger splits show fewer controls (Splits).
PTZ in the grid
Operators and tenant admins (the ptz:operate permission) have a PTZ
panel under the camera list. It controls the camera in the selected tile
(or in the tile shown alone), with the same controls as the single camera
page: the direction pad, Zoom, Focus, Speed and Presets
(PTZ cameras). Select another tile to control its camera;
without a camera it says Select a tile with a camera to control it.
Choose PTZ to fold the panel away and give the list its room.
For a camera the NVR does not report as PTZ, tick Show PTZ controls first (Cameras not reported as PTZ). Viewers do not see the panel.
Main and sub streams
Big tiles play each camera's main stream (full resolution): every tile of the 1 and 2×2 splits and the big tile of 1 + 5 and 1 + 7. Smaller tiles play the sub stream (low resolution: less bandwidth for the site and the viewer). An expanded tile, full screen and the single camera view always play the main stream. Switching between the two keeps the current picture until the other one plays.
Most browsers cannot play H.265: a camera whose main stream is H.265 stays on its sub stream in big tiles, and its single view may not play. Set the main stream to H.264 on the NVR for the cameras you need in full resolution (Limits).
A camera's stream is pulled from the NVR once, however many people watch it. The first picture of a camera nobody is watching takes a few seconds: the connector starts the stream on the NVR, and the picture then waits for the camera's next keyframe. After the last viewer leaves, the stream keeps running for 5 minutes (sub streams) or 2 minutes (main streams), so switching back to a camera watched shortly before is quicker. A short network drop does not interrupt the picture; when it lasts, or the picture freezes for 8 seconds, the player reconnects by itself.
Most of the wait for a camera that is already running is for its next keyframe. Ask a tenant admin to choose Optimise for live view on the NVR's page (NVRs).
What the tiles say
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Opening… | Sphere is opening the stream. |
| Starting the stream… | The connector is starting to pull the stream from the NVR (also while the connector reconnects). |
| Connecting… | The stream is live; the browser is connecting to it. |
| The stream failed: … | The connector could not start it; the reason follows (for example the NVR did not answer, or the codec cannot be relayed). Close the tile and open it again to retry. |
| Too many streams are open for this site or NVR. Close some tiles. | A stream limit is reached (Limits). |
| The NVR is offline / NVR: … | The camera's NVR is offline, or signed out or refusing the sign-in (the status follows). See NVRs → Statuses. |
| The NVR is not connected. / The connector is offline. | Sphere refused to open the stream for that reason. |
| The camera is disabled | The camera is switched off on its NVR's page. |
| Paused while the tab is hidden | See below. |
| Unknown camera | The camera no longer exists (a saved view or link that points to a removed camera). |
Tiles that could not open a stream (a limit, an offline NVR) try again every 15 seconds by themselves.
A hidden tab
When the browser tab is hidden (another tab, a minimised window) for more than 60 seconds, its tiles close their streams and show Paused while the tab is hidden. They open again as soon as the tab is visible. This keeps an unwatched grid from using the site's upload.
Saved views
A saved view is a named grid: its split (any of the splits) and its cameras.
- Open a saved view… lists your own views and the tenant's shared ones (marked shared); choosing one loads it.
- Save view → Save as new… saves the current grid under a Name. Operators and tenant admins can tick Shared with everyone in the organization; a shared view is seen by every user of the tenant.
- Save view → Save changes updates the view you opened with the current grid.
- Delete view (the bin next to the list) removes it for everyone who can see it.
Everyone can save their own views; changing or deleting shared ones needs the Operator or Tenant admin role.
The single camera page
Open {camera} (or Watch on an NVR's camera list, or a camera in the alarm log) opens the camera alone on its main stream. The page shows its NVR (a link to the NVR) and Channel, and has Save a snapshot, Full screen, Back to the live view and, for roles that may play back, Playback for this camera. PTZ controls are on the right: PTZ.