ONVIF setup

ONVIF is a standard many IP cameras support for describing themselves on the network. OpticWatch uses it for one job: to read the streams a camera offers and fill in the right RTSP address, so you do not have to look up the stream path. It is optional, and available in every edition, including Free.

Set up a camera with ONVIF

Go to Cameras, choose Add camera, then Set up with ONVIF. The form has four parts.

1. Find the camera

   Either:

   • type the camera's address in ONVIF address or IP: an IP address such as 192.168.1.64, an address with a port such as 192.168.1.64:8000 if the camera uses a non-standard ONVIF port, or a full ONVIF service URL; or
   • choose Scan network to look for cameras, then pick one from the list (see network scans below).

2. Sign in to the camera

   Enter the camera's ONVIF username and ONVIF password, then choose Connect. On some cameras the ONVIF account is different from the account used for video, and ONVIF may need to be enabled in the camera's own settings first.

3. Choose the stream

   OpticWatch lists the camera's profiles. Each profile is one video configuration on the camera, for example a high-resolution main stream and a smaller sub-stream. Profiles marked No RTSP stream cannot be monitored. Pick the one you want OpticWatch to check.

4. Camera settings

   Name and Site

   As for any camera.

   Check interval and Probe timeout

   How often to check, and how long to wait. Defaults: 60 and 10 seconds.

   Monitor this camera

   On by default.

   Use the same credentials for the RTSP stream

   On by default, because most cameras use one account for both. Turn it off to enter a separate RTSP username and password.

   Choose Add camera. OpticWatch saves the RTSP address it built and starts checking it.

Device details

The page of a camera added with ONVIF shows the Device information the camera reported: manufacturer, model, firmware, serial number and the ONVIF profile used. Refresh reads it from the camera again, for example after a firmware update. Cameras do not always report every field.

Why a network scan may find nothing

Scan network sends an ONVIF discovery message using multicast, which only reaches devices on the same local network segment. It does not cross routers, VLANs or VPNs, and inside Docker's default network it usually finds nothing at all. An empty result does not mean your cameras are missing.

Typing the camera's address always works and is the normal way to use ONVIF setup with OpticWatch.

If ONVIF setup does not work

• It cannot connect: check the address and the ONVIF port (many cameras use 80; some use another port such as 8000 or 8080), that ONVIF is enabled on the camera, and that the OpticWatch computer can reach it.
• It rejects the sign-in: check the ONVIF username and password. Some cameras need a separate ONVIF user created in their settings.
• No profile has an RTSP stream: the camera did not report a usable stream over ONVIF. Add it by its RTSP address instead; see RTSP addresses.