Documentation

Last updated March 17, 2025

Everything you need to know about using Camera Hub. Looking for answers to common questions? Visit our FAQ page.

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Welcome to Camera Hub

Camera Hub helps you keep an eye on all your security cameras from one place. Whether you have cameras in one building or across dozens of locations, Camera Hub shows you which cameras are working, which ones need attention, and sends you alerts when something goes wrong.

Think of it as a central control room for all your security cameras — accessible from any web browser.

Logging In

Go to the login page and enter your username and password. If this is your first time, you may need to verify your email address before you can log in.

  • Check "Remember me" to stay signed in for up to 30 days
  • Forgot your password? Click the "Forgot your password?" link on the login page to reset it by email
  • If you don't use Camera Hub for 24 hours, you'll be signed out automatically for security

Finding Your Way Around

Once you log in, you'll see the Explorer — this is your main workspace. Here's how it's laid out:

  • Left sidebar — Shows all your sites (locations) with colored dots indicating their health. Use the search box at the top to quickly find a site
  • Main area — When you click on a site, this shows its cameras, devices, logs, and settings using tabs across the top
  • Top bar — Contains search, the notification bell (alerts you to changes), and your profile menu

Live Updates

The dashboard updates itself automatically. When a camera goes offline or comes back online, you'll see the change right away without needing to refresh the page. If your internet connection drops, the updates will resume on their own once you're back online.

Understanding Site Status Colors

Each site in the sidebar has a colored dot that tells you how things are going at a glance:

GREEN — All Good

Everything is working. All devices are connected and all cameras are online.

YELLOW — Issues Found

The recording devices are working, but one or more individual cameras are offline or not responding.

RED — Critical

One or more recording devices can't be reached at all. This usually means a network or power issue at the site.

Quick Start Checklist

  • Log in with your credentials
  • Browse your sites in the left sidebar
  • Click a site to see its cameras and devices
  • Check the colored dots — green means online, red means offline
  • Click on a camera image to see it in full size
  • Visit your profile settings to update your password if needed

What Is a Site?

A site is a physical location where your cameras are installed — like an office building, warehouse, store, or any other place you're monitoring. Sites are how Camera Hub organizes everything. Each site contains recording devices, and each device manages one or more cameras.

Adding a Site

If you have permission, you can create a new site by following these steps:

  • Click the "Add Site" button in the sidebar or header
  • Fill in the site name, address, city, state, and zip code
  • Add at least one contact person who should receive alerts for this site
  • The new site will appear in your sidebar right away

Note: Your plan determines how many sites you can create. See Plans & Billing for details.

Editing & Deleting Sites

Open a site's Settings tab to change its name, address, or other settings.

Warning: Deleting a site permanently removes everything associated with it, including:

  • All devices and cameras at that site
  • All camera images, notes, and reports
  • All logs and event history
  • All contacts, notes, links, and maps
  • All camera group assignments

This cannot be undone. You'll be asked to confirm before anything is deleted.

Site Maps

You can add a map to any site so your team can see the layout at a glance. Two options are available:

  • Google Maps — Paste a Google Maps link to show an interactive map of the site location
  • Upload an image — Upload a floor plan, site map, or camera layout diagram

Set this up in the site's Settings tab under General settings.

Site Contacts

Each site can have one or more contacts — these are the people responsible for that location. Each contact has a name, email, and phone number. Contacts can be set up with different roles:

  • Email alerts — Gets email notifications when cameras or devices go offline
  • Primary contact — The first person to call when there's a problem (one per site)
  • Secondary contact — Backup person if the primary isn't available (one per site)
  • Daily report — Gets a daily summary email about camera health at this site

Alert Interval

Each site has an alert interval that controls how often Camera Hub sends alert emails. The default is every 60 minutes. You can adjust this in the site's Settings tab — a shorter interval means faster notifications, while a longer interval means fewer emails.

What Is a Device?

A device is the recording equipment that your cameras connect to. This is usually an NVR (Network Video Recorder) or DVR (Digital Video Recorder) — think of it as the "brain" that manages a group of cameras at a site. Camera Hub connects to these devices over the network to check camera status and capture images.

Each device belongs to one site, and each device can have many cameras connected to it.

Supported Platforms

Camera Hub works with five brands of camera recording equipment. When you add a device, you'll select which platform it uses:

Axxon

Enterprise video management system. Supports setups where multiple servers work together (up to 5 server addresses per device) for high-availability environments.

Avigilon

Video management system commonly used in commercial and enterprise settings. Supports camera discovery and status monitoring.

Dahua

Wide range of NVRs and DVRs. Supports both network (IP) cameras and coaxial (analog) cameras with automatic channel detection.

Uniview

Network video recorders with modern interface. Tracks camera details like serial numbers and display IDs.

TVT

NVRs and DVRs with built-in web interface. Automatically discovers cameras and their names from the device.

Adding a Device

To add a new device, you'll need the following information (ask your network administrator or installer if you're unsure):

  • Site — Which location this device is at
  • Platform — The brand/type of recording equipment (Axxon, Avigilon, Dahua, Uniview, or TVT)
  • IP address or hostname — The network address of the device (how Camera Hub reaches it)
  • HTTP port — The port number the device uses for its web interface (commonly 80, 443, or a custom port like 8080). This is the same port you would use to access the device's web page in a browser
  • Username & password — The login credentials for the device (see note below)
  • Device type (optional) — A label like "NVR" or "DVR" to help you identify the hardware
  • Scan interval — How often Camera Hub should check this device for camera status (e.g., every 5 minutes, every hour, etc.)

Credentials are encrypted. Device usernames and passwords are stored using AES-256-CBC encryption and are never displayed after saving. Make sure you have the correct credentials before adding a device — you cannot retrieve them later.

Tip: For Axxon devices, you can enter up to 5 server IP addresses if you have a multi-server setup.

How Device Monitoring Works

Camera Hub regularly connects to each device based on its scan interval to check which cameras are online and capture snapshot images. You can see the last time each device was checked and when the next check is scheduled on the device card.

If Camera Hub can't reach a device (for example, due to a network outage or power failure), the site status turns red (Critical). An alert email is sent automatically, and a follow-up email is sent when the device comes back online.

Clock Drift Alerts

Camera Hub also checks the clock on each recording device. If the device's clock is off by more than 60 seconds compared to the server, you'll see a warning in the logs.

Incorrect device clocks affect video evidence. If a recorder's clock is wrong, all footage timestamps will be inaccurate. Configure NTP (automatic time sync) on every device to prevent this. Clock drift warnings should be investigated promptly.

Camera Overview

Cameras are automatically discovered when Camera Hub connects to a device — you don't need to add them manually. Each camera shows its current status (online or offline), name, IP address, and which device it's connected to.

You can view cameras in two ways:

  • Grid view — Shows camera thumbnails as cards with images (great for visual overview)
  • List view — Shows cameras in a compact table format (great for large sites with many cameras)

Use the toggle at the top of the camera panel to switch between views. Your preference is saved automatically.

Camera Detail View

Click on any camera to open its detail view, where you can:

  • View the full-size image — See the camera's latest snapshot at full resolution
  • Browse snapshot history — Look back at how the camera's view has changed month by month
  • Refresh the snapshot — Capture a new live image directly from the camera right now
  • Download the image — Save the current snapshot to your computer
  • Mark as critical — Flag this camera as high-priority so it stands out in alerts
  • Manual Disconnect — Mark this camera as intentionally offline (for maintenance, etc.)
  • Assign to a group — Organize cameras by location or power source
  • Ping the camera — Test whether the camera is reachable on the network
  • Add notes — Write notes about the camera for your team
  • View logs — See when this camera went offline or came back online

What you can do depends on your role and permissions.

Camera Status

Each camera is checked during every scan of its device. The dashboard uses simple color-coded indicators:

  • Green glow — Camera is online and working normally
  • Red glow (pulsing) — Camera is offline or can't be reached

When a camera goes offline, a log entry is created automatically. When it comes back online, another log entry records the recovery. The dashboard updates in real time so you always see the latest status.

Camera Images & Snapshots

Camera Hub automatically captures a thumbnail image from each camera during every scan. These thumbnails appear on camera cards in grid view so you can visually confirm what each camera sees.

  • Click a thumbnail to see the full-size image
  • Download any snapshot using the download button
  • Refresh to capture a new live image on demand (once captured, the next refresh is available after one hour to avoid overloading the equipment)
  • Timestamp — Each snapshot shows when it was taken so you know how recent it is

When a camera goes offline, Camera Hub keeps the last image it captured so you always have a recent reference.

Snapshot History

Camera Hub saves a snapshot from each camera every month, giving you a visual history of how each camera's view has changed over time. To browse the history:

  • Click a camera to open its detail view
  • Click the "Load History" button
  • Use the timeline slider to browse through past months
  • Click any historical snapshot to see it full-size

History is kept for up to 12 months. This is useful for checking whether a camera has been moved, tampered with, or blocked by something new in its field of view.

Manual Disconnect

If a camera is being taken offline on purpose (for maintenance, relocation, etc.), you can mark it as "Manually Disconnected." This tells Camera Hub to treat it differently:

  • It won't count against the site's health status (the site won't show yellow/red because of it)
  • No alert emails will be sent about this camera being offline
  • It will be visually marked differently in the camera list so your team knows it's intentional

Remember to re-enable. When a manually disconnected camera is back in service, turn off the Manual Disconnect flag so it's included in status monitoring and alerts again.

Camera Groups

Camera groups let you organize cameras within a site for easier management. There are two types of groups:

  • Location groups — Group cameras by where they are, such as "Front Entrance," "Parking Lot," or "Server Room"
  • Power source groups — Group cameras by what powers them, such as "UPS-1," "Generator A," or "Main Panel." This is helpful when a power source fails — you can quickly see which cameras are affected

A camera can belong to both a location group and a power source group at the same time.

Critical Cameras

You can mark important cameras as "critical" to give them special attention. Critical cameras stand out visually on the dashboard and are called out separately in alert emails, so your team can prioritize the most important cameras first. For example, you might mark cameras covering cash registers, server rooms, or main entrances as critical.

Camera Notes

You can add notes to any camera to keep track of important information — maintenance records, known issues, configuration details, or anything your team needs to know. Every note is saved with a timestamp and the name of who wrote it, so you have a full history.

Camera Reports

Reports are different from notes. A report is a formal way to flag a camera problem that needs attention. Here's how they work:

  • You can select one or more offline cameras to include in a single report
  • Reports show up with a red indicator so they stand out from regular notes
  • A log entry is automatically created when you submit a report
  • Reports serve as a record of camera incidents for your team

When to use what: Use notes for informal things (reminders, configuration details). Use reports when you want to formally document a camera problem.

Search & Filtering

Use the search bar above the camera list to find cameras by name, IP address, or status. You can also filter to show only online or offline cameras. This works across all camera types.

Ping

The Ping feature lets you test whether a specific camera is reachable on the network. This is useful when troubleshooting — it tells you right away if the camera can be contacted, without having to wait for the next scheduled scan.

Exporting Data

You can export camera and log data to CSV files (which open in Excel, Google Sheets, etc.):

  • Camera & Device export — A spreadsheet with camera names, IP addresses, status, device names, and more
  • Log export — A spreadsheet of event logs with timestamps, severity, and details (you can filter by date range)

How Alerts Work

Camera Hub watches your cameras around the clock and notifies you when something goes wrong. You can get alerts in three ways: email, in-app notifications, and browser pop-ups. This way, you'll know about problems even if you're not looking at the dashboard.

Email Alerts

When cameras go offline or devices become unreachable, Camera Hub sends alert emails to the contacts you've set up for that site. These emails tell you:

  • Which cameras went offline — Listed by name, IP address, and platform
  • Which devices are unreachable — If Camera Hub can't connect to a recording device at all
  • Server issues — For Axxon setups, if individual servers in a cluster go down
  • Clock problems — If a device's clock is off by more than 60 seconds
  • Recovery notifications — When something that was down comes back online

Cameras marked as "critical" are highlighted at the top of alert emails so your team sees them first.

Tip: Getting too many emails? Increase the site's alert interval (found in the site's Settings tab). The default is 60 minutes — setting it higher means fewer emails.

In-App Notifications

The notification bell in the top-right corner of the dashboard gives you instant updates without checking email. Notifications appear immediately when:

  • A camera goes offline or comes back online
  • A device becomes disconnected or reconnects
  • A server node reports problems

Each notification shows a colored badge so you can quickly tell how serious it is (Critical, Warning, or Info) and what type of event it is (Camera, Device, or System). A number on the bell icon shows how many unread notifications you have. Click the bell to see the last 24 hours of notifications.

Browser Pop-up Notifications

Want to get alerts even when you're working in another tab or application? Enable browser notifications:

  • Click the notification bell in the header
  • Turn on Desktop Notifications
  • When your browser asks for permission, click "Allow"

You'll see pop-up alerts with the camera or device name, what happened, and which site it's at. You can turn this off at any time from the same panel.

Daily Health Reports

Camera Hub can send you a daily email summarizing how your cameras have been performing over the past 24 hours. These reports include:

  • How many cameras are online vs. offline, broken down by platform
  • Status of any cameras marked as critical
  • A summary of notable events from the past day
  • An AI-written analysis highlighting key issues and trends

To get daily reports, go to the site's Settings tab, then Contacts, and turn on the "Daily Report" option for the contact who should receive them.

Setting Up Alerts

Alert settings are configured per site. Here's how to set them up:

  • Go to the site's Settings tab, then click Contacts
  • Add contacts with their email addresses
  • Turn on Email Alerts for people who should get notified when things go offline/online
  • Turn on Daily Report for people who want the daily health summary
  • Set one person as the Primary contact and optionally one as Secondary

Managing Users

If you're an admin, you can manage your team from the Admin panel. Here's what you can do:

  • Invite new users by sending them an email invitation
  • Assign users to specific sites so they only see what they need
  • Set each user's role to control what they can do
  • Change roles and site assignments at any time
  • Permission changes take effect immediately — no need for the user to log out and back in

How Invitations Work

Here's the step-by-step process for adding a new user:

  1. 1. You send an invite — From the Admin panel, enter the person's email address and select their role
  2. 2. They get an email — The invitation email contains a link to set up their account
  3. 3. They click the link — This opens the account setup page (links expire after 7 days)
  4. 4. They create their account — They choose a username and password
  5. 5. They're ready to go — They can log in right away with their chosen role
  6. 6. You assign them to sites — Go to a site's Settings tab to give them access to specific locations

User Roles

Camera Hub has five built-in roles that control what each user can see and do:

Role What They Can Do Access Level
Org Admin Manage users, all sites, and settings for your organization Entire organization
Admin Manage sites, devices, and cameras they're assigned to Assigned sites only
IT Tech Run diagnostics, test cameras, and submit reports Assigned sites only
Tech View cameras and submit reports Assigned sites only
Customer View-only access — can see cameras but can't make changes Assigned sites only

Custom Roles

Need something more specific? Organizations on Professional and Enterprise plans can create custom roles with exactly the permissions you need. For example, you could create a "Site Manager" role that can manage contacts and view logs but can't add devices. Set up custom roles from the Roles & Permissions tab in the Admin panel.

Permissions Explained

When creating custom roles, you can mix and match from 22 individual permissions. Here's what each one controls:

Permission What It Allows
Cameras
View camerasSee the camera list and their online/offline status
Manage camera notesAdd notes on cameras and delete your own notes
Delete others' camera notesDelete camera notes created by other users
Update camera criticalityMark cameras as critical or non-critical
Ping camerasTest camera connectivity on demand
Submit camera reportsCreate formal camera issue reports
View camera logsSee the event history for cameras and devices
Manage camera groupsCreate and manage camera location and power source groups
Sites
View sitesSee the site list and site details
Manage sitesCreate, edit, and delete sites
Manage site notesAdd, edit, and delete notes on sites
Manage site contactsAdd, edit, and remove contact people and their alert settings
Manage site linksAdd and remove reference links on sites
Devices
View devicesSee the device list and their settings
Manage devicesAdd, edit, and delete recording devices
Users
View usersSee the list of users in your organization
Manage usersInvite new users, change roles, and remove users
Administration
Access admin panelOpen the admin management area
View audit logsSee the history of all user actions in the system
Export dataDownload data as CSV spreadsheet files
Manage rolesCreate, edit, and delete custom roles

What Are Audit Logs?

Camera Hub keeps a complete record of everything that happens in the system. Every time someone logs in, changes a setting, adds a device, exports data, or performs any other action, it's recorded in the audit log with details about who did it, when, and from where.

Think of audit logs as a security journal — they help you track who did what and when, which is important for security and accountability.

Viewing Audit Logs

If you have access to the Admin panel, you can browse the audit log and filter it by:

  • What type of action was taken (created, updated, deleted, logged in, exported, etc.)
  • Which user performed the action
  • Which organization
  • A specific date range

Exporting Audit Logs

You can download audit logs as a CSV spreadsheet file for record-keeping, compliance, or sharing with your team. Each export is itself recorded in the audit log for accountability.

Camera & Device Event Logs

Separate from audit logs, Camera Hub also tracks camera and device events — like when a camera goes offline, comes back online, or when clock drift is detected. These event logs are specific to each site and can be found in the Explorer's Logs tab.

Understanding Log Severity

Each log entry has a severity level that tells you how serious it is:

INFO (Blue)

Routine events: cameras coming online, scans completing, settings changed. Nothing to worry about.

WARNING (Yellow)

Something to keep an eye on: clock drift on a device, slow responses, or partial connectivity issues.

CRITICAL (Red)

Needs immediate attention: cameras going offline, devices unreachable, or server problems.

CLEAR (Green)

Good news: a problem that was previously reported has been resolved (camera back online, device reconnected).

Use the severity filter in the Logs tab to focus on specific types of events.

Finding Specific Events

The Logs tab gives you several ways to find what you're looking for:

  • Severity filter — Show only Info, Warning, Critical, or Clear events
  • Date range — Narrow down to a specific time period
  • Text search — Search for specific camera names, IP addresses, or keywords
  • Column sorting — Click any column header to sort the results
  • Archive toggle — Turn on "Use Archive" to search through older logs that have been archived

You can also export logs to a CSV spreadsheet using the Export button.

How Long Are Logs Kept?

How long Camera Hub keeps your event logs depends on your plan:

Plan Log History
Free Trial 7 days
Professional 30 days
Enterprise 365 days (1 year)

Logs older than your plan's limit are automatically archived. You can still search them by turning on the "Use Archive" toggle. System audit logs (who did what) are kept for 365 days on all plans.

Plans Overview

Camera Hub offers three plans to fit organizations of every size:

Free Trial

$0 / 30 days

  • Up to 3 sites
  • Up to 50 cameras
  • Up to 3 users
  • 7-day log history

Professional

$10 / 16 cameras / mo

  • Unlimited sites
  • Unlimited cameras
  • Unlimited users
  • 30-day log history
  • Custom roles
  • Volume discounts

Enterprise

Custom pricing

  • 500+ cameras
  • Unlimited everything
  • 365-day log history
  • Custom roles
  • Dedicated support

Volume Discounts

On the Professional plan, you automatically get a discount as you add more cameras:

Number of Cameras Discount
1 – 128 cameras Standard pricing
129 – 256 cameras 5% off
257+ cameras 10% off

Example: Once you pass 128 cameras, the 5% discount applies to your total. At 257+ cameras, you get 10% off.

Free Trial & What Happens When It Ends

Every new organization starts with a free 30-day trial. When the trial ends:

  • You won't be able to access the dashboard
  • You'll see a page with options to upgrade
  • Your data is kept safe for a grace period — nothing is deleted right away
  • Upgrading to Professional or Enterprise restores your access immediately

Monitoring stops when the trial ends. Camera alerts and scans are paused while an organization is blocked. Upgrade before the trial expires to avoid gaps in monitoring coverage.

How to Upgrade

To upgrade from the Free Trial, contact your organization administrator or use the upgrade options shown on the trial expiry page.

Your Profile

Click your name or profile icon in the top-right corner to access your profile settings. From there you can:

  • Update your first and last name
  • See your email address and role
  • Change your password

Password Requirements

Your password must include all of the following:

  • At least 8 characters long
  • At least one uppercase letter (A-Z)
  • At least one lowercase letter (a-z)
  • At least one number (0-9)
  • At least one special character (like !, @, #, $, etc.)

All requirements must be met. The form will not accept a password that is missing any of the above. Your password is stored with bcrypt hashing — even Camera Hub staff cannot see or recover it.

Email Verification

When you create a new account, you'll need to verify your email address before you can log in. Check your inbox for a verification link. If you don't see the email, check your spam/junk folder or request a new verification link from the login page.

Resetting Your Password

Forgot your password? No problem — here's how to reset it:

  1. Go to the login page and click "Forgot your password?"
  2. Enter your email address
  3. Check your inbox for a reset email (check spam/junk if you don't see it)
  4. Click the link in the email
  5. Choose a new password that meets the requirements above
  6. Log in with your new password

Reset links can only be used once and expire after a short time. If yours has expired, just request a new one.

Session Timeout

For security, Camera Hub automatically signs you out after 24 hours of inactivity. If this happens, just log in again. To stay signed in longer, check the "Remember me" box when logging in — this keeps you signed in for up to 30 days.

Signing Out

Click your profile icon in the top-right corner and select "Sign Out." This ends your session immediately and takes you back to the login page.