Recorder channels

In the Apple apps, open the recorder’s Device Settings and choose Channels, IP Channels or, for supported Xiongmai recorders, Channel Mode. Adding a camera to the Watchpost registry and connecting it to a recorder are separate operations.

Names and grid visibility

Channels edits names stored on a Xiongmai or Hikvision device. Xiongmai accepts up to 63 UTF-8 bytes, so the limit is shorter than 63 characters for some languages. Hikvision’s form accepts a nonempty name of up to 32 characters. Use Apply… → Write to send the names.

For Xiongmai, enable All channels of the device to include channels not configured with a camera. Below the names, Show in Grid controls the channels visible in this installation of Watchpost. These switches save immediately and do not change device recording. Discarding device edits does not restore grid visibility.

Connect a camera to an IP channel

1. Open IP Channels and choose a free channel. On iPhone, use the channel picker above the form; on wider screens, select it in the list.
2. Choose Connect a Camera… and enter its address and protocol. Xiongmai also lets you fill this form from a saved camera. Alternatively, assign a discovered or suitable saved camera from the candidate list to a free channel.
3. Enter the camera’s management port and its own credentials. For a camera used as the source, its channel number is normally 1; another recorder as the source needs the relevant channel number.
4. Choose Connect to place the change in the draft. Review the channel and credentials, then choose Apply… → Write.
5. Wait for the recorder to connect, refresh its status and check live video and recording.

Use an address the recorder can reach. A port reachable from Watchpost through a hub does not prove the recorder can reach the camera at that address.

The page starts a camera search when opened. Where supported, it asks the recorder to search its own network. Mac can also search from its own interface when the recorder is directly reachable in the same subnet; this local search does not run through a hub or cloud. Refresh requests the relevant status and repeats search. An empty candidate list does not prove the network has no cameras.

Connect All…, when offered, lets you review camera-to-channel assignments and credentials for several free channels. Confirming it prepares edits; writing to the recorder still requires Apply. Saved camera credentials can fill the form, so inspect them before writing.

Xiongmai channel options

The form offers channel enablement, camera address, protocol, port, source channel and credentials. It can also offer Set the camera’s clock from the recorder and Sync resolution with the recorder. Channels that tour several cameras require the advanced editor.

For the TCP/DVRIP protocol, Check Connection logs in to the camera from the computer or phone running Watchpost, using the site’s route where configured. It does not test the recorder-to-camera path or video playback and does not save the draft. Recheck after edits; an earlier status may describe old values. The form warns when another channel already uses the same source.

Disconnect Camera stages removal of the channel’s camera connection. The recorder acts after Write. Editing IP-channel settings can briefly interrupt live video and recording while the recorder reconnects.

Hikvision channel differences

Hikvision uses its management port, normally 8000, for its native protocol; ONVIF uses the camera’s ONVIF port. This is separate from the HTTP port used to add a Hikvision device directly to Watchpost. Check the port when changing protocol.

The recorder does not reveal a saved camera password. Leave the existing password field blank to keep it, or enter a replacement. New connections need the correct credentials. The connected-camera status describes the recorder’s saved connection; it does not test an unsubmitted draft.

Remove the Camera stages removal. Before writing, Keep the Camera restores that channel’s saved connection. Once written, removal stops recording that camera and leaves earlier recordings on disk.

Channel names and IP connections of a Hikvision recorder share one configuration block. Apply or Discard can include pending changes from both sections. Inspect the complete review. Writes can succeed for some channels before another fails; after an error, read the device state and review the remaining draft before retrying.

Change a Xiongmai channel mode

Channel Mode lists the combinations reported by the recorder, such as analog/IP channel counts, accepted resolution and simultaneous playback capacity. Select a mode, then review and write it.

Switching mode restarts the recorder. Channels absent from the new mode stop showing and recording. Check the whole camera list and recording requirements before writing, then reconnect and verify the result after restart.

Other platforms and protocols

ONVIF has no corresponding recorder-channel forms in Watchpost. Android uses the advanced editor for supported channel blocks; the Apple connection, search and mode forms described here are absent. For moving saved Watchpost connections between sites, see Sites.