Video, image and privacy masks

Open Device Settings and choose Encoding, Image or OSD and Privacy Masks. The Apple apps offer these forms according to the protocol and device response. Android uses the advanced editor for supported video blocks.

These options change the device’s output for its other viewers too. Choosing a stream quality in Watchpost’s Live grid is a separate local setting.

Select the encoder

Protocol	Selection and limits in the Apple form
Xiongmai	Channel with main and sub streams; supported recorders can read and write a channel camera’s encoding through the recorder
Hikvision / HiWatch	A stream labeled with channel and main/sub-stream identity; available choices come from capabilities when reported
ONVIF	A video encoder configuration identified by its name, codec and resolution; the form displays its current codec without a codec-change control

A recorder may have no encoder of its own. For Xiongmai, channel-camera settings appear only when the recorder supports that operation and the camera supplies them. A channel with no settings cannot be configured through this form. Hikvision recorders may omit a camera’s capability list; a fallback choice in the form is not proof the camera accepts it.

Change encoding

Select the correct channel or stream before editing. The main stream commonly supplies detailed viewing and recordings; the sub stream supplies a lighter stream for a grid or slower link. Recording the sub stream is a separate recording setting.

Field	What to check
Codec and resolution	Device support and compatibility with the players that will open the video
Frame rate	The stream’s allowed rate; increasing it can increase traffic and storage use
CBR / VBR and bitrate	CBR targets a rate; VBR varies with the scene and quality, within the device’s limit
Keyframe interval	The unit beside the field: Xiongmai uses seconds here; Hikvision and ONVIF use frames
Sound	Whether the selected stream carries audio; recording sound can require a separate recording option

Xiongmai can automatically change the sub-stream resolution when a new main-stream resolution makes the old sub-stream size unavailable. Review both streams before writing. In its VBR form, quality is editable while the displayed bitrate limit is informational. Smart codec, when offered for the device’s own encoder, reduces bitrate in still scenes and can space keyframes farther apart; it is not offered in the recorder’s channel-camera form.

ONVIF exposes only the resolution choices and numeric ranges the form can determine, with the current value retained. Some cameras round settings or keep their own values. Read the result after writing.

Where Xiongmai offers Copy to Other Channels…, it copies that channel’s encoding settings, including both streams. It is not limited to the field you just changed. Review all target channels.

Adjust the picture

Image shows the camera’s live picture as a reference. Sliders and choices prepare a draft; the actual picture changes after Apply… → Write.

Xiongmai cameras can offer day/night and IR-cut controls, exposure and shutter, gain, backlight/WDR, white balance, noise reduction and orientation. Available fields follow the camera’s response. Switching manual/automatic exposure can change several shutter fields together, so inspect the complete review. A recorder that does not expose these camera parameters needs configuration on the camera itself.

Hikvision provides per-channel picture controls where supported, including brightness/contrast, day/night switching and lighting, exposure, noise reduction, backlight and orientation. Certain backlight modes compete with each other; the camera may refuse a combination. Watchpost uses the device’s capability ranges where available.

ONVIF can offer brightness, contrast, saturation and sharpness, with supported exposure, white-balance, day/night and backlight/WDR modes. It requires the corresponding options from the device; a field present in a reading does not automatically make it editable.

Change a small set of parameters, write it, then inspect the actual video. Copying Xiongmai image settings to other channels can include both its main image block and additional image parameters. Each camera may need different exposure settings.

Place text and privacy masks

Xiongmai and Hikvision offer OSD and Privacy Masks when supported. ONVIF does not have this overlay/mask form in Watchpost.

1. Select the channel. Enable its name or date/time text as needed; set the name itself in Channels.
2. Drag text in the preview to position it. Available color, format and appearance options depend on the protocol.
3. Use Add Mask or draw across the picture. Move a mask by dragging it and resize it from its corner. The list’s remove action deletes a draft mask. Stay within the displayed mask limit.
4. For Hikvision, check Cover the masked areas where available. Defined regions with masking switched off do not provide coverage.
5. Review and write, then check the actual live stream and a new recording for coverage and placement.

The preview contains editable guides. They are not proof the device has started obscuring those areas. Device masks affect live video and future recordings after application; they do not cover recordings already stored.

For Xiongmai, copying OSD settings preserves the target channel’s name and privacy masks while copying the other overlay settings. Place masks on each camera individually. Hikvision can also offer extra text lines with their own visibility, position and a device-specific line limit.

Confirm the result

Apply opens the review; Write sends the dirty blocks shown there. Discard removes pending block edits, while canceling the review keeps the draft. Separate blocks and list elements can succeed or fail independently. The operation does not roll back an earlier successful write when a later one fails.

Watchpost keeps the previously read block as a backup and attempts to read after writing. A success label alone does not prove every value was read back or every stream plays correctly. Recheck after a connection error or restart. See Advanced editor and backups for restoring a saved block through another review.