How to Add and Manage Cameras

IMPORTANT: The information in this article is specific to Orchid version 1.12.7 or earlier.  Equivalent instructions for Orchid versions 2.0.0 and above are available in the Orchid Core VMS Administrator Guide in the chapter "Adding and Managing Cameras".

To access the Camera Configuration settings for Orchid, click the “Configuration” button on the top right-hand corner of the Stage, then select the “Camera Configuration” button on the left-hand side menu.

Note: You will need to be logged in as an Administrator or Manager. Viewer and Live Viewer accounts do not have the ability to create and manage cameras.

The Camera Configuration will open with the bulk registration tool by default. This tool can be used to add multiple cameras that all use the same ONVIF username and password. Skip to the “adding multiple cameras” section of this guide if you want to add multiple cameras at the same time.

Adding a Single Camera:

Orchid displays a list of all cameras it was able to auto-discover on the left hand-side menu, directly below the “Camera Configuration” button. To add a new camera, first select it from the list.

Note: In order for Orchid to auto-discover cameras, they must support ONVIF auto-discovery and located on the same network subnet. However, they can always be added manually to Orchid if they are not automatically discovered.

After clicking on one of the auto-discovered cameras, you will be brought to the camera registration screen. The ONVIF Discovery URL will be automatically completed and should not need to be updated. However, the following fields will need to be changed:

• Camera Name: Enter a unique name for the camera. This will allow you to distinguish the camera from other cameras set up within Orchid, but can be set to anything.
• Credentials: The ONVIF username and password that should already be setup on the camera will need to be entered here.
• Note: For some ONVIF cameras, a username and password separate from the regular admin or root account needs to be created specifically for ONVIF.

The server field can be left at the default setting. When ready, click the “Register Camera” button to add the camera to Orchid.

Adding Multiple Cameras:

Multiple cameras with the same ONVIF credentials can be added to Orchid at the same time using the bulk registration tool.

1. To open the bulk registration tool, click the “Camera Configuration” button in Orchid’s configuration menu.

2. In the username and password text boxes, enter the ONVIF username and password that is setup on the cameras you would like to add.

3. To the right of bulk registration form, there will be a list of all the cameras auto-discovered by Orchid. Check the checkbox for each camera you would like to add.

4. Once all of the cameras you want to add have been selected, click the “Register Selected Cameras” button to add the cameras to Orchid.

Depending on the number of cameras being added, it may take a few minutes for Orchid to add them successfully. When complete, Orchid will show a list of all cameras that were successfully and unsuccessfully added. If Orchid fails to add a camera, an error message will appear explaining what the issue is.

Manually Adding Cameras:

In the event that Orchid cannot auto-discover a camera, or the camera does not support auto-discovery, it can be added manually.

1. Click the “Add Camera Manually” button, which will be located directly in the sub-menu below the “Camera Configuration” button within Orchid’s main configuration menu.

2. The register camera form will be shown. Select the driver you would like to use for the camera from the dropdown menu.

• Note: While the Generic RTSP driver is available when adding cameras manually, this is not always guaranteed to work due to the way different manufacturers handle RTSP streams. The recommended driver to use with Orchid is ONVIF.

3. Enter the ONVIF Discovery URL, or the RTSP Stream URI, depending on the driver you specified, to match the correct address for the camera being added. Consult with the camera’s user guide as needed for the correct syntax of the address. 

4. Enter a unique name for the camera into the “Camera Name” field. This will allow you to distinguish the camera from other cameras set up within Orchid, but can be set to anything.

5. In the “Credentials” text box, enter the ONVIF username and password that should already be setup on the camera need to be entered here.

• Note: For some ONVIF cameras, a username and password separate from the regular admin or root account needs to be created specifically for ONVIF.

The server field can be left at the default setting. When ready, click the “Register Camera” button to add the camera to Orchid.

Editing Camera Settings:

After a camera has been added to Orchid, settings such as the stream resolution and frame rate can be updated through the camera stream’s configuration.

While on the main camera configuration screen, click the name of the camera you want to edit. The list of cameras added to Orchid will appear in a list directly below the Camera Configuration button in the main Configuration Menu.

The camera information page for the camera you selected will appear. This page will show all of the basic information about the camera, such as its name, IP address, and all of the streams it has available.

A camera stream is a profile with all of the basic settings used by Orchid to record video from the camera. The stream currently being used by Orchid will show a darkened check box. To select a new stream, click the check box located to the left of the name of the stream you want Orchid to record with.

Only one stream can be used at a time. However, multiple stream profiles from the same camera can be used if the camera is added multiple times to Orchid.

A stream can be edited by clicking the edit button which is located to the right of the stream name.

After clicking the edit stream button, a form will appear below the list of streams with all of the settings available to change. This same form will appear if the “Add Stream” button is clicked when adding a new stream, but it will be blank.

Once the stream settings have been updated, click the “Save Changes” button to save the new stream settings. It may take a few minutes for the settings to change based on the camera being updated.

Removing a Camera:

To remove a single camera, click the “Delete Camera” button which is located at the bottom of the camera’s settings page. After clicking that button the camera will be removed from Orchid after a few moments.

Multiple cameras can also be removed from Orchid at the same time if needed. The bulk delete tool can be accessed by clicking “Camera Configuration” button on the main Configuration Menu and clicking the “Bulk Delete” tab, which will be located directly above the Bulk Registration tool.

A list of all the currently added cameras will appear with a checkbox next to each one allowing you to select the cameras to remove. When all the cameras have been selected, click the “Delete Selected Cameras” to remove the selected cameras from Orchid.

Recovering a Camera:

If a camera’s connection properties have changed, click the “Recover Camera” button to modify the camera URL and credentials and reestablish the connection between Orchid and the camera.