Guides

How to check your CCTV cameras remotely from your phone

From a phone, sign in to app.svid.ai and you get the same Library, alerts and search as on a desktop, so checking on a site is opening the app, not an NVR.

How to get alerts from CCTV footage

To get useful CCTV alerts, have AI read the footage and flag the events you care about: on screen, by email, or by JSON webhook into systems you already run.

How to get daily reports from your security cameras

Get a daily report from your security cameras by having AI watch the footage and email a plain-English recap of everything that mattered at the end of the day.

How to get real-time news alerts for day trading

Keep trading while AI watches your news feeds in a Chrome tab and WhatsApps you the second a breaking headline, halt notice or data release lands.

How to get security camera alerts on WhatsApp

Link your WhatsApp to Svid from Account, then Notifications, switch on Alerts, and every camera alert arrives with its reasoning and a link to the flagged moment.

How to monitor multiple security cameras at once

One person can't really watch nine camera feeds at once. The workable fix is AI that reads every feed live and surfaces the few moments worth human attention.

How to monitor your TikTok LIVE and get WhatsApp alerts

Stream from your phone, let AI watch your TikTok LIVE from a desktop tab, and get a WhatsApp message when you freeze, leave the frame or a big gift lands.

How to reduce false alerts from your security cameras

Security cameras false-alert because motion detection reacts to pixel change, not meaning. Tighten zones and sensitivity, then alert on described events instead.

How to find a person in CCTV footage

Don't scrub. Describe them: type what the person was wearing and search jumps to every matching moment in your footage. No tracking, no facial recognition.

How to find CCTV evidence for an insurance claim

Find CCTV evidence for a claim by searching footage in plain English, building the timeline around the incident, and exporting clips before retention overwrites them.

How to make CCTV footage searchable

Make CCTV footage searchable by having a vision model describe every frame. Once descriptions are indexed, finding any moment is a text search that takes seconds.

How to reconstruct an incident from CCTV

To reconstruct an incident from CCTV, treat it as questions put to the footage: when did it happen, what led to it, who was involved. AI answers each in seconds.

How to search through hours of CCTV footage

Stop scrubbing. The fastest way to search hours of CCTV footage is to have AI describe every frame, then type what you're looking for in plain English.

How to transcribe and search CCTV audio

Svid can transcribe a camera's audio track into searchable text, so a search matches what was said on camera the same way it matches what was seen.

How to turn security footage into a highlight reel

Svid's Edits feature turns a prompt like the busiest two minutes at the till this week into a real cut-together video, assembled from footage you already have.

How to connect RTSP cameras to AI

If your camera or recorder exposes an RTSP stream, you can point AI at it directly. Svid reads the feed as-is, captured server-side, with no new hardware to install.

How to convert CCTV footage to MP4 (.dav, .264 and friends)

Most CCTV exports (.dav, .264) are ordinary H.264 video in an odd wrapper. Convert them to MP4 with ffmpeg or the recorder's own tools, no converter sites needed.

How to export footage from an NVR or DVR

Three ways to export footage from an NVR or DVR: a USB stick at the recorder, its web interface, or the vendor's app. Pick MP4, and export before it's overwritten.

How to use a phone as an AI security camera

A phone propped on a shelf can work as a real AI security camera: point its live camera at the scene and Svid treats it like any CCTV feed, searchable and alertable.

Main stream vs sub stream: which should you use?

The main stream is the full-resolution feed your recorder stores; the sub stream is a lighter copy for grids and remote viewing. Which to use, AI watching included.

Why does CCTV footage look grainy at night?

CCTV looks grainy at night because the camera switches to infrared and turns its sensor gain right up; the grain is that gain made visible. What helps, cheapest first.

Does Ring support RTSP?

No. Ring has never supported RTSP or ONVIF and there's no local stream. You can still download clips as MP4s and make them searchable, or run an RTSP camera alongside.

How to find the RTSP URL for a Dahua camera

Dahua cameras and recorders publish RTSP at a realmonitor URL on port 554, on by default, confirmed in the device's own network settings page.

How to find the RTSP URL for a Eufy camera

Eufy shows a camera's RTSP address in the Eufy Security app: switch on NAS (RTSP) in that camera's storage settings. Support is model-dependent, and no doorbell has it.

How to find the RTSP URL for a Hikvision camera

Hikvision cameras and NVRs expose RTSP at a predictable Streaming/Channels URL on port 554, once you've confirmed it in the device's own network settings.

How to find the RTSP URL for a Lorex camera

Most Lorex recorders answer at the Dahua-style realmonitor URL on port 554, with the recorder's own login as credentials and cameras picked by channel number.

How to find the RTSP URL for a Reolink camera

Reolink documents its RTSP format directly: a Preview URL on port 554, switched off by default on most models until you enable it in settings.

How to find the RTSP URL for a Swann camera

There's no single Swann RTSP URL: try rtsp://user:pass@ip:554/ch01/0 first, then the Hikvision-style /Streaming/Channels/101 that newer Swann NVRs use.

How to find the RTSP URL for a TP-Link Tapo camera

Tapo cameras set up RTSP inside the app itself, with a separate local camera account, then use a stream1 URL on port 554 once that's created.

How to find the RTSP URL for a Ubiquiti UniFi Protect camera

UniFi Protect generates the RTSP link per camera inside the Protect app itself, served from your console on port 7447, not a URL you build yourself.

How to find the RTSP URL for a Wyze camera

Wyze's Cam v3 and Cam Pan v3 now get RTSP officially, switched on in the app with a stream0 URL on port 554. Older models used a separate firmware; most have none.

How to find the RTSP URL for an Amcrest camera

Amcrest cameras use Dahua's RTSP format, a realmonitor URL on port 554, on by default, confirmed in the device's own network settings page.

How to find the RTSP URL for an Annke camera

Annke's wired NVR cameras use a Hikvision-style RTSP URL on port 554; its Wi-Fi and battery models vary a lot, so check yours before assuming.

How to find the RTSP URL for an EZVIZ camera

Most EZVIZ cameras use rtsp://admin:verification-code@ip:554/h264/ch1/main/av_stream, once RTSP is enabled in the app; newer models may have dropped it.

How to catch self-checkout theft

Catch self-checkout theft by pointing a camera at the till bank: it flags an unscanned item, a barcode swap or a bag filled before payment as it happens.

How to measure footfall in a shop

You can measure footfall with the CCTV you already own: AI counts who comes in, when, and how long they stay. No door sensors, no beam counters, no new hardware.

How to prevent shoplifting in your shop

Prevent shoplifting by making your shop a harder target: clear sightlines, staff who greet people, sensible layout, and cameras that actually get watched.

How to reduce checkout queues with CCTV

The fastest way to reduce checkout queues is to know the moment one forms. A camera on the tills can alert staff the instant the line passes your threshold.

How to stop parcel theft in an apartment building

Parcel theft happens in the gap between delivery and collection. Shrink the gap where you can, and put an AI check on the lobby camera for the rest.

How to detect falls in a care home

Camera-based fall detection alerts care home staff the moment a resident goes down, using the cameras already installed, with no wearables to charge or forget.

How to detect fire or smoke with CCTV

Cameras already watching a warehouse, kitchen or plant room can flag visible smoke or flame the moment it appears, often before a point alarm triggers.

How to know when a care home resident leaves their bed

A camera on a bed-monitoring rota can flag the moment a falls-risk resident leaves their bed at night, so a carer checks instead of finding out on the round.

How to log vehicle activity and parking violations on site

Keep a searchable log of vehicles on site and flag violations like a blocked fire lane or an overstayed bay, from a camera you already have. No ANPR.

How to monitor PPE compliance on site

You can monitor PPE compliance with the cameras already on site: AI flags a missing hard hat or hi-vis vest as it happens, as a live alert or a daily report.

How to spot forklift near misses in a warehouse

Spot forklift near misses by pointing a camera at the aisle or loading area: it flags the moment a forklift and a pedestrian share space too closely.

How to stop people entering restricted areas

Draw a zone once and Svid flags anyone visible inside it outside the times or people you've allowed, on a plant room, roof or rear yard.

How to stop tailgating in a 24/7 gym

Door hardware logs the badge, not the second person through the door. To stop tailgating in an unstaffed gym, flag each incident on camera with footage attached.

How to track activity at a loading dock

A camera on the loading dock can keep a timestamped, searchable record of what came and went, ready the day a delivery is disputed or timekeeping is in question.

CCTV and GDPR: what you can and can't do

Running CCTV at a UK business is legal if you can say why you're recording, tell people, keep footage no longer than needed, and answer requests for it.

How to get evidence of pests before an inspection

Pests show up overnight, when the kitchen is empty. Point a camera at the risk areas and let an AI check flag activity with timestamps before the EHO does.

How to prove kitchen and hand hygiene compliance

A camera over the prep line and wash station builds a running record of hygiene practice, so the evidence for an EHO visit or audit already exists.

How to stay under your occupancy limit

A camera on the entrance can flag when a room or venue is running over its stated capacity, before it becomes a compliance problem rather than after.

How to verify a cleaning contractor actually cleaned

Pointing a camera at the areas a cleaning contract covers turns whether they actually came into a report you can check in a minute, not a dispute.

AI video search vs a traditional VMS

A VMS records, stores and plays back video. AI video search adds meaning on top, so you find moments by describing them instead of scrubbing footage by hand.

Alternatives to facial recognition on CCTV

The practical alternative to facial recognition is searching what's visible on CCTV: plain-English descriptions of people, found in seconds without identifying anyone.

Can AI watch a video for you?

Yes, AI can watch a video for you: a vision model describes each frame in plain English, so it can alert you when something matches and answer a search weeks later.

How AI video search works

AI video search works by turning video into text: a vision model describes each frame, the descriptions get indexed, and your search is a query over words, not pixels.

What does "AI" on a security camera actually mean?

"AI" on a security camera usually means a small classifier that labels motion as a person or vehicle. Scene understanding, which says what happened, is a different tier.