Cameras Settings

The Cameras tab of Settings has a page for UniFi NVRs and one for IP Cameras - cameras that work without an NVR. When you have both kinds, or neither yet, a switch at the top chooses the page; with one kind only, its page shows by itself.

The UniFi NVRs page lists your NVRs at the top and the selected NVR's cameras below. The IP Cameras page lists your cameras at the top and the selected camera's streams below - see IP cameras.

The NVR list

It shows the NVRs you signed in to and the ones PanoPaper found on your network, with their Name, Address, Model and Status. The dot before the name has the status's color:

Signed in, n cameras (green) - ready.
Signing in… (orange) - on its way.
Not signed in (grey) - sign in to use it.
Found on network (grey) - an NVR PanoPaper found, not signed in to yet.
A message in red - signing in failed, and why: right away, or later - for example after the account's password was changed on the NVR. Its cameras are not listed then. See When signing in fails.

Hold the pointer over an address to see its IP address. You can resize and rearrange the columns; PanoPaper remembers them.

Click ⓘ at the end of a row (or Control-click it and choose 'Show Info') for more about it: an NVR's model, its UniFi Protect and UniFi OS versions, its addresses and since when it runs. You can select and copy what it shows.

Finding NVRs

PanoPaper looks for NVRs on your network when it starts and when you open this tab. 'Scan Network' looks again now; the bar beside it runs while it looks, and a notice then says what it found. A new NVR is selected in the list and scrolled into view. If macOS keeps PanoPaper off your local network, a warning points at the button instead, with 'Open Privacy & Security': click Local Network there and turn PanoPaper on. It also lists NVRs you hid.

Only NVRs on the same network segment as your Mac can be found. For one elsewhere - behind a router, or on another VLAN - click + and enter its address. While the tab shows one page only, + offers both 'Add UniFi NVR…' and 'Add Camera…', so you can add the other kind too.

Double-click an NVR, or select it and click 'Sign In…' (or Control-click it and choose 'Sign In…'). The sheet asks for a user name and password; to add an NVR by its address instead, click +. See Signing In to an NVR.

Signing out

While the selected NVR is signed in, the button under the list reads 'Sign Out…' (Control-click the NVR for the same). PanoPaper asks first, then forgets the saved password and stops showing the NVR's cameras. The NVR stays in the list, and your camera choices come back when you sign in again - only the password is asked for.

The account line

Under the list, a line names the selected NVR's account and its role in UniFi OS - for example "Signed in as panopaper with role Viewers". What the account may do with each camera is in the camera list below.

Removing an NVR

Select it and click -, press Delete, or Control-click it and choose 'Remove…'. PanoPaper asks first: removing takes the NVR off the list and forgets its password, and displays that showed its cameras go back to your normal wallpaper.

To use it again, add it back: 'Scan Network' finds it (or click +), then sign in. When you remove your last NVR, PanoPaper looks for NVRs again by itself, and the menu bar panel lists every one it finds. To sign out but keep the NVR in the list, use 'Sign Out…' instead.

An NVR PanoPaper only found on your network, and never saved, is hidden instead ('Hide' when you Control-click it) - 'Scan Network' lists it again.

The camera list

Select a signed-in NVR to see its cameras, with their Name, Model and Status: Online (green), Offline (red), or UniFi Protect's own word for anything in between, such as Updating (orange). Cameras added, renamed or back online in UniFi Protect show up within a few minutes, or when you open this tab or the menu bar panel. While this page is open, a camera going offline or coming back online shows at once.

The last columns show what the signed-in account may do with each camera, a green check or a red cross: Video (Livestream), Audio (Livestream Audio) and, for PTZ cameras, PTZ (PTZ Control). Point at a red cross to see which permission to turn on in UniFi Protect. See What the account may do.

A camera's ⓘ - or a double-click on it - shows its model, firmware (and whether a newer one is available), IP and MAC address, its connection, since when it runs, its streams and what it detects.

Putting cameras in your order

Drag NVRs up or down in the NVR list to change their order - the menu bar panel's tabs and lists, All Cameras and the numbers follow it; a new NVR joins at the end. Drag cameras up or down to change their order. The menu bar panel, the Displays tab, and the numbers 1 to 9 for switching cameras on the desktop all follow it. New cameras join at the end.

Renaming NVRs and cameras

To call an NVR or a camera by a name of your own - "Starboard Dome" instead of "stb dome" - select it and press Return, force click its name, or click the name again once it's selected. You can also Control-click it and choose 'Rename'. Type the new name and press Return; Esc keeps the name as it was. PanoPaper then uses your name everywhere: in the menu bar panel, along the bottom of the desktop, in Full Screen, in the detection overlay and notifications, and in Settings.

Your name is PanoPaper's only: UniFi Protect and the camera keep theirs. Hold the pointer over a renamed one's name, or click its ⓘ, to see its name in UniFi Protect (or, for an IP camera, its original name). To go back to that name, rename it and leave the name empty.

Disabling NVRs and cameras

To set an NVR or a camera aside for a while without signing out, Control-click it and choose 'Disable'. It then shows nowhere - not in the menu bar panel, on the desktop, in All Cameras or in Full Screen - and has no detections. This list marks it with a red ⊘ and Disabled (an NVR: Signed in, disabled). The other cameras keep their numbers for the desktop keys. A display that showed it shows your wallpaper until you choose 'Enable'. Nothing changes on the NVR or the camera.

IP cameras

The IP Cameras page works like the NVR page: it lists the cameras you signed in to and the ones PanoPaper found on your network, with their Name, Address, Model and Status. 'Scan Network', signing in and out, - and dragging into your order work the same way. When 'Scan Network' turns up no new cameras here, it goes on to a deep scan, and the bar beside it fills as it goes. To add a camera PanoPaper did not find, click + and enter its IP address or host name - or paste an RTSP URL from the camera's app or manual.

Its Status reads Signed in (green), or Offline (red) when the camera stops answering. Its ⓘ shows the camera's maker, model, firmware, serial number, MAC address, addresses and RTSP address. Under the list, a line names the account signed in to the selected camera. Below it, Streams lists the camera's streams, largest first, as the High, Medium and Low quality you can choose in Settings ▸ Displays: their Resolution, Frame Rate, Video and Audio. A stream's ⓘ - or a double-click on it - shows its RTSP address, resolution, frame rate, bitrate, how often a keyframe comes and its audio, as PanoPaper measures them while the stream plays; where the camera's own setting differs, it is named beside it, for example "10 fps (camera setting: 30)".

A camera found on your network shows its streams before you sign in if it lists them to anyone. Most cameras show them only once you sign in.