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Driver Type
Categories
- Recent Updates
- Access Control
- Amplifier
- A/V Receiver
- Climate and Pool Control
- Disc Player / Changer
- Display
- DSP
- DVR
- Irrigation / Sprinklers
- Lighting Control
- Matrix Switch
- Media Server and Player
- Multi-Room A/V
- Networking
- Power and Rack Management
- Security
- Surveillance
- Teleconferencing
- Training
- Tuner
- Utility
- Video Projector
Hikvision / HiLook NVR
By: David Bowdler
Updated: June 26, 2026
Version: 2.07
Hikvision / HiLook NVR Control Driver
Two-way RTI control of HiLook and compatible Hikvision network video recorders over the local network — no cloud account, no monthly fees. Bring up to 16 camera channels onto any RTI touchpanel or hard-button remote with live video, full PTZ control, motion alerts and recording — and let the driver discover your cameras for you.
Key Features
- Up to 16 cameras: live RTSP streaming (main + sub streams) for every channel, on touchpanels and RTI's Dynamic Camera Feed pages.
- Design-time camera discovery: one click reads your NVR, sets the channel count and auto-fills friendly camera names that flow through the whole project — buttons, menus and feedback.
- Full PTZ control: pan / tilt / zoom, continuous and single-step jog, diagonals, plus up to 8 recallable presets per camera.
- Motion & alarm events: motion-detected, motion-cleared, video-loss and hardwired alarm-input events fire on the NVR's alert stream to trigger macros, lighting or notifications.
- Recording control: start / stop recording per camera or by channel.
- Storage monitoring: live disk-free percentage with low and critical alerts.
- Dynamic Camera Feed ready: the driver's default page template — drop a Dynamic Camera Feed, PTZ Camera or Camera Multiview page and the buttons auto-program.
- Hardware-remote Browse Menu: on-screen camera list for T-class / ISR remotes.
- Built-in diagnostics: telnet debug console and optional cloud remote logging for fast support.
Requirements
- A HiLook or compatible Hikvision NVR with ISAPI enabled and an account with API access.
- The RTI processor on the same network as the NVR.
- RTI XP processor, Integration Designer 11 or later (the driver uses the Dynamic Camera Feed page template).
- Tested on a HiLook NVR-108MH-C/8P(B). Hikvision and HiLook share the ISAPI interface, so other models are expected to work — please run the built-in free trial on your unit before purchasing.
How It Works
The driver talks to the NVR over its local ISAPI interface using HTTP Digest authentication. Enter the NVR's IP address, username and password, click Discover Cameras, and the driver pulls in your cameras and their names automatically. Bind the live feed, PTZ and status tags to your UI — or start from the supplied sample project. A 120-minute free trial is built in so you can confirm full operation on your hardware before buying a licence.
Hikvision / HiLook NVR Control Driver v2.07
Smart Home Programming - smarthomeprogramming.com.au - 2026
Overview
Controls HiLook NVRs (and compatible Hikvision NVRs) via ISAPI over HTTP with Digest authentication.
Supports up to 16 camera channels with:
- RTSP live streaming (main and sub streams)
- PTZ control with presets
- Motion detection events and motion-cleared events
- Recording control per channel
- Camera online/offline detection
- Snapshot rotation across all cameras
- Browse menu for camera selection on RTI interfaces
- NVR storage monitoring with low/critical alerts
- Recording status monitoring (auto-synced from NVR)
- NVR reboot function
Configuration
Connection:
- NVR IP Address: IP address of your HiLook NVR
- HTTP Port: Default 80
- Username / Password: NVR login credentials
Cameras:
- Channel Count: Number of camera channels on your NVR (1-16)
PTZ:
- PTZ Speed: Movement speed 1 (slowest) to 7 (fastest), default 3
- Number of PTZ Presets: How many presets to expose per camera (4/8/16/32)
Snapshot Rotation:
- Enable Snapshot Rotation: Cycle through all online cameras automatically
- Rotation Interval: Seconds between updates (3/5/10/15/30/60 sec)
Storage Monitoring:
- Storage Alert Threshold: Disk free percentage at which to fire STORAGE_LOW and STORAGE_CRITICAL alerts (5/10/15/20 %, default 10). STORAGE_CRITICAL fires at half the threshold.
Licensing:
- Licence Key: Enter your key from smarthomeprogramming.com.au/store
Debug:
- Debug Level: 0=Off, 1=Basic, 2=Verbose
- Debug Port: TCP port for debug console (default 12506, set 0 to disable)
RTSP Streaming
HiLook RTSP URL format:
Main stream: rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/Streaming/Channels/N01
Sub stream: rtsp://user:pass@IP:554/Streaming/Channels/N02
Per-camera variables available in the Integration Designer Image/Feed picker:
- CamN RTSP Main / CamN RTSP Sub: RTSP URLs as strings
- CamN Snapshot: latest JPEG snapshot from the NVR
- CamN RTSP Main (Feed) / CamN RTSP Sub (Feed): live video feeds
The driver derives all 16 channel URLs at startup. Use the Selected Camera or Rotating Snapshot variables on shared image/feed objects to keep one panel layout for all cameras.
Selected Camera
The driver tracks a "currently selected" camera (1-16). Use Select Camera N functions or Next / Previous Camera to change it. The Selected RTSP / Selected Snapshot variables update automatically.
Browse Menu
A SystemVarsList ("BrowseMenu") containing all configured cameras. Wire it to a list element in Integration Designer and use the Select Item function to make selection clickable.
Motion Events
The driver listens for motion alerts on the NVR's alert stream and fires:
- MOTION_N when channel N reports motion
- MOTION_CLEAR_N once channel N stops reporting motion (after the configured hold time)
- VIDEO_LOSS_N when a camera goes offline
- ALARM_IN_1..4 for the NVR's hardwired alarm inputs
The CamN Motion boolean variable mirrors the live motion state for use in feedback graphics or buttontags.
Recording
- Start Recording / Stop Recording: control the currently selected camera
- Start Recording Channel / Stop Recording Channel: control a specific channel by integer parameter
- CamN Recording: boolean reflecting current manual-record state per channel (polled from the NVR)
The NVR must have its scheduling set to manual or event mode for the start/stop functions to take effect.
Storage Monitoring
The driver polls the NVR for HDD usage every 15 minutes. Three sysvars are populated:
- StorageFreeGB: free disk space in gigabytes
- StorageFreePercent: free disk space as a percentage
- StorageStatus: "OK", "Low", or "Critical"
Two events fire on threshold transitions:
- STORAGE_LOW when free space drops below the configured threshold
- STORAGE_CRITICAL when free space drops below half the threshold
Both events fire once per transition (re-arm when storage recovers).
Licensing
Enter your licence key from smarthomeprogramming.com.au/store.
A 120-minute trial is available for evaluation. The driver continues to function after the trial for basic NVR control with reduced functionality.
Debug Console
A TCP server listens on the configured Debug Port (default 12506). Telnet to it from a workstation on the same network to see live driver output, run diagnostic commands, and tail the event stream. Set Debug Port to 0 to disable.
RTI Tags & Page Templates
The driver's default page template is "Dynamic Camera Feed". Add the NVR as a source, then use Page Wizard to add a Dynamic Camera Feed, Dynamic Camera Feed - Full, PTZ Camera, or Camera Multiview page - the buttons auto-program to the tags below. Each camera tag carries up to three bindings (command + active-highlight variable + camera-name text tag) under one tag name.
Camera selection (commands):
- Camera 1 ... Camera 16: select that camera. The same tag also carries the camera Name (text tag) and an Active highlight (variable).
- Next Camera / Previous Camera: step through cameras
- Cycle Cameras: auto-advance through cameras (the Cycle Cameras variable shows the active state)
- Refresh Camera Feed: reload the current feed
Live feed (variables):
- Current Feed (also tagged RTSP Camera): the selected camera's live RTSP feed - bind to the video/feed element
- Current Feed Name: the selected camera's name
- Camera N RTSP Main/Sub (Feed), Camera N Snapshot: per-camera feeds for multiview layouts
PTZ (commands):
- Up / Down / Left / Right: d-pad move (jog). OK: recall home position
- Continuous Up/Down/Left/Right + diagonals (Up-Left, Up-Right, Down-Left, Down-Right): hold-to-move; pair Stop on button release
- Jog Up/Down/Left/Right + diagonals: single-step move (repeats while held)
- Zoom In / Zoom Out / Zoom Stop, Continuous Zoom In / Continuous Zoom Out
- Home Preset, Stop
- PTZ Controls / PTZ Controls Show / PTZ Controls Hide: toggle the PTZ overlay (the PTZ Controls variable tracks visibility)
- PTZ Preset 1 ... PTZ Preset 8: recall presets
Recording (commands):
- Record On / Record Off: start / stop recording the selected camera
Browse list:
- Browse: the camera list (bind to a list element). Browse Menu: select an item
Per-camera status (variables, N = 1..16):
- Motion N: live motion state. Recording N: manual-record state. Online N: camera online/offline
Other:
- Connected: driver connection state
- Remote Logging On / Off / Toggle: enable cloud diagnostics (Diagnostics category)
Support
Smart Home Programming
Web: smarthomeprogramming.com.au
Store / licence keys: smarthomeprogramming.com.au/store
For setup help, licence keys, or feature requests, contact us through the website above. We provide tech support for all our drivers.
This driver requires a licence key tied to your RTI processor's MAC address. A 120-minute free trial is built in — load the driver and it runs fully for two hours each session so you can confirm it works on your NVR before purchasing.
Purchase a per-processor licence key from smarthomeprogramming.com.au/store. After purchase you'll receive a key for the processor MAC shown in the driver's MAC For Key system variable. One key per processor.