Free NVR software for ONVIF cameras
Litmus NVR finds ONVIF cameras on your local network, so you add a camera by choosing it from a list and entering its username and password. You don’t need to look up an RTSP address. It is free and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and Raspberry Pi.
Add an ONVIF camera
- Go to Settings > Cameras and click Add camera. Litmus searches the local network and lists the cameras it finds.
- Click Add next to your camera under Found cameras.
- Enter the camera’s username and password and click Check connection. When it connects, a picture from the camera and its resolution appear.
- Name the camera and click Add camera, then Save.
From the Litmus NVR user guide, “Adding a Camera” (device software 2.3.0 or later).
What you get with ONVIF
- No address to type. The device asks the camera for its video address, so you don’t enter an RTSP URL.
- Follows IP changes. If the camera’s IP address changes on the same network, Litmus finds it again by its unique ID and reconnects.
- Lighter AI detection. If the camera also sends a lower-resolution video, Litmus can use it for detection while recordings keep the original resolution. It is off by default.
- One list for every camera. ONVIF, RTSP and USB cameras appear together. Hikvision, Dahua and Xiongmai-based cameras are also found with the manufacturer’s own search.
If your camera is not in the list
- Set it up in the manufacturer’s app first. A camera that has not been set up there shows a note and cannot be selected.
- Different network range. A camera on a different IP range from the device cannot be selected. Put it on the same network, or add it by address.
- Add it manually. Click Add manually, enter the camera’s IP address and manufacturer, then check the connection. If an ONVIF camera fails the check, click Edit manually to try again this way.
What Litmus does
- Every person and vehicle becomes a card. Litmus detects people and vehicles as it records and turns each one into a card, so you browse who was there instead of scrubbing a timeline.
- Follow someone across cameras. Open a card to play that person’s scenes from every camera in time order.
- Four ways to search. By appearance (clothing and build), by face with no enrollment, by a description such as “a person in a yellow shirt”, or by attributes like clothing color, bag, hat and age group. Vehicles can be searched by license plate, and a partial plate works.
- Works locally, no sign-up. On your network, open it in a browser without a Litmus account.
- Remote viewing without port forwarding. Add the device to your Litmus account, and the phone app and browser connect over an encrypted peer-to-peer connection, which works on most home and office routers.
- Video stays on your hardware. Recordings and analysis are stored on the computer running Litmus, not in the cloud.
Questions
Does my camera need ONVIF?
No. Litmus also connects to cameras by RTSP address and to USB cameras. ONVIF only makes adding a camera easier.
Is Litmus NVR really free?
Yes. Every feature is free with no camera limit. Live View over a direct connection is unlimited.
Does my video go to the cloud?
Recordings and AI analysis stay on the computer running Litmus. Where a network blocks direct connections, encrypted video passes through our relay server without being stored. Alert photos are kept in cloud storage.