Live Viewing Guide

Monitor your cameras in real time with the multi-camera live view grid

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Overview

The Live View page is Kalytera's real-time monitoring interface. It displays camera streams in a configurable grid layout, supporting up to 36 cameras simultaneously (6×6 grid). The interface includes a device tree panel on the left for drag-and-drop camera assignment, a saved views panel, and a toolbar for grid controls.

Access Live View from Operation > Live View in the navigation menu.

Grid Layouts

Kalytera supports six grid layout sizes. Use the grid selector buttons in the toolbar to switch:

1×1 Single camera
2×2 4 cameras
3×3 9 cameras
4×4 16 cameras
5×5 25 cameras
6×6 36 cameras

The default grid layout is 2×2. For Community Edition users with up to 4 cameras, the 2×2 layout is ideal.

Adding Cameras to the Grid

There are two ways to assign cameras to grid cells:

Drag and Drop
  1. Open the camera tree panel on the left side of the Live View page.
  2. Locate the camera you want to add in the device tree.
  3. Drag the camera from the tree and drop it onto an empty grid cell.
  4. The stream will begin loading automatically.
Click to Assign
  1. Click on an empty grid cell — it will show a placeholder with available cameras.
  2. Select a camera from the list to assign it to that cell.

To remove a camera from a cell, hover over the cell and click the X button, or use the Clear All button in the toolbar to reset the entire grid.

Streaming Modes

Kalytera supports two streaming technologies:

WebRTC

Ultra-low-latency streaming (<500 ms on LAN). Ideal for live monitoring where real-time responsiveness is critical.

  • Peer-to-peer video delivery
  • Best for LAN environments
  • Lowest possible latency
HLS

HTTP-based streaming with broad browser compatibility. Reliable fallback for wider network conditions.

  • Works across all modern browsers
  • Better for remote/WAN access
  • Typically 2–5 seconds latency

The streaming mode is configured globally in Setup > Recording under processing settings.

Main Stream vs Sub Stream

Most IP cameras provide two stream profiles:

Stream Type Typical Resolution Best For
Main Stream 1080p / 4K (full resolution) Single camera view (1×1), recording, forensic review
Sub Stream D1 / 720p (lower resolution) Multi-camera grids (2×2 and above), saving bandwidth
Tip: When viewing multiple cameras in a grid, use sub streams to reduce bandwidth and CPU usage. Switch to main stream when you need full resolution (e.g., zooming into a single camera in 1×1 mode).

Saved Views

Save your frequently used camera layouts as named views for quick recall:

  1. Arrange cameras in the grid as desired.
  2. Click the Save View button in the toolbar.
  3. Enter a name for the view (e.g., "Front Entrance", "Parking Lot").
  4. Click Save.

To load a saved view, open the Views panel and click on the desired view name. The grid layout and camera assignments are restored instantly.

Fullscreen Mode

Kalytera supports two fullscreen options:

  • Grid Fullscreen — Expands the entire camera grid to fill the screen. Click the button in the toolbar.
  • Single Camera Fullscreen — Double-click on any camera cell to expand it to fullscreen. Press Escape to return to the grid.

Tips & Best Practices

Performance
  • Use sub streams for grids of 4+ cameras
  • Close unused browser tabs to free resources
  • Use Chrome or Edge for best WebRTC performance
For Community Edition
  • 4 cameras fit perfectly in a 2×2 grid
  • Save a view for your standard layout
  • Use 1×1 for detailed single-camera monitoring