When the recorder goes missing, the footage doesn't.
EyeCloud copies every camera from the NVR or DVR you already have to the cloud, one minute at a time. Theft, fire or a dead hard disk no longer takes the evidence with it, and your phone tells you the moment a camera stops recording.
Both copies are recording the last hour. The newest minute is still on its way to the cloud.
Footage kept on site is lost to the very incident it recorded
A recorder sits in the same building as everything it watches. These are the four ways footage usually disappears.
Theft
Burglars know where the recorder is kept, and it is often the first thing they take.
Fire, water, power surges
Whatever damages the premises can damage the recorder and its disk too.
Failed or full disks
Recorders overwrite the oldest days, and a failing disk often goes unnoticed until the day you need it.
Deleted clips
Anyone with the recorder's password can delete footage. An off-site copy cannot be erased from the recorder.
Every business with a recorder has the same weak spot
Pick the place that looks most like yours to see what usually goes wrong there and what EyeCloud changes.
The evidence survives
When something happens, the footage you need is still there, and you can hand the police or your insurer an exact copy.
Every site on one screen
See which sites and cameras are recording, get an email the moment one stops, and know who looked at what.
Nothing new to learn
The recorder works as before. When you need a moment, pick the camera, click the time, download the clip.
Your cameras stay as they are. EyeCloud adds a second home for the footage.
Connect
A small EyeCloud box goes on the same network as your recorder and reads the camera streams the recorder already provides. Nothing changes for your cameras or the recorder.
Copy
Each camera is saved as 1-minute clips, exactly as recorded, with no re-compression. The clips travel through a private encrypted tunnel to EyeCloud, and a second copy is kept on a separate backup server, checked against each clip's fingerprint. If the internet drops, the box holds the footage and catches up later.
Use
See every camera on one wall, click any moment on a camera's day timeline, download clips or export up to two hours as evidence, and get an email when a camera stops recording or its view is blocked.
A recorder, a small computer and enough upload speed
Most sites already have everything except the EyeCloud box. Use the calculator to see whether your internet connection can keep up.
- A Hikvision, Dahua or CP PLUS recorderOne EyeCloud box can copy up to eight recorders at the same site. Other brands can work through a custom RTSP address. On Hikvision, "video encryption" must be off. Set the recorder's clock by NTP: footage times come from it.
- The recorder's login, onceUsed during setup so the EyeCloud box can read the camera streams.
- A small computer for the EyeCloud boxAny small computer running Ubuntu or Debian, such as a Raspberry Pi 4, with 25–100 GB of disk to hold footage while the internet is down. One Raspberry Pi 4 copies seven cameras today.
- No inbound ports at the siteThe box only connects out: an encrypted WireGuard tunnel on UDP port 51820. It needs internet access and can reach the recorder on your local network.
- Enough upload speedEvery camera sends its stream all day. The calculator shows what your site needs.
- A UPS, ideallyNothing records during a power cut unless the recorder and the box are on a UPS. Internet outages are covered by the box's own storage.
One place for every site, camera and clip
Camera wall
Every camera's newest picture on one screen, refreshed every minute. It works on a phone screen too.
Day timeline
Click any moment on a camera's day to see that frame, play it right in the browser, or download the clip.
Evidence export
Export up to two hours as one MP4 through a link that expires, ready for the police or an insurer.
Alerts on your phone and by email
No video, video dropping out, not recording, view blocked or blurred, camera moved, a recorder or the site offline. Reminders every 6 hours, and a message when it is back to normal.
The EyeCloud app
Install EyeCloud on an Android phone, an iPhone or a computer straight from the sign-in page, no app store needed. Alerts arrive as notifications; tap one to open the camera.
Movement after hours
Choose the hours each camera should be quiet. If something moves then, you get a picture and a link that plays the clip from a few seconds before.
The right people, the right cameras
Administrators, operators, auditors, client administrators and view-only client users. Clients see only their own cameras and can be limited to certain sites.
Set up in the dashboard
A setup guide and checklist per client. Add, rename, switch off or remove cameras, and the box picks up the change within about two minutes.
What you have today, and what changes
| Recorder only | Recorder + copying by hand | Recorder + EyeCloud | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The recorder is stolen or burnt | Footage lost | Only what someone copied, if kept elsewhere | Every minute up to the last one uploaded |
| A camera stops recording | Found out when you need it | Found out when you need it | Phone notification and email when it starts, reminders, all-clear |
| A camera is covered, blurred or turned away | Not noticed | Not noticed | Phone notification and email |
| Proving the clip was not changed | Hard | Hard | Each clip checked with SHA-256 on arrival and on backup |
| Who watched or downloaded footage | Not recorded | Not recorded | Audit log |
| Several sites | Visit each recorder | Visit each recorder | One dashboard |
| Effort | None | Someone must remember, every time | Automatic |
Coming next: SmartEye search
Instead of scrubbing through hours, you will describe what you are looking for and see the matching people and vehicles, best match first. It is being built into EyeCloud and tested on trial cameras.
- People by top and bottom colour, and details such as a backpack, a helmet or a saree.
- Vehicles by type and colour: cars, motorbikes and scooters, bicycles, buses and trucks.
- Free text, such as "man in a checked shirt" or "white car near the gate".
- Designed without face recognition or guessing of gender or age, and with every search logged.
Illustration of the planned search. Real results will show snapshots from your own cameras.
Built for footage that may end up as evidence
A private tunnel, not the open internet
Footage leaves the site only through an encrypted WireGuard tunnel to EyeCloud, and the site opens no inbound ports.
Checked copies
Every clip is checked with SHA-256 when it arrives, and again when the separate backup server copies it.
Never deleted before it is backed up
Footage is kept for your number of days. The main server deletes a clip only after the backup server holds a verified copy.
Exactly as recorded
Clips are copied without re-compression, so what you export is what the camera saw.
Access you can account for
Every user has a role, and clients see only their own cameras. Exports, downloads, snapshot links, wall views and camera changes are written to the audit log.
We hear about our own problems
EyeCloud staff get an email if the main server or the dashboard stops answering.
Common questions
Do I need new cameras or a new recorder?
No. EyeCloud works with the Hikvision, Dahua and CP PLUS recorders you already have, and other brands through a custom RTSP address. Only a small EyeCloud box is added.
What does it cost?
It depends on the number of cameras and how many days you want kept. Use the calculator, copy the summary at the bottom of this page and send it to us for a quote.
Who can see my footage?
Only the people you give access to, each with a role. Every export, download and view of the camera wall is written to an audit log, so you can always see who looked at what.
I install CCTV for my customers. Can I manage them all?
Yes. EyeCloud is built for many clients: each client's users see only their own cameras, while your team sees every site and gets the camera alerts.
Does EyeCloud replace my recorder?
No. Your recorder keeps recording and showing the cameras on site as it does today. EyeCloud keeps a second copy somewhere a burglar, a fire or a failed disk cannot reach.
How much internet do I need?
Roughly the sum of your cameras' bitrates, all day. At the EyeCloud site average of about 1 Mbit/s per camera, eight cameras need about 8.6 Mbit/s of upload. The calculator above works it out from your own recorder's settings.
What happens when the internet goes down?
The EyeCloud box keeps the footage on its own disk and catches up when the connection is back. Your recorder keeps recording locally as always, and you get an email that the site is offline.
And when the power goes?
Nothing records during a power cut, on site or in the cloud, unless the recorder and the EyeCloud box are on a UPS.
Is it live video?
No. EyeCloud is for keeping and finding footage. The camera wall shows each camera's newest picture, refreshed every minute, and the timeline shows any earlier moment.
Can my staff or my clients see only their cameras?
Yes. Users get a role, client users see only their own organisation's cameras, and they can be limited to certain sites.
How long is footage kept?
For the number of days agreed for your organisation, for example 30 or 90. After that it is deleted automatically.
Is the footage changed or compressed again?
No. Clips are copied exactly as your recorder streams them, which keeps their quality and their value as evidence.
Talk to us, get help, or book a meeting
New to EyeCloud? Tell us about your site or book a call. Already a customer? Raise a support ticket and we pick it up with your site's details.