# Recording Modes

Navigation: Working with Nx Witness > Device Management (Cameras, Encoders and I/O Modules) > Setting Up Cameras and Devices > # Recording Modes |

The recording schedule is where you define when and at what quality a device will be recorded. The recording schedule is always based on server time.

You must have an active Nx Witness license to record device streams. If there are insufficient licenses, you will be warned that the license limit is exceeded. If this is the case, your recording schedule settings will be saved, but recording will be disabled.

Audio can be recorded as well as image if the device has (or is connected to) a microphone, and the "Enable Audio" checkbox in Device Settings -> General -> Audio is checked. It is also possible set a recording schedule for I/O Modules (see "Setting Up I/O Modules").

The recording schedule provides the following modes, which can be applied in 1 hour blocks:

Record Always – Always records.

Motion Only – R ecording will start if motion occurs. Requires that the camera support hardware or software motion detection.

Motion + Lo-Res – by default, a camera is set to record at low resolution unless motion occurs, at which point it automatically switches to recording at high resolution. High resolution recording requires dual streaming. To use this recording mode, make sure the camera supports dual-streaming. If it does not, the following warning will be displayed: "Dual-Streaming and Motion Detection is not available for this camera." See Dual Stream Requirement section below.

Do Not Record – never records.

When recording is configured, devices are marked with a small red circle in the Resource Tree:

– indicates camera is recording

– indicates a recording schedule is established but the camera is not recording at the moment. A license is still being used even though the device is not recoding at the moment.

Dual Stream Requirement

The secondary stream is used for recording and also used for motion detection and to save bandwidth and CPU during playback (see "CPU and Bandwidth Saving during Playback"). If dual-streaming is supported, the System tries to set second stream settings to low quality as follows:

•2 to 7 FPS

•320p to 480p (some cameras may set secondary stream resolution up to 720p). If the primary stream is 480p or less, it can be used for s oftware motion detection as well.

IMPORTANT: FPS and Quality settings in the recording schedule dictate live stream viewing settings as well. For example, if the recording quality in the schedule is set to 4 frames per second and Low Quality, Nx Witness will stream live using those settings even if the camera is capable of higher quality playback. However, when recording is turned off in the schedule, Nx Witness will stream live at the maximum possible frames per second and quality.

Setting a motion detection region

You can control the image regions that will trigger a motion event, and how sensitive to motion those regions will be. See "Setting up Motion Mask and Motion Sensitivity".