Help
How CVR is set up, and what to expect from it.
Full documentation
Step-by-step guides live in the WebDisk help centre: connecting a UniFi Protect recorder over the tunnel, other recorders over SFTP, working with the archive, and how we calculate retention.
Open the help centreDo I need a WebDisk Files account?
Yes. CVR does not sell capacity: the footage goes into a bucket in your own Files storage. You buy CVR and the storage separately, and the panel points you to Files if your account has none yet.
What happens if I buy CVR without storage?
The service is active and the panel works, but there is nothing to write into until you buy space in Files and point CVR at a bucket. Buying CVR is a separate decision and is not refunded on that basis.
Which recorders are supported?
Anything that can push files out over SFTP or FTP — which covers most NVRs on the market, Dahua and Hikvision included. Some Hikvision models only send still frames over FTP; those are archived as snapshots.
Can I watch the footage in the browser?
Where the format allows it. H.264 in MP4 plays directly. HEVC depends on your browser. Proprietary containers such as Dahua .dav cannot be played by any browser and stay available as a download.
Why is there a wait before playback?
The archive is cold storage. Before playback the file is copied to fast storage, and the panel tells you it is being retrieved. It is deliberately not a service you would keep open all day.
What happens to my recordings if I cancel CVR?
Nothing. The bucket belongs to your Files account, so the material stays where it is — CVR simply stops writing to it.
Documents
Still stuck?
Write to support@webdisk.io. Tell us the recorder make and model — it usually decides the answer.