Get up and running
fast.
Everything you need to go from download to live cameras with AI detection. Most setups complete in under 15 minutes.
This guide walks you through installing LookoutNVR, connecting your first camera, and enabling AI detection. The whole process typically takes 10-15 minutes.
Windows (10, 11, Server 2019+, 64-bit): Download the installer from the download page and run it. It asks where recordings should go, installs the recorder as a Windows service, and installs the LookoutNVR viewer alongside it.
The viewer opens when setup finishes. The first time, it asks you to create an administrator account - a username and password of your choosing. There is no default password to look up and none to change later.
To watch the same recorder from another Windows PC, install just the viewer on that machine and point it at the recorder's LAN address:
192.168.1.50
Go to Settings → Cameras → Add Camera. You have two options:
- ONVIF Auto-Discover: Click "Scan Network" and LookoutNVR finds cameras automatically on your subnet.
- Manual RTSP: Paste your camera's RTSP URL directly. See camera compatibility for URL formats by brand.
After adding, select a recording mode: Continuous, Motion-triggered, or AI-event-only. The camera appears in your live view immediately.
Go to Settings → AI Engine. Select your GPU from the dropdown (NVIDIA CUDA, AMD ROCm, Intel OpenVINO, or CPU). Click Load Model - the YOLO model downloads once (~80 MB) and is cached locally.
# GPU detected automatically. Example output:
AI Engine: NVIDIA RTX 3070 (CUDA)
Model: YOLOv8m - loaded in 2.1s
Inference: 14ms avg · 34 cameras active
Enable detection per camera under Settings → Cameras → [Camera Name] → AI. Choose which classes to detect (Person, Vehicle, Animal) and set confidence thresholds.
Your cameras are recording, AI is running, and events are being logged. From here you can set up motion zones, configure push notifications, or set up storage retention policies.
Is your NVR keeping up?