API Versions

Viewtron devices ship with one of two firmware generations. The HTTP API protocol is approximately 95% identical between them. This documentation covers both versions as a unified reference, with inline callouts where they differ.

Detecting Your Version

Send a GetDeviceInfo request. The response includes an apiVersion field:

<apiVersion type="string"><![CDATA[2.0.0]]></apiVersion>

If there is no apiVersion field, use GetDeviceDetail — the apiVersion appears in the property block. Devices without either field are running the v1.x protocol.

Firmware-to-Protocol Mapping

Firmware	API Protocol	Config Version in XML
IPC 5.2 or earlier	v1.9 (v1.0 / v1.7)	1.0 or 1.7
IPC 5.3 or later	v2.0.0	2.0.0
NVR 1.4.12 or earlier	v1.9	1.0 or 1.7
NVR 1.4.13 or later	v2.0.0	2.0.0

What Changed in v2.0

New Commands

Command	Description
GetSupportedAPIs	Lists all available API endpoints on the device
TriggerVirtualAlarm	Trigger a virtual alarm (NVR only)
GetAudioStreamConfig	Audio stream configuration
GetPassLineCountStatistics	Current entrance/exit counts
GetMeasureTemperatureConfig	Thermal camera temperature measurement
GetVehiclePlate	Query license plate database

Renamed Commands

v1.9 Name	v2.0 Name	Change
GetChannelList	GetChannelInfo	Richer response with channel types and names
GetAlarmInList	GetAlarmInInfo	Adds alarm type classification (local/virtual/remote)

Enhanced Responses

• GetDeviceInfo now includes apiVersion and httpPostVersion fields directly
• GetImageConfig adds sharpen, denoise, backlightCompensation, infraredMode fields
• GetSnapshotByTime returns base64 image data in XML (v1.9 returns raw JPEG)
• GetDiskInfo adds storageType (SD/HDD) and locked status
• Error codes expanded from 5 to 50+ with descriptive errorDesc attribute
• Responses include Applicable Products metadata (IPC, NVR, or both)

Webhook Event Format Differences

The HTTP POST webhook format differs significantly between IPC (v1.x) and NVR (v2.0):

• IPC v1.x uses short smartType codes: PEA, VFD, VEHICE, PASSLINECOUNT
• NVR v2.0 uses spelled-out names: regionIntrusion, videoFaceDetect, vehicle, targetCountingByLine
• NVR v2.0 adds messageType (keepalive, alarmStatus, alarmData) and deviceInfo with IP, MAC, and channel ID
• Timestamp precision: v1.x uses milliseconds, v2.0 uses microseconds

See the Webhook Events section for full format details.

Using the Python Library

The viewtron.py library abstracts the differences between v1.x and v2.0 webhook formats. Both versions expose the same method interface — get_alarm_type(), get_plate_number(), get_source_image(), etc. — so your application code works identically regardless of firmware version.

from viewtron import LPR, VehicleLPR

# v1.x IPC events use LPR class
# v2.0 NVR events use VehicleLPR class
# Both expose the same interface:
#   event.get_plate_number()
#   event.get_source_image()
#   event.images_exist()

After this section, you should not need to think about versions unless you encounter a specific callout in the documentation.