Hive Studio UI Overview

The Hive Studio UI is the central workspace where you interact with all major components of your video production environment. Whether you're setting up your first studio or managing multiple organizations, the UI is structured to make each layer of control, from camera configuration to streaming URLs, clearly accessible and logically grouped.

This article walks you through the Hive UI starting in the top-left corner with your organization controls and progressing clockwise through sharing tools, source management, camera controls, advanced settings, and monitoring tools. The goal is to give you a confident understanding of where things live in the interface and what each tool is for, so you can make decisions quickly, solve problems effectively, and operate efficiently during both setup and live production.

At the very top left of the Hive Studio interface, you’ll find the Organizations and Studios drop-down. This is your entry point into the organizational structure of Hive.

Clicking the dropdown reveals a list of your existing organizations and the studios inside them. From here, you can do the following:

Clicking the gear icon opens a configuration panel that allows you to customize and manage that entity. For organizations, you can:

For studios, you’ll have access to additional options:

Important: If you delete a studio, presets, or saved files will become unreachable. Always back up important data before performing a deletion.

Within the Studio settings window, the Billing tab gives you full visibility into your subscription plan and cloud usage.

In this section, you can:

Each plan includes a set amount of bandwidth noted in the first line of Data Usage. If you exceed your budget, Hive will begin charging overage fees based on your data transfer overages, which are calculated based on the plan you’re subscribed to. For more information on Overages, please see the Plan Usage and Managing Overages article in our help center.

You can also view and download invoices. Click the View link in the Invoices section to be redirected to a secure Stripe browser page where you can download your invoices for expense tracking or accounting purposes.

The Account tab is where you can update your personal information.

Here you can:

Although these settings are simple, keeping your account up to date is useful for role management and collaboration, especially in larger teams.

Moving down along the left-hand side of the Hive UI, you’ll find what’s referred to as the Sources Tray, also known as the Video & Audio Source Tray. This is where you’ll see all of your available audio and video sources after they’ve been linked via an Hive Bridge.

Once your bridge is connected to your organization or studio, and devices are available on your local network, this tray will populate with live tiles representing each source. These tiles include source previews and small action icons for configuration and management.

From here, you can:

For more information on how to add sources, see the dedicated article:

In the upper-right portion of the Hive UI, you’ll see the blue Share button. This is where you manage collaboration and user access to your studio or organization.

Clicking the Share button opens a window where you can:

This feature is especially helpful in live event settings or studios with rotating crews. You’ll maintain security and reduce clutter by automatically removing expired user sessions. Read more about this topic in the Roles & Permissions article in the help center.

Just to the right of the Share button, you’ll find the Cloud / Local switch. This toggle determines how your Hive Studio session is connected to the underlying infrastructure.

Note: Cloud mode uses data from your cloud quota, which is limited based on your subscription plan. To preserve bandwidth, we recommend switching back to Local Mode when remote access is not required.

This toggle is especially useful in hybrid setups, where technical directors may be operating remotely while camera operators are onsite.

Continuing to the right, the Bridges icon allows you to view and manage all of your linked Hive Bridges.

Clicking this icon opens a Bridge Tray showing:

Bridges are the backbone of Hive connection model, they act as local resource nodes that allow devices to communicate with your Cloud. Only users with Administrator permissions can link or unlink bridges. Producers can observe bridge status but not make changes.

To the right of the Bridges icon, you’ll see an icon resembling an EKG waveform, this is the Monitoring Panel.

Clicking it opens a real-time dashboard that allows you to monitor:

This panel gives you deep visibility into the performance of your sources during a live session. Your sending and receiving quality scores are most commonly affected by your network’s bandwidth and overall internet connection.

Use this tool regularly to spot potential performance issues before they affect your production.

Directly beneath the upper-right icons (Share, Cloud/Local, Bridges, Monitoring) you’ll find two important tabs: Controls and Image. These open the Control Tray and Image Tray.

These trays apply only to video sources, audio sources are adjusted from the Sources Tray on the left under the Audio Source tab.

Clicking the Controls tab reveals a tray of categorized camera control parameters. Depending on the capabilities of your camera’s driver, you may see the following sections:

This panel is especially useful during live shoots, allowing for on-the-fly movement, focus, and zoom adjustments in real time.

Clicking the Image tab brings up image-related categories, such as:

Settings in the Image Tray are unique to each camera and its driver. For example, a high-end PTZ like the Panasonic AW-UE100 may expose more settings than a simpler camera like the PTZOptics SE.

All changes made in these trays are applied immediately to the source and visible in the Preview Window.

If you notice a parameter that doesn’t seem to behave correctly, or isn’t mapped to the expected control, please reach out to support at [email protected] so we can investigate and improve driver compatibility.

Above the center Preview window, you’ll see a row of icons: these are the Magic Movement Tools.

These tools give you advanced options for framing, movement, and cursor interaction. Depending on your workflow, they can help speed up manual adjustments or align shots precisely.

From left to right, these tools include:

To the left of the Magic Tools, you’ll find the View Selector, where you can toggle between:

To the right of the Magic Tools are your Gridline Tools, which overlay visual guides on the preview screen:

These are particularly useful for operators fine-tuning camera framing during setup or rehearsal.

Just below the preview screen, you’ll see the Position Presets bar. This lets you store and recall saved Position parameters for each video source.

Presets are source-specific and can include the pan and tilt coordinates and zoom coordinates at the camera’s maximum movement speeds

To create a new preset, simply adjust your source as desired and then click the + button or an empty preset slot. You can also:

This feature is ideal for multi-camera productions, especially where repeatable framing is important (e.g., switching between wide and close-up shots during a presentation).

To open advanced settings for a specific video source, navigate to the Sources Tray on the left-hand side of your UI. Each source tile includes a small settings (cog) icon in the lower-right corner. Clicking this icon opens the Advanced Settings Window for that particular video source.

Each source’s settings are driven by its driver, which determines what features are available. For example, an encoder may only expose basic video settings, while a PTZ camera might include full control, image, network, and system tabs.

Let’s walk through each section:

This tab allows you to confirm and manage the connection between Hive and the selected video source.

The Video tab allows you to define how your source sends video into Hive.

Depending on your camera and driver, this tab may expose additional control features beyond pan/tilt/zoom.

These settings allow you to tailor the behavior of each camera to your operational preferences.

For video sources with embedded audio (or integrated mics), this tab provides control over:

Note: Some encoder devices and IP cameras will not expose this tab if no audio interface is detected.

This tab allows you to configure how the video source communicates over your local or remote network.

These tools are useful when integrating Hive with other video systems or configuring port forwarding for external access.

The Features tab allows you to configure built-in camera features:

Whichever features your camera has, as long as they are digitally controlled, you can control them here in the Hive Interface.

The System tab allows you to configure device-level settings, including:

These are mostly set-and-forget, but they ensure your source devices remain in sync with your production environment.

This tab displays metadata related to the source and lets you confirm or modify its assigned driver.

You’ll see:

Selecting the correct driver is critical. The driver defines which parameters the UI exposes and how Hive communicates with the camera. Drivers are built by Hive in collaboration with manufacturers and OEMs.

If something feels misaligned, like sliders not responding or features missing, check that the correct driver is selected here.

Across the top of the Advanced Settings Window, you’ll see a set of global actions for that source:

In the upper-left corner of this panel, you’ll see the source’s name. Directly below it, a blue label with a bridge icon indicates which Hive Bridge the source is connected to. This is helpful for confirming hardware relationships across complex setups.

The Hive UI is designed to unify and simplify complex camera and studio operations in one interface. It communicates with your hardware using a combination of local and cloud infrastructure. The UI dynamically adjusts based on the capabilities of your video sources, the drivers in use, and your role permissions.

Here’s what to expect as you navigate the UI:

1. Where do I go to switch between my studios or organizations?

Use the top-left dropdown menu labeled with your current organization and studio. You can switch, create, or configure from there.

2. Can I invite temporary users for a one-time event?

Yes. Use the Share button to send an invite and set an expiration date to automatically revoke access when the event ends.

3. Why don’t I see certain image or control parameters for my camera?

Settings are defined by the driver associated with that camera. Simpler drivers may expose fewer options.

4. What happens if I delete a studio?

Deleted studios are gone permanently, along with any linked data. Always export or back up presets and recordings before deleting.

5. Does switching to cloud mode use data?

Yes. Cloud mode consumes bandwidth from your Hive subscription. Local mode does not.

6. Can I move a preset from one camera to another?

No. Presets are source-specific and are not transferable across devices.

7. Where do I reset all parameters on a video source?

Use the “Reset All” button at the top-right of the Control or Image Tray, or reset from Advanced Settings.

1. Hybrid Event Management

An operator on-site uses Local mode to configure cameras, while a remote director monitors and makes adjustments via Cloud mode.

2. Classroom Setup with Multiple Presets

Preset close-ups and wide shots for different speakers using Position Presets. Quickly switch shots using the Control Tray.

3. Rapid Troubleshooting in Production

Use Monitoring to detect bandwidth issues or frame rate drops, and reboot sources from Advanced Settings without unplugging devices.

4. Freelancer Access for a Day Shoot

Invite a freelance TD for a one-time broadcast with an access link and expiration. Their account will be revoked automatically.

The Hive interface is designed to give you clarity and control at every level; from connecting a new source to framing a perfect shot. By understanding how each panel, tab, and button functions, you’ll be able to build a workflow that supports both creativity and stability. Whether you’re operating a single camera or managing a remote production, the Hive UI is built to scale with you.