Display IP camera on HDMI tv direct from ethernet

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potluckman

Young grasshopper
Aug 28, 2014
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I have been slowly setting up a IP camera system to replace my old analog system around our ranch. What I have not found is a simple method to pull images off the ethernet and
display up to four cameras on a HDMI tv. I had hoped I could find existing product using say a Raspberry Pie. Does anyone know of a product to do this or a software package to
install in the Pie board. Addition desired features would be ability to step through the four cameras to get full screen view and a auto step cycle. I am not a big computer user so
prefer something pretty well ready to use.
 
There are various methods of doing this...
1) android tablet or mini android PC running ip cam viewer..you can get a mini pc with ethernet so that you have a solid connection and dont bog your wifi.
2) use hdmi over ethernet and run cable to each tv (you wont be able to adjust the view using this method)
3)if your cameras are dahua or hikvision you can use a cheap NVR like this http://www.amazon.com/Eyesurv-Serie...1412390155&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=eyeserve+nvr
4) use an old laptop
im sure you can do something with pi as well...but i know nothing about that
 
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Thank you Fenderman. I have looked a little at the android sticks that plug into hdmi and usb The IP cam viewer I need to study a little more. Need at three locations so either raspberry pie or
android will work as $50 per location is fine.
 
RasberyPI can do it from what Ive been researching, there omxplayer should be capable of playing back a security cam RSTP stream @ 1080p out the HDMI (iirc it can handle bluray bitrates).. It would require coding to switch between streams and very heavy coding to have them all displayed in a grid.

Android Stick would be the easiest/cheapest, especially if you want split screen from multiple cameras, but they might not handle full resolution so it would 4x substreams.. I dont know any android apps that cycle through cameras tho.
 
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nayr said:
RasberyPI can do it from what Ive been researching, there omxplayer should be capable of playing back a security cam RSTP stream @ 1080p out the HDMI (iirc it can handle bluray bitrates).. It would require coding to switch between streams and very heavy coding to have them all displayed in a grid.

Android Stick would be the easiest/cheapest, especially if you want split screen from multiple cameras, but they might not handle full resolution so it would 4x substreams.. I dont know any android apps that cycle through cameras tho.
Click to expand...

Well my son had a Pie connected here a few months ago and was able to display four cameras off Ethernet (wired, had to many problems with wifi) but it is not user friendly for someone with limited computer knowledge (I'm 66). He is working on his Phd in Computers and can obviously do it but is so busy that I hate to press him even more. I was hoping that someone might already have written the software for the Pie or android that would do what I want. When first googling I pulled up dozens of comments of people wanting exactly the same thing
and were hoping to buy something just as I am. We have multiple drives on our 80 acre property and I want them as the four displayed but also want to be able to step to one of the four to have full screen so it can be seen at a distance in my shop. I also need the device to always boot up with all four views displayed after a power failure. Fenderman mentioned the I cam software for android and I plan on looking at it today.

Appreciate you input. Thanks much
 
fenderman said:
Its the ipcamviewer software by robert chou https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rcreations.ipcamviewer&hl=en
Click to expand...

Does not look like this software will do what I want. Not surprising since it is primarily intended for mobile phone use. I will continue to look and have written Ken at Blue Iris
suggesting this would be a great addition for him to do. Seems a lot of people with residental systems what to have certain cameras to be displayed via hdmi so they can check
driveway etc while watching the game.

Again, thanks for your help.

Potluckman
 
I think I missed something..what feature do you need that blue iris or ipcamviewer cannot do? They can both display in matrix mode. You can select a camera for full screen view..
 
it appears to be the most not "written for mobile use" app I think I have ever seen; I mean shit it gives you a WebUI to set it up incase your TV is not touchscreen!

Autostarting might be possible with another app, but its not a feature built into Android.
 
Yeah you can certainly auto start with droid. I have not used android pc, but i believe they work with usb keyboards/mice so you can control the cameras...
 
just an FYI, ive got it on my project list to do exactly this on a RPI so I can put a small monitor on the wall next to the front door, I wanted ethernet and the ability to hook a motion sensor up in my entry way to it and have the monitor turn on/off when there is activity.. so android stick wont work for this. I am not grid displaying the monitor, it will display the frontdoor camera in 1080p and hopefully switch to other cameras when a motion sensor goes off in the area.

Ive got the monitor, wall mount, the RPI.. all I am lacking is the time; this kinda stuff tends to be a winter project when I am stuck inside.. right now I want to be outdoors working on projects and preparing for a harsh winter ahead that my bones are warning me about.. If it all works well and cleanly I'll surely make an image of it and post it up here.
 
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fenderman said:
I think I missed something..what feature do you need that blue iris or ipcamviewer cannot do? They can both display in matrix mode. You can select a camera for full screen view..
Click to expand...

I did not download it but in reading the features and a couple reviews it looks like you need a phone or some other interface to step between cameras at full screen. Two of the three locations i need this at are fairly rough shop buildings and all I want there is the display unit, a button to step through, and a cheap flat screen tv. Blue Iris is not an issue as it is running
on a server in our safe area and I can check it via remote desktop.
 
That sounds close to what I need. I appreciated Fendermans comments but I really do not want to have any kind of keyboard or anything else computerise in those buildings. What I had asked my son for
was a RPI program that would allow me to enter the IP address and Video Path of the four cameras I wanted displayed, ability to have a hardware pushbutton input to step from 4 camera matrix, to full
screen of Cam 1, Cam 2, Cam 3, Cam 4, and then auto step. Next button activation would return to Matrix. Power up would always be Matrix view. We have a lot of power losses for a few minutes and
I do not want to restart and set the thing each time. My son also mentioned using a cheap common IR remote for selections which would be fine in a living room but the hardware switch is much better in a dirty barn. Problem is my son has same problem as you,no time. He is a grad student has has to spend a lot of time grading papers and doing other professor work to cover cost of education. But
I definitely agree with you about wanting outside now. Unfortunately I am looking at this stuff because I had Major back surgery about four weeks ago.

Appreciate your help and that of Fenderman
 
a lil button to step through would be good idea; but yeah all I have done thus far is verify its possible.. there is gona be a considerable amount of work ahead to make it more than just a hack.

the problem with a grid display is the video player wont do that; just fullscreen a single stream.. getting that to do a grid display well would be more code than all the rest, and more complex dealing with video decoders and frame buffers directly...

Another option for you is to buildup a decent wifi network throughout your property and just use a nice android tablet you can carry and put in a nice lil horizontal chargedock.
 
potluckman said:
I did not download it but in reading the features and a couple reviews it looks like you need a phone or some other interface to step between cameras at full screen. Two of the three locations i need this at are fairly rough shop buildings and all I want there is the display unit, a button to step through, and a cheap flat screen tv. Blue Iris is not an issue as it is running
on a server in our safe area and I can check it via remote desktop.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the button will need something custom, but you can use a mouse or keyboard...
 
nayr said:
a lil button to step through would be good idea; but yeah all I have done thus far is verify its possible.. there is gona be a considerable amount of work ahead to make it more than just a hack.

the problem with a grid display is the video player wont do that; just fullscreen a single stream.. getting that to do a grid display well would be more code than all the rest, and more complex dealing with video decoders and frame buffers directly...

Another option for you is to buildup a decent wifi network throughout your property and just use a nice android tablet you can carry and put in a nice lil horizontal chargedock.
Click to expand...

Actually it displays four cameras just fine. Not sure what the resolution was. My son had the Pie pulling four cameras directly off our wired ethernet and outputing on HDMI to our flat screen. He is supposed to get it working for me but like I said he is really really busy. Also he hates doing any kind of GUI so says input info will be in I think he said Script. Not being a
computer person I am a little nervous about that. That is why I would prefer something that is "ready to go" versus the Icam software plus several apps plus the android stick that will not take a hardware input. And sounds like you have same desire for hardware in/outs as then you can turn on and off the monitor.

Not sure where you want to mount your flatscreen, but if outlet is close you could use a Motion Sensor outlet to shut off the flatscreen when no one around for thirty minutes. Then set up the pie so when camera motion occurs it outputs to the flatscreen, the rest of the time use a SD card in Pie to continuously display family photos. I have this in our hallway (without the camera of course.)and drive it with a Western Digital media player pulling my photos off the main home server in our concrete Safe area. Just a thought to get double duty if location allows. Thanks again guys for the suggestions.
 
yeah im going to have to run electrical, its going to be in the corner of a lil doorless closet in the entryway, kinda discrete location especially when powered off.

its just a spare standard 22" 1080p monitor I got and a cheap monoprice wall mount.. The plan was for a pet immune motion sensor in the entryway for home security system and would be wired in parallel to the PI, serving double duty... monitor would just go to sleep mode when no motion and wake up instantly once someone approaches the door.. I wasent planing on any direct IO so it would bootup and kick off without intervention, but now I may add a set of forward/back buttons hidden somewhere in closet.

If your son already did the code work for a grid display of HD videos then see if he can send it to you; I could use it as a base and save some time.. if I did a GUI for setting it up it'd be a simple webserver, with basic auth that let you edit the config files through your browser.. config would be stupid simple, such as RSTP URL's and maby some time values for cycling between cameras.. everything I do is opensource (creative commons, non-commercial), your son would have to be cool with that.
 
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I have a solution to your camera viewing. I have built a custom piece of software that will save a snapshot of up to 16 cameras every X seconds (recommend 15 secs) and place these files on a small webserver. I then use a ROKU3 ($99) with remote to view any combination (2x2), (3x2), (1x1) of the cameras. Issue I had with IP camera's this that most require a username/password to access streams and/or jpg snapshots and ROKU development has disable passing user/password via http:\\user:pswd@192.168.1.30\snapshot\view.jpg due to security and microsoft. If your interested just give me a shout.
 
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