A New (Old) Blue Iris Lover with Questions about Remote (Local) Viewing Station

jccam

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Hi, everyone.

Have been reading these forums for a while now, but never did a proper introduction, so here goes…

Started using DVR’s and other hardware and software and licensing solutions a few years ago. There were always major issues, such as video quality, stability, and especially remote viewing. Must be said, Blue Iris is head and shoulders above anything else tried.

Blue Iris was running fairly stably over the last year. But been trying to troubleshoot major issues over the last few months (jerky videos, cut off recordings, high CPU usage, and random shutdowns several times a week) – a major pain to try to diagnose. After trying everything else in the playbook, finally upgrade the BI software, and surprised it seemed to solve almost everything. The optimizing tips on this forum have also been invaluable. Blue Iris Tools made a difference, too.

Currently at 30+ cameras with 50 around the corner. It’s shocking that what was regularly hitting close to 100% CPU utilization has dropped down to 10-20% with the upgrade. Also, really happy with the new cameras (e.g. ColorVu) that have been coming out. And thanks to Andy for some surprisingly quick deliveries, especially considering they’re coming from overseas.

The next project is to get a couple of remote (local network) viewing stations up. Accessed the ui3 link with the web browser in newer LG and Samsung smart TV’s and was able to see the cams, but the quality was not great and having no mouse function was a big issue. Have been researching quite a bit on these forums, and read about using a FireTV stick and installing a mouse option, which sounds appealing. But still have questions for you helpful folks with experience:

1. Have an older Fire stick lying around somewhere from a few years ago. If I can find it, is this acceptable, or will need to buy a newer one? And will it work for the newer Smart TV’s? Will getting a Fire 4K stick make a big difference?
2. Would a hard wired Fire TV Cube work the same, and be better/faster?
3. How about getting a Smart TV with Fire TV built in? No need for a stick and still can add mouse functionality?
4. Or an Amazon Fire TV? Is this even better?
5. Can a Bluetooth mouse be added to Fire TV? Can it be added to any smart TV?
6. Is this a good option versus setting up a separate computer with it’s own BI license? Would a 2nd or 3rd computer with BI pulling all the video feeds slow down the network?

As great as Blue Iris is, (and it is incredible!), a large community of fellow users willing to assist others was even more important in deciding on this solution. Thank you for such a great and helpful group!
 

biggen

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I can’t speak to Firesticks. I have several TVs in my business connected to my BI server but I have mini PCs attached to them. I have a mixture of older NUCs and then cheaper off brand fanless ones like this one:
Get a wireless mouse and keyboard and now your Tv is just a monitor for the PC. You can do anything you want now.
 
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jccam

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I can’t speak to Firesticks. I have several TVs in my business connected to my BI server but I have mini PCs attached to them. I have a mixture of older NUCs and then cheaper off brand fanless ones like this one:
Get a wireless mouse and keyboard and now your Tv is just a monitor for the PC. You can do anything you want now.
Thank you for responding. Regarding the mini computer you linked, so I could mount this behind the wall-mounted TV and use a wireless and keyboard, right? Will it's video support a 50" TV as a monitor? How is the quality of the video? And do you just type in the Blue Iris server IP address in a browser, or use the ui3 link?
 
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biggen

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Thank you for responding. Regarding the mini computer you linked, so I could mount this behind the wall-mounted TV and use a wireless and keyboard, right? Will it's video support a 50" TV as a monitor? How is the quality of the video? And do you just type in the Blue Iris server IP address in a browser, or use the ui3 link?
Yup. Most of those mini PCs come with a VESA mount so you can mount it behind the tv/monitor. Most of those PCs support up to 4K. The one I have does. Yes, you just open a browser and type in the BI ui3 address.
 
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