Able to view all live cameras/groups on Roku!

[weigle2]

first of all thanks for the guide! I have set this up but my camera's play back very poorly via the ROKU app. All my camera's display a different time and skip multiple seconds at a time. If I watch one camera it is fine but if I try all 4 of my camera's I have very poor performance. Is this due to my ROKU being on wifi? I do not have this issue on my computer even though it is on wifi. I even turned down each camera down to 65% JPEG quality and 40% JPEG scale and still it skips a few seconds each refresh and all the camera's are a couple of seconds apart. Almost impossible to see motion. Any ideas?

Basic networking. Just try running a long patch cable to your Roku as a test. Your problems should go away. WiFi can be very problematic for a process that needs to run in a real-time mode. Hard wiring via Ethernet is always better, and more secure. IMO.

 

[Philip Gonzales]

Basic networking. Just try running a long patch cable to your Roku as a test. Your problems should go away. WiFi can be very problematic for a process that needs to run in a real-time mode. Hard wiring via Ethernet is always better, and more secure. IMO.

I think you are right, I tried using a pair of powerline adapters last night but the wiring in the house sucks. Couldn't even get it to connect unless they were within one room of each other. Then my Roku wouldn't even connect to my wifi network anymore. I'll have to test hardwired and see if the results improve.

 

[Philip Gonzales]

Basic networking. Just try running a long patch cable to your Roku as a test. Your problems should go away. WiFi can be very problematic for a process that needs to run in a real-time mode. Hard wiring via Ethernet is always better, and more secure. IMO.

Ok so I've went back and hardwired everything with cat6. I have a total of 4 cameras all hardwired and the Roku is hardwired. I tested each cable after making it and they all paased. Everything is plugged into a 24 port GbE switch. I put all the quality settings back to default on all cams and still the issue remains. The ROKU is an older device. ROKU 2 XS is the model. Maybe my ROKU is too old. When viewing one camera the time jumps every 2 to 3 seconds and the picture appears to freeze from time to time for maybe 10 seconds. When I pull up split screen with all 4 cameras the issue is even worse. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Philip Gonzales]

I tested via webserver using my phone browser and everything is fluid. The performance using my phone to view the cams is 100% better via my phone than the roku and my phone is on Wi-Fi and the ROKU is hardwired. Hmm may just be my device. Anyone using to 2 XS?

 

[erkme73]

I am running on ROKU TV and one ROKU stick (this one). All are running about 4-6 FPS, and most of them are running wirelessly. Depending on how old your ROKU hardware is, it may just be that the hardware is just maxing out?

 

[Philip Gonzales]

I am running on ROKU TV and one ROKU stick (this one). All are running about 4-6 FPS, and most of them are running wirelessly. Depending on how old your ROKU hardware is, it may just be that the hardware is just maxing out?

Thanks. I'm thinking the hardware is the issue too. How do you know the fps? Did you limit this in Blue Iris somewhere? JW.

 

[erkme73]

I'm not aware of any self-imposed limits. I know that when you're pulling mjpegs from BI, the frame rate is dictated by the available bandwidth between the server and client (and the CPU horsepower of the client) since the mjpegs are generally at a higher quality/less compressed rate than the active-x (default.htm) version seen in the IE browser. Also, I think when the server compiles a group/index view of multiple cameras, there is an inherent reduction in frame rate (which I think maxes out around 10FPS in the latest server versions).

To answer your question more directly, I don't know for a fact what the frame rate is other than observing how often the image updates. It appears to update at least 4 times per second, if that helps.

 

[Philip Gonzales]

I'm not aware of any self-imposed limits. I know that when you're pulling mjpegs from BI, the frame rate is dictated by the available bandwidth between the server and client (and the CPU horsepower of the client) since the mjpegs are generally at a higher quality/less compressed rate than the active-x (default.htm) version seen in the IE browser. Also, I think when the server compiles a group/index view of multiple cameras, there is an inherent reduction in frame rate (which I think maxes out around 10FPS in the latest server versions).

To answer your question more directly, I don't know for a fact what the frame rate is other than observing how often the image updates. It appears to update at least 4 times per second, if that helps.

Thanks for all the good info @erkme73 and everyone else. I finally got it working. Solution was to trash the old ROKU and buy a new one. I bought the ROKU Ultra since it's one of the only one that has a ethernet port. Little thing has a quad core processor. Works just like in the browser now more or less. Probably a few less fps but that's OK.

Here's a link to the ROKU I bought.

Roku - Ultra Streaming Media Player - Black

 

[Frankpc]

Would it be plausible to use the Roku as a P.I.P. source for the TV? Perhaps a motion detector could somehow enable PIP on the TV and video from the area of the motion could be sent to the Roku for display in the TV's PIP.

Perhaps a similar arrangement could be setup to trigger when a doorbell was detected to display video from the front door.

Somehow the PIP mode on the TV would be switched on and off and somehow the correct mpeg stream from Blue Iris would be sent to the Roku.

Perhaps people have already done this?

 

[actran]

PIP idea interests me as well

 

[Frankpc]

After posting, I searched and found a very(!!) similar topic already covered on this forum. And within that thread some good points were made. For one thing, it seems PIP is on its way out.

"Blue Iris PIP (Picture in Picture) on TV when motion detected"

Perhaps the way this should be done is with some sort of wall mounted tablet type display. By doing that, your TV wouldn't have to have PIP and it wouldn't have to be powered up. In addition, a portable display could be used or placed in various areas.

I like the idea. It will take some work. In the thread, an Android BI app is mentioned.

 

[Abbell]

I started using home assistant. There should be a way to call the Roku app to display a screen override as well as the fact that I can set up a tablet view when motion is detected. My experiments are still in the very early phases.

 

[Frankpc]

I'm not aware of a screen override. I assume that means the Roku/Home Assistant message would somehow be overlaid on the TV program being watched. Is that what you are suggesting? That would be better than PIP!

I know there are HDMI source combiner devices available that would facilitate such an arrangement, but they are expensive and would limit future resolution increase capabilities. Maybe HDCP would be involved.

Please keep us updated as you develop your plans!

 

[Abbell]

Hassio has a Roku media controller. I have yet to work with it. One task I have to make it when my doorbell rings, my TV will switch to the roku and goto the IP cam channel automatically when I am home. That is still a ways off though as I have many more integrations to set up before that becomes a reality.

 

[actran]

@erkme73 Thanks for explaining how to do this on Roku. I just bought one and want to try but wanted to confirm that there are no security breaches if I follow your first post steps? (I ask because you still include @DLONG2 security concern in your first post.) Can I assume you are actively using Roku with BI camera mjpg streaming today? Any new logins from far-away places like Turkey?

Updated 9-27-17

I have now been using the Roku app on my TCL TVs for the last couple of months with zero questionable (or remote) logins. Unlike @DLONG, who has been seeing repeated local logins originating from the Roku app, I have seen only a single login when I make the connection from a given Roku TV to the server. I cannot explain this difference, but with it configured as follows, I feel comfortable enough to continue using the app (and even recommend it if others have the same experience I do).

Set each Roku device (or TV) to a static IP address on the local network. I have mine set to .80, thru .85. I use the static DHCP feature of my router (tomato) to make sure that each TV is assigned the same IP every time (though you can manually apply a static IP at the device).

In Blue Iris, go to golbal settings, webserver, and click on the 'advanced' button at the bottom.

In the first box, enter the IP address(es) of the devices which should have unchallenged access to the BI server as admin. Place a carrot symbol (^) in front of each IP address:

View attachment 22114

Now, when any device with an IP starting with ^ attempts to access the BI webserver, it will have immediate access as admin - it will not be prompted for credentials.

Note: This is also the place where you would add black listed IPs (place a minus (-) sign ahead of IP). It's also the place where automatically blacklisted IP are added after too many failed attempts (if you have that feature turned on).

Now, on the Roku app, add the camera (or group) as follows (for some reason my Moto would NOT focus on my TV):

 

[GKL]

@erkme73 Thanks for explaining how to do this on Roku. I just bought one and want to try but wanted to confirm that there are no security breaches if I follow your first post steps? (I ask because you still include @DLONG2 security concern in your first post.) Can I assume you are actively using Roku with BI camera mjpg streaming today? Any new logins from far-away places like Turkey?

Any update on whether it is safe to use Roku IP Cam Viewer or is it being hacked ?

 

[LBJ]

I just set this up with the Roku Ultra. Got the Pro version of the Ip Camera app from Roku.

Works great, but one must put the IP address in the BI app as described in the original post. Otherwise no go.

recommended app for Roku for viewing your cameras wherever there is a Roku.

 

[erkme73]

Thanks to @LBJ for the thread notification. Sorry to @GKL and @actran for taking 2 years to answer your questions...

After giving a fixed IP to each of my ROKU TVs and providing them admin access on BI, it eliminates the need to enter credentials in the Roku camera app. The username and password fields are left blank. Since only devices with the authorized LAN IP addresses are able to access BI, I've had no concerns about creds getting out into the wild.

I review my logs on BI at least once a month for any unfamiliar IP ranges, and so far, not a single one (whether logged in or connected). I will say, however, that it is good practice to periodically switch your port number (I use 4-digit number) to shake brute force attempts that have found your BI login page. Sites like Shodan.io regularly scan ports on all public ips, and then publish their findings. Port 81 is so common, there are thousands of BI servers just waiting to be tested. Of course, accessing it via VPN or stunnle would be much more secure overall, but the hindrance for family access to my cameras makes either of those impractical.

 

[LBJ]

Quick question: Where are the logs on BI to see who logged in? I can't find them.

Thanks

 

[erkme73]

Click on the status icon at the top of the console:



Then go to the messages tab and look at the path at the bottom:




Keep in mind that you can add variables to the file name so that it creates a new file based on time. I have mine set as "Blue Iris Log %b %Y.txt" So the resulting file is "Blue Iris Log Apr 2019.txt".

This way, each month, a new text file is created with only that month's log credentials. I then use Notepad++ to view the log files. That makes it easy to display all the relevant queries in a window. For example, it shows all "login" or all "connected" entries. It makes scanning through for outliers very easy.