Android TV devices recommended for tinyCam Monitor PRO w/ background mode and web server

alexvas

alexvas

tinyCam Developer
Sep 12, 2015
222
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1. Android TV box Dolamee X2 based on Amlogic S905X2 w/ expendable 2.5" hard drive. $110.

HINT: To get stable work you need to disable HDMI CEC in Android Settings on the device. Disabling HDMI CEC will prevent device going to sleep.


2. Android TV box NVIDIA Shield TV. $190. The most powerful solution available at the moment for Android.

Demo server is running on NVIDIA Shield TV and is available at (username: demo, password: demo)
 
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A few questions.

Does TinyCam have to be in the foreground or can other apps be used while the NVR is recording?
Can recordings be viewed remotely for a mobile app also running Tinycam?

I'm assuming motion alerts work like normal.
 
1. The app can be in background. You need to use Background Mode in the app.
2. Recordings can be viewed remotely. But only via web browser at the moment.
 
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alexvas said:
1. Android TV box Dolamee X2 based on Amlogic S905X2 w/ expendable 2.5" hard drive. $110.
Amazon.com: Android 8.1 TV Box, Dolamee X2 Amlogic Quad-core 4GB RAM 64GB ROM Media Player with Recording Function & SATA Jack Support 2T2R 2.4G/5G Dual Band WiFi 4Kx2K@60fps BT 4.2 USB 3.0: Electronics

HINT: To get stable work you need to disable HDMI CEC in Android Settings on the device. Disabling HDMI CEC will prevent device going to sleep.


2. Android TV box NVIDIA Shield TV. $190. The most powerful solution available at the moment for Android.

Demo server is running on NVIDIA Shield TV and is available at (username: demo, password: demo)
Click to expand...

Can you please recommend other Devices that can run 6 cameras (via background with webserver) simultaneously? I tried the Dolamee x2 above and had hardware issues (Also not available any longer on amazon). I looked for the Nvidia but it's not available at a reasonable cost any longer either. I'd spend up to $200 on a box that would work well.

Thanks for your help.
 
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nVidia Shield is still available and priced at $189 on Amazon. I have 3 of them, two of them are the first generation and the third is the second generation (basically the same thing in a smaller package) I used to use Rokus to stream to my TV but the Shields do a lot more. I will add that I don't use the 'web server' of Tiny Cam. They are using the same stream as BlueIris

Looks like nVidia is getting ready to release the Shield Pro
www.theverge.com

Nvidia Shield TV Pro leaked on Amazon with Dolby Vision and even faster performance

A new faster Tegra X1+ processor and a revamped remote
www.theverge.com www.theverge.com
 

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eeeeesh said:
nVidia Shield is still available and priced at $189 on Amazon. I have 3 of them, two of them are the first generation and the third is the second generation (basically the same thing in a smaller package) I used to use Rokus to stream to my TV but the Shields do a lot more. I will add that I don't use the 'web server' of Tiny Cam. They are using the same stream as BlueIris

Looks like nVidia is getting ready to release the Shield Pro
www.theverge.com

Nvidia Shield TV Pro leaked on Amazon with Dolby Vision and even faster performance

A new faster Tegra X1+ processor and a revamped remote
www.theverge.com www.theverge.com
Click to expand...

The price is going to be $199 for the new nVidia Shield Pro, and that is $100 cheaper than the old Shield Pro. While it does have a faster processor, they eliminated the 500GB internal storage. I'll stick with my old Shield Pro. Functionality of TinyCam Pro on the nVidia Shield is great, highly recommend this. I too, just use the streams from the Dahua cams for viewing.
 
I really don't use the internal storage. I know that they added the feature to run a PLEX media server from the Shield, but I have my own PLEX server. Personally, if your trading storage for faster processor, I think I would go with the processor
 
Does anyone know if pretty much all Android tablets work with Tinycam pro? I'm looking to buy a Lenova M10 just for the purpose of viewing 1 cam and just want to make sure the app works on the tablet before buying the tablet. Everything works on my phone.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
achalmersman said:
Does anyone know if pretty much all Android tablets work with Tinycam pro? I'm looking to buy a Lenova M10 just for the purpose of viewing 1 cam and just want to make sure the app works on the tablet before buying the tablet. Everything works on my phone.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Better buy Amazon Fire HD 10 tablet. For viewing one camera it is more than enough and it is 2x times cheaper.
 
achalmersman said:
Does anyone know if pretty much all Android tablets work with Tinycam pro? I'm looking to buy a Lenova M10 just for the purpose of viewing 1 cam and just want to make sure the app works on the tablet before buying the tablet. Everything works on my phone.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
A Roku does not work with Tinycam Pro. Nvidia Shield does. Most of the tablets do, but some of the off-brand Chinese devices may not.
 
Ok thanks guys. I was looking at the Lenovo smart M10 its $150 and comes with a dock / speaker thing. I was also looking at the Samsung Tablet A because its samsung and figured wide compatibility.

This is for a baby cam so sound must via tinycam pro must work. And I figured a nice tablet for use when not being used as baby monitor would be an added bonus.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
Don't use a tablet... It will burn battery as you will need to have it 24 hours running right?
If you want to use as 24/7 server I don't recommend a phone or batteries tablet. Only Android box.

Anyway what model you would recommend for 4 or 5 cameras (not Nvidia shield)?
 
Going on in this thread. Im considering eather Android box or Android TV. Looking in Google pay it says "Recomended android version vary according the device". What android version shall I use please?
 
I am certainly not an expert on Android but it was my impression that prior to a certain version, Google Play was not supported and you had to 'side load' android apps (like TinyCamPro) to get them installed. That being said, I have a couple of Nvidia Shield TV devices and according to the 'experts' they are one of the best streamers. TinyCam pro works great and I really like the layout

You may want to look at the list of approved devices

Google Play supported devices - Google Play Help

Most Android phones and tablets use Google Play. Check the full list of Google Play supported devices to see if the Play Store works with your device.
support.google.com
 
eeeeesh said:
I am certainly not an expert on Android but it was my impression that prior to a certain version, Google Play was not supported and you had to 'side load' android apps (like TinyCamPro) to get them installed. That being said, I have a couple of Nvidia Shield TV devices and according to the 'experts' they are one of the best streamers. TinyCam pro works great and I really like the layout

You may want to look at the list of approved devices

Google Play supported devices - Google Play Help

Most Android phones and tablets use Google Play. Check the full list of Google Play supported devices to see if the Play Store works with your device.
support.google.com
Click to expand...
Thank you for the interest in my question. It is not what i mean thought.

From my opinion it work like that you have to have minimal version of Android to run an app. Also some apps can be runned only in certain device type. For an example there might be an app out there which can be executed only on mobile phones running Android 4+. So there are devices connected to Google Play but they are not able to run all apps.
 
If youre using the box for tinycam only, then it doesnt need to be Android TV rated specifically, there are a lot of streamer boxes that just have plain android.
So you dont need a remote control etc. Main thing is network socket, decent CPU and at least 3GB ram. Only problem I had is that when I had too many video clips it would get stuck so I had to empty the recordings every few days, but that was a few years ago, a more powerfull box might be fine.
You can probably get a box for around £40
 
Just FYI I've been using the Lenova M tablet for months now. It sits on its docking station 95% of the time. Works perfectly with TinyCam pro.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
What's the deal with poor video quality when using tinyCam Pro on Nvidia Shield connected to a Blue Iris server. I get the same results side loading the Blue Iris Android app on the Shield. I've tried changing every setting I could find on BI server and app. Starting to think it has something to do with video decoding on the Shield? Let me add I'm connected by Ethernet on a gigabyte network so its not the connection. I'm pushing the stream to a 4k QLED, it seems like the issue is more with streaming a group than a single cam. When a single cam is full screen the image quality is a lot better.
 
Last edited:
Be sure Stream profile in tinyCam app drawer is set to Main. Not to Auto.
In auto mode tinyCam uses sub stream when in multiple cameras layout mode and main stream in full screen.
 
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