How to clone a camera

[wormfishin]

Hey Guys, I've been using blue iris for a few days now, with a Zmodo DVR and some Cisco IP cameras. I keep seeing references to cloning cameras, but so far how to do it is eluding me. Can someone point me in the right direction?

 

[Mike]

Camera Properties -> General tab -> Export.

You can then add a camera, click Import, and select the file. This will clone the camera

 

[wormfishin]

Thanks for the quick reply. Are there any other steps? I clicked the plus sign to add a new camera. Then clicked cancel on the "Network IP camera configuration" page. Then General Tab and import. All of my settings seem to show up, the the 'OK' button is still greyed out. I tried both the cameras that I have working at the moment with the same result.

 

[fenderman]

You need to rename one of the cameras first, it wont let you create a camera with the same name.

 

[kleeb03]

I'm really new to BI and found this thread useful. Although, I still had to mess with it a little to figure it out. Here is a more step by step for a newbie like me:

1. Pick the camera you want to clone and go to its camera properties and on the General tab click Export down at the bottom. Make note of where this config file gets exported to. Then click OK to close this window.
2. Click the plus sign at the top of the main window to add a new camera. Two windows pop up. Click Cancel on the Network Configuration window. Then in the camera properties window go to the General Tab and push Import down at the bottom.
3. Find the file that you just exported and import it. Then you'll need to rename the camera and modify any other settings that you want to have different in this clone. When you are done you can make this clone hidden, so its not on your main view screen.

The way i'm using my clone: The original camera is recording everything on motion, so there are lots of false alarms like wind blowing trees and stuff, but that's ok, i don't want to miss anything. By cloning that camera I could narrow down a small area and make it less sensitive and then set it up to send me alerts, so that it only alerts me if someone walks up to my door. And i turned off recording on the clone, because the original is taking care of recording the whole area.

Hope this helps. I know this forum has been a huge help to me. Thanks to all the great contributors!

 

[mcutugno]

Have you found a way to not display the hidden cameras in the iOS app? I am using a similar setup with a hidden cam and I can still see it in iOS.

 

[fenderman]

Have you found a way to not display the hidden cameras in the iOS app? I am using a similar setup with a hidden cam and I can still see it in iOS.

I believe there is an option available in the ios app to not display the hidden cameras.

 

[kleeb03]

Yes, on the iOS app there is a drop down under the settings menu that allows you to hide hidden and/or disabled cameras. You'll first have to make it "hidden" on the actual Blue Iris on your computer. On mine it still shows the cameras under my group. So I have 3 cloned cameras, and I put them all in the same group. That group shows up in my view, but I want it to.

 

[mcutugno]

Thanks for the responses. I found the option and it works. However, while it does remove the camera from the list in iOS, it remains in the All Camera view. If you click on it on this view, the app crashes. Anyone else experience this?