I used some helpful links and info found in the forum and in the wild. Documenting this as much for myself for in the future as well as anyone else who wants to do the same.
I've had good success with a raspberry pi 3b. Pi zero kinda works but super laggy, same for 2b.
I used the latest build as of March 2021. Fully patched.
1. Install/setup the raspberry PI os (raspian) (this includes connecting to your wifi)
2. go to your UI3 interface with chromium. (default browser)
for example: 3. enter credentials, save them and enable autologin.
4. go to UI settings from the top right corner and set idle timeout to "0"
5. press "Ctrl + Alt + T" (this will open a new terminal window. (if you are new to this, just follow the instructions)
6. type "sudo apt-get install unclutter" (don't include the " marks)
7. once that completes, then type "sudo nano /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart"
8. add the following two lines.
@unclutter -idle 0.01
@chromium-browser --kiosk http://<IP Address or hostname of blue iris:####/ui3.htm?maximize=1
then press "ctrl + x"
then press "y"
then press "enter"
for an example your autostart file should look like this.
@lxpanel --profile LXDE-pi
@pcmanfm --desktop --profile LXDE-pi
@xscreensaver -no-splash
@unclutter -idle 0.01
@chromium-browser --kiosk
You should be set at this point.
Some pre-emptive q/a.
Q: what happens if i mess up when changing the autostart file?
a: ctrl+x and then "n" enter. Then start at step 7 again
Q: what does unclutter do? and why set the idle to 0.01?
A: Unclutter hides the cursor on idle. Setting it to 0 reportedly causes high cpu usage. with it set at 0.01 if you move the mouse you will see the cursor while moving. Otherwise its hidden.
Q: why set the UI settings idle to 0? and why do that before the rest of the configuration?
A: Set it to 0 so it doesn't time out. Ideally the PI would be setup with no Keyboard or Mouse attached in its final location, all it will be doing is displaying the UI3 webpage. The reason for doing that before the rest of the steps is --kiosk tells chromium to start full-screened, ignores errors about previous shutdowns and does not store any changes (cookies etc) when enabled, so those changes need to be made first.
Q: can i use the exact same steps on a different system running the raspberry PI os.
A: yes, I've done it but it may require a script depending on if your internet connection is established prior to chromium launching.
I've had good success with a raspberry pi 3b. Pi zero kinda works but super laggy, same for 2b.
I used the latest build as of March 2021. Fully patched.
1. Install/setup the raspberry PI os (raspian) (this includes connecting to your wifi)
2. go to your UI3 interface with chromium. (default browser)
for example: 3. enter credentials, save them and enable autologin.
4. go to UI settings from the top right corner and set idle timeout to "0"
5. press "Ctrl + Alt + T" (this will open a new terminal window. (if you are new to this, just follow the instructions)
6. type "sudo apt-get install unclutter" (don't include the " marks)
7. once that completes, then type "sudo nano /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart"
8. add the following two lines.
@unclutter -idle 0.01
@chromium-browser --kiosk http://<IP Address or hostname of blue iris:####/ui3.htm?maximize=1
then press "ctrl + x"
then press "y"
then press "enter"
for an example your autostart file should look like this.
@lxpanel --profile LXDE-pi
@pcmanfm --desktop --profile LXDE-pi
@xscreensaver -no-splash
@unclutter -idle 0.01
@chromium-browser --kiosk
You should be set at this point.
Some pre-emptive q/a.
Q: what happens if i mess up when changing the autostart file?
a: ctrl+x and then "n" enter. Then start at step 7 again
Q: what does unclutter do? and why set the idle to 0.01?
A: Unclutter hides the cursor on idle. Setting it to 0 reportedly causes high cpu usage. with it set at 0.01 if you move the mouse you will see the cursor while moving. Otherwise its hidden.
Q: why set the UI settings idle to 0? and why do that before the rest of the configuration?
A: Set it to 0 so it doesn't time out. Ideally the PI would be setup with no Keyboard or Mouse attached in its final location, all it will be doing is displaying the UI3 webpage. The reason for doing that before the rest of the steps is --kiosk tells chromium to start full-screened, ignores errors about previous shutdowns and does not store any changes (cookies etc) when enabled, so those changes need to be made first.
Q: can i use the exact same steps on a different system running the raspberry PI os.
A: yes, I've done it but it may require a script depending on if your internet connection is established prior to chromium launching.
Last edited:
