How to setup a camera for remote access only in BI5?

[pov2]

I added a baby cam to my BI5 with the only purpose to access it remotely with tinyCam Monitor, so I don't have to setup a VPN or open ports. Unlike other cameras, I don't want the BI to monitor this camera at all. I only want it to become active when I connect remotely so the BI can webcast it. I unchecked all I reasonably could - nothing is checked in the Trigger tab, nothing in Record, in Alert, in Watchdog. I unchecked "Continue to display and stream video while inactive" in the Schedule tab. I checked "Limit decoding unless required" to see if it made a difference. Nope.

The problem is that while remote streaming works fine when I connect remotely, BI continues to pull the stream from the camera all the time. I wanted to avoid this as I rarely connect remotely. I tried to make the camera hidden but then I can't stream is remotely.

Is there any way to prevent the BI from pulling the stream all the time and do it only when needed?

 

[looney2ns]

Sure, use the BI App on your phone, you can disable and enable cams running on BI at will.

 

[pov2]

Sure, use the BI App on your phone, you can disable and enable cams running on BI at will.

While I can use the BI app on my phone my wife has no need to and won't. So, there is no other way?

 

[fenderman]

I added a baby cam to my BI5 with the only purpose to access it remotely with tinyCam Monitor, so I don't have to setup a VPN or open ports. Unlike other cameras, I don't want the BI to monitor this camera at all. I only want it to become active when I connect remotely so the BI can webcast it. I unchecked all I reasonably could - nothing is checked in the Trigger tab, nothing in Record, in Alert, in Watchdog. I unchecked "Continue to display and stream video while inactive" in the Schedule tab. I checked "Limit decoding unless required" to see if it made a difference. Nope.

The problem is that while remote streaming works fine when I connect remotely, BI continues to pull the stream from the camera all the time. I wanted to avoid this as I rarely connect remotely. I tried to make the camera hidden but then I can't stream is remotely.

Is there any way to prevent the BI from pulling the stream all the time and do it only when needed?

You still have to open ports or use a vpn if you want to monitor it remotely via tiny cam.

 

[bp2008]

You can't have BI stop streaming from the camera when you aren't looking at it. That is not the purpose of BI so it is not something BI supports.

If you are okay with enabling and disabling the camera remotely using UI3, you can find disabled cameras in the Full Camera List panel. Then you don't need the mobile app.

 

[pov2]

You still have to open ports or use a vpn if you want to monitor it remotely via tiny cam.

That's not my issue. I've already set up access to other cams via reverse https proxy. Since I have this access anyway I thought I'd use it for other purposes too.

 

[pov2]

You can't have BI stop streaming from the camera when you aren't looking at it. That is not the purpose of BI so it is not something BI supports.

Thanks for confirming that what I want is not possible. I'll leave the cam streaming. There is almost no impact on resources. tinyCam Monitor is just very convenient for a quick look. I can be bothered with enabling and disabling cameras but my wife can't.

 

[fenderman]

That's not my issue. I've already set up access to other cams via reverse https proxy. Since I have this access anyway I thought I'd use it for other purposes too.

You mentioned it the vpn and port forwarding as if it was relevant.
If you are using tiny cam why do you need BI in the equation. Simply connect direct to the camera - the camera wont stream unless you are connected. Problem solved.

 

[pov2]

You mentioned it the vpn and port forwarding as if it was relevant.
If you are using tiny cam why do you need BI in the equation. Simply connect direct to the camera - the camera wont stream unless you are connected. Problem solved.

I meant I didn't want to open another port directly to the camera. It would be a security risk. I have an open port to the proxy, and no VPN. The convenience with the proxy is that neither my wife nor I have to do anything extra, simply open tinyCam and view. VPN has to be enabled beforehand.

 

[looney2ns]

I meant I didn't want to open another port directly to the camera. It would be a security risk. I have an open port to the proxy, and no VPN. The convenience with the proxy is that neither my wife nor I have to do anything extra, simply open tinyCam and view. VPN has to be enabled beforehand.

There are ways to have OpenVPn connect automatically, and just leave it connected.

 

[pov2]

You can't have BI stop streaming from the camera when you aren't looking at it. That is not the purpose of BI so it is not something BI supports.

I didn't write to Ken, I don't know how but this function showed up in the camera's Schedule tab "Camera is only active when: Viewed remotely or full screen". It does exactly what I wanted in the OP. Praise the developer!

 

[fenderman]

I didn't write to Ken, I don't know how but this function showed up in the camera's Schedule tab "Camera is only active when: Viewed remotely or full screen". It does exactly what I wanted in the OP. Praise the developer!

This was available in BI4...

 

[pov2]

This was available in BI4...

Really? And nobody could point me to it in July instead of stating that it's impossible?

 

[fenderman]

Really? And nobody could point me to it in July instead of stating that it's impossible?

How dare they!!! Ask for your money back for the forum membership!

 

[pov2]

How dare they!!! Ask for your money back for the forum membership!

Exactly!