Is anybody recording a desktop as if it were a camera?

[drunkychew]

I'd like to set up some recording software on my desktop so I know if anybody is using it when I'm not there. The problem with screen recorders is that they just record nonstop and take up a ton of space. I was thinking about Blue Iris' motion detection and thought that it might work to record a desktop screen only when in use. My thought was that I could use some sort of broadcasting software like VLC or google cast to cast the desktop (or specific apps) in a format that BI would recognize as a camera. At that point the motion detection settings should work and only record when things are happening.

Has anybody tried this?

 

[pkbristol]

iSPY connect will do that.

Paul.

 

[mikeduncan]

I am capturing a cash register screen with a hardware device and I can confirm that the motion detection works exactly like you want and it is great. There are 2 desktops that I would like to capture through software though, I attempted once with vlc but never got it working exactly right. If you make any progress I would be very interested in what you come up with I need to take another look at doing this

 

[drunkychew]

iSPY connect will do that.

Paul.

Thanks, I'll install it on the PC I'm looking to capture and see what happens.

mikeduncan, I spent about an hour trying to get VLC broadcasting to work. I got it to stream but couldn't connect from Blue Iris. Maybe Ispy will be enough of a turnkey solution to make things work. I'll report back.

 

[drunkychew]

So I've installed Ispy Connect and sucessfully configured it to monitor and record my desktop. However, with the free tier it's not allowing me to connect directly to the stream. Blue Iris will auto-detect the type of stream but then times out. It looks like it forces me through the online interface, and thus far I haven't figured out any other method. I submitted a request on their forum but it's stuck in approval limbo. If anybody knows how to connect to Ispy as if it were a camera, I'd appreciate the help.

 

[FrankOceanXray]

Using the free version of ispy? Just spend the few bucks and go pro?

 

[fenderman]

Using the free version of ispy? Just spend the few bucks and go pro?

There is a perpetual 8 dollar monthly fee with limited alerts...

 

[FrankOceanXray]

There is a perpetual 8 dollar monthly fee with limited alerts...

That could kill it then for me. Gotcha!

I ponies up the 3.99 for tinycam PRO. Well worth it. Nice program.

 

[drunkychew]

I want to keep everything in Blue Iris because I have several cameras configured. Ispy is supposed to be free for LAN connectivity, and (I think) it should just show up as a camera in Blue Iris. I found an ispy kb article stating that there's a setting to force the traffic to be local rather than using ispyconnect.com, but I can't find it.

I'm happy to pay for a product that does what I need (I've already paid for Blue Iris), but not 8 bucks a month. Maybe I should circle back and try the VLC option again.

 

[SRGNBrar]

Any luck with the VLC connection? I'm trying something similar with a few different options. There's an open source code someone has posted that could accomplish this, but I don't have the technical knowledge to implement it...

 

[kapios]

I am also interested in getting a VLC stream into Blue Iris. I have spent quite a bit of time changing various settings but no success.
What is the open source code that was referenced above?

Is there any other utility that can stream a remote PC desktop into Blue Iris?

 

[fenderman]

I am also interested in getting a VLC stream into Blue Iris. I have spent quite a bit of time changing various settings but no success.
What is the open source code that was referenced above?

Is there any other utility that can stream a remote PC desktop into Blue Iris?

Yes desktopcamera

 

[kapios]

? Is that an app? Or are you suggesting that I set up a camera in front of the pc?

 

[fenderman]

? Is that an app? Or are you suggesting that I set up a camera in front of the pc?

Google desktop onvif..

 

[kapios]

Got it - DeskCamera. Neat app, but I'm not sure that it's worth $80.

What is the open source utility referenced above? There must be a way to get a VLC stream or something similar that Blue Iris can recognize.

 

[fenderman]

Got it - DeskCamera. Neat app, but I'm not sure that it's worth $80.

What is the open source utility referenced above? There must be a way to get a VLC stream or something similar that Blue Iris can recognize.

It's worth whatever folks are willing to pay for it...how much is your time worth?