Local remote viewing

[JNDATHP]

We have been using BI for about a year and a half and have become quite accustomed to looking at the console screen in full screen mode on a wireless laptop sitting on a table next to my recliner.

Decided to get an i7 Optiplex for BI and stash it in a hard to find place. I’ll use VNC to make changes if necessary.

My question. Using the existing laptop, would it be better to VNC to the BI machine for viewing or is there a better, more efficient way to view the cameras? We have 9 cameras. Also, my wife is not a fan of UI3 and WAF is always important (she was reticent about having cameras installed and now won’t live without them).

For networking gear, have all UniFi stuff and all but 2 of the cameras are POE. Two are WiFi due to where they are located in the house.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Michael

 

[J Sigmo]

I was going to suggest UI3, but...

I prefer it to the normal console of BI for most purposes. I don't usually even roll my chair ten feet to a different PC on a large desk to check my cameras on the BI machine. Instead, I fire up UI3 in Chrome on the machine where I'm sitting and leave that running behind whatever I'm doing so I can get a quick look when I need to. I leave the BI machine with the user interface minimized. Interestingly, my CPU usage is lower when running UI3 on a different machine than it is when I bring up the console on the BI machine. I guess the work of displaying the feeds takes more CPU time than sending the data out.

Maybe someone has some other ideas if UI3 is not up for consideration.

 

[looney2ns]

What is it that she does not like about UI3?

You can always use a tablet with either TinyCamPro or the BI app on it.

 

[JNDATHP]

It’s not that she dislikes it so much as she is used to the layout in BI. When I showed UI3, which I use at work, her reaction was - can you make it look like what we have? Strictly a WAF thing.

 

[Dasstrum]

It’s not that she dislikes it so much as she is used to the layout in BI. When I showed UI3, which I use at work, her reaction was - can you make it look like what we have? Strictly a WAF thing.

Sounds like the inconvenience of looking at the cameras in UI3 outweighs the headache of trying to figure out a way to look for an alternative.

To me UI3 is much nicer to look at than the BI console when just viewing the cameras.

 

[J Sigmo]

If she gets used to UI3, she may find that she prefers it over the local console the way many of us do. Maybe set it up and let her play with it for a while to get a feel for it before giving up on the idea.

 

[JNDATHP]

All great points. I will try that.

 

[JNDATHP]

Wife now likes UI3. Thanks @bp2008.