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Thread: super cheap ip cam solution. works on fusion...

  1. #1
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    super cheap ip cam solution. works on fusion...

    So i just thought i would share this, mostly just tried it to see if it works.

    i took one of my old android phones, who doesnt have on laying around?... connected to my wifi.
    installed this app... ipcam
    this app turns your android phone into an ip cam with a mjpeg stream.

    setup port forwarding in my router to the port i selected, my router uses a ddns service so i just put in the url exp: http://whatever.com:port#/mjpeg

    put that url in fusion and i can watch my reef when im not at home. best part is it didnt cost me anything. and it is streaming in 1280x720

  2. #2
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    Great Tip.

  3. #3
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    Thanks for sharing! I'm now using this app on an old android phone I had kicking around: http://aquarium.seanesopenko.ca/live-aquarium-feed/. The aquarium isn't set up yet, waiting for more equipment to arrive in the mail!

    I'd like to share how I got the app working with Apex Fusion and with better security through an http proxy. The app browsers of the camera refocus the camera and even fill the phone's memory with video recordings. Note, this secure method of sharing the feed only works if you're running a website running apache with mod_proxy, mod_proxy_http and mod_rewrite enabled. Contact your host to see if your hosting account is capable of this. You can't password protect the app or else the feed url won't work in the Apex Fusion cloud service.

    I added a destination NAT rule in my router allowing the outside world to access the app's webserver. You'll have to check your router's documentation on how to do this. Then I edited the .htaccess file of the wordpress site to the following:

    Code:
    # BEGIN WordPress
    <IfModule mod_rewrite.c>
    RewriteEngine On
    RewriteBase /
    RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
    RewriteRule ^feed/shot.jpg$ http://YOUR.HOME.COMPUTER.IP:THENATPORT/shot.jpg [P]
    RewriteRule ^feed/aiFi5ooF/video$ http://YOUR.HOME.COMPUTER.IP:THENATPORT/video [P]
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
    RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
    RewriteRule . /index.php [L]
    </IfModule>
    
    
    # END WordPress
    Then I created firewall rules in my home router to only allow the IP of the web server to connect. To get the IP you can ping www.yourdomain.com and that's probably the machine that's going to hit your webcam app.

    Voila! I have a proxy stream for my camera feed only exposing the feed and the recent picture urls, with none of the other urls exposed to the public!

    This is a little techy but I thought I'd share it in case somebody else finds it useful.

  4. #4
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    pretty cool

  5. #5
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    This is a great idea- thanks a million for figuring it out and posting it.
    Edit:
    I'm using an old Droid X now and I've stopped shopping for an ipcam that has decent image quality. Before ddfusion posted this genius idea I tried a Foscam 9810W, Dlink 5222L, plus a Hawking and Trendnet (can't recall model numbers)- basically each model that was available at the local Frys and was under $200. They all worked ok and they all had terrible image quality. The cell phone picture is far from ideal but it has about a thousand times more detail and can handle quite a bit more contrast. Plus it was easier to set up than the ipcams.

  6. #6
    The watcher Kyuss's Avatar
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    Great idea! I use the android app IP Webcam. I have it installed on my Droid RAZR MAXX that I dropped and smashed the screen but it is still functional.

  7. #7
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    im glad you found it usefull

  8. #8
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    Thanks for sharing this information. I tried both apps on a Samsung Galaxy SII and had more success with the second app posted by kwirky88, "IP WebCam".

    I currently use the "IP CAM Viewer Pro" mobile app to view streams from my D-Link and TrendNet cameras. I was glad to find an option for "Android/IP Webcam for Android" in the menu.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by oh207 View Post
    Thanks for sharing this information. I tried both apps on a Samsung Galaxy SII and had more success with the second app posted by kwirky88, "IP WebCam".

    I currently use the "IP CAM Viewer Pro" mobile app to view streams from my D-Link and TrendNet cameras. I was glad to find an option for "Android/IP Webcam for Android" in the menu.
    +1 I also use IP Webcam on my HTC Hero and to view the video feeds on my HTC One I use IP CAM Viewer Basic to view my HTC Hero feed and my Panasonic Network Cam.

    Works Great
    Jon

  10. #10
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    I cant figure out what info goes where on the appNewb problems lol


    can only view when im on local network.

  11. #11
    Regular Vistor juneaw's Avatar
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    Resurrecting this thread. I downloaded the IP Webcam on my old Motorola Razar but can't figure out how to add in the camera. It doesn't automatically bring it up and asks me to import it? Would love to add in this phone so I can view the reef while at work!

  12. #12
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    Bringing this one back also, I have no idea how to do this port forwarding thing but I have an android phone with ip cam installed, I can see the video on my computer with the up address put in but as soon as I do it on fusion nothing happens and cannot see anything? Help please!

    Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

  13. #13
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    This is quite possibly the best solution to fusion integrated cheap cameras. Considering the camera and software is 100% free if you have a few old phones laying around. One bit of advice on the method: Install a screen killing app on the phone. When using "IP webcam" app the screen wants to stay on 100% of the time, killing the battery on most older phones, particularly the Galaxy S3s. I use "Smart Screen on/off" on my Android phones. Turns screen off by just waving hand in front of screen thus killing a 50% draw on your battery. The heat level drops dramatically as well.

    I have four of these attached to my Apex and running a slideshow in Fusion. I just use the web server via Chrome to make any adjustment to the camera and set up motion sensing for recording during the day. You can set the resolution of each camera as high as you want, but no reason to really go beyond 640x480, which removes gray lines on top and bottom, since the Fusion video screen is not that high of a resolution. Set stream quality to 50-60%. The web server that comes with the IP Webcam software is robust enough for most applications; and the code the to input into Fusion is as simple as they come. Make sure you choose the Motion JPEG option. Then it's just: http://192.168.1.4:8080/video with your particular camera IP address replacing the one I listed. This will literally be on the bottom of the phone screen when the server is started. I keep the ports at the default 8080.

    For access to the cameras from outside the home I use the "Ivideon" app on my personal phone and use the program at work to view cameras. This eliminates the need to go through port forwarding hassles. Its simple to install. Get the server and the client downloaded to your home network PC which your Apex is running on it. Fire up server, get account set up. Then you can use app on phone to view cameras, and view cameras from any PC outside your network using the software and logging in. You can use the client as well to view and record, I don't use it as I find the IP Webcam web server software good enough for my liking.

    I tried three different "IP cameras" from big companies in the past and all gave me so many issues either with fusion coding or having to port forward. Cell phone cameras have advanced to the point of being superior to many so called security cameras. Why not use what most of us have lying around in a drawer?

  14. #14
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    Quinnechero, have you had issues with mobile fusion app not showing the video?

  15. #15
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    Yes. I do have issues with using the cameras on the mobile app. But that is because port forwarding for my situation is very difficult. I run a router behind another router and this causes issues with it. I just prefer to use the Ivideon app anyway. It gives you access to the main stream, as opposed to the substream required to run MJPEG to work in fusion, witch runs under H.24 or whatever that codec is named. I just keep two tabs on my phone or tablet one for direct shortcut to fusion and one to cameras. The Ivideon one is full screen 1080P streaming video.
    I'm sure I could get the video out through some tricks with port forward but why bother when the video quality is sooo much better using the native app. All of which is free.
    On a side note. The phones do have to have EVERYTHING shut down, which takes about 45 minutes to accomplish per phone. No updates, no background garbage, no actual service at all. Still an occasional update from some overlooked app will shutdown the camera but becomes less and less frequent as you catch each one and kill it off in your settings. The video quality, at least on S3s and up is pretty spectacular for a zero cost option.

  16. #16
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    Is there an app to do the same thing with an iPhone?

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by MrT View Post
    Is there an app to do the same thing with an iPhone?
    Yes it works on both systems. I avoid Apple products, so I am unfamiliar with any process differences between the two. There are numerous websites that do nice walk-throughs of the Apple version if IPwebcam.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Quinnchero View Post
    Yes. I do have issues with using the cameras on the mobile app. But that is because port forwarding for my situation is very difficult. I run a router behind another router and this causes issues with it. I just prefer to use the Ivideon app anyway. It gives you access to the main stream, as opposed to the substream required to run MJPEG to work in fusion, witch runs under H.24 or whatever that codec is named. I just keep two tabs on my phone or tablet one for direct shortcut to fusion and one to cameras. The Ivideon one is full screen 1080P streaming video.
    I'm sure I could get the video out through some tricks with port forward but why bother when the video quality is sooo much better using the native app. All of which is free.
    On a side note. The phones do have to have EVERYTHING shut down, which takes about 45 minutes to accomplish per phone. No updates, no background garbage, no actual service at all. Still an occasional update from some overlooked app will shutdown the camera but becomes less and less frequent as you catch each one and kill it off in your settings. The video quality, at least on S3s and up is pretty spectacular for a zero cost option.
    Thank you for sharing this! I am using an older Samsung S3 and the video on Ivideon is spot on, when I view if in Fusion it is 90 degrees off thus it seems like I am watching it from its side. any fix for this?
    withIvideon.JPGwithFusion.JPG

  19. #19
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    Have you tried changing your "Auto rotate" function to on or off depending on which position is currently is in? That should take care of the issue.

  20. #20
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    Hi, any ideas on how to setup the URL in Fusion with user and password embedded in it?

    Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

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