ANDROID HOW TO

[estranged1977]

Ok, After lookin a while for a good android app I can say that there are 3 app that can connect to zoneminder using android.

The first is Total Control, it works, but the demo only shows 1 camera, I paid the full version but it really takes a while to load, and for me is too expensive.

The second is IpCAMViewer, works too, but for some reason it has a delay of about 5 seconds when showing, and its only a demo.

The last and the best for me is TinyDVR http://www.androlib.com/android.applica ... -wDxp.aspx
is free BUT is not easy to configure because in the configuration menu there is not a Zoneminder Item or something to select zoneminder servers like others app.

So here is how I did it. (Be patience to write or to copy and paste...)

First download and install the app, its on the Market too TinyDVR http://www.androlib.com/android.applica ... -wDxp.aspx

Once instlled, open it and press the menu, select the item "Switch layout" and then press "Manage cameras".

(If for some reason the version is different and there is not the same order, try to delete the defaults cameras, and search for "Manage cameras")

Inside "Manage cameras" we need of course to enable the camera, edit the camera name, and the only thing we need to add is at the end in "Advance settings" in the "Edit JPEG image address" box, here we need to enter the url of the camera you need to see and in single mode.

This is the only thing we need to edit after enable the camera and edit the camera name, so don´t try to choose other menus, like camera vendor or hostname...cause we dont need it and maybe it will not work.

In that place "Edit JPEG image address" we are going to enter the full address of the camera we are going to use; for example if you are adding the "bathroom camera" and the monitor id for this camera is numer 2 you need to place the url address like this.

http://your.zoneminder.server:80/cgi-bi ... s=password
where the monitor is the number of the monitor id of your camera in your zoneminder server, and of course using the correct username and password, the scale is in 85 because in my phone (HTC MAGIC) the screen is smaller.

Another thing that can work in case you have a heavy load server or lots of cameras, or just not a good internet conection, is to create a new zoneminder server (al cameras in monitor) just for mobile access. Here for example in my place we have 23 ip cameras, running on zoneminder over an esxi server, it works good but it needs a lot of resource so I created a second VM with a reduce Ubuntu server and it has a zoneminder just to access the needed cameras from outside and from mobile devices, and the image quality for streaming in zoneminder conf is set to 15, so it works very fast over telephones and small screens.

So thats all, I hope it works for you like it works perfect for me...

[r6express]

Thanks for sharing this information. I had been using the free version of IP Cam Viewer, which works fine but has the 4 camera limit.

This TinyDVR works just as well as IP Cam Viewer and has no limit. Though you're right, you should be handy with copy and paste on the Android during configuration.

I also wanted to mention that the "&scale=85" parameter isn't absolutely required. Also, if, like me, you use .htaccess for controlling access to ZoneMinder, instead of its built in authentication system, you can leave off the user and pass URL parameters as well, and place those in the Username and Password fields for the camera configuration.

[estranged1977]

You re right about the scale, I did a new set up without scale and there is no diference, maybe at that time was something on the phone or other thing that shows me the image different than other phone with a bigger screen.

You are using .htaccess to log in, is there a better performance or a fast access than using the build-in log in system?

[r6express]

I am using .htaccess primarily since I have my other web pages unrelated to ZM secured via this method and I didn't want to have to maintain multiple authentication repositories.

I also tend to stick with .htaccess just to keep script kiddies away from PHP and CGI code that might have a vulnerability in the login logic.

As a side note, thank you ZM devs for giving us so many configuration options, such as the ability to choose whether or not to use ZM's built-in auth.

[ryan43110]

TinyDVR worked great, way better than than the mobile web access that I had to keep refreshing. Thanks for the writeup.

[kingofkya]

JUst a fyi for anyone who finds this thread.

on android 2.2 or higher simply switch zm to mpeg mode and swf as the output works great.

[ryan43110]

I have been using TinyDVR for a few weeks now, and this would be perfect for a Windows program to do a montage view. Is there any Windows programs similar?

[timgman]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BlankMan]

JUst a fyi for anyone who finds this thread.

on android 2.2 or higher simply switch zm to mpeg mode and swf as the output works great.

This didn't work for me on 2.2 on a myTouch 4G. FYI

[kingofkya]

You might have to install some codex libs see if the swf works on a pc first.

[alexvas]

Hi everyone,

I'm the developer of the mentioned here tinyCam Monitor for Android (formely Tiny DVR).

I have just implemented support for ZoneMinder in tinyCam Monitor. Now you do not need to enter this long URL. You have to choose vendor, IP address, port number and channel number to be able to view your ZoneMinder.

tinyCam Monitor comes in two editions: FREE and PRO (paid). PRO version has all features of FREE version plus supports SSL (https), more cameras, more layouts, etc. Both FREE and PRO versions are available through Android Market. Search for "tinycam" there. FREE version can be also downloaded at no cost from SlideME.

Hope you enjoyed using tinyCam Monitor with ZoneMinder. If you have any questions or feature requests please feel free to ask.

Best regards,
Alex.

[punch-card]

Where would you input the top level folder of ZoneMinder.

Such as http://123.456.123.456:1234/ZM

so in my case ZoneMinder is in the "ZM" directory?

[mrd]

I was able to get the Tiny Cam to work, but it seems like the image stops after a while.

Can anyone let me know more details about getting ZM to work nativity on Android. I was not able to view streams with the suggestion above.

[punch-card]

Just an update in case someone else tries Tiny Cam and get stuck, the secret to figuring out what are you camera numbers in TC advanced page, is look at the URLs on your ZM main page, and use the "mid" value as the camera number.

As for the stopping after a while, I never seen the issue, but I will admit I have not watched it on the phone for that long. You might want to check your system log to see if a ZM app is throwing an error.

As for my previous issue for non-standard install location, I just link "zm" to true location.

[mrd]

alexvas,

I'm happily using your app and it works very well for me. I've purchased the PRO version and I'm thrilled with it. I'd like to be able to control my ZM camera's through the ZM interface and I'm wondering if you can add that to your feature list. Perhaps it's already there and I'm missing it, but simply allowing us to custom configure the url and post parameters to the control buttons would be perfect. Please also add a "wake" and "sleep" button for on/off control.

I'm an Android developer myself so I have special appreciation for the quality of your app and I have rated it 5 stars.

Thanks for the great work!