If I get blue iris do I also have to buy a stand alone computer to run it at all times? Or can I just download it to my computer I keep put up and have it run in the background and still get the feed on sharptools?
It doesn’t need a dedicated computer, but the feed only works when the computer is on of course.
The PC mine is running on is semi-dedicated, I also use it to stream since it’s under my TV. It’s also running the Edgebridge to link blue iris and our phones to Smartthings.
My computer is always on and plugged in but most times its just closed and in sleep mode.
Can you explain edgebridge? Would I need to download it to in order to live stream video on my ipad which will be plugged in and always on. Or is it just so you can see it on yoir phone?
Sorry, I made it more complicated. Edge bridge can be used to relay things into Smartthings. You don’t need it for the camera feed, but it can be used to, for example, close a virtual contact sensor when a camera triggers on motion.
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So can you explain from the beginning how Id set up the camera to have it live stream on sharptools? Keep in mind Im new to home automation and dont understand all terms
You start by adding the camera to blue iris, since it’s a Google camera, that’s your first issue. I suggest you visit this link and search that forum a bit:
https://blueirissoftware.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=2548
But I guess that link would also work directly in a media tile in Sharptools. You should find that out first.
If it doesn’t,when the camera is added to Blue Iris, you will be able to build a personal link to your Blue Iris system. Depending on your use, local or WAN IP. Blue Iris has an automatic guide to turn on external viewing. This isn’t the most secure system, but I have used it a while myself, up untill yesterday. But that brings a long other snags.
But I’m also afraid you’re not going to get that far with the Google camera’s in the first place. Start with finding the link and adding it to Blue Iris.
Hey @kendallb183 I saw that you had posted this question again as separate thread, so I wanted to consolidate here and perhaps expand on @Sgt.Flippy_PJ’s answer.
As they mentioned, the computer must be running at all times if you are using Blue Iris to proxy the camera streams… otherwise the streams won’t be available when Blue Iris stops. You could set your computer to stay on all the time even when the lid is closed - in this case you would change the settings on your computer from going into sleep mode when the lid is closed. Of course, this would require that the computer is always connected to power otherwise it would die.
While I think it’s reasonable to use a dedicated computer to run Blue Iris to run other servers like @Sgt.Flippy_PJ is doing, I generally would not recommend using the same laptop that you use for surfing the web or personal use as it’s very likely to cause complications. It’s one thing to use an old laptop as a Blue Iris server and you throw it in a closet or in a corner and leave it plugged in all the time doing its job. It’s another to do it on a laptop that you’re likely to be frequently plugging / unplugging and has the potential to mess up your Blue Iris setup which would likely just cause further complications with troubleshooting.
Personally, I would either buy a cheap/used small form factor PC and dedicate it to the purpose, use an old PC/laptop and dedicate it (if you have one laying around), or consider the TinyCam approach mentioned in another thread .
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