Thoughts on Media Tile options?

SharpTools.io (web)
4

Josh, I think the “fill” option might be the easiest way for most users, though the ratio is not perfect, but I agree it seems to be minor enough. We can add the position option later, even with the UI to allow user to crop the image. :slight_smile:

5

I didnt think about it really bc I tried ActionTiles. AT seemed to fill it and I could still change tile size etc… I dont have access to AT anymore to check and advise. I will try and find a way to look.

12

These feature are now included in the latest SharpTools.io platform update. Check out the following post for more details and a video showing the new features.

1 Like
13

are you considering any kind of zoom functionality?

1 Like
14

Yes! Did you have something specific in mind?

15

for example, this media tile for my weather forecast. I like the tile size/dimensions, but ideally i’d zoom into just the forecast part
image

so basically only show this on the tile
image

2 Likes
16

Thanks for the screenshots - that’s very clear. And I’m glad you clarified as it’s a bit different than what I thought you meant! I’ll add it to the list - I think it should be possible, but I need to look into it a bit.

I’m also thinking an official weather forecast tile might be in order as that seems like one of the big use cases for media tiles. It would also help give certain dashboards a cleaner look as sometimes the media tiles with forecasts seem to stand out from the rest of the tiles!

Edit: PS. I need to catch up on your Instagram Smart Home series. I’ve watched the first few episodes. :stuck_out_tongue:

2 Likes
17

I agree they are an eyesore. A uniform weather forecast tile would be nice. And thanks for watching!

2 Likes
18

I just switched over from another product. The way they did zoom is when you clicked on the tile, it would go full screen. It would then allow you to x out of it.

1 Like
19

That’s what I originally thought he meant and it’s on my hit list. More like a traditional ‘lightbox’ implementation. :grinning:

20

Any update on allowing the tile to go to full screen when clicked on? Example Weather tile.image

1 Like
21

We have prioritized it in our sprint planning. If all goes well, it will likely make it in the release after the next.

2 Likes
22

Question about Media Tiles:
I must be doing something wrong. My media tiles just show up as blank. I don’t understand because when I select the URL that I put in the media tile, and just go to it, it shows up perfectly.

image
image1266×818 35.3 KB

23

Can you share a sample URL?

Edit: If you have the tile set to auto refresh, some providers have trouble with the ‘cache buster’ parameter that gets added to the URL. If I remember right correctly, AccuWeather is one of the sites that doesn’t like the auto refresh.

24

Hi Jack,
What the URLs you have in those tiles? Are they pointing to a medial file such as MJPG, GIF, JPG, or PNG type?

25

Here is a sample url (amcrest camera):
http://userid:pswd@192.168.1.55:1025/cgi-bin/mjpg/video.cgi?channel=0&subtype=1

26

Hi Jack,
What’s your camera model? I couldn’t find that URL “cgi-bin/mjpg/” in iSpy’s database (a popular webcam url info resource).

27

Some browsers like Chrome have started blocking the embedding of username and passwords at the start of URLs when embedded into another page.

This means that you can access the resource directly with the username/password at the beginning of the URL, but it won’t work when embedded in another page like SharpTools.

There are a few common workarounds:

  1. If you have the option of using another browser, try a different browser. (Chrome is one of the browsers to have recently blocked this)

  2. Check to see if your camera has another method for embedding the username and password. Some cameras have the option of putting the username and password in the URL query. For example, the iSpyConnect Camera Database has a number of other Amcrest models which appear to take the username and password as part of the URL:

    Connect to Amcrest cameras

  3. Disable the username and password for the camera within your network (if it’s available within your camera)

  4. Use a dedicated NVR software like Blue Iris which can aggregate feeds from multiple cameras (and has options for disabling username/password for LAN only)

1 Like
28

It’s an Amcrest IP3M-HX2. (I think that it also says “IPM-HX1” which is the “common” model number.

29

@Jack_Weinberg check out my comment above. Based on the URL you provided it’s likely Chrome blocking the embedding of a resources with a http://username:password@camera/ format. There are several workarounds noted in the post above which may be helpful. :slight_smile:

I also created a help article in case other people run into the same issue:

1 Like