RTSP IPCam Viewer

Android app to watch RTSP and RTMP video streams; these formats are typical of inexpensive IP security cams.

Background

• tinyCam PRO by Tiny Solutions LLC
  • is great
  • is the defacto standard for this kind of app
  • is inexpensive ($4 MSRP, occasionally $1 on sale)
  • cons:
    • none
      • this a personal quirk..
        • I prefer to not add Google account(s) to most of my Android devices
• IP Cam Viewer by Robert Chou
  • has pretty good reviews
  • is the go-to free option for this kind of app
  • available variations:
    • limited functionality w/ ads
      • Basic
        • uses Google's in-app purchase to upgrade
      • Lite
        • uses an unlock code to upgrade
    • full functionality w/o ads
      • Pro
        • $4 MSRP
  • cons:
    • size of APK is over 25MB
    • requires a lot of permissions
    • most buttons/features are crippled
      • open a prompt to purchase pro license
    • basic functionality is (imho) not very impressive
• there are no (good) open-source options

Goals

• an extremely light-weight open-source app
  • minimal features
  • minimal UI
• ability to add video streams
  • data structure:
    • required fields:
      • name
      • low-res video stream URL
    • optional fields:
      • high-res video stream URL
      • is enabled?
  • data import methods:
    • manual entry via dialog
    • import via text file (JSON format)
• display of enabled video streams:
  • list view of low-res video streams
  • grid view of low-res video streams
    • number of columns is configurable
  • full-screen view of a single high-res video stream
    • (TBD) ability to zoom/pan
    • (TBD) ability to record to external SD card

Notes

• minimum supported version of Android:
  • Android 4.1 Jelly Bean (API 16)
• when videos are displayed in list/grid views:
  • Android status bar is visible
  • audio is disabled
  • video playback controls are disabled
• when a video is displayed in full-screen view:
  • Android status bar is hidden
  • audio is enabled
  • video playback controls are enabled

Usage

• activity: list of all video streams
  • action bar
    • icon:
      • click to add new video stream
    • overflow menu: Open List
      • display all enabled video streams in a single-column vertical list
    • overflow menu: Open Grid (2 col)
      • display all enabled video streams in a two-column grid
    • overflow menu: Open Grid (N col)
      • display a dialog to allow the user to specify the integer value of N
      • display all enabled video streams in a N-column grid
    • overflow menu: Read File
      • display a file chooser to allow the user to specify the path to a JSON file
      • parse the JSON to obtain an ordered list of new video streams
      • append the new video streams to the list of all video streams
    • overflow menu: Exit
      • exit the application
  • any video stream in the list
    • swipe (left or right) to remove
      • permanently deletes record of the video stream
    • drag (up or down) to change ordered position in list
      • modified order is persistent
    • click (single, short) on the checkbox to toggle: enabled
    • click (single, short) on the name to edit
• activity: list of all enabled video streams
  • any video stream in the list
    • swipe (left or right) to remove
      • temporarily hides the video stream
      • its record is not altered
      • the video stream will be visible once again when the list is recreated
    • drag (up or down) to change ordered position in list
      • modified order is temporary
      • the order of records is not altered
      • the video stream will appear in its original ordered position once again when the list is recreated
    • click (single, long) to toggle: pause/play
    • click (single or double, short) to open in full-screen view
• activity: grid of all enabled video streams
  • any video stream in the grid
    • click (single, long) to toggle: pause/play
    • click (single or double, short) to open in full-screen view
• activity: full-screen view of a single video stream
  • video surface
    • click (single, short) to toggle: display of the video playback controls
      • which are automatically hidden after a brief timeout

Screenshots

Credits

• ExoPlayer
  • video player library that supports RTSP streams
• MaterialFilePicker
  • library to browse the file system and select a file

Legal

• copyright: Warren Bank
• license: GPL-2.0