Focus Mode is a feature new to Streamie v4.1.0 which automatically positions cameras on screen when motion occurs. Off-screen cameras consume no bandwidth and are only activated when motion is detected. You decide where motion-activated cameras should be positioned on the screen and Streamie will move them back “home” a little while after motion has concluded.
If you have a large enough display and not too many cameras, it’s not impossible to monitor them. However, it is far more intuitive if the cameras are larger, and you have instant access to the cameras where motion is happening right now.
The most obvious requirement is that your ONVIF-compatible or Ubiquiti UniFi Protect cameras must support motion events. Due to the way that ONVIF motion events work, your Streamie device must be on the same network with the cameras.
Your cameras must be added to Streamie, and Streamie must have already learned the camera’s supported events. In short, you need to stream the cameras and dance around in front of them so that Streamie can learn what motion events each camera produces.
- 1. For each camera, configure a Focus Action
- 2. Create a new group with all of the cameras
- 3. Define which locations use the Focus feature
- 4. Stream the group
- 5. Wait for motion
Edit your ONVIF or Ubiquiti camera configuration in Streamie. Scroll down to the Actions section and choose + Add Action. We are going to configure the new Focus action for this camera.
For the Action Type, choose Focus.
Continue down, and use the Choose button to select the Streamie device (or devices) on which this new Focus Action should run. Save & Close and we’re done with this new action. Save & Close the camera configuration. Repeat this for each camera you want to use.
Create a new Group. Scroll down to the Cameras section and tap on Choose. Select all of the cameras that you want in this group.
Continue down to the Layout select and tap the Mode button. Instead of viewing the camera names, you can now see the Mode applied to each camera location, which is independent of the camera itself.
When Streamie is running with the Focus feature enabled on any of the cameras in the Group, only the cameras that can fully fit on screen will be visible; all remaining cameras will be invisible. You can see below that only four cameras fit on screen in the current configuration where the Scale is set to two. Of these four cameras, three are set to Focus mode, and one is Locked so that it will remain fixed in that location even if motion is detected.
Save & Close the group and then tap on it to stream it.
You can see in this screenshot that just the first four cameras are visible. When motion occurs for any offscreen camera, that camera will swap positions with any of the Focus cameras, within certain limits. Specifically, a camera moved onscreen will remain onscreen for a minimum of five seconds before it becomes eligible to be replaced by another camera that detects motion. After five minutes, the camera is returned to its home location.
While cameras are offscreen, Streamie does not continue to stream them, so if you have a group of many cameras, but only adequate bandwidth for 4 cameras, you can still effectively monitor all of the cameras.
Streamie provides a best-in-class user experience on your iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Apple Silicon Mac, with an intuitive user interface that makes it simple to discover, stream, record, monitor and share your HomeKit, Google Nest, Ubiquiti UniFi Protect and ONVIF-compatible IP and RTSP cameras. Streamie keeps you informed with motion event notifications and it works with most cameras using its advanced audio and video codec support. You can watch your cameras from anywhere, record 24/7 to your private NAS, remotely manage multiple locations, device permissions and seamlessly synchronize settings across your devices; configure Hubitat smart home automations, live stream to YouTube and rely on the in-app technical support system when you need help (but you can also reach us by phone). Download Streamie today.