Issue with TinyCam pro

Some semi-ordered observations

Suggestion: see K.I.S.S. at bottom of this post first.

 
More powerful devices, connected to robust WiFi, can run well with stream profile set to Main (1080p), bitrate at 120 KB/s, displaying 3-4 cams at a time.

Running tinyCam Pro in Bluestacks 4 on a PC with plenty of power and memory does fine at those settings.

Running tinyCam Pro by itself on a reasonably well-equipped tablet may work at 120KB/s, or may need to drop to 60KB/s.

QOS (quality of service) on tp-link mesh router, cams set individually as ‘priority’ devices… made a dramatic difference within Bluestacks. PC connected via ethernet. Some improvement but not dramatic on tablet. This is the only QOS feature enabled (no dominant use profiles.)

The default stream profile upon app install is Main (1080p).

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The default bitrate seems to be 60KB/s 30KB/s.

If you are viewing on a phone this is probably sufficient resolution.

Bigger screens may benefit from a bitrate setting of 120KB/s. Choosing bitrate is only possible when stream profile is set to Main.

Set bitrate to 120KB/s using this interface:

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on each cam’s display in the program.

There’s some indication that setting a single camera may set them all in this respect, but it’s not consistent.

A selected higher bitrate setting doesn’t survive a stream profile change from Main to Sub, and back to Main.

The changed bitrate settings are sometimes persistent between sessions.

 
If smooth, quick image display during NAVIGATION (between cam groups and individual cams) is the priority, change the stream profile to Sub:

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The Auto profile - switching between 360p & 1080p automatically - which is what the Wyze app does (robustly of late) causes me the most tinycam crashes, whether within Bluestacks or on tablet. :man_shrugging:

 


 
Furthur…

Night Mode controls
Night/Day/Auto

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Main - 1920x1080 - 15 fps - Day/Color - 60 KB/s
Main - 1920x1080 - 15 fps - Night/B&W - 30 KB/s

Sub - 640x360 - 15 fps - Day/Color - ~20 KB/s
Sub - 640x360 - 15 fps - Night/B&W - ~15 KB/s

Variable… tinyCam likely responds automatically by motion/pattern demands of scene (also possibly influenced by demonstrated data throughput of connection.)


A long press on a cam’s displayed video stream yields this popup:

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Camera settings > Camera Status then gets you here:

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If cam Resolution in Wyze app is set to 360p vs HD, tinyCam ignores, overridden by Sub/Main Stream profile, the tinyCam equiv, it doesn’t reset wyze app setting, a night mode change DOES.


Cam Timestamp visual sharpness can help determine quickly whether Main (1080p) or Sub (360p) is selected.

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Info overlay:
One-line / two-line / none (with successive taps)

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Video Decoder:
Settings > Video settings

Your device may benefit by enabling hardware decoding.


Access Android ‘Recents’ control (eg, swipe up from bottom screen border) and leisurely-tap the square twice - once to shrink the app window, and again to restore.

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Works in both Wyze app and tinyCam to quickly force as many cams as are displayed to 3-step authenticate/reload. Useful when one or more have errored-out or otherwise stalled.

 



 

K.I.S.S.

My impression is that tinyCam (both Free and Pro) default settings are designed to serve well the average user of its basic function: streaming.

I’d recommend the new user not change any settings after installing their cams in the program. First do no harm.

Observe default performance for a good while under different network conditions.

Then…

Swipe-in the main program menu from the left screen border and change Stream Profile from Main to Sub. Play and observe basic performance for another good while. Try the ‘Auto’ profile setting, observe.

Experiment with Night/Day mode in combination.

Only then (if at all) begin exploring the many functions/features available in Settings and the menu overlay that appears when you tap the body of a cam’s live stream.

Uninstall/reinstall of tinyCam to get back to its default settings can be useful:

  • tinyCam > Manage Cameras > Import/Export > Export Cams to Local Storage
  • Uninstall app (or clear App Data in Android settings)
  • Reinstall app (not needed if only App Data cleared)
  • tinyCam > Manage Cameras > Import/Export > Import Cams from Local Storage

Preserves setup and settings of all installed cams.

Does not preserve other tinyCam program settings.

 
These are all working observations, cheerfully open to correction. Based on the v2 cam.

Have fun. :slight_smile:

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