Remote Live Viewing via PC and Phone -

[newmurph]

<p>With my limited knowledge of things cable related, I am trying to establish remote live viewing of my Nikon D5100 and Canon Vixia HFR100 via PC and Phone. I know you all are pros, so what are you experiences with this ?<br /> <br /><strong>First, some questions...</strong><br /> <br />1) I can control my D5100 via USB with my phone and my PC no problem. I CANNOT control my Vixia HFR100 video camera this way. Why is this? Anyone have any suggestions? Is it just Canon being facetious?<br /> <br />2) I can stream my PC to my TV, and see my desktop on my Hitcachi TV, but when I connect both the Nikon and the Canon via HDMI to my PC, there is no readily available way to view the input. Why is THIS?<br /> <br />3) What can be done, that does not require purchasing hardware, or at least any hardware over 50 dollars? What are our options, for those of us inclined to want remote live viewing?</p>

<p>Mostly, the reason I want remote live viewing for the Canon is because I dropped it and the screen broke roughly 3 weeks after I bought it. It was 2 years ago, and it isn't the best product, but if I can revive it for free and have added benefits for other cameras and video cameras, then I have to at least try.</p>

<p><strong>What I HAVE done so far...</strong><br /> <br /> So far, the Nikon is winning this battle. With the free and amazing looking program digiCamControl on Windows 7, and the more raw Entangle on Linux 12.04, I can easily connect the D5100 with a USB cable to my PC so that I can "stream" the live view to the PC, and control it that way. digiCam is especially nice because I can program time lapses with more accuracy, control the camera's focus down to one single notch (hyper-focus, I call it), and it also have a very accurate motion detection thing going on. If that bug so much as moves a wing, it is captured.</p>

<p>If you have an On The Go USB adapter, try the program DSLR Dashboard. It is a lighter but never the less effective version of digiCam for you phone<br /> <br />If you have screen capturing software, like Debut Video Capture Software (free), you can take advantage of the digital zoom that digiCam and DSLR Dashboard have, and record video at, say, 200% zoom if you want.</p>

<p>Check these programs out, you will not be disappointed, and thank you for any and all help!</p>

<p>Also, I kind of wrote this in a rush so I wouldn't forget to and while I had motivation....</p>

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Hi Matt,<br />

<br />

With no direct experience but a bit of technical background... firstly, thank you for the reference to the solutions you've found.<br />

<br />

I doubt Canon are being facetious - any remote control has generally been considered quite a high-end feature, so I'm not surprised you have issues. I don't have any experience of that model, however. For remote control from the PC, if there's no obvious software to do it, it probably isn't designed to. Have you found some indication that it claims to support this?<br />

<br />

Silly question, <i>how</i> are you connecting your HDMI devices to your PC? If you have an HDMI recorder card, I don't see why it shouldn't just work (at least in playback, if not during recording). If you're connecting to the HDMI outputs on your graphics card, bear in mind that they're (usually) <i>just</i> outputs - there's nothing there capable of listening to an incoming signal.<br />

<br />

So the Nikon is working okay for you? I've had a quick browse through a HFR100 instruction manual, and couldn't spot anything about it giving a live feed of the sensor to the HDMI or USB outputs. You may well be able to <i>use</i> it remotely, whether via USB (you should be able to download stuff that's recorded, yes?) or using something like an Eye-Fi, but having a live view of what's going on seems harder.<br />

<br />

But maybe it's capable, and I'm just missing the description that says it. I presume if you connect the Vixia to your TV you don't get a live feed while recording? If you do, that's your solution (and you may be able to find a remote viewing screen with an HDMI input, although probably not within your budget). On the other hand, HDMI capture cards for PCs seem to be reasonably cheap, though $50 is pushing it, so if you do get live video from the Vixia, I'd look at that (and prod the buttons on the camcorder manually).<br />

<br />

Apologies if this is stating the obvious - just ruling out some problems in advance of the more informed posters. :-) Good luck.</p>

[Spearhead]

<p>Comparing a cheap video camera to a DSLR makes no sense.</p>

[newmurph]

<p><strong>Andrew,</strong></p>

<p>More recent Canon Video cameras come with WiFi and Bluetooth, and remote control and live view streaming are possible with their software and applications, such as the app Canon Camera Access, or so I've been told, as I have neither. Nikon also has their own similar software, but the free software is much better, as it is free and generally open-source. I use neither brand's proprietary software. Nevertheless, since I can access the Nikon's live view remotely via PC or Phone with a USB cable and use both it camera and video modes, I figured I could do the same with the Canon Vixia.</p>

<p>About the HDMI...I naively ASSUMED my laptop had HDMI IN. It is OUT...However, I can apparently buy a pricey converter for such HDMI streaming. The cable DO work on the TV, but since the TV is large and not portable, live view through it, though useful perhaps in the future, is not useful for me at the moment since I want to be able to travel with this setup.<br>

And yes, the Nikon set up is working better than I ever thought possible, particularly with the motion detection and extreme-focus control. I even upgraded the firmware today via NikonHacker, and I couldn't be happier with my the camera's new abilities. I'll try to make a post on that tonight for those who are interested.</p>

<p><strong>Jeff,</strong> </p>

<p>I completely fail to see why you think this. Is it because despite the fact they both take pictures, record video, and have a fold out live view screen, that something else is preventing me from doing with one that I can with the other? Please elaborate. </p>

 

[Spearhead]

<p>If you want to make some sort of Canon vs Nikon point, compare DSLRs. There are completely different feature sets and internals between a DSLR and a cheap video camera. The comparison makes absolutely no sense. </p>

[newmurph]

<p>Jeff,</p>

<p>You seem like a cool guy. The framed BB King poster you have in your profile is the same un-framed BB king poster I have two feet to my left on my wall. I saw him in Vienna, VA. I even went to my friend's MMA matches to hone the skills the I wanted with my camera. Now, even if a cool, good person keeps leaving responses like "that doesn't make sense" and thinks I'm trying to make fan-boy flame war, I get a bit annoyed, Jeff. That is when I wish they would either, in the context of this thread, tell me exactly what the "different feature sets and internals" are and why the Canon's prevent me from doing what the Nikon can, or just not post at all, saving our time and yours, even if you are a moderator. The programs I referenced earlier work just as well with Canon DSLRs as they do with Nikon DSLRs, but I'm not comparing the DSLRs. I'm not comparing anything. To put it simply, I just want ask people if they know how to stream video from a cheap camera like that and to tell people what I have found that works because maybe they might enjoy it.</p>

[Palouse]

<p>Matt, I have never seen BB King live, nor do I have a poster, and I don't know Jeff, but I did read your post, particularly the phrase, "Is it just Canon being facetious?"<br>

Jeff tried to point out why your question may be the wrong one to be asking. You chose to disregard his, and others advice. So be it. Me thinks you are being facetious, and then some.<br>

Just my perspective.<br>

Have you tried CamRanger or TriggerTrap?</p>

[2Oceans]

Matt,

If your in the Northern Virginia area there is a fellow named Bernard Chen. He works at NIH as an IT specialist. Check

out his web site by typing his first and last name together .com and then contact him. He is very easy to talk to and does

some whizz bang stuff with drones and remote viewing. He may be able to come up with a solution for your problem.

Good hunting.

[Andrew Garrard]

<p>Okay... well, the HDMI situation explains it. Good luck finding a reader - it's certainly a minority of people who record HDMI direct to a PC, so it's not default functionality.<br />

<br />

As for the connection, I would be wary of assuming that the video camera portion of Canon talks closely to the DSLR portion, just because they're doing similar things. The DSLR group has quite good connectivity, and has had for a long time. For video cameras, remote control may be a relatively new or high-end feature, although I'm sure it's making its way to the cheap end of the range. Large companies tend to have quite big gaps between divisions (I speak as a Samsung employee, though I'm sure not all cultures are the same). The compact and DSLR divisions of Canon and Nikon took a long time to talk to each other too.<br />

<br />

I get the impression that the HFR100 in particular doesn't have this functionality, and I couldn't find reference to it, but I could be wrong.</p>

[MichaelChang]

<p>Old thread; nonetheless:</p>

<p>The NikonHacker firmware facilitates clean HDMI out on the 5100. </p>

<p>eBay offers a number of portable (1080) HDMI recorders for under $100 using an external USB devices for storage which can make a good backup for a DSLR/video rig. Just do a search for "Digital HDMI DVI Component Video MP4 Recorder With HDMI Output".</p>