IP Camera Plugin for ChitUI

Stream IP cameras in ChitUI using RTSP, HTTP/MJPEG, or other protocols. This plugin leverages OpenCV with GStreamer and FFmpeg support for robust camera streaming.

Features

• Multiple Camera Support: Add and manage multiple IP cameras
• Protocol Support: RTSP, HTTP/MJPEG, and auto-detection
• Live Streaming: Real-time MJPEG streaming to the web interface
• Easy Configuration: User-friendly settings interface
• Tab Integration: Dedicated "IP Camera" tab in the main interface
• Fullscreen Mode: Click any camera stream to view in fullscreen
• Status Indicators: Visual indicators for active/inactive cameras

Requirements

• Python 3.7+
• OpenCV (opencv-python >= 4.5.0)
• FFmpeg (system package)
• GStreamer (system package, optional but recommended)

Installation

Dependencies will be installed automatically when you enable the plugin.

To manually install dependencies:

pip install opencv-python>=4.5.0

For optimal performance, install FFmpeg and GStreamer:

# Raspberry Pi / Debian / Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install ffmpeg libgstreamer1.0-0 gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good

# Or for full GStreamer support:

sudo apt-get install gstreamer1.0-tools gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-plugins-ugly

Configuration

Adding a Camera

1. Navigate to the IP Camera tab in ChitUI under plugins
2. Click Configure Cameras
3. Fill in the camera details:

• Camera Name: A friendly name for your camera (e.g., "Xiaomi Camera 2K")
• Protocol: Select RTSP, HTTP/MJPEG, or Auto-detect
• Stream URL: The full URL to your camera stream

1. Click Add Camera

Finding Your Camera URL

Different camera brands use different URL formats. Common paths:

• / or /stream - Xiaomi, some IP cameras
• /live - Wyze, some home security cameras
• /video - HTTP MJPEG cameras
• /h264 or /mjpeg - Generic IP cameras
• /onvif - ONVIF-compatible cameras

Check your camera's documentation or use an RTSP scanner tool.

Usage

Starting a Camera Stream

1. Go to the IP Camera tab
2. Click the Start button on any configured camera
3. The stream will appear in the camera card
4. Click the stream or the fullscreen button to view in fullscreen mode

Stopping a Camera Stream

Troubleshooting

Camera Won't Connect

1. Check Network: Ensure the camera is on the same network as ChitUI
2. Verify URL: Test the RTSP URL with VLC or another media player
3. Check Authentication: Make sure username/password are included in the URL if required
4. Protocol: Try switching between RTSP and HTTP/MJPEG protocols
5. Firewall: Check if the camera port (usually 554 for RTSP) is accessible

Stream is Laggy

• Buffer Settings: The plugin uses a buffer size of 1 to reduce latency
• Network: Check your network connection quality
• Resolution: Some cameras allow you to use lower resolution streams (e.g., /stream2 instead of /stream)

OpenCV Errors

If you see "OpenCV not installed" errors:

pip install opencv-python

For better codec support:

$sudo apt-get install libavcodec-dev libavformat-dev libswscale-dev

$pip uninstall opencv-python

$pip install opencv-python --no-binary opencv-python

Technical Details

Architecture

• Backend: Python Flask with threading for camera capture
• Streaming: MJPEG over HTTP (multipart/x-mixed-replace)
• Video Capture: OpenCV with FFmpeg/GStreamer backends
• Frame Processing: Resize to max 1280px width, JPEG quality 75%
• Latency Reduction: Frame skipping and minimal buffering