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From the Comfort of my Couch

Discussion in 'Mods and Upgrades' started by cosber, Aug 18, 2014.

  1. cosber

    cosber Active Member

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    Watching a print is like watching paint dry and I hated sitting and watching the print progress while waiting to change filament or running back and forth to check and see if the print was progressing properly. I know many of you have webcams hooked up, so I bought a webcam on Amazon for 3 bucks! It was normally $40 and figured if it was a piece of junk, I'd only be out a few bucks. I simply mounted it on a cabinet next to the printer and pointed it at the bed. It is USB that plugs into the laptop that runs the printer. I got it streaming and I can watch the print progress on my iPad. It works like a champ!
     
    #1 cosber, Aug 18, 2014
  2. Peter Krska

    Peter Krska Active Member

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    What streaming software are you using?

    I got a cheap $3 Dollar Store USB camera.

    I tried using UStream and it's really easy to use. However, it's only for month, free trial.

    It was great to use, being anywhere and seeing the progress. I am looking for a free streaming software for over the internet.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk in Canada
     
    #2 Peter Krska, Aug 18, 2014
  3. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    I just stream over my intranet (two cams, one overhead and one at bed level).
    Any device in the house can stream it :cool:
     
    #3 mark tomlinson, Aug 18, 2014
  4. Peter Krska

    Peter Krska Active Member

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    I'm talking about streaming over the internet so that you can keep tabs on it while out of the house!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk in Canada
     
    #4 Peter Krska, Aug 18, 2014
  5. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yea, but that is not as easy. Opening the ports on the firewall is not too bad, but then finding a streaming host? Not cheap.
    Went down that road and just decide to forget it for now.

    You can do the opposite easier (i.e. punch in through the firewall from the internet) and that I have configured so I can use an android device to get a remote display/desktop on the printer machine from anywhere else. Since the cams also display there on that box locally you can see it from the internet o_O but it doesn't count as streaming... (on the plus side you can control the printer if it is on)
     
    #5 mark tomlinson, Aug 18, 2014
  6. Peter Krska

    Peter Krska Active Member

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    There use to be a video camera purchase from the internet call X Cam that came with software that would allow you to view what's going on in the home via the internet thru a browser. The software even included 4 views at once. It was so easy to use. I think I still have it somewhere. But it goes to show that there are alternative to paying monthly fees for streaming.

    The software also included camera controls where you could pan and tilt one of the cameras that had a special base. The cameras plugged into your electrical power outlet via a separate wireless device that communicated with the cameras. Really cool at the time. The cams were not high def and were not good in poor lighting.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk in Canada
     
    #6 Peter Krska, Aug 18, 2014
  7. Printed Solid

    Printed Solid Volunteer Admin
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    I think that octoprint has a streaming feature. Also, printr.nl.
     
    #7 Printed Solid, Aug 18, 2014
    2 people like this.
  8. cosber

    cosber Active Member

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    I'm using Yawcam. Totally free.

    Yawcam.com.

    It's set up to be seen through my network only. The instructions I used on YouTube said there is another software you need to be able to see it across the internet.
    Edit: I went to the website and it may not need other software. Check it out and tell me if I'm wrong.
    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
     
    #8 cosber, Aug 18, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 18, 2014
    2 people like this.
  9. mark tomlinson

    mark tomlinson ༼ つ ◕_ ◕ ༽つ
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    Yup, that is what I uses as well. Easy setup even for multiple cams.
     
    #9 mark tomlinson, Aug 19, 2014
  10. Jan

    Jan New Member

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    Using Octoprint on a Raspberry PI with a Picam here. Required some tweaking to get the cam working with the bandwidth matching my DSL upstream bandwith. I also installed openvpn on the raspberry for secure remote access. This allows me to watch a print remotely from my phone. Working with VPNs, different IP addresses and DNS setups to get this working is probably not for everybody. The local network setup is very straightforward.

    This all works very nice for me. I'm also capable of starting a print from the SD card. If I feel brave I even upload a gcode file to the raspberry and start the print remotely.

    The wife very much likes me in the living room and the printer somewhere else. :)
     
    #10 Jan, Sep 8, 2014

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