true cloud hosting for ip cameras
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I am not sure what you are asking for. You said cloud hosting in the title. You said you want to view IP cameras. But what cameras? What else do you want to do besides live view? Do you want to record? Receive alert notifications? Filter those alert notifications with AI? Share access with other people? Why do you think a laptop is required for anything? Can you describe the location of the cameras and what internet connection is there?
We need to know a lot more or we can't possibly provide advice.
You absolutely can run Blue Iris or any other software-based NVR "in the cloud" if you want, and connect it to your IP cameras through a VPN (in fact you could do that with a hardware NVR appliance too, with slightly more difficulty). It uses a huge amount of bandwidth to stream cameras 24/7 over the internet though, on the order of 200 to 3000 gigabytes of data per month per camera (it all depends on the bit rates you are streaming at). Also you need to have a capable machine running in the cloud, which will not be cheap. But none of that is strictly necessary if all you want to do is view cameras remotely and you don't mind a somewhat complex setup job. You could download an IP camera viewing app on your phone (of which there are multiple options) and connect the phone to a VPN hosted at the camera location and just live stream all the cameras directly when you have the app open, and not use any internet bandwidth when the app is not running.
We need to know a lot more or we can't possibly provide advice.
You absolutely can run Blue Iris or any other software-based NVR "in the cloud" if you want, and connect it to your IP cameras through a VPN (in fact you could do that with a hardware NVR appliance too, with slightly more difficulty). It uses a huge amount of bandwidth to stream cameras 24/7 over the internet though, on the order of 200 to 3000 gigabytes of data per month per camera (it all depends on the bit rates you are streaming at). Also you need to have a capable machine running in the cloud, which will not be cheap. But none of that is strictly necessary if all you want to do is view cameras remotely and you don't mind a somewhat complex setup job. You could download an IP camera viewing app on your phone (of which there are multiple options) and connect the phone to a VPN hosted at the camera location and just live stream all the cameras directly when you have the app open, and not use any internet bandwidth when the app is not running.
Do you still have Starlink for Internet at the location of the cameras as you did back in March of 2024?
With BI look into using TailScale for remote camera monitoring using UI3.
As point out above, uploading camera data to the cloud would be expensive. For my setup it would be about one terabyte per day.
As point out above, uploading camera data to the cloud would be expensive. For my setup it would be about one terabyte per day.
ok i`ll try to explain what i have and want to do. i have a house in mexico with an analog dvr . i am changing over to ip cameras with an nvr , so that is all set. i also have a hybrid hikvision dvr that will accept ip cameras and that is all set. i also have another hikvision nvr with 8 ip camera capacity , also set . i have a telmex fiber optic connection that works great, when it doesn`t go down , which is not uncommon where i am. we also loose power quite often. i also have starlink for backup but it will burn up the data quick if the cameras are constantly viewed . so what i want to do is to be able to view some or all of the ip cams on a separate platform remotely when i am back in the states. i would leave a laptop here but with the power going out the laptop would need to be turned on to use blue iris ?
In that case I would advise installing a router there with Tailscale support (something running pfSense or OpnSense would do it). Configure that router as an "exit node" in your Tailscale network. You should change the LAN IP address range to be unique, something you aren't using anywhere else, like
Then by connecting other devices to the same Tailscale network, you will be able to connect remotely to view the cameras through the Hikvision NVR. You'll also have the option to add a Blue Iris machine. I would NOT make it a laptop. Make it a desktop or mini PC and configure it to power on automatically after power loss. Also consider plugging it into a "smart plug" controllable via WiFi and an app so you can remotely reboot the PC in case it goes unresponsive.
If you have a Blue Iris machine running there, something I like to do is have another Blue Iris machine offsite pull a heavily compressed "All cameras" stream from it 24/7 and record it continuously. That way if the remote machine is inaccessible for any reason, you have an archive of the events leading up to its disconnection.
I am currently doing that for two remote BI systems with configurations like this:
The "Main" stream path in my example is:
Here are parameters for a 1080p stream up to 1 Mbps bit rate with a frame rate of 2 FPS (helps keep the quality fairly good even with the low bit rate), and a keyframe every 1 minute (the long "gop"/"i-frame interval" is also very important for keeping the quality good at low bit rate).
1 Mbps bit rate is about 330 GB of data usage per month so it would work pretty great on Starlink assuming it is "unlimited" in that area. But I would advise making sure the fiber ISP is used normally because that is a more responsible use of resources than streaming 24/7 over Starlink which is a much more limited shared resource.
192.168.176.X.Then by connecting other devices to the same Tailscale network, you will be able to connect remotely to view the cameras through the Hikvision NVR. You'll also have the option to add a Blue Iris machine. I would NOT make it a laptop. Make it a desktop or mini PC and configure it to power on automatically after power loss. Also consider plugging it into a "smart plug" controllable via WiFi and an app so you can remotely reboot the PC in case it goes unresponsive.
If you have a Blue Iris machine running there, something I like to do is have another Blue Iris machine offsite pull a heavily compressed "All cameras" stream from it 24/7 and record it continuously. That way if the remote machine is inaccessible for any reason, you have an archive of the events leading up to its disconnection.
I am currently doing that for two remote BI systems with configurations like this:
The "Main" stream path in my example is:
/video/index/2.0?w=1280&h=720&stream=0&q=20&kbps=192&fps=1&audio=0&gop=4 but that is really very low image quality. Depending on your needs you might increase some of the parameters. The key is to use a fairly low bit rate.Here are parameters for a 1080p stream up to 1 Mbps bit rate with a frame rate of 2 FPS (helps keep the quality fairly good even with the low bit rate), and a keyframe every 1 minute (the long "gop"/"i-frame interval" is also very important for keeping the quality good at low bit rate).
/video/index/2.0?w=1920&h=1080&stream=0&q=40&kbps=1000&fps=2&audio=0&gop=1201 Mbps bit rate is about 330 GB of data usage per month so it would work pretty great on Starlink assuming it is "unlimited" in that area. But I would advise making sure the fiber ISP is used normally because that is a more responsible use of resources than streaming 24/7 over Starlink which is a much more limited shared resource.
Interesting...I guess my post to you in March 2024 did not help:
"Being that you're wanting to access a NVR, I'm thinking you could install Tailscale or ZeroTier on a compatible GL.iNET router and access it remotely that way."
Yes, now that the OP has fully answered a few questions and we know what his real Internet type is at THIS time, a PC running BI and Tailscale is VERY logical and will work great. 