I built a free Android app for Blue Iris - looking for testers

T

tebone23

n3wb
Oct 5, 2017
5
7
I'm a software developer (individual, not a business, and not trying to make any money) that was tired of waiting on Blue Iris to fix the Android app, and I had some extra tokens laying around, so I vibe coded a quick version that actually works. Since I cheated and had AI write this, I'm releasing it for free! This is independent (not affiliated with Perspective Software), and it talks straight to your Blue Iris server. No account, no ads, no analytics of mine.

Details and screenshots: BI Viewer: Blue Iris Viewer App for Android and Echo Show

It doesn't have every feature the official app has. I focused on what I use every day and made that solid:
  • Built and tested on Blue Iris 6
  • Live view and clips with audio, single cameras or a whole group on one screen
  • Alerts and clips filterable by camera, with "go to date" to jump to a specific time
  • PTZ controls and presets, snapshots, manual record/trigger for admins
  • Reconnects on its own when you come back to it or switch between Wi-Fi and mobile data - no more force-closing
  • Home and away addresses, switches automatically when you leave
  • HTTPS works, including Blue Iris's own self-signed certificate
  • Share access with family by QR code, no typing passwords
  • Echo Show 15 and Fire TV as a wall display (through Amazon testing)
  • Built-in "Report a problem" that emails me the details
Not there yet: push notifications and two-way talk.

To join (Android 7 or newer):
  1. Join the tester group: BI Viewer Testers - Google Groups
  2. Opt in and install: Sign in - Google Accounts
  3. Keep it installed for 14 days, even if you don't open it every day. Google won't let a new app go public until testers do.
Echo Show or Fire TV: DM me the email on your Amazon account and I'll add you to the Amazon test.

Bugs and ideas: Settings > Help > Report a problem in the app, or reply here.
 
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^ I'm in. :cool:
 
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Chris Moore said:
I get an "item not found" after signing up for beta (step 1) and clicking on the link(s).
Click to expand...
When you click on the Google Play link, make sure you are signed in there with the same email address you used to sign up with in the tester group. On the Play Store on your phone, tap your profile picture and see which email is being used, and make sure that's the one you join the group link with.

If you need more help, let me know. Thanks for trying it!
 
I applaud your efforts and willingness to release it for free. Very cool. Native support for Echo Show and Fire TV is particularly great to see so people aren't forced to use a clunky web browser on those devices to load UI3!

Push notifications and two-way audio are both things I'd love to integrate into UI3 some day too, but I've always had some major obstacles:

1. In a web browser, both features require a secure context (HTTPS). Even with BI 6 supporting HTTPS natively, there's still the issue of certificate trust which is enough to make it difficult for most users to adopt.
2. Push notifications to a new platform require significant, coordinated changes to the Blue Iris server, which I've thus far been unsuccessful in getting Ken to implement for me.
3. Whatever undocumented mechanism Blue Iris has for receiving an audio stream pushed by a remote client, I can't use it from a web app due to severely limited protocol choices. Blue Iris would have to implement a WebSocket server or something like that which I've also not been able to get Ken interested in.

I don't think you'll be able to accomplish push notifications without Blue Iris changes or a helper app on the Blue Iris server. But two-way audio should be doable without Blue Iris's help by decompiling the android app to see how that protocol works. If you figure that out, I'd be interested in seeing how it works too, although it is a near certainty UI3 would be unable to use it.
 
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bp2008 said:
I applaud your efforts and willingness to release it for free. Very cool. Native support for Echo Show and Fire TV is particularly great to see so people aren't forced to use a clunky web browser on those devices to load UI3!

Push notifications and two-way audio are both things I'd love to integrate into UI3 some day too, but I've always had some major obstacles:

1. In a web browser, both features require a secure context (HTTPS). Even with BI 6 supporting HTTPS natively, there's still the issue of certificate trust which is enough to make it difficult for most users to adopt.
2. Push notifications to a new platform require significant, coordinated changes to the Blue Iris server, which I've thus far been unsuccessful in getting Ken to implement for me.
3. Whatever undocumented mechanism Blue Iris has for receiving an audio stream pushed by a remote client, I can't use it from a web app due to severely limited protocol choices. Blue Iris would have to implement a WebSocket server or something like that which I've also not been able to get Ken interested in.

I don't think you'll be able to accomplish push notifications without Blue Iris changes or a helper app on the Blue Iris server. But two-way audio should be doable without Blue Iris's help by decompiling the android app to see how that protocol works. If you figure that out, I'd be interested in seeing how it works too, although it is a near certainty UI3 would be unable to use it.
Click to expand...
First of all - BIG FAN!!! I've been using UI3 for years on multiple devices - so very thankful for your contributions!

I figured push notifications and 2-way audio would be the hard ones, so left that for last. I appreciate your input on those, and I'll definitely let you know if I make any headway with the audio.
 
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Very quick!
Although I like my personal home server popping up as a default and without having to select it as "Bi Viewer" does now, I wouldn't mind being able to select from several servers.
 
TonyR said:
Very quick!
Although I like my personal home server popping up as a default and without having to select it as "Bi Viewer" does now, I wouldn't mind being able to select from several servers.
Click to expand...
Appreciate that feedback Tony! I just pushed an update that lets you add multiple servers. Give that a try and let me know how it works in your situation.
 
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