CloudCam Help

For the latest help please refer to the CloudCam site

The CloudCam application is primarily targeted at transforming an Android device into a smart wireless IP camera which exposes the following features .



Quick Start

To start the CloudCam service follow the quick step intruction's below.

  1. To override the default configuration values, select the tool button next to the Start Server button and select the JPEG image size and adjust image quality.
  2. Press the 'Start Server' button to start the CloudCam service. If server fails to start see Server IP address startup issue.
  3. Once the CloudCam service has successfully started, the CloudCam resources button will become enabled on the CloudCam interface and the CloudCam application will be displayed on the notification bar. Pressing the HTTP button (under the Stop Server button) presents the CloudCam server web configuration page. The configuration page exposes the links to access the CloudCam web camera and configure the camera settings.
  4. To stop CloudCam press the 'Stop Server' button.

The following options are also available...

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.

CloudCam user interface overview

The CloudCam user interface is split into 3 sections.

The top left panel on the main user interface is responsible for displaying a preview of the camera feed.

The panel called Running Tasks is responsible for displaying all of the configured running tasks when CloudCam is running. The tasks are configured from the far right panel which lists all of the configuration available to CloudCam.

The sections below detail the configuration options available for CloudCam which can be found in the far right scrolling panel on the CloudCam UI.

CloudCam Configuration

This section details the UI controls associated with the CloudCam configuration section. The following options are available...

  1. Tool button - Pressing the button displays the config page.
  2. Start Server - Pressing the button starts the CloudCam service running in the background.
  3. Help icon - Pressing the button displays the help page.
  4. Camera icon - Update camera configuration.
  5. Information icon - Displays the CloudCam web resources exposed when CloudCam is running.
  6. Stop Server - Pressing the button stops the CloudCam service.
  7. CloudCam web resource - Once the CloudCam service is running, the Browser button becomes enabled and the button text will contain the HTTP address to the CloudCam server. Pressing the HTTP button loads the browser and displays the CloudCam web home page.

To update CloudCam configuration press the tool button next to the Start Server button. For a list of configuration options see config.

Cloud Communication

The CloudCam application exposes a number of features for the Android device to communicate with the outside world which are detailed below.

Snapshot

The CloudCam application can be configured to capture images from the camera at timed intervals and either save images to the SD card, email image attachments to an email account or upload images to Picasa or Dropbox, or FTP to a remote server. When images/videos are being uploaded (Dropbox, Picasa, email or FTP) the running task list will display an attachment icon detailing the upload in progress.

For Snapshot configuration options click here.

Email

To upload images to email account follow the steps below.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the Snapshot checkbox under "Cloud Communication" setting.
  3. Complete the Image Settings. For details see Snapshot Settings.
  4. Select the Email option and complete the settings below.
  5. Complete email username and password. This is the email account CloudCam will access to send snapshot email's.
  6. Enter the 'email TO address'. This is the email address the device will use to send email's.
  7. Enter the 'email FROM address'. This is the email address of the person who is sending the email. Both 'email TO address' and 'email FROM address' can contain the same email address.
  8. The smtp auth port and host default values can be overridden.
  9. Once the above settings are complete, select the Email checkbox to activate the feature.
  10. The Test option can be selected to verify the account settings. A test email will be sent to the configured email account.
  11. Return to the home screen and tick the checkbox Snapshot under 'Cloud Communication'.
  12. To update the camera configuration refer to the Configure Camera help instructions.
  13. Press the 'Start Server' button.
  14. After 5 seconds login and verify your email address for a single snapshot email from the device.

    15. * Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.

Picasa

To upload images to Picasa follow the steps below.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the Snapshot check box under "Cloud Communication" setting.
  3. Complete the Image Settings. For details see Snapshot Settings.
  4. Select the Picasa option and complete the settings below.
  5. Complete the username and password. This is the Picasa account CloudCam will access to upload images. See Picasa settings for details.
  6. Once the above settings are complete, select the Picasa checkbox to activate the feature.
  7. The Test option can be selected to verify the account settings. A test image will be uploaded to the configured account.
  8. Return to the home screen and tick the check box 'Snapshot' under 'Cloud Communication'.
  9. To update the camera configuration refer to the Configure Camera help instructions.
  10. Press the 'Start Server' button.
  11. After 5 seconds login to your Picasa account and verify for uploaded images.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.
Dropbox

To upload images to Dropbox follow the steps below.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the Snapshot check box under "Cloud Communication" setting.
  3. Complete the Image Settings. For details see Snapshot Settings.
  4. Select the Dropbox option and complete the settings below.
  5. Enter your Dropbox secret key and then select the Authenticate button. Please follow Dropbox steps to authenticate.
  6. Once successfully authenticated, select the checkbox called Activate Dropbox to activate the feature.
  7. The Test option can be selected to verify the account settings. A test image will be uploaded to the configured account.
  8. Return to the home screen and tick the check box 'Snapshot' under 'Cloud Communication'.
  9. To update the camera configuration refer to the Configure Camera help instructions.
  10. Press the 'Start Server' button.
  11. After 5 seconds login to your Dropbox account and verify for uploaded images.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.
FTP

To upload images to remote FTP server follow the steps below.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the Snapshot check box under "Cloud Communication" setting.
  3. Complete the Image Settings. For details see Snapshot Settings.
  4. Select the FTP option and complete the settings below.
  5. Enter your FTP server, username and password.
  6. Once configuration is complete, select the checkbox called Activate FTP to activate the feature.
  7. The Test option can be selected to verify the account settings. A test file will be uploaded to the FTP account.
  8. Return to the home screen and tick the check box 'Snapshot' under 'Cloud Communication'.
  9. To update the camera configuration refer to the Configure Camera help instructions.
  10. Press the 'Start Server' button.
  11. After 5 seconds login to the FTP and verify for uploaded images.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.
Save captured images to the device SD card

To save captured images to the SD card follow the steps below.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the Snapshot check box under "Cloud Communication" setting.
  3. Complete the Image Settings. For details see Snapshot Settings.
  4. Select the Extern Storage option and complete the settings below.
  5. Select the checkbox External Storage to activate saving images to the SD card.
  6. Return to the home screen and tick the checkbox Snapshot under 'Cloud Communication'.
  7. Press the 'Start Server' button.
  8. To update the camera configuration refer to the Configure Camera help instructions.
  9. After 5 seconds have expired check the SD card for the captured images. To view images please connect the handset to your PC.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.
Override default settings and capture high resolution images from the your device camera.

To capture high resolution images from the your device camera follow the steps below.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the Snapshot check box under "Cloud Communication" setting.
  3. Complete the Image Settings. For details see Snapshot Settings.
  4. Select the Capture high resolution pictures option.
  5. Select the checkbox Snapshot Resolution to activate the feature.
  6. Select the Snapshot enhanced resolution option and select the desired size.
  7. Press the back button twice to return to the main screen.
  8. Press the 'Start Server' button.
  9. To update the camera configuration refer to the Configure Camera help instructions.
  10. After 5 seconds have expired check the SD card for the captured images. To view images please connect the handset to your PC.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.

* Please note when a high resolution picture is captured, any executing video MJPEG streams can incur a minor delay of receiving images.
Override user interface options when CloudCam is capturing a picture from the camera.

On some Android devices the camera is switched off when the application using the camera is no longer in the foreground. This option forces the UI to be displayed when a picture is being captured and then put the application to the background once an image has been captured.

To turn the feature ON then select the Snapshot tool button on the UI, and select the option "Automatically show/hide user interface".

Video

The CloudCam application can be configured to record video from the camera at timed intervals and either save the recorded MP4 file to the SD card or email MP4 attachment to email account or upload to Dropox, Picasa or FTP. Please note when video recording starts, the CloudCam user interface must be displayed. The application will automatically switch the application to the foreground. Once video commences, the user interface can be put to the background (from pressing the back button) and video will continue to record. When images/videos are being uploaded (Dropbox, Picasa, email or FTP) the running task list will display an attachment icon detailing the upload in progress.

For Snapshot configuration options click here.

To record video and upload to gmail follow the steps below.

Please note the following...

Email

To upload video to an email account follow the steps below.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the Video checkbox under "Cloud Communication" setting.
  3. Complete the Video Settings. For details see Video Settings.
  4. Select the Email option and complete the settings below.
  5. Complete email username and password. This is the email account CloudCam will access to send video attachments.
  6. Enter the 'email TO address'. This is the email address the device will use to send email's.
  7. Enter the 'email FROM address'. This is the email address of the person who is sending the email. Both 'email TO address' and 'email FROM address' can contain the same email address.
  8. The smtp auth port and host default values can be overridden.
  9. Once the above settings are complete, select the Email checkbox to activate the feature.
  10. The Test option can be selected to verify the account settings. A test email will be sent to the configured email account.
  11. Return to the home screen and tick the checkbox Video under 'Cloud Communication'.
  12. To update the camera configuration refer to the Configure Camera help instructions.
  13. Press the 'Start Server' button.
  14. After 5 minutes (default recording time) login and verify your email address for a single email from the device with a video attachment.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.
Picasa

To upload video file to Picasa follow the steps below.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the Video checkbox under "Cloud Communication" setting.
  3. Complete the Video Settings. For details see Video Settings.
  4. Select the Picasa option and complete the settings below.
  5. Complete the username and password. This is the Picasa account CloudCam will access to upload videos. See Picasa settings for details.
  6. Once the above settings are complete, select the Picasa checkbox to activate the feature.
  7. The Test option can be selected to verify the account settings. A test image will be uploaded to the configured account.
  8. Return to the home screen and tick the check box Video under 'Cloud Communication'.
  9. To update the camera configuration refer to the Configure Camera help instructions.
  10. Press the 'Start Server' button.
  11. After 5 minutes (default recording time) login to your Picasa account and verify for uploaded video file.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.
Dropbox

To upload video file to Dropbox follow the steps below.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the Video checkbox under "Cloud Communication" setting.
  3. Complete the Video Settings. For details see Video Settings.
  4. Select the Dropbox option and complete the settings below.
  5. Enter your Dropbox secret key and then select the Authenticate button. Please follow Dropbox steps to authenticate.
  6. Once successfully authenticated, select the checkbox called Activate Dropbox to activate the feature.
  7. The Test option can be selected to verify the account settings. A test image will be uploaded to the configured account.
  8. Return to the home screen and tick the check box 'Snapshot' under 'Cloud Communication'.
  9. To update the camera configuration refer to the Configure Camera help instructions.
  10. Press the 'Start Server' button.
  11. After 5 minutes (default recording time) login to your Dropbox account and verify for uploaded video file.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.
FTP

To upload images to remote FTP server follow the steps below.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the Snapshot check box under "Cloud Communication" setting.
  3. Complete the Video Settings. For details see Video Settings.
  4. Select the FTP option and complete the settings below.
  5. Enter your FTP server, username and password.
  6. Once configuration is complete, select the checkbox called Activate FTP to activate the feature.
  7. The Test option can be selected to verify the account settings. A test file will be uploaded to the FTP account.
  8. Return to the home screen and tick the check box 'Snapshot' under 'Cloud Communication'.
  9. To update the camera configuration refer to the Configure Camera help instructions.
  10. Press the 'Start Server' button.
  11. After 5 seconds login to the FTP and verify for uploaded images.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.
Save to SD card

To save captured images to the SD card follow the steps below.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the Snapshot check box under "Cloud Communication" setting.
  3. Complete the Video Settings. For details see Video Settings.
  4. Select the External Storage option and complete the settings below.
  5. Select the checkbox External Storage to activate saving images to the SD card.
  6. Return to the home screen and tick the checkbox Snapshot under 'Cloud Communication'.
  7. Press the 'Start Server' button.
  8. To update the camera configuration refer to the Configure Camera help instructions.
  9. After 5 seconds have expired check the SD card for the captured images. To view images please connect the handset to your PC.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.
Override user interface options when CloudCam is capturing a video.

Note when a video commences recording, the CloudCam user interface will be displayed for a moment to start the recording.

To automatically hide the user interface once video has started recording, in Video Configuration select User Interface Options and then select Automatically hide user interface.

To force the CloudCam user interface to remain displayed, in Video Configuration select User Interface Options and then select Automatically show user interface.

This option forces the UI to be displayed when a picture is being captured and then put the application to the background once an image has been captured.

To turn the feature ON then select the Snapshot tool button on the UI, and select the option "Automatically show/hide user interface".

Remote Control

The CloudCam application can be remotely controlled through email. To configure remote control follow the steps below.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the 'Remote Control' check box under "Cloud Communication" setting..
  3. Locate the section called Remote Control email settings
    1. Enter your email username and password email details. This is the email account CloudCam will access to read remote control emails.
    2. The 'email subject' is the email subject read by the device to identify remote control email's from the configured email address. Only emails which match the subject will be read and processed. Once the remote control email is read, the email is removed.
    3. The 'Poll interval' time value is in milliseconds (1000 = 1 second) to control the time interval to check for remote control email's.
    4. Return to the home screen and tick the check box 'Remote Control' under the "Cloud Communication" setting.
  4. Select the 'Start Server' button.
  5. In order to verify if email remote control is configured on the device, send an email to the address configured above using the same subject configured above. If no email is received, re-check email configuration. Once the device receives a remote control email, the device will reply with an email detailing the available remote control configuration. Please refer to remote control help

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.

Battery status notification

This is a very useful feature which serves two purposes.

Instructions to start battery monitor.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. Press the tool button next to the 'Battery Notification' check box under "Cloud Communication" setting..
  3. Locate the section called Send gmail settings. Optional settings can be found under the section Battery Notification
  4. Enter your gmail email details.
  5. Return to the home screen and tick the check box 'Battery notification'.
  6. Press the 'Start Server' button.
  7. Once the battery status on the device changes, an email will be sent to the email address configured above.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.

To combine Snapshot and Video emails with battery status please refer to Battery Notification configuration.

The range of battery notifications are charging, discharging, and full.

Camera Picture Movement Detection

The CloudCam service can automatically notify you when motion is detected from the camera using either out-bound MJPEG Streaming or Snapshot/Video recording features to upload camera footage (pictures/videos) to an email, Picasa, Dropbox or FTP account.

Selecting the Calibrate Image Detection button allows you to configure the motion detection area. Please note the Image Capture Size must be greater than 176*144 to activate the Calibrate screen.

The slider bar Movement Sensitivity drives the percentage difference between pixels in comparison camera images. Moving the slider to the right will drive greater sensitivity.

The slider bar Pixel Comparison Threshold drives the difference in pixels between comparison images used to indicate if a pixel has changed. Moving the slider to the right will drive greater sensitivity.

When images/videos are being uploaded (Dropbox, Picasa, email or FTP) the running task list will display an attachment icon detailing the upload in progress.

Once the activated feature completes (Snapshot, Video or MJPEG Stream), the feature will be automatically switched off, ready to be re-activated from motion detection.

The following instructions demonstrate how to capture a single picture from the camera when motion is detected, and then re-arm the motion detection sensor to capture another image on movement. The picture can either be stored to the SD card or uploaded to Dropbox/Picasa or emailed.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. On the main screen, select the tool button next to the Snapshot checkbox in the section "Picture motion detection" and populate the following...
    1. Number of images to capture is set to 1.
    2. Tick email or save to SD card. If saving image to SD card then "Keep external images" must be ticked to allow the images to be viewed at a later date. If Email is ticked then also fill in the send email properties. Please note Picasa, Dropbox and FTP can also be selected and configured.
  3. Press back button and return to main screen and select the option Snapshot under Picture Motion Detection.
  4. In the "Picture Motion Detection" settings, drag the slider to the right to increase motion detection.
  5. Press the Start Server button.
  6. The "Picture motion detection" icon will be displayed in the Running Tasks list. Now move the device around for the camera to view different areas. Once picture detection triggers Snapshot mode, the Snapshot icon will be displayed in the "Running Tasks" list. Once the picture has been recorded/emailed, the Snapshot feature will turn off and remove the icon from the running tasks list, leaving Picture Motion Detection to re-activate Snapshot on movement.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.

* To adjust the number of frames compared for motion detection from a sequence of camera images, press the All Configuration button under Misc. Locate the section called Advanced Calibration and update the 'Motion Detection image counter' value. The default value is 6 which means, every 6th image from the camera will be compared with the last captured image for movement.

The area of detection can also be calibrated by pressing the Calibrate Image Detection button. The size of image must be greater than 176(width)*144(height) in order for the control to become active. Once the screen is displayed use your finger tips on the screen to select the desired detection area.

Movement Detection

The CloudCam service can automatically notify you when movement is detected from the G-Sensor using out-bound MJPEG Streaming or Snapshot/Video recording features to upload camera footage (pictures/videos) to an email, Picasa, Dropbox or FTP account.

The slider bar indicates movement sensitivity. When images/videos are being uploaded (Dropbox, Picasa, email or FTP) the running task list will display an attachment icon detailing the upload in progress.

Once the activated feature completes (Snapshot, Video or Stream), the feature will be automatically switched off, ready to be re-actiavted from movement detection.

The following instructions demonstrate how to capture a single picture from the camera when movement is detected, and then re-arm the movement detection sensor to capture another image on movement. The picture can either be stored to the SD card or emailed or both.

Instructions to start motion detection.

  1. If the CloudCam service is running, stop the service by pressing the 'Stop Server' button.
  2. On the main screen, select the tool button next to the Snapshot checkbox in the section "Movement detection" and populate the following...
    1. Number of images to capture is set to 1.
    2. Tick email or save to SD card. If saving image to SD card then "Keep external images" must be ticked to allow the images to be viewed at a later date. If Email is ticked then also fill in the send email properties. Please note Picasa, Dropbox and FTP can also be selected and configured.
  3. Press back button and return to main screen and select the option Snapshot under Movement Detection section.
  4. In the "G-Sensor movement detection" settings, drag the slider to the right to increase movement detection.
  5. Press the Start Server button.
  6. The "Movement detection" icon will be displayed in the Running Tasks list. Now move the device around for the camera to view different areas. Once movement detection triggers Snapshot mode, the Snapshot icon will be displayed in the "Running Tasks" list. Once the picture has been recorded/emailed, the Snapshot feature will also turn-off and remove the icon from the running tasks list, leaving Movement Detection to re-activate Snapshot on movement.

* Any failure will be detailed in a notification on the taskbar.

To adjust the movement sensor calibration for your device,press the All Configuration button under Misc. Locate the section called Advanced Calibration and update the 'Movement sensor' value. The higher the value indicates less movement detection.

Sleep Mode

The Sleep Mode enables CloudCam to be run in a mode where the camera and all CloudCam camera features are stopped. The only features which can remain running are email Remote Control and CloudCam web configuration page, this in order to switch sleep mode ON/OFF remotely.

The Sleep mode can be configured with multiple timers to control when the feature is activated.

The main advantage of this feature is to increase the battery life of the handset and only turn ON features when required.

The Sleep mode can be controlled remotely through email remote control commands or using the CloudCam web configration page. While the sleep feature is active a small amount of power is consumed to keep the application running in the background.

Switching ON this feature and also enabling CloudCam Configuration->Auto start on device boot, if you ever loose your phone you can send an email to switch ON CloudCam remotely and capture images/video from the camera.

Stream out-bound MJPEG

The CloudCam service can stream MJPEG video from the device over WiFi/3G to a remote Windows PC,Mac or Linux platform. The CloudCam application comes pre-bundled with a free streaming server bridge which can be downloaded from the device once the CloudCam service has been started. Access the CloudCam home page over WiFi using a browser on a remote machine. Select option 'Download streaming jar file' and follow the instructions within the downloaded jar file. To open the file using a tool like winzip or winrar.

Once the CloudCam service is started and the 'Stream MJPEG' check box is selected, the device will start MJPEG streaming to the remote server.

The IP port is the port number the remote server is listening on. Please note the port number must be opened on your router firewall.

The host is the name/IP address of the server where the streaming server bridge jar file is being executed. If the connection is over 3G to your home/office server, the host must be the IP address of your internet router. Please refer to your router configuration and firewall documentation concerning forwarding the request to the host executing the streaming server bridge program.

To control the timing for streaming mjpeg content refer to streaming advanced configuration options.

For a full demonstration please see the example.

Camera Focus Options

The following auto-focus options are available on the user interface which are detailed below.

To adjust the time frame when auto focus is executed, press the All Configuration button under Misc. Locate the section called Advanced Calibration and update the 'Autofocus sleep interval' value. The default value is 3000 which equals 3 seconds.

All Configuration

The All Configuration button exposes all of the configuration for available features.

CloudCam
Image Capture Size The size of the image to capture from the camera.
Frames Per Second The number of frames captured per second from the camera.
Image Quality The quality of the image captured from the camera.
HTTP port number Override the listening CloudCam IP port number.
Enable HTTP Authentication Select the option to configure CloudCam security features.
Enable Select the checkbox to enable basic HTTP authentication and secure CloudCam.
Username The username requested when accessing CloudCam HTTP resources.
Password The password requested when accessing CloudCam HTTP resources.
Auto start on device boot Select to auto start the CloudCam application on device boot.
Startup Interval The time delay before starting the application from boot. If the network is not available from boot, then set this time value. Value is in milliseconds. Default value is 0.
Hide the taskbar icon Remove the CloudCam icon from the taskbar.
Front Facing Camera Select to enable the front facing camera.
IP Override - Hostname/IP Override the IP address that CloudCam uses to bind to the IP port number. Both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are supported.
Enable Video playback delay Enforces a delay each time an image is captured from the camera. Feature can be used to extend the life of the battery.
Stream

The options are used to configure the streaming of MJPEG images to a remote server.

Maximum execution time Feature is primarily used with movement or motion detection to override the length of time the feature is active before switching off. The maximum amount of time MJPEG streaming will execute before the feature is switched OFF. Minimum value is 3000 which equals 3 seconds.
Enable Timer Control time frames when MJPEG streaming is active during the start and end times.
Image Capture Size The size of the image to capture from the camera.
Image Quality The quality of the image.
Stream Host The remote server to stream MJPEG.
Stream Port The remote IP port to stream MJPEG.

Remote Control email settings

The options are used to configure remote control options.

imap host The email imap host to receive emails. i.e. imap.gmail.com
email username email username i.e. name@gmail.com
email password email login password
email subject email subject to identify the remote control emails to read
Poll interval Amount of time to wait before checking email account for remote control commands. Value is in milliseconds. 1000 = 1 second. Default value is 300000 which equals 5 minutes.
Test Attempt to read an email from the configured email account and subject.

Snapshot settings

The options are used to configure Snapshot options.

Snapshot Timing->Awake interval Before the snapshot feature actives a time delay can be defined, the Awake Interval is the amount of time the feature will sleep before pictures will be captured. The awake time is executed when the feature first executes, and when another set of images are to be captured. Value is in milliseconds. 1000 = 1 second. Default value is 1 which equals 1 millisecond.
Snapshot Timing->Enable Timer Control the time frames when the snapshot feature is active during the start and end times.
Snapshot Timing->Maximum execution time Feature is primarily used with movement or motion detection to override the length of time the feature is active before switching off. The maximum amount of time the Video process will execute before the feature is switched OFF. Minimum value is 3000 which equals 3 seconds.
Image Capture Size The size of the image to capture from the camera.
Image Quality The quality of the image.
Number of images to capture The number of images to capture before processing all the images. i.e Send to email account, FTP...etc.
Sleep interval Sleep time between capturing an image. If "Number of images to capture" is greater than 0 then CloudCam will sleep before capturing another images. Value is in milliseconds. 1000 = 1 second.
Email Send snapshot images to a email account. See email section.
Picasa Send snapshot images to Picasa. Picasa section.
Dropbox Send snapshot images to Dropbox. See Dropbox section.
FTP Send snapshot images to remote FTP server. See FTP section.
External Storage Save the snapshot images to the SD card. See External Storage section.
Automatically show/hide user interface Automatically show the user interface when Snapshot capturing and hide when not. Feature provided for devices where the camera is suspended when the UI is not displayed. Issue occurs on some DROID-X devices. Please note this option will not bypass the device sleep lock.
Capture High Resolution pictures To capture enhanced pictures from the camera, tick the Snapshot Resolution tickbox and then select the resolution from Snapshot enhanced resolution. When an ehnanced picture is captured from the camera, all MJPEG streams will be stopped. Once the picture has been captured, streaming will resume.

Email settings

The option is used to send captured images/recordings as email attachments.

Email Checkbox to activate the feature.
Username gmail username. i.e. name@gmail.com
Password gmail password
email TO address email address to send email's
email FROM address Can be the same value as email TO address.
smtp auth host The authentication email host to send emails. i.e. smtp.gmail.com
smtp auth port smtp authentication host port. i.e. 465
Device Id The device Id is prefixed in email subjects sent from the device.
Compress image files Snapshot feature. Compress image files attached to email.
Compress filename Snapshot feature. The name of the zip file attached to the email with the requested captured images. i.e mypictures.zip or mypictures.
Test Test sending an attachement to the configured email account.

Picasa Settings

The options are used to send captured images/recordings to Picasa.

Picasa Checkbox to activate the feature.
Picasa Username Picasa username. This is the same name for your gmail username. i.e. name@gmail.com
Picasa password Picasa password. This is the same password for your gmail password.
Test Test uploading an image to the Picasa account.

Dropbox Settings

The options are used to send captured images/recordings to Dropbox.

Activate Dropbox Checkbox to activate the feature.
Authenticate Select to authenticate with Dropbox.
Reset Reset the authenticated keys.
Test Test uploading an image to the Dropbox account.

FTP Settings

The options are used to send captured images/recordings to a remote FTP server.

Activate FTP Checkbox to activate the feature.
Username FTP username.
Password FTP password.
Server FTP remote server name or IP address.
Port FTP Port Number.
Remote Folder The remote folder to upload the file. The default is /.
Test Test uploading an image to the FTP server.

External Storage

The options are used to save images/recordings to the SD card.

External storage Store captured images to external sdcard. Default is internal.
External storage path Store captured snapshot image files to external sdcard storgage path. i.e /sdcard/your_folder
Keep external images Captured images will not be removed from the sdcard.

Battery Notification
Combine battery status If snapshot or video features are running then battery status information will ONLY be included into snapshot or video emails, when snapshot or video features sends an email.
Video settings

The options are used to configure Video options.

Awake interval Interval to sleep before activing the feature and commence video recording. Value is in milliseconds. 1000 = 1 second. Default value is 1000 which equals 1 second.
Recording Maximum Time Length of time in milliseconds to record. Minimum value is 5000 which equals 5 seconds. Default value is 1800000 which equals 3 minutes.
Maximum execution time Feature is primarily used with movement or motion detection to override the length of time the feature is active before switching off. The maximum amount of time the Video feature will execute before the feature is switched OFF. Minimum value is 3000 which equals 3 seconds. Default value is 300000 which equals 5 minutes. Used to drive the re-arming of picture and motion detection features.
Enable Timer Control the time frames when the video is active during the start and end times.
Video recording mode Enable latest Android video features. If your device is running a version of Android greater than 2.2 then the tickbox can be selected. Ticking the checkbox will enable the option Video Capture Size. If the checkbox is not ticked then the selected Video Capture Size will be used to default the Image Capture Size.
Video Capture Size The options are LOW and HIGH video recording modes based on capability of handset.
Video Capture Size - Legacy If Video Recording Mode checkbox is not ticked, the config field is enabled. Select the desired video recording size.
Video Capture Size - Legacy (pre Android 2.3) If Video Recording Mode checkbox is not ticked, the config field is enabled. Select the desired video recording size. Please note its possible the larger sizes might not be supported on your device.
Video Output Encoder - Legacy (pre Android 2.3) If Video Recording Mode checkbox is not ticked, the config field is enabled. Select the video encoder used to create the video output file.
Automatically hide user interface Hide the user interface when video has commenced recording.
Automatically show user interface Show the user while video is being recorded. On some devices the camera hardware is paused while the application is not in the foreground displayed. This option forces the CloudCam application to the foreground when video recording commences.
Email Send video to a email account. See email section.
Picasa Send video to Picasa. Picasa section.
Dropbox Send video to Dropbox. See Dropbox section.
FTP Send video to remote FTP server. See FTP section.
External Storage Save the snapshot images to the SD card. See External Storage section.

Advanced Calibration

The options are used to calibrate advanced options.

Video sleep delay Calibrate video delay sleep interval. Value is in milliseconds. 1000 = 1 second. Default is 200.
G-Sensor Movement Level Calibrate the movement sensor to handset. The greater the value the harder to detect movement. Default value is 10.
Autofocus sleep delay The amount of time the autofocus will be delayed before executing. Value is in milliseconds. 1000 = 1 second. Default is 6000.
Motion Detection compare image counter Calibrate motion detection to compare the 'n'th frame from camera a sequence of camera images. If the FPS is high, the counter value should be set to a value which is around 60% less than the FPS. The default value is 6. To increase detection this need would need to be calibrated and tested.

Remotely Control CloudCam using a web browser

To change either the white balance, color effect, zoom, image rotation or torch modes on the camera follow the steps below...

  1. Please note if using a DROID-X device, the camera can stop operating if the CloudCam application is not in the foreground. If using a DROID-X device access the configuration page from another device otherwise, once the CloudCam service is running, press the button with the "http://" address (under the Stop Server button).
  2. Select the link 'Configure CloudCam settings'.
  3. Make updates and then then press the 'Update Camera Configuration' button at the bottom of the page to update the camera and save changes. The settings will be applied to both camera snapshot and video modes.

Remotely Control CloudCam using HTTP GET request

To remotely control the CloudCam application using HTTP GET requests then instructions can be found here.

Configure Timers

Multiple timers can be configured with CloudCam features Sleep, Snapshot, Video and Stream MJPEG. The timers define time windows where the features are automatically activated over a weekly period.

Please note a timer cannot span a 24 hour period and the start time MUST be less than the end time.

To activate timers for a feature, on the CloudCam landing screen select the tool icon next to either the feature Sleep, Snapshot, Video or Stream MJPEG. For example, select the Snapshot Timing option and then tick the checkbox "Enable Timer". Now select the option Multiple Timers and then select the menu option Add Time. Once the time start/end time and days have been selected then press the Save button. Pressing the back button will display a list of all configured timers for the feature.

If an activated feature is configured to use timers and no time window is active for the feature, the Task List will display a clock icon against the running feature.

Trouble Shooting

  1. If using a 3G connection your provider can block access to the CloudCam HTTP services over 3G because the in-bound ports on the device are locked. The out-bound streaming feature overcomes this issue and streams video from the device to a remote PC,Mac or Linux platform.
  2. If the 'Stream MJPEG' checkbox is ticked, the firewall running on the configured 'Stream Host' end-point MUST be configured to allow the 'Stream Port' access into your network.
  3. If trying to use any of the Cloud features like gmail or Picasa, the device must be connected to either a 3G or WiFi connection.
  4. Any error generated internally from the application will be presented as a notification on the Android taskbar. Selecting the notification will display an error screen detailing the issue.
  5. If issues are encountered with video quality while streaming then follow the below steps.
  6. If streaming out-bound MJPEG from the device to a remote server (PC,Mac or Linux) and the video quality is poor, first check the 3G connection of the device by visiting YouTube and viewing a video. Based on the YouTube video quality will base the quality of the out-bound video stream.
  7. If streaming out-bound MJPEG from the device to a remote server (PC,Mac or Linux) which is connected to the internet using DHCP (non static IP address), the IP address on your router can change. Always check the router configuration page for the correct internet facing IP address of the router.
  8. VLC is slow displaying the video content from the handset. On some of the slower Android devices, allow 10 seconds once the 'Start server' button has been pressed before starting VLC. The time allows the device to settle before commencing a video stream with VLC. To improve the performance press the device power button to put the device into hibernation (i.e. sleep/suspend) OR press the back button. The application will remain running in the background. If the problem persists then press the 'Stop Server' button and restart the VLC application. Press the 'Start server' button and restart VLC.
  9. Remote control emails taking a long time to process. Please make sure your email account is not overloaded with emails or create a new gmail account which is only used to access CloudCam.
  10. If the handset camera cannot support the 'Image Capture Size', in this situation CloudCam will reset and auto set the 'Image Capture Size'.
  11. For older Android devices (like the G1), once the CloudCam service has started (CloudCam icon in notification bar) press the device power button to put the device into hibernation (i.e. sleep/suspend) OR press the back button. The application will remain to run in the background but additional resources are saved when the application is not displayed on the UI and running in the background.
  12. Server fails to start and the assoicated Web Server notitication message contains within the Error Message "java.net.BindException", indicates the server is unable to start due to failing to resolve the IP address of the Android device. In this situation the IP address of the CloudCam HTTP server can be overridden. Please refer to the help section CloudCam Configuration and advanced options above to override the CloudCam HTTP server IP address.
  13. Resolve Android 2.1 video contrast issue. After pressing the "Start Server" button, press the Android Back key and then switch back to the CloudCam application. Performing this step will resolve the camera contrast issue. The contrast issue will be resolved in the next release of the application.
  14. On some DROID-X devices, the camera can stop operating if the CloudCam application is not in the foreground. In this scenario the CloudCam application user interface must remain in the foreground.
  15. If server startup issues occur, the Server IP address can be overridden with the IP address 127.0.0.1 or 0.0.0.0. The IP address is only used to access the CloudCam web page from a wifi network and remotely control via a browser.
  16. On some devices when the power button is pressed to put the device into sleep lock, the camera is paused by the device hardware. Cloud Cam has no control over the hardware on the device when the power button is pressed. If this feature is detected, Cloud Cam will report a notification to the taskbar. On other devices the camera frames per second is reduced. Refer to the configuration option Automatically show/hide user interface.
  17. For video issues please refer to video trouble shooting.

Support

Any issues/questions then please send an email detailing the issue to droidcloudcam@gmail.com.