external infrared camera for android - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I want to be able to attach specialty cameras to my android product such as infrared, thermal, and microscope. Preferably by USB given that it covers the broadest range of cameras. However for the purposes of this discussion any webcam will do. I know there are several apps that allow for streaming DSLR camera control via USB or wifi. I consider wifi to be unacceptable due to it requiring the network infrastructure. My question is really what is needed to get a webcam to be powered by the phone or tablet and streaming video?
Not that it relates but I use a rooted Droid 3
Any ideas would be helpful. I really want to use my camera in concert with an infrared light and infrared camera to have a high quality portable night vision. I am fairly certain that this is possible.

Dr.Lawyer said:
I want to be able to attach specialty cameras to my android product such as infrared, thermal, and microscope. Preferably by USB given that it covers the broadest range of cameras. However for the purposes of this discussion any webcam will do. I know there are several apps that allow for streaming DSLR camera control via USB or wifi. I consider wifi to be unacceptable due to it requiring the network infrastructure. My question is really what is needed to get a webcam to be powered by the phone or tablet and streaming video?
Not that it relates but I use a rooted Droid 3
Any ideas would be helpful. I really want to use my camera in concert with an infrared light and infrared camera to have a high quality portable night vision. I am fairly certain that this is possible.
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Check out DSLRDashboard in the app store!

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[Q] camera add on? any hardware expert willing to brainstorm on this?

hey guys such a great forum here, I have hardware background and electronics edducation. close but not enough to figure this one out on my own. I an dreaming of using a usb camera from an old laptop inside this great tablet. I am sure there is a hope it can be done to the willing souls. I am willing to tinker and solder etc. that's what I like. I have a stereo speakers added great sound now. just wish for camera to be able to video chat.
I hope someone can get me clues how to start. thanks in advace.
From what I understand the problem is that the Nook cannot recognize the USB connected cam, but it can power the cam. I have heard about some people that use Wi-Fi enabled cams, and the tablet can see it.
I have seen people use cams that clip to the top of the Laptop, then plug into USB. This prompted a silly idea in my head.
I have heard of security cameras that transmit over Wi-fi, and Im picturing a setup that would basically be a security camera clamped to the top of the Nook, then powered from the USB. It would be a little odd, and take some research, but thats the Frankenstein monster type thing that I have so far.
Just my silly addition to the brainstorm.
only think it wont work to to use wifi to see camera and chat on wifi! I think. not portable.

RCA or other analogue video recording

Hello, I wasn't sure whether to post here or under accessories so apologies if its in the wrong place.
I work for a little media company that do some undercover recording for bigger companies, you've all seen the kind of thing on tv with various fools being recorded from a tiny camera but I digress.
The cameras we use have primarily RCA or svideo output for a recorder however I was wondering if anyone know of an adaptor that would let the video be stored on an android phone (primarily sgs2) in the interest of saving space.
If anyone has any input on this it would be hugely appreciated
Cheers
Samuel
Both composite video (RCA) and s-video are analogue so I don't think there is any easy way of storing them on a smartphone.
If the cameras could use any digital external storage, ie. usb, I suppose you could use the smartphone as kind of an external usb storage.
Is this bigger company part of the Rupert Murdoch's companies?
I don't know if you know it, but the SGSII has a camera in-built camera.
There are plenty of WiFi webcams out there, so you could hook onto a wifi signal and upload to an online storage or use the SGSII as a tethered device. There are also other methods.

[Q] Allshare issue

I can get my samsung 58inch plasma to connect to my gs3, but how do you go about playing a game on your gs3 and see it on the tv. Or do you have to have the dongle to do that
If you're looking to pair up a brand new GS III with a bigger screen, but you're not yet part of the Smart TV generation, then this little accessory could get you out of a fix. It's palm-sized with a single blue LED light indicating a connection, but honestly you don't ever need to look at it: it doesn't need line-of-sight to your handset because it uses a wireless protocol called WiFi Display, which means you can happily leave it dangling out of the way behind your TV. The unit has two cables: one for power and the other for the HDMI connection to your TV, which can transmit up to 1080p video and audio. As you'll see in the hands-on video after the break, it works for direct mirroring, so you can watch movies, play games or reel off holiday slideshows. But it also has a more enterprise-focused feature, in the form of a slideshow function in cahoots with the Polaris Office app, which means you can use your GS III as a controller for a presentation. It's a simple idea, but it all seemed to work smoothly and we can imagine it coming in pretty handy.
allshare dongle is handy when it works
devid801 said:
If you're looking to pair up a brand new GS III with a bigger screen, but you're not yet part of the Smart TV generation, then this little accessory could get you out of a fix. It's palm-sized with a single blue LED light indicating a connection, but honestly you don't ever need to look at it: it doesn't need line-of-sight to your handset because it uses a wireless protocol called WiFi Display, which means you can happily leave it dangling out of the way behind your TV. The unit has two cables: one for power and the other for the HDMI connection to your TV, which can transmit up to 1080p video and audio. As you'll see in the hands-on video after the break, it works for direct mirroring, so you can watch movies, play games or reel off holiday slideshows. But it also has a more enterprise-focused feature, in the form of a slideshow function in cahoots with the Polaris Office app, which means you can use your GS III as a controller for a presentation. It's a simple idea, but it all seemed to work smoothly and we can imagine it coming in pretty handy.
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Click to collapse
Well the allshare dongle is handy when it works, untill now I tried it with some rooted rom's but was not able to get it up and running.
From the forum posts I read that you probably need a stock rom like this to get the allshare up and running with the dongle.
But if anybody knows a better solution then a stock rom I'm willing to try!
regards,
TreMain
i will be buying the wireless dongle tomorrow.....im on MiUi i hope it works.
i want to surf and game on my super big new TV as well. so the 89 for the dongle will be worth it since it will probably work on my next phone as well.

[App Request] Make Smartphone to Mouse

I am not able to code so I write here.
There are many Apps out there witch will make the Android Smartphone become a WiFi Trackpad oder Keyboard.
But there is so far no App which underutilized the camera and LED Light to emulate a real mouse. This would be great because it would be a good option to control f.e. a game which is streamed via Remote Desktop onto a tablet. The tablet itself is attached via HDMI to the TV and the PC is in another room. So you would have less lag on the mouse. A BT or 2.4GHz mouse is not an option because of the distance.
What I think is that it should be possible to use the camera sensor and the LED light to track the movement of the smartphone (maybe also use the accelerometers). An optical mouse works mostly the same way. Maybe you would need a special underground (like a grid which you might be able to print at home) as the software might need it to track the movement.
Unified Remote
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Relmtech.Remote&hl=en
No; Unified Remote will not do what he asks. Note that he said there are many apps that will let you use the smartphone's touch surface as a trackpad. That would include Unified Remote.
There are no apps that do what you want because it would be pretty much impossible. The LED flash, assuming the phone has one (not all do) is not a precise laser, it's a bright light. It also eats battery like a mofo. But aside from that, the camera could not track the movement by watching reflections from the flash. Not accurate enough for mousing, at least.
Your best bet (aside from using the screen as a track pad) would be to utilize the accelerometer, but that would be horribly inaccurate. And that's your second-best option after the touch screen. The camera is not even an option.
Exactly. Unified Remote, GMote, Droidmote isn't what I thought of. Why do you think the camera won't be able to to this job? OK, it wouldn't be a 1000 dpi gaming mouse but with a lower resolutiobn I think it should work. At least with an aid like a printet grid as a mousepad. I think of the first optical trackballs which also needed a dotted ball to detect movement.
And I know it wouldn't be easy and would not work with every phone out there. If it would be easy it propably would be around.
I haven't tried this personally, but it does exactly what you're describing:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1157472
Its a project which hasn't seen development for awhile.
Im sorry if im not really understanding this but why not just use a real mouse... from what your saying you want to make ur camera and the led light to act as the mouse laser / sensor.. for 1 im pretty sure the camera isnt fast enough to pick up fine motion
Show me a mouse that works via wifi... BT or 2.4 GHz doesn't work on distance.
Mr. Mozuse is nearly what I looked for. But now with the phone lying flat on the table and not holding it in the air.
Has anyone had any luck finding something like this? This would be extremely useful for those of us carrying around laptops but who hate to use the built in trackpad and would rarely pack another bluetooth mouse. Lay my phone down and using it as a mouse would be so useful.
Use Smartphone as a mouse
I am a student and I usually use a BT mouse in conjunction with my laptop at school but on occasion, for example today, I forget to pack my mouse into my bag. I personally don't like track pads, and I think it would be nice to have a backup option.
I have the Samsung Galaxy S5 and I was wondering if instead of using the LED flash, what about the heart rate sensor, red laser, for your light source. The red light is more focused and would require less power.
Its true this concept would NOT have High resolution but it should be accurate enough for the average user.
Rather then just saying it wont work, Is there anyone that has tried to make it work?
Can't we use lesser autofocus sensor ?
I don't know much about coding and tech things but is it possible to use lesser autofocus sensors ?
nothing new on this front? any unstable sources available? i could have a look at it

How many others still using their G5 as a daily driver

How many others still using their G5 as a daily driver?
I am since 2016 (h850) and using the latest available Lineage 18.1 (Android 11)
Using Proshot & open camera apps, although the camera quality is far behind whats available now but it still works and get decent images.
My GPS hasn't worled for a long time.
My vibration motor doesn't work, but thats ok.
The touch sensor doesnt work, I think thats because of LOS.
I'm using a modded samsung battery
I'm on my second display (replacement is an original LG part)
LOS is laggy sometimes, especially when turning on Wifi after a while then all apps seem to want to download their data, the phone becomes unresponsive.
Takes a minute to be stable. Other than that, cba and can't afford a new phone so still using as a daily driver.
Any better camera apps or further recommended tweaks?
Hi i want use my LG G5 h850 but i have miss the date to unlock it.
so i cant use it while the bootloader ist lockt and the LG System is over and i lost my unlock key
I'm still using my LG G5 H830. I have LineageOS on it which does not support VoLTE, now required for use on T-Mobile;s network.
I bought a new H830 (v7.0.0) off eBay and my plan this week is to root it, install recovery, upgrade to stock v8.0 Android then migrate everything to this phone.
@davestuarts , I recommend you buy a new H850 off eBay and migrate everything like I'm doing.
davestuarts said:
How many others still using their G5 as a daily driver?
I am since 2016 (h850) and using the latest available Lineage 18.1 (Android 11)
Using Proshot & open camera apps, although the camera quality is far behind whats available now but it still works and get decent images.
My GPS hasn't worled for a long time.
My vibration motor doesn't work, but thats ok.
The touch sensor doesnt work, I think thats because of LOS.
I'm using a modded samsung battery
I'm on my second display (replacement is an original LG part)
LOS is laggy sometimes, especially when turning on Wifi after a while then all apps seem to want to download their data, the phone becomes unresponsive.
Takes a minute to be stable. Other than that, cba and can't afford a new phone so still using as a daily driver.
Any better camera apps or further recommended tweaks?
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Click to collapse
Hi,
I gave up some months ago using the G5 as the chin started to randomly fail and not let me charge the phone. While I was using it I replaced two batteries, repaired multiple times the fingerprint sensor connectors on the motherboard and replaced the camera glass. Vibration motor started to fail too (squeaking instead of vibrating, I think I killed it playing Hooked On: COTD on the EKA2L1 emulator), and of course GPS was, and always had been, just barely working.
Despite all this, it was a great phone, especially shooting photos in RAW format: if you want to spend a minute or two to improve the photos you take, Adobe Lightroom for Android is the best software to make any decent picture taken with the G5 look as good as if it was shot on an iPhone.
In my opinion, by the way, the stock LG camera app is better than the other third party cameras, with only Google Camera being better in some occasions, albeit a bit buggy on the G5: on Celso Azevedo's website you can find all the modded Google Camera versions, with precompiled settings for the G5 too.
The last month I used it I switched from the stock Oreo ROM to a LineageOS-based one (DotOS, if I recall correctly), and it became surprisingly faster, even tough that meant sacrificing the FM radio and the IR remote.
Now I'm considering to buy an HDMI adapter and use the G5 as an Android tv box, if the chin proves to be reliable enough to keep the phone charged while it is sitting behind the TV.
tremalnaik said:
Hi,
I gave up some months ago using the G5 as the chin started to randomly fail and not let me charge the phone. While I was using it I replaced two batteries, repaired multiple times the fingerprint sensor connectors on the motherboard and replaced the camera glass. Vibration motor started to fail too (squeaking instead of vibrating, I think I killed it playing Hooked On: COTD on the EKA2L1 emulator), and of course GPS was, and always had been, just barely working.
Despite all this, it was a great phone, especially shooting photos in RAW format: if you want to spend a minute or two to improve the photos you take, Adobe Lightroom for Android is the best software to make any decent picture taken with the G5 look as good as if it was shot on an iPhone.
In my opinion, by the way, the stock LG camera app is better than the other third party cameras, with only Google Camera being better in some occasions, albeit a bit buggy on the G5: on Celso Azevedo's website you can find all the modded Google Camera versions, with precompiled settings for the G5 too.
The last month I used it I switched from the stock Oreo ROM to a LineageOS-based one (DotOS, if I recall correctly), and it became surprisingly faster, even tough that meant sacrificing the FM radio and the IR remote.
Now I'm considering to buy an HDMI adapter and use the G5 as an Android tv box, if the chin proves to be reliable enough to keep the phone charged while it is sitting behind the TV.
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Hey, thanks for your input, very thorough, appreciate it. I'm pretty much in the same camp as you, although mine does charge though it's chin is a bit loose. I've got a back case on, which is tight and helps keep the phone together, kind of a cheat method.
I'm only using as I cannot currently afford to buy something new, and want something with a decent camera but with LOS support too or rootable. I have been looking at some used Pixel phones, but its about price.
Anyway, I was happy with proshot app, as I like photograpy and it gives great manual control and decent pics but seeing how newer phones are so much better, I have recently gone back to trying gcam (previously it would crash often), which you mentioned.
Playing around with v8.6 and it works suprisingly well and produces some really great photos better than proshot, although slow at times, especially the processing time.
v.8.7 worked but even slower with some features kept crashing it.
I'll have a go at lightroom, never thought about it before. Thanks.
Incidentally, what phone you got next? Also, great idea to repurpose G5 as android TV.
Have you got that running and if so, what rom is usable, especially to have HDMI out and does charging work at the same time?
After the G5 I got an Asus Zenfone 8: small, powerful processor, OLED screen, 3.5mm audio port and easily rootable. It's not a cheap phone, but I was lucky enough to find one used for 390€ (spending more than 400€ for a phone is unreasonable for what I use it for).
To repurpose the G5 as a media center, I will go back to the stock Oreo ROM, as DotOs (and I suppose all the LineageOs-based ROMs) doesn't support the HDMI out.
I've bought a Choetech xch-m180 4K Usb-C HDMI adapter, that "should" (I'll believe when I see it, but I've seen videos of it working as expected) be capable of 4K output and battery charging. I already have a USB-C to HDMI adapter, but without battery charging, and the phone lasts less than one hour, so permanent installation is impossible with that one.
Then I'll install a media center like Kodi (if it can be controlled using another phone via Bluetooth or WiFi) and Tasker to shut down the phone's screen without locking it.
The hardest part of the setup will probably be dealing with the restrictions that each app imposes on phones with root or HDMI output.
tremalnaik said:
After the G5 I got an Asus Zenfone 8: small, powerful processor, OLED screen, 3.5mm audio port and easily rootable. It's not a cheap phone, but I was lucky enough to find one used for 390€ (spending more than 400€ for a phone is unreasonable for what I use it for).
To repurpose the G5 as a media center, I will go back to the stock Oreo ROM, as DotOs (and I suppose all the LineageOs-based ROMs) doesn't support the HDMI out.
I've bought a Choetech xch-m180 4K Usb-C HDMI adapter, that "should" (I'll believe when I see it, but I've seen videos of it working as expected) be capable of 4K output and battery charging. I already have a USB-C to HDMI adapter, but without battery charging, and the phone lasts less than one hour, so permanent installation is impossible with that one.
Then I'll install a media center like Kodi (if it can be controlled using another phone via Bluetooth or WiFi) and Tasker to shut down the phone's screen without locking it.
The hardest part of the setup will probably be dealing with the restrictions that each app imposes on phones with root or HDMI output.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the update. That Zenfone seems great value for what it has, especially with an OLED and 3.5mm, which I need, you've got it at a great price. In the Uk it's much more £600/€680 and very hard to find it used/refurbished, I can get a Sony Xperia IV for less, refurbushed and 12 months warranty but still too much for me.
Thanks for the other info too. I'll be interested to know how your G5 android project works out.
@tremalnaik Well, I bit took the plunge and found a good deal on a Xperia 5IV.
Brings back memories of my xperia Z3 compact, which I still have, used as a shared media/internet with lineage 18.1.
This new Xperia 5IV wioth its long slab design is so different but very usable.
Superb cameras, especially with their camera styled apps.
I can even use Gcam for better night shots.
Plus the needed 3.5mm jack AND Sdcard slot.
Hopefully, in a few years lineage will be available on, but unlikely to be a popular device due to cost though a great device for them to port one over with all it's extras.
Now, need to repurpose the G5, after I've transfered everyhig over and my phonbe cover arrives. I dont know why companies make such expensive/slipper styled backs, as so mnay people put on covers. Or just make the back more durable.
davestuarts said:
@tremalnaik Well, I bit took the plunge and found a good deal on a Xperia 5IV.
Brings back memories of my xperia Z3 compact, which I still have, used as a shared media/internet with lineage 18.1.
This new Xperia 5IV wioth its long slab design is so different but very usable.
Superb cameras, especially with their camera styled apps.
I can even use Gcam for better night shots.
Plus the needed 3.5mm jack AND Sdcard slot.
Hopefully, in a few years lineage will be available on, but unlikely to be a popular device due to cost though a great device for them to port one over with all it's extras.
Now, need to repurpose the G5, after I've transfered everyhig over and my phonbe cover arrives. I dont know why companies make such expensive/slipper styled backs, as so mnay people put on covers. Or just make the back more durable.
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Click to collapse
I wish I found a good deal for an Xperia phone as well: it was my first choice, but any Sony device is really expensive here in Italy.
3.5mm jack is a must for me too, especially when it's the only way to listen music on a 14 years old car.
I wouldn't put much hope on Lineage for future upgrades though: while the developers take an honourable effort in keeping old phones up to date, most of the times any extra hardware feature of the phone will be hard to implement. If you take the G5 as an example, in 7 years nobody found a way to make the IR blaster or the FM radio to work, and neither VoLTE, HDMI, etc. due to the lack of documentation on how these functions are integrated in Android.
Going back to your previous post, I finally received the HDMI adapter and it works like a charm. Here's what I had to do to make it work:
-Connect the adapter to the tv, to the phone, and to a suitable USB plug (for some reason if I connected the USB power plug to the USB port on the tv, the adapter glitched, so I had to connect it to the router's USB port)
-Change the DPI settings to make the phone think it's running on a large screen
-Dowload a tv launcher: I found Simple TV Launcher to be simple and reliable
-Download TV version of the apps you need: Aurora Store has a convenient spoofing feature so I chose to make the phone appear like it's a Sony Bravia TV to download TV apps
-Download an app to control the phone usimg another phone as a remote. "Bluetooth keyboard & mouse" would be the best, if only Bluetooth wasn't a totally unreliable technology (out of three phones I tried to use as remotes, 2 had terrible lags, and another one wasn't able to connect at all). So my next choice was Zank Remote: not as good for non-tv apps, but as it works through wi-fi, it actually works. It can even be used like a rudimental wiimote to point at the screen.
-as I don't want to see ads on Youtube and I'm too lazy to try to compile ReVanced Youtube, I went for NewPipe: it's definitely not optimised to work on TVs, but it works.
So far I've only tested it with RaiPlay (national TV's online platform) and it works really well. My phone is rooted and I don't have any other movie platform subscription, so I don't know if this setup could work with Amazon Prime or Netflix. By the way I could test it with AceStream (the primary reason I wanted to make this setup, so I don't have to turn on the pc and stream from VLC to the Blu-Ray player connected to my not-so-smart TV), and it works flawlessly.
The hardest part of the whole setup is to shut down the backlight of the G5's screen while HDMI is connected: I had to use a shell script and automate it with Tasker. Still I haven't found a way to stop the HDMI out if the phone is locked, to save energy: if I lock the phone, the adapter will actively output a black screen to the TV, so it's likely wasting energy for nothing.
tremalnaik said:
I wish I found a good deal for an Xperia phone as well: it was my first choice, but any Sony device is really expensive here in Italy.
3.5mm jack is a must for me too, especially when it's the only way to listen music on a 14 years old car.
I wouldn't put much hope on Lineage for future upgrades though: while the developers take an honourable effort in keeping old phones up to date, most of the times any extra hardware feature of the phone will be hard to implement. If you take the G5 as an example, in 7 years nobody found a way to make the IR blaster or the FM radio to work, and neither VoLTE, HDMI, etc. due to the lack of documentation on how these functions are integrated in Android.
Going back to your previous post, I finally received the HDMI adapter and it works like a charm. Here's what I had to do to make it work:
-Connect the adapter to the tv, to the phone, and to a suitable USB plug (for some reason if I connected the USB power plug to the USB port on the tv, the adapter glitched, so I had to connect it to the router's USB port)
-Change the DPI settings to make the phone think it's running on a large screen
-Dowload a tv launcher: I found Simple TV Launcher to be simple and reliable
-Download TV version of the apps you need: Aurora Store has a convenient spoofing feature so I chose to make the phone appear like it's a Sony Bravia TV to download TV apps
-Download an app to control the phone usimg another phone as a remote. "Bluetooth keyboard & mouse" would be the best, if only Bluetooth wasn't a totally unreliable technology (out of three phones I tried to use as remotes, 2 had terrible lags, and another one wasn't able to connect at all). So my next choice was Zank Remote: not as good for non-tv apps, but as it works through wi-fi, it actually works. It can even be used like a rudimental wiimote to point at the screen.
-as I don't want to see ads on Youtube and I'm too lazy to try to compile ReVanced Youtube, I went for NewPipe: it's definitely not optimised to work on TVs, but it works.
So far I've only tested it with RaiPlay (national TV's online platform) and it works really well. My phone is rooted and I don't have any other movie platform subscription, so I don't know if this setup could work with Amazon Prime or Netflix. By the way I could test it with AceStream (the primary reason I wanted to make this setup, so I don't have to turn on the pc and stream from VLC to the Blu-Ray player connected to my not-so-smart TV), and it works flawlessly.
The hardest part of the whole setup is to shut down the backlight of the G5's screen while HDMI is connected: I had to use a shell script and automate it with Tasker. Still I haven't found a way to stop the HDMI out if the phone is locked, to save energy: if I lock the phone, the adapter will actively output a black screen to the TV, so it's likely wasting energy for nothing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, thought I had replied to your last message. Yeah, got lucky with the Sony, they're expensive in UK too. Last few years with the corrupt goverment and brexit has caused all prices to jump, only rich or corrupt exist easily.
You're right about Lineage or other custom rom being available for the Sony, as you said, they never figured out the IR blaster for the G5, theres always hope tho ha.
I've been trying to use the G5 as a android box but my issue is the battery drain. Its the old battery and the HDMI dongle with the charging port cannot sustain the battery with screen on, so it dies and also it gets quite hot.
I've been looking at apps or scripts to turn off screen while using, but cannot find anything yet. Theres an app on my Sony phone thats for gaming, it allows the charger to be plugged in, but not charge the battery instead it simply powers the phone, so it dont get hot and you can game for longer. I need an app like that.
My other option now is to take appart the phone, connect a third party battery which is big, like 5000mah and just leave phone open. I could also attach a heatsink or something to the phone internals to help with heat. I'm not bothered with leaving phone open.

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