Camstream

CamStream turns your Android phone or tablet into a real ONVIF™ network camera. Start the app and your device becomes an IP camera that your NVR, DVR or video surveillance software finds on the network by itself and streams live video from.

It is the simplest way to put an old phone back to work as a security camera — for the house, the office, the shop, the garage, a nursery or a pet corner — with no extra hardware to buy.

KEY FEATURES

• ONVIF Profile S: works with most NVR and VMS systems

• Live H.264 video over RTSP (H.265/HEVC with Pro)

• Automatic discovery on the network (WS-Discovery)

• On-demand JPEG snapshots for your NVR

• Access protected by username and password (WS-Security)

• Microphone audio alongside the video (Pro)

• Second low-resolution substream for NVR multi-view (Pro)

• Digital PTZ: pan, tilt and zoom, driven from your NVR

• Front or rear camera

• Resolution, frame rate and bitrate you choose

• Image rotation (0/90/180/270 or automatic)

• Custom ONVIF and RTSP ports

• Easy on the battery: the camera runs only while someone is watching

• Keeps streaming in the background, with a notification and a Stop button

• Live preview inside the app

• English and Italian, light and dark theme

• Built-in debug log and one-tap bug report

WORKS WITH

ONVIF Device Manager, Home Assistant, Frigate, Synology Surveillance Station, Blue Iris, Agent DVR, and most NVR/VMS systems that speak ONVIF or RTSP.

HOW IT WORKS

1. Open CamStream and set a username and password

2. Tap Start: the phone begins streaming

3. In your NVR or VMS, add an ONVIF camera — it is found automatically, or type the IP address the app shows you

4. The Connection tab has the ONVIF, RTSP and snapshot addresses ready to copy

FREE PLAN

CamStream is free to use, and the free plan is a real camera: ONVIF, RTSP, automatic discovery, snapshots and digital PTZ are all included. It streams H.264 up to 1920x1080 at 4 Mbps, video only, in sessions of 30 minutes — press Start again for a new one. Only time actually spent streaming counts against those 30 minutes, so an app left waiting for a viewer costs you nothing.

CAMSTREAM PRO

Pro comes with a 7-day free trial and unlocks:

• Unlimited streaming — no session limit

• Microphone audio alongside the video

• H.265/HEVC — roughly half the bandwidth of H.264

• Second substream (/stream2) for NVR multi-view

• Full sensor resolution, up to 8 Mbps

• Recording and photo capture to your device's gallery

Pro is an auto-renewing subscription, monthly or annual, billed through your Google Play account. The trial becomes a paid subscription unless you cancel before it ends, and you can cancel at any time from the Play Store. Prices appear in your local currency, taxes included where they apply.

GOOD TO KNOW

• Video stays on your local network: CamStream sends your streams to no external server

• Keep the device on a charger for continuous use

• The camera permission is required; the microphone permission is asked for only when you stream audio with Pro

CamStream is a synapsi.ai product. ONVIF is a registered trademark, not affiliated with the developer.