Video Stream Detail
Watch a camera's live video feed full screen.
The Stream Detail screen is the live video player. When you open a camera that has an online video feed, this screen connects to the feed and starts playing on its own — there is no play button to press. The camera's name sits in the header so you always know which feed you are watching, and a spinner stays on screen until the first video arrives.
Overview
| Element | What it does |
|---|---|
| Header label | Shows the name of the camera you are watching |
| Video area | Fills with the live feed once it starts playing |
| Loading spinner | Shown from the moment the screen opens until video begins |
| Back button | Stops the feed, cancels any pending requests, and returns you to the previous screen |
| Return to Mobile Data Com button | Only appears when you reached the player from the Mobile Data Com area |
This screen is only opened for cameras that publish a video feed and report a state of Online. Cameras that publish only a still image open a full-screen image viewer instead, and cameras with both open the snapshot pop-up first.
Getting Here
There are three routes into the player, and all of them start from the stream list.
- From Home, open References then Video Streams.
- Find the camera you want in a source group (or in Favorites).
- Reach the player in one of these ways:
| Route | What you tap |
|---|---|
| Straight from the list | View on a camera that has a video feed only and is Online |
| Through a snapshot | View on a camera with both video and an image, then View again on the Stream Preview card |
| From the map | Tap the camera's pin, then View on the Stream Detail card |
Watching the Stream
- When the screen opens, the player immediately starts connecting to the camera's video address.
- The spinner is displayed while the feed opens and buffers.
- The spinner disappears the moment the first video frame plays.
- There is no progress bar or timeline: this is a live feed, not a recording, so there is nothing to scrub through.
- The camera name stays in the header for the whole session.
| What the player is doing | What you see |
|---|---|
| Opening the connection | Spinner, empty video area |
| Buffering | Spinner, empty video area |
| Playing | Video fills the area, spinner hidden |
| Feed ended | Video stops and the spinner is hidden |
| Could not connect | The spinner is hidden and a short "Please try again later." message appears |
Rotate the device to landscape for a bigger picture. The video area fills the space it is given, so a landscape phone or a tablet gives you noticeably more detail on a wide scene.
If the Feed Will Not Start
- Wait a few seconds — a distant or busy camera can take a moment to open.
- If the "Please try again later." message appears, tap Back and try the camera again.
- Still nothing? Go back to the list and check the camera's status dot, or open Detail to read its State. A camera that has dropped offline since the list was loaded will not play.
- Try a different camera in the same group. If none of them play, the problem is more likely your connection than the cameras.
Live video needs a working data connection for the whole time it is playing, and it uses noticeably more data than the rest of the app. On a weak connection expect long spinners, stalls, and dropped feeds.
Leaving the Player
- Tap the Back button.
- The video is stopped and any pending network requests are cancelled, then you return to the screen you came from.
- If you arrived from the Mobile Data Com area, use the Return to Mobile Data Com button to go straight back there.
Always leave with the Back button rather than by backgrounding the app, so the feed is properly stopped. A feed left open keeps using data and battery.
What the Player Does and Does Not Do
This screen is deliberately bare. Knowing what is missing saves you hunting for controls that are not there.
| You might expect | Reality on this screen |
|---|---|
| A play or pause button | None — the feed starts by itself and stops when you leave |
| A timeline to scrub back | None; this is live video, so there is no recorded history to move through |
| A record or snapshot button | None; nothing is saved to the device from this screen |
| A quality or resolution setting | None; you get whatever the source publishes |
| A mute control | None; most published camera feeds carry no audio at all |
| A favorite star | On the list rows instead, see Video Streams |
| Camera details | On the Detail card, see Stream Preview |
| Camera pan, tilt, or zoom | Not available; the app is a viewer, not a camera controller |
Watching More Than One Camera
Only one feed plays at a time.
- Watch the first camera, then tap Back to stop it.
- Pick the next camera from the list and tap View.
- Each feed starts from scratch, so expect the same short spinner each time you switch.
When you are comparing two cameras at the same location, use the Detail cards and the snapshots first to decide which one has the angle you need. Switching between live feeds repeatedly is slow and burns data.
Data Use and Battery
Live video is the heaviest thing the app does.
| Consideration | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Data | Continuous while the feed plays; far more than lists, maps, or messages |
| Battery | Noticeable drain, especially in landscape at full brightness |
| Weak signal | Long spinners, stalls, and feeds that end on their own |
| Leaving the screen | Stops the feed and the data use immediately |
| Backgrounding the app | Leaves the player open; come back and use Back to close it properly |
On a limited or shared connection, check the snapshot instead of opening live video. A snapshot answers "what does it look like there" for a fraction of the data.
How This Connects
- Where the address comes from. The player uses the video address published with the camera in the stream list, so it plays exactly the feed the source provides — the app does not re-encode or relay it. If that address changes, the change arrives with the next stream list refresh on Video Streams.
- What decides whether this screen opens. The choice between this player, the snapshot pop-up, and the full-screen image is made on Video Streams and in Stream Preview, based on what the camera publishes and its reported state.
- Reached from the map. Tapping a pin on the map opens the Stream Detail card with a View button, which lands here. The same pins appear on Reference Map.
- Reached from an incident. Cameras attached to an incident open the same player, so behavior matches what you see under Incident Maps Tab.
- Not the same as pushed video. Feeds sent directly to your device are played by a different screen — see UDP Video Stream.
- Offline and reconnect. There is no offline mode for live video and nothing is cached. If the connection drops mid-feed the picture freezes or the feed ends; go back, wait for the connection to return, and open the camera again.
Troubleshooting
| If this happens | What to do |
|---|---|
| Spinner never stops | Go back and reopen the camera. If it still will not play, check the camera's State on its Detail card. |
| "Please try again later." appears | The feed could not be reached. Try again, then try another camera to rule out your connection. |
| Video plays then freezes | Your connection dropped or the camera did. Go back and reopen the feed. |
| Video plays with no sound | Most published camera feeds carry no audio. This is normal. |
| Picture is very blocky | The source is publishing a low-quality stream, or your connection is limiting it. Nothing on this screen changes the quality. |
| The player never opens from the list | The camera is video-only and not Online. Check the status dot on the list row. |
| You left the app while watching | Reopen the app, go back, and open the camera again so the feed restarts cleanly. |
Related Pages
⬅️ Previous: Video Streams | Next: Stream Preview ➡️