Use your phone as a streaming camera
Scan a code with the phone’s camera, press Start, and the phone is a camera in your scene. No app to install on iPhone or Android.
Three steps
- In Streamdzy press Connect. A code appears.
- Scan it with the phone’s camera and open the page. If the browser says the site is “not private”, tap Advanced, then Continue: it is your own PC.
- Allow the camera and press Start sending to PC.
How good is the picture?
On home Wi-Fi we measured a smooth 1080p picture at about 30 frames a second with a steady delay between roughly 0.15 and 0.35 seconds. Over a USB cable or the PC’s own hotspot, the phone sends near-lossless video, like a capture card. The phone lowers its own rate if the link gets weak instead of freezing.
Full quality, even when the link is not
While you record, each phone can also record its own camera at full quality and send the file to your PC once you stop. Even if Wi-Fi was shaky during the show, the original footage is intact. We tested this on an Android phone and an iPhone: the files arrive complete and are listed with the session so an editor can line them up.
Phone controls
The phone page has real camera controls (exposure, focus, white balance where the phone allows it), looks and filters, a tally frame that turns red when the camera is on air, and talkback text to the director.
How many
Every phone you want, each recording at full quality and sending the file to your PC, with crew roles. Nothing is locked.
Questions
Does it work with iPhone?
Yes, from Safari. Keep the screen on while sending. We tested it with an iPhone: the live picture held 30 fps and the full-quality file came back complete.
Do I need to install an app on the phone?
No. The camera page runs in the phone’s browser.
Is it better over Wi-Fi or USB?
USB cable or the PC’s own hotspot gives the sharpest, steadiest picture. Home Wi-Fi works well too; if your PC is also on Wi-Fi, sharing the radio can soften it.
Want all of this in one app?
Streamdzy is a free streaming and recording app for Windows: several cameras, your phone as a camera, going live to many places at once, and recording first so a bad connection never costs you the show.