Using Xiaomi Yi Sports Camera with iPhone and VLC

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OK so at the moment this camera only has an Android app which is a problem for iPhone users and leaves them in limbo.

Actually that's no problem at all :)

Download an app from the iOS Store called LinkinEyes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/linkineyes/id750726978?mt=8

Turn on your Yi camera and connect to the Wifi connection named YDXJ_******* (the stars will be random numbers)

The default password is:
1234567890

Launch the LinkinEyes app on your iPhone / iPad and it should now connect to your camera and let you view live video and even better change the settings :)

IMG_3427.PNG
IMG_3428.PNG

Now normally you can't access the camera via VLC from your PC as it needs certain commands sending to activate the RTSP stream.

So what you can do is connect from your PC to the Yi Wi-Fi connection using the credentials above, launch VLC and do Open Network Stream.

Enter the URL as follows:
Code:
rtsp://192.168.42.1/live
upload_2015-3-24_0-30-13.png

Click play - if it doesn't start playing straight away then just fire up the LinkinEyes app to send the relevant commands over and it should start to play a stream:
upload_2015-3-24_0-31-11.png

Sorted :)
 
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You'd like these for a tinker I reckon mate - if I remember rightly you use Linux or have done?

You can get full root shell access on these in seconds to have a play around - I was having a tinker with the Bluetooth stuff last night and the scripts are all there but they complain about missing the hardware so I'm not sure if it's just a missing driver right now or just a script needs fixing or maybe it's totally missing. Sure I read it has it in a spec somewhere though.

It doesn't half get hot when you're playing like that though - I think it's safe to say it's burnt in well now!!
 
I've used various nix distros for about 20 years, barely get the time to look at something like this these days though what with everything else we've got going on, although I'd be a bit out of touch with the nix stuff now it has helped since a lot of the cameras are running similar flavour code
 
Actually that is a good point mate - you should be having a few days off before buying one of these :p
 
I will probably pick one up when I'm back in China, only because I want to look at the platform/sensor combo for reference, not like I need an action camera, have a variety of them that never get used already
 
It also work for other wifi cameras, I see some users also use same way on SJCAM cameras, use VLC to play live stream.
Linkineyes seems developed by Ambareallea, but it is not stable when work with SJ5000 plus.
 
That's good to know thanks Bill :)

How's the 5000 series coming along?
 
Exactly same for SJ5000 plus, same RTSP address.

sj5000 plus.jpg
 
In SJ4000 WIFI, the RTSP url is rtps://192.168.1.254/sjcam.mov, but it only worked for latest firmware.

sj4000 wifi.jpg
 
Awesome - that's three cameras this works with and I'm guessing it will probably work with most other Ambarella Wi-Fi cameras too?
 
how do you get root access with this? wouldn't mind having a look at the linux side
 
how do you get root access with this? wouldn't mind having a look at the linux side
No necessary to get root access, after connect with camera via wifi, you will know the camera IP address.
But you need know how to combine the rtsp url, like add the sjcam.mov after the IP address.

An Italy buyer send a email to me last year, I think he is professional, he developed a pc app to control the sj4000, even he found some CMD like http://192.168.1.254/?custom=1&cmd=301420141205_020858.jpg .
 
The Xiaomi IP is http://192.168.42.1/

http://192.168.42.1/?custom=1&cmd=3014 doesn't work so I'm guessing they have a different endpoint/query string for setting prefences - if those are communicated between the app and camera as HTTP requests. The app could be connecting directly into another TCP port on the camera.

There is http://192.168.42.1/prefs but there is nothing there.

I tried to capture the traffic between Xiaomi android app and the camera with tPacketCapture and it shows the RTSP requests fine but I cannot see any HTTP requests in the log. Can someone with rooted Android try the same with Shark for Root app?

If I have root access to the linux side it should be possible to snoop into what query strings are exposed and if there are any more controls exposed than we have on the Xiaomi app. The ambarella chipset has tons of controls, wonder what we can get access to?
 
Telnet to that IP and log in as root at the build root login prompt - no password required :)
 
Ahh great! tried to ssh to the ip before, didn't think of plain telnet. Thanks - looks like a full linux inside. Will have a snoop around
 
hello ppl.

I am trying to have a way to connect to the xiaomi yi camera wifi signal with an andoid phone or with a windows notebook, and have a larger screen of the video, larger than the app for the cam (YI camera app)

do you think I cna connect to this via vlc from android or from windows notebook? connect to camera wifi signal, then try the vlc connection? anyone did that?
 
What you need is in the first post - if you fire up the Android app first and connect to the camera, if you then open VLC and do open network stream and connect to:

rtsp://192.168.42.1/live

It should then work - I'm assuming there though that Android has the open network stream option?
 
tried on android, and two windows notebooks.

connect to xiaomi camera wifi
ping to ...42.1 working

but vlc can not open the rtsp://192.168.42.1/live

any good tips welcome. thank you folks.
 
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