📹 RPi Smart NVR Viewer

A robust, hardware-accelerated Kiosk Mode RTSP viewer designed for 24/7 monitoring on Raspberry Pi.

Turn your Raspberry Pi into a dedicated security monitor. This application connects to any NVR or IP Camera via RTSP, plays the stream with low latency using VLC, and automatically heals itself if the network drops.

✨ Features

🖥️ Kiosk Mode: Boots directly into full-screen without a mouse cursor or desktop distractions.

🛡️ Self-Healing:

  * Auto-detects network interruptions (Ping check).

  * Auto-detects frozen video streams (VLC state check).

  * Automatically reconnects without user intervention.

⚙️ Admin Dashboard: Hidden settings panel (Ctrl + Alt + S) to change IP, credentials, or view system stats.

📊 System Health: Monitor CPU, RAM, Temperature, and Uptime directly from the app.

🚀 Optimized Performance:

  * Uses TCP transport to prevent image artifacts (gray screens).

  * Optimized VLC caching for low latency.

  * Prevent screen sleeping/blanking automatically.

⚡ Easy Setup: Includes an automated installer script.

🛠️ Hardware Requirements

• Raspberry Pi 3B+ / 4 / 5 (Recommended for smooth decoding).

• OS: Raspberry Pi OS (Desktop version required for Tkinter/VLC GUI).

• Network: Ethernet connection is highly recommended for stable RTSP streaming.

🚀 Installation

Option 1: Quick Install (Recommended)

1. Open a terminal on your Raspberry Pi.

2. Clone the repository and run the setup script:

git clone [https://github.com/mhrezaei/RPi-Smart-NVR-Viewer.git](https://github.com/mhrezaei/RPi-Smart-NVR-Viewer.git)

cd RPi-Smart-NVR-Viewer

chmod +x setup.sh

./setup.sh

What the script does:

• Installs system dependencies (vlc, python3-tk, xscreensaver).

• Installs Python libraries (python-vlc, psutil).

• Crucial: Increases GPU Memory split to 256MB (required for smooth video).

• Creates an Autostart entry so the viewer launches on boot.

Option 2: Manual Installation

If you prefer to install manually:

# 1. Update System

sudo apt-get update

# 2. Install Dependencies

sudo apt-get install -y vlc libvlc-dev python3-tk python3-pip xscreensaver

# 3. Install Python Packages

pip3 install -r requirements.txt

# 4. Optimize GPU Memory (Essential for video!)

sudo raspi-config nonint do_memory_split 256

⚙️ Configuration

The application uses a nvr_config.json file. You can edit this file manually or use the built-in Admin Dashboard.

Default Configuration:

{
"nvr_ip": "192.168.1.108",
"nvr_port": "554",
"nvr_user": "view",
"nvr_pass": "viewer123456",
"channel": "0",
"subtype": "0",
"admin_pass": "admin",
"ping_interval": 5,
"network_caching": 600
}

🎮 Usage & Controls

Once the application is running:

• View Stream: The stream loads automatically.

• Admin Panel: Press Ctrl + Alt + S and enter the admin password (default: admin).

• Refresh Stream: Click the hidden button in the bottom-right corner (or use the Admin Panel).

• Exit App: Press Esc (Note: In production, you might want to remove this binding from the code).

📸 Screenshots

(Add screenshots of your UI here)

🔧 Troubleshooting

1. The screen is black / No video:

• Check if the NVR IP and credentials are correct in nvr_config.json.

• Verify the RTSP stream URL format using a desktop VLC player: rtsp://user:pass@ip:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=0&subtype=0

2. Video is lagging or gray artifacts:

• Ensure you have increased GPU memory to 256MB (sudo raspi-config).

• Ensure you are using Ethernet, not WiFi.

• Try increasing network_caching in the config to 1000.

3. "Required libraries not found" error:

• Run pip3 install -r requirements.txt again.

📄 License

Distributed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for more information.

👨‍💻 Author

Mohammad Hadi Rezaei

Made with ❤️ for the Raspberry Pi Community.