camview #

Live camera feed from the 4Brains Camera Controller over WebRTC, in one Flutter widget. Point it at your server and room with an API key — signaling is handled for you, and the video flows peer-to-peer (the server only brokers the handshake, so it never becomes a latency bottleneck).

Works on any Flutter target flutter_webrtc supports — iPad, phone, kiosk, TV.

Install #

dependencies:
  camview: ^0.2.0

This pulls in flutter_webrtc, which needs a little native setup in your app.

iOS #

ios/Podfile:

platform :ios, '13.0'

ios/Runner/Info.plist — allow the LAN connection and satisfy the WebRTC engine (the app only receives, but the plugin links these APIs):

<key>NSAppTransportSecurity</key>
<dict><key>NSAllowsLocalNetworking</key><true/></dict>
<key>NSCameraUsageDescription</key>
<string>Required by the video engine; this app only receives the live view.</string>
<key>NSMicrophoneUsageDescription</key>
<string>Required by the video engine; this app only receives the live view.</string>

Android #

android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml:

<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>
<uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE"/>

Set minSdkVersion 23 (or higher) in android/app/build.gradle.

Use #

import 'package:camview/camview.dart';

FourBrainsCameraView(
  server: 'http://192.168.1.42:3000', // the server's LAN URL
  room: 'camera',                     // the room the controller broadcasts to
  apiKey: 'your-api-key',             // your 4Brains API key
  fit: CameraFit.cover,               // contain (default) or cover
  onStatus: (status) {
    // connecting | live | reconnecting | unauthorized
  },
  onSize: (w, h) => debugPrint('feed is ${w}x$h'),
)

Drop it into any layout — a bounded box, Positioned.fill, or an AspectRatio. It reconnects on its own if the network drops or the broadcaster restarts.

Status #

Worth handling unauthorized distinctly in your UI: it is the one failure a user can act on, and it is otherwise indistinguishable from a weak network.

API #

How it fits together #

Camera → 4Brains Camera Controller (broadcaster)      your app (this widget)
                    │  SDP/ICE via signaling server        │
                    └──────────────► server ◄──────────────┘
                       video is peer-to-peer, not via the server

The desktop controller captures the camera and broadcasts; your app is a viewer. Run the server locally (see the server's DOCKER.md). The API key is whatever you set in the server's API_KEYS — the same string goes in the controller and here.

LAN vs. internet #

Default iceServers is empty — correct for devices on the same Wi-Fi (they connect directly via host candidates). To stream across networks you need a TURN server; pass it via iceServers.