Run the hub on your own server (RTMP push)

Normally the hub sits on your home network and pulls video from the cameras. If you’d rather not keep a machine at home, you can run the hub on a server you control, and have cameras push their video to it.

Footage still never touches Unicam’s servers: it goes from your cameras to your server to your storage.

Requirements

• A server (VPS) that runs Docker.
• Cameras with an RTMP push setting (sometimes called “RTMP streaming” or “live streaming”). Not every camera has this.

Set it up

1. Run the hub on the server with Docker. See Run the hub with Docker.
2. In the app, open Add camera and pick RTMP push.
3. Unicam shows a server address and a stream key for that camera. Enter both in the camera’s RTMP settings.
4. Open the camera’s port in your server’s firewall. Each push camera gets its own port, counting up from 1935.

How it’s protected

The hub checks the stream key before any video is accepted, so only your camera can publish to its port. Video can’t be watched over RTMP; you watch through the authenticated Unicam app like any other camera.

What you give up

• No discovery. You add each camera by hand.
• No pan/tilt control from Unicam.
• Live view and alerts depend on your home internet upload and the server’s connection.

For advanced setups, the push port range and bind address can be changed with the UNICAM_PUSH_PORT and UNICAM_PUSH_BIND settings.