Chapter 15

Remote Viewer, HDMI and Live Activities.

Three features extend the monitor beyond the phone on the cage. Remote Viewer turns other phones and tablets into client or director screens. An HDMI capture card or Accsoon SeeMo gives a full-quality HDMI picture while the app keeps controlling the camera over Wi-Fi. Live Activities put the recording timer on the Lock Screen.

Remote Viewer (CAST)

One device is the host: it is connected to the camera and running Live View. Other devices on the same Wi-Fi are viewers: they receive the picture and the host's look, and cannot touch the camera.

Host side

Pill: CAST in the Live View toolbar; tap to start or stop broadcasting
Long-press: Cast Stream: JPEG Fast, JPEG HQ, JPEG VBR (default JPEG Fast)
Viewers: Up to 16 on an iOS host, 4 on an Android host
Sends: The Nikon Live View picture (or the HDMI picture when that is the source), the host's LUT state and match values, and photo-review images. RED pictures are not cast

JPEG Fast sends a reduced frame (up to 640 px on the long edge) at moderate quality: lowest latency and least Wi-Fi load, right for several viewers.
JPEG HQ passes the camera's own preview frames through untouched: best picture, heaviest on the network.
JPEG VBR adapts quality and size to each viewer's connection and backs off when a viewer falls behind: the safest choice on a busy network.

The Connection page's Remote Viewer row reads "Broadcast active" while casting.

Viewer side (the Remote page)

Open the Remote page. The viewer searches for hosts by itself; Search hosts opens the list, with a tick on the connected host. The status line shows Connecting, Connected or Receiving.
Monitor Tools: LOOK follows the Host LUT, turns the look Off, or applies a LUT chosen on the viewer; GRID offers Off, 3rds, Cross, Safe; FRAME offers Off, 16:9, 1.85, 2.39, 1:1, 9:16. These choices affect only the viewing device.
Hide remote interface gives a clean full-screen picture; an info button brings the controls back.
Photo reviews from the host appear as an overlay on the viewer too.

A trusted network only

There is no pairing, password or encryption on the viewer link. Anyone on the same Wi-Fi who runs the app can watch. Use it on a production network or your own hotspot, not on venue Wi-Fi.

When to use it

A director or client monitor without video transmitters, a focus puller's screen on a second phone, or an iPad on a stand for the crew. Works between iOS and Android ZR Ctl in both directions. The host and viewers must be on the same Wi-Fi; a phone hotspot run by the host works.

HDMI capture card iPad

The camera's Live View stream over Wi-Fi is a modest JPEG preview. For a full-quality picture, plug an HDMI to USB-C capture card into a USB-C iPad (or a Mac) and feed it from the camera's HDMI output. The app uses the card as the picture while the camera stays connected over Wi-Fi or its own network for control, timecode, AF boxes, audio levels and the record state.

Pill: HDMI in Live View, reading OFF, STARTING or ON; tap to switch the picture source, long-press for settings
Appears when: A Nikon is connected over Wi-Fi or camera AP and a capture card is plugged in. On iPhone there is no capture-card support in iOS, so the pill does not appear there
Settings: Resolution and frame rate plans per card, and a Picture Source row when more than one device is attached
Not available with: USB camera control (the port is taken), RED cameras, WIPE

Automatic colour match New in 2.1: capture cards shift colour and levels (the common green or magenta cast). For a few seconds after the source starts, the app compares the card's picture with the camera's own Live View and fits a correction, showing AUTO-CALIBRATING. The correction is remembered per card.
Cadence New in 2.1: only complete frames are shown at 24, 25 and 30p, repeated frames are skipped, and the real source rate is measured.
If the HDMI signal drops, capture restarts by itself once the signal returns.
Every monitoring tool and the LUT run on the HDMI picture. The exposure tools stay calibrated to the camera's log curve from the control link.

When to use it

Pulling focus or judging a client monitor on an iPad where the Wi-Fi preview is not sharp enough. Set the camera's HDMI output to the clean log signal (no camera LUT) so the app's LUT and tools see the recorded image.

Accsoon SeeMo iPhone and iPad New in 2.1

The Accsoon SeeMo is an HDMI adapter made for iPhone and iPad. It delivers a 1080p HDMI picture over the Lightning or USB-C port, which is the only way to get an HDMI picture on an iPhone. The app treats it like a capture card: a SEEMO pill appears when the adapter is connected and a Nikon is linked over Wi-Fi; tap to switch between the SeeMo picture and the camera's own preview. The session is kept warm so switching is instant. The SeeMo has no resolution settings; its format follows the HDMI input.

Live Activities iPhone

While the camera records, the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island show a live card so you can check the rig without unlocking the phone.

Mode	Shows
Video recording	REC, the elapsed timer, the camera name, and the card time left from the camera's remaining-record estimate New in 2.1. The expanded island adds the camera battery.
Long exposure	PHOTO with the open-shutter timer during a Bulb or Time exposure.
Timelapse	TIME with the phase, shots taken of total, and the countdown to the next exposure, or Paused.

The card is status only; there is no stop button in it. Stop from the app or the camera.
If the app has had no fresh word from the camera for 30 seconds the card turns orange with a "?" and "Open Parallax to check camera status". A lost connection shows "Connection lost — camera state unknown" and the card ends a minute later.
The activity starts only while the app is in the foreground and is Nikon only.

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