Troubleshooting InterDirector Cam

When the phone is not sending, the reason is shown above the picture, and the status pill beside Start says what it is doing. Start there.

No picture in InterDirector

The status pill says Reconnecting or stays on Connecting…, or Start shows a message and does not start:

• The address. A scan sets it exactly; one typed by hand is easy to get wrong. An SRT address needs its port, as in srt://192.168.1.20:9000, and an RTMP address its path, as in rtmp://192.168.1.20:1935/live/cam2. The phone says which is missing. For SRT, the stream ID and passphrase must be the ones the input expects.
• The same network. On your network, the phone and the Mac must be on the same one: a phone on mobile data, or on a guest Wi-Fi, cannot reach the Mac. Send over the internet instead.
• The phone’s Local Network permission. Without it the phone cannot reach anything on your network. On the phone, open iOS’s Settings, then ID Cam, and turn Local Network on.
• The input in InterDirector. It must be started and listening: its card says Waiting for a sender. The first time it listens, macOS may ask whether InterDirector may accept incoming connections; allow it. An input over the internet receives nothing until you start it, and a session there lasts 24 hours.
• A newer setup. If the input was given a new stream key, stream ID or address, the phone has to scan its code again.

The phone tries again on its own, a second after a failure and then every few seconds, until you press Stop. When the phone’s own network changes, from Wi-Fi to mobile data say, it connects again by itself.

The status pill says Sending, but the card stays empty: check that the phone’s frame rate and resolution are ones the receiver takes, and that its Codec is one it decodes. InterDirector decodes HEVC and H.264.

A scan is refused

• That isn’t an InterDirector Cam code. Scan the one in the InterDirector input’s settings. The phone read some other code. Press InterDirector Cam QR Code… in the network input’s settings and scan that.
• That code is from a newer InterDirector. Update InterDirector Cam to use it. Update the app from the App Store.
• That code is damaged or cut off. Scan it again. Hold the phone so the whole code is in view.
• The Show runs at a frame rate the phone doesn’t offer. The setup is taken, but the phone keeps its own frame rate. Set the Show to one of 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94 or 60 fps.

Scan InterDirector’s QR Code is greyed out while the phone sends: stop first.

Tally does not connect

Settings › Connection on the phone says how tally is doing.

• No tally: it comes with a scan of InterDirector’s code. The address was typed by hand. Scan the input’s code.
• Tally connects when the phone sends. Tally runs only while the phone sends: press Start.
• Tally not connected: trying again. On your network, the phone reaches InterDirector on port 49723: check the same things as for the picture, and that nothing on the Mac blocks incoming connections to InterDirector. If someone pressed New Tally Key in the input’s settings, the phone needs to scan the new code.

The camera button on InterDirector’s input card, and Camera Control…, appear only while tally is connected. If tally is connected and the Camera window says control is off, turn on Allow control from InterDirector in Settings › Connection on the phone.

The picture stutters over mobile data

• Turn on Adaptive bitrate in Settings › Video (it is on to begin with). It lowers the bitrate when the network cannot keep up, including on the way from the relay to InterDirector, and raises it again as things improve. See Adaptive bitrate.
• Send through the relay over SRT, from an input over the internet, rather than RTMP: SRT resends what the network lost.
• Send less: a lower Quality, 720p, or HEVC rather than H.264.
• Give it more time. On the Mac, a higher Latency on a local SRT input rides out more of the network’s hiccups; over mobile data, expect the picture about two seconds behind the camera, and hold your other sources back with their Input delay to match.

The phone runs warm, or the battery runs down

• Plug it in for a long show. With Low battery warning on (Settings › Safeguards), the phone warns at 20% and again at 10% while it is not charging.
• Dim while sending, in Settings › Screen, dims the screen after 10 seconds, 30 seconds or a minute untouched. It saves heat and battery, and does not light up the room. Tally stays, and a tap wakes it.
• The torch, 4K and Cinematic stabilisation all make the phone work harder. 4K is only worth it for a 4K Show.

The camera stopped for a moment

A call, a notification or Siri can take the camera away. When iOS gives it back, the app starts it again by itself; Interruptions, in Settings › Video, counts how often it happened. With Do Not Disturb reminder on (Settings › Safeguards), the first Start after the app opens reminds you to turn on Do Not Disturb or a Focus.

The screen never locks while the app is open, since locking stops the camera. Leaving the app stops sending; coming back to it starts sending again.

The picture arrives on its side

Turn with the phone is off in Settings › Camera, so a phone held upright sends its picture on its side. Turn it on, or hold the phone sideways. See Held upright.

Still stuck

Getting support says how to reach us, or email support@interdirector.com, as Settings › About & Help on the phone has it. Say which iPhone it is, and what the status pill and the message above the picture say.