SecuritySpy to Dropbox

Alderson
Alderson
in SecuritySpy

I'm trying to set up my SecuritySpy account to upload captured files to a Dropbox account. This has worked in the past, but stopped functioning at some point, and I'm trying to restore it. I'm running SecuritySpy with four cameras on an iMac, and haven't found the right combination of info to configure the Uploads feature. When I try to test the upload, the response is "Error 500 The test upload failed. Timeout". I entered the server name as "www.dropbox.com" and my Dropbox user name and password. I'm not sure what to use for the Path, tried several entries with no luck. I am a casual user, and would appreciate any help from the experts on this stuff. A search of this forum yielded no results. Thank you.

Comments

  • Ben
    Ben
    edited July 1

    Files can't be uploaded directly to Dropbox via the usual methods of direct file transfer that SecuritySpy supports (FTP, S3 etc.). Instead, what you will need to do here is to direct SecuritySpy to record to the Dropbox folder that resides on your Mac, and then the files will be automatically uploaded via the Dropbox software that is running on your Mac (see FAQ). In more detail, the setup would be as follows:

    1. Install Dropbox on your Mac.
    2. It's best if you choose a location for the Dropbox folder that isn't on your Mac's system drive. The ideal location for this would be a USB-connected SSD. These offer good amounts of storage at reasonable prices, and excellent performance and reliability. This also minimises wear on your Mac's internal drive.
    3. Create a folder inside your Dropbox folder and name it something descriptive like "Camera Recordings" or "SecuritySpy Files".
    4. Use the option in SecuritySpy at Settings > Storage to set the primary storage location to this new folder.

    From SecuritySpy's point of view it's just recording to a local destination; the Dropbox software handles all sync with the cloud - both uploading new files, and pruning any old files on the cloud that SecuritySpy removes locally based on its auto-removal settings.

  • Alderson
    Alderson

    Great ! That worked. I already had Dropbox on the iMac, so it was easy to make the change. Thank you very much for the quick response. I don't remember having it set up that way before, but it's possible.

    Since I have your attention, is there any way to stop the creation or uploading of the THM thumbnail files?

  • Ben
    Ben

    Great to hear it's working now.

    It's not possible to prevent SecuritySpy from creating its invisible metadata files (a thumbnail file for each recording "name.thm", and a ".FF_Index" file in each day folder), but it is possible to prevent them from being uploaded - see How to prevent files from syncing.

  • Alderson
    Alderson
    edited July 1

    OK, thanks again. Great customer support.

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