Live View

Live View asks the Mac to start streaming its camera feed and shows it right in the companion app — the same continuous video the pre-roll buffer already relies on, not a second recording.

Starting it sends the Mac a command over the same connection Start/Stop Monitoring uses, so it needs the Mac to be reachable the same way those do. Closing Live View — or leaving the screen — tells the Mac to stop sending video; it doesn't stop or start monitoring, which is controlled separately.

On the same network as the Mac, Live View connects to it directly instead of through the relay — the same shortcut clips and filmstrips already use — falling back automatically if that doesn't work out. Either way the video is encrypted for this device alone, so this device needs to be in the household (see Household). Video quality adapts too: full resolution on that same network, a reduced tier away from it, stepping up or down from there as the connection allows. The dial icon in the top corner shows the current tier and lets you pin a specific one or hand control back to Auto; a pinned level sticks until you change it again. If video doesn't appear, check the Mac's own connection indicator first — Live View needs the same link monitoring commands and event history do.

Pinch to zoom in or out, double-tap to jump to a fixed close-up level (and again to snap back), and drag to pan around while zoomed in. This only magnifies the picture already being received — it doesn't change what the Mac's camera itself is pointed at or capturing.

Audio is off by default — tap the speaker icon to turn it on. It restarts the connection to apply, so expect a brief reconnect. Sound and picture aren't frame-synced to each other, so don't expect perfect lip sync — this is meant for making out what's happening, not watching a movie.

To speak through the camera, press and hold Hold to Talk at the bottom of the screen (see Talking through a camera).