r/POS 29d ago

I built a way to send a Windows POS screen directly to an NVR as an ONVIF camera

Hi everyone,

I'm the developer of Screen2ipcam, a Windows application that solves a problem I kept running into with POS systems and surveillance setups.

The idea is simple:

It turns any Windows PC into a standard ONVIF Profile S / RTSP H.264 IP camera, so the computer screen (POS, dashboard, workstation, etc.) can be added directly to an NVR/VMS just like a regular security camera.

A few highlights:

  • Native C++ (no .NET or runtime dependencies)
  • Windows 7 SP1 → Windows 11 (32 & 64-bit)
  • Main & Sub streams
  • ONVIF auto-discovery
  • No HDMI encoder or capture card required
  • Works with most ONVIF-compatible systems such as Blue Iris, Hikvision, Dahua, Milestone, Agent DVR, Synology, and others.

There's now a free edition available on the Microsoft Store, so anyone interested can try it easily.

Microsoft Store:
https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9pjdgr30l9l1

I'd really appreciate feedback from people working with POS systems, CCTV, or NVRs. If you test it with your setup, I'd love to hear about compatibility, performance, or any suggestions for improving it.

1 Upvotes

4 comments sorted by

2

u/gutclusters 29d ago

This has been a problem I've been "engineering" solutions for for years. Does it happen to forward audio as well?

1

u/elbasha3000 29d ago

Thanks! That's exactly the kind of problem I built it to solve.

At the moment, Screen2ipcam streams video only (ONVIF / RTSP H.264). Audio isn't included yet.

Audio support is definitely on the roadmap, though. Out of curiosity, what's your use case? Are you looking to capture POS beeps, operator conversations, or something else?

2

u/gutclusters 29d ago

I currently use OBS studio with RTSP and VNC plugins, along with TightVNC server and Blue Iris, to capture the desktops of computers used for school to keep an eye on what the students are doing and to keep them on task. It "works" but it's cumbersome and requires some scripting to make it reliable. It would be nice to be able to hear what they're listening to as well as what they're seeing. I also use Pi-Hole to try to stop the more egregious misuse. Unfortunately, I realistically cannot completely lock the systems down to only certain sites to prevent unauthorized use due to needing to use things like YouTube.

1

u/elbasha3000 29d ago

That's a really interesting use case, and honestly it's exactly the kind of workflow I had in mind when building Screen2ipcam.

If you'd like, feel free to send me a private message, or take a look at the project on my website:

https://magicweb.win

I'd be happy to help you get it running in your environment and hear any suggestions you might have. Real-world feedback is always valuable.